1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles

Hannah

High crime rates, economic uncertainty, flagrant immorality, compromised national security, … Hannah’s world was in bad shape. The theocracy that God had set in place for the nation of Israel seemed to be failing. This was the time of the judges, the days when “Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” (Judges 21:25) With enemies without and within, the future for the nation of Israel looked grim. But Hannah had matters closer to home to deal with....

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HANNAH.pdf (2,5 MB)

Saul Part 1

Humility recognizes that it is God that gives us all power, wisdom and ability, while insecurity says “it’s all about me.” It can easily change to arrogance which is the flip side of the “me” coin.   Neither of those holds much resemblance to humility, which says “it’s about God”. Because Saul did not fully rely on God for his salvation, he felt compelled to make things go his way by taking matters into his own hands. 

To download the complete study:

SAUL 1.pdf (1,2 MB)

Saul Part 2

Saul has it all: looks, position, and even God’s Spirit. He has been chosen by God to be the king of his people.   But from humble beginnings, hiding among the baggage at his own coronation, Saul begins to become arrogant. While he continues to credit God for his victories, he also starts feeling capable of redefining what obedience to God looks like. In fact, I see in Saul the underlying roots of sin that have caused so many of us to sin, and fall short of the glory of God. It is a subtle, but deadly, shift in attitude. Instead of gratitude to God for what has been done by His power, even through us, we begin to trust in our own wisdom to know, perhaps even better than God, what is best in a given situation. It is a dangerous move, as is all too evident in the life of Saul.

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SAUL 2.pdf (1 007,3 kB)

Jonathan

There are few relationships as well known as the friendship between Jonathan and David. It is used to describe the pinnacle of human friendship, an example of the kind of friend that we all long for. To know and be known. The story of Jonathan and David describes an intimacy that we seldom see....

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Jonathan.pdf (1 MB)

Abigail

If you have ever stood between two males engaged in an escalating power struggle, you can begin to understand the position that Abigail found herself in. With a husband far short on the social intelligence scorecard, I’m sure it was not the first time this sort of thing had happened. I can’t begin to imagine how many times Abigail must have suffered embarrassment over Nabal’s foolish or drunken behavior. How many times had she been called on to smooth over a conflict that could have been avoided? How many friendships had been lost? How many times had she herself borne his wounding words? This time, it was about more than embarrassment or annoyance. This time, there would likely be bloodshed, and there was no doubt who the loser would be. How could Nabal be so stupid? Couldn’t he see how costly his rash and arrogant words would be?

To download the entire study:

ABIGAIL.pdf (1,4 MB)

Hushai

An “agent of influence” is someone whose political actions and position are used to benefit a foreign nation. In a CIA publication, Hushai is referred to as the first influence agent operation on record.

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Hushai.pdf (520,3 kB)

Joab

The story of Joab is entangled beyond separation with the story of David.  The tension of their relationship defines the successes and failures of them both, as well as serving to carry out the Sovereign plan that God has for David’s throne. Joab’s entire military career plays out in David’s shadow, though it is sometimes hard to determine which of them is really in charge. David often acquiesces to Joab’s decisions on a matter.

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Joab.pdf (634 kB)

Uzzah

When David decided to move the ark of the Testimony  from the obscurity of Adinadab's house to prominence at the future sit of the temple in Jerusalem, it was cause for great celebration. But then, right in the middle of the party, the oxen stumbled, Uzzah reached out to steady the ark, and was promptly struck dead by God for a seemingly well intentioned act.  It was,and still is, confusing, shocking, and sobering.  What are we to learn from the story of Uzzah?

UZZAH.pdf (679,5 kB)

Elijah

Elijah lived and prophesied in times that were truly dangerous for God’s people. Ahab, king of the northern ten tribes, had married Jezebel, a Canaanite princess. Ahab yielded to Jezebel’s strong lead as she not only promoted the worship of Baal, but also hunted down and killed the prophets of God. It is before this king of Israel that Elijah dared to appear to announce the judgment that God would send. 

To download the entire study:

ELIJAH.pdf (3 MB)

Elisha

Where the fiery Elijah was a prophet of confrontation, Elisha was a prophet of compassion, and God’s message of deliverance. In reading the story of his service to God, we see him in encounter after encounter with people in need. Elijah’s main purpose seems to have been to confront evil. Elisha does a bit of that as well, but we see him also ministering to the faithful remnant who are suffering because of God’s judgment on the nation of Israel.

ELISHA.pdf (2,6 MB)

A little slave girl

We don’t know her name. We don’t know who her parents were, or even where exactly she was from. We don’t know what became of her later, after the brief mention of her in Scripture. We know so little about her, yet, we see much about her faith. We get a powerful glimpse of the treasure that came forth from this small vessel of clay. She is an example to us.

For the entire study:

slave girl.pdf (530,8 kB)

The Shunammite woman  2 Kings 4:8-17

This woman manages to exude an aura of grace. She is well thought of in her community. A woman of means, she is generous with what she has, first inviting Elisha for meals when he is in town, and then adding a guest room for him to have his own private accommodation. She is in tune with God’s spirit enough to recognize it in Elisha. She seems to be content, even in her barrenness. She is respectful to her husband, yet clearly the one who initiated hospitality to Elisha and his servant Gehazi. Even in her grief she displays a calm faith and efficiency. She was persistant and tenacious. No wonder she is highly regarded, even thousands of years later. I can imagine God greeting her with the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

For the entire stduy:

The Shunammite Woman.pdf (679,2 kB)