Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Samuel 11-13.

The first thing I thought about when reading today’s passage is that King Saul’s home town was Gibeah, where the Levite’s concubine was raped to death at the end of the Book of Judges.  So, the men of Gibeah precipitated the civil war which almost led to the tribe of Benjamin being wiped out, but they also provided Israel with its first king.  I thought about writing a bit about the events which appear to have led up to the Israelites seeking a king, but as I thought about it  I decided to go in another direction.  Following on what I wrote yesterday about a society which follows God does not need a government I thought I would write about what Samuel said in his farewell address.  In listening to Samuel make his farewell speech after anointing Saul king over Israel, the Israelites realized their mistake in requesting a king, in requesting a government.  Samuel consoled them that God would not forget, nor forsake, His people.  Samuel assured them that if they feared the Lord and served Him faithfully, the government He had established at their request would serve them well.  So, while those who serve the Lord do not need a government to guide them to do what is good and right, if they dedicate themselves to serving the Lord with their whole hearts the government the Lord has established will serve their needs.  But, if they turn away from the Lord, then they and their government will suffer.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.