From the Heart of the Kings and the Mouths of the Propehts

This is the last part of the assignment for the Book of Kings that we had to do. I know that I haven't posted any BRIs lately. Sorry about that, but my laptop is currently down, and the BRIs are saved onto it, so I can't post them. Hopefully I'll have them up soon.

God’s plan is the greatest plan ever devised. His plan has been to send Someone to save his people. His people are falling, falling hard and falling fast. They need someone to catch them so that they don’t hurt themselves more than they already have. But to progress in his plan, God has to allow his people to go through hardships. But he never lets them shatter. Because like glass, they are fragile, and if they shatter, it’s hard to be put back together. Instead, he simply lets them be ripped like a piece of paper, because ripped paper can always be taped together again.

                The prophets that God send to the king followed him. They listened to every word he said. They were able to deliver his message to the king. Whether king listened or not was his own choice. And as we saw, the king who listened was a good king and the king who refused to listen had a bad time.

                If I were to advise the prophets, I wouldn’t really know what to say, except to encourage them and to tell them to continue walking in the ways of God. If I was a prophet, who didn’t always see goo results come out of my message, whether the king refused to listen or the message was a message of doom and gloom, I would get so discouraged all the time. I feel like I would be like Jeremiah, in a constant state of depression.

                If I were to advise the kings, I would probably give them a good slap on the back of the head, since most of them were completely stupid and refused to see what they were doing wrong, and refused to listen, and repent. I would make sure they knew that repenting and turning back to God has much better results than doing whatever they wanted, giving in to the desires of the world, walking in the way of Jeroboam rather than in the way of David.

                For the kings who did heed the words of the prophets, I would encourage them. Just because the listened didn’t mean wonderful things happened. The nation was still suffering because of previous kings were evil. They good kings would have become discouraged because things didn’t begin to climb up. But I would remind them that they were a ray of light, that glimmer of hope in a dark time, and that the best thing they could do was to continue following God, walking in the way of David.

                The next stage of God’s plan begins at Jesus, who is that same ray of light. That glimmer of hope in a dark time. That Savior that the people need. The One to catch them when they are falling.

That Time of Year Again...

O Thanksgiving

The day we gather around the table

And feast

We laugh, we pass the turkey round

The joy of the season of thanks is upon us

Once more.

It’s that time of year again. The beginning of the Holiday season. The season of thanks, the season of giving, the season of joy. Things are going well here in the most ghetto town in California. Even though we have just now gotten to the official day, our mood has been in the Thanksgiving mood for at least a week. And now that this day has gotten here, we are ready for Christmas. But the Christmas season for many of us doesn't start until tomorrow, but the Christmas music has been going for about a month now.  

            For Job, we were put into five teams and we made short films based on the life of Job. They were all so funny. They were all hilarious, actually. We had so much fun making them. There was so much laughter during the filming process. And watching them was so fun. We had an award ceremony afterwards. The Jobie Awards. The grand prize was the Golden Artichoke. While we didn't win the Golden Artichoke, we did win a ‘best actor’ for Kenny, who played Job.

The first quarter of CBSB is almost over. We start Kings next week. Then the next book is unknown to us for now. But there are so many things in store for us. The second quarter starts after the Christmas break, and the second quarter’s tuition is due at the beginning of the quarter, in January.

The time of joy

The time of giving

The time of cheer

The scent of citrus

And cinnamon

Is soon upon us

Enjoy it

With love and happiness

Wishing well to all who pass.

Samuel BRI

B.R.I—Samuel

1.      Identify what Author wrote for which Original Reader, and When

a.       Author/Compiler of the Book

                                                              i.      Internal

1.       1 Chronicles 29:29 ‘Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the records of the seer Samuel, and in records of the prophet Nathan, and in the records of the seer Gad,’

2.       1 Samuel 25:1 ‘Now Samuel died...’

3.       1 Samuel 28:3 ‘Now Samuel had died...’

                                                            ii.      External

1.       There is no actual agreement on who the author of Samuel. (Colonel David Hanson, lecture)

2.       Possibly a Judean prophet after the division of the kingdom, using multiple sources like the Book of Jasher and the acts of King David (see 1 Chronicles 29:29). (Colonel Hansen, lecture)

3.       It is logical to assume that Samuel wrote Samuel since his name is associated with the books through name. The problem with this, however, is that a major part of the events takes place after Samuel’s death. (Nelson’s)

4.       The author is anonymous. But according to Jewish tradition, the book was authored by the prophet Samuel, and completed by Nathan and Gad. (Holman Bible Handbook)

                                                          iii.      Conclusion

Since no one can be sure who is the author of Samuel is, there are too many opinions about the authorship. I’ve chosen to go with the more traditional view that Samuel wrote a small portion, while the prophets Nathan and Gad wrote the rest of it. The fact that Samuel died halfway through the first portion tells me that he obviously did not write all of it, and since, in 1 Chronicles 29:29, it states that there are records off Samuel, Nathan and Gad, it seems logical to me that these three records could be combined in on to form the Book of Samuel.

b.      To Whom was it Written

                                                              i.      Internal

1.       1 Kings 12:26-27 ‘Then Jeroboam said to himself, “Now the kingdom may well revert to the house of David. If this people continues to go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem...’

                                                            ii.      External

1.       The Israelites in the time of the exile. (Ylva, discussion)

                                                          iii.      Conclusion

Since the rest of the OT, so far has been written to the Israelites, I believe that Samuel was written to the Israelites. But this leaves us with the question, ‘which set of Israelites was it written to?’ Since it is extremely hard to find any information on the Original Reader it was written to, no one can be sure. I believe that it could be to the Israelites of the Exile, since some sources say that Kings and Chronicles were written to this particular OR, as many of the pre-Exile prophetic scriptures were.

c.       When/where was it Written

                                                              i.      Internal

1.       1 Samuel 27:6 ‘So that day Achish gave him Ziklag; therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah, to this day.’

a.       A divided people

b.       A divided kingdom

2.       1 Samuel 9:9 ‘Formerly in Israel, anyone who went to inquire of God would say, “Come, let us go to the seer”; for the one who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.’

a.       Formerly seer, now called prophet

                                                                                                                                       i.      Seer was used in the days of the judges; more commonly used in the pagan religions.

                                                            ii.      External

1.       Eighth century BC. (Zondervan’s)

                                                          iii.      Conclusion

I don’t actually have an idea of when Samuel was written, because I cannot find enough evidence of when it could have been written. I believe that because of the lack or authorship evidence, it is difficult to tell when it was written. It did have to be compiled, if not written, as David’s reign was coming to an end, but before the end of the Exile

2.      Research the Background of the Author, Original Audience, and Readers

a.       Author’s Background

Since the author is unknown, I can give no background information.

b.      Original Audience’s Background

                                                              i.      Political History

1.       Corrupt levitical system

2.       Saul, a bad king

3.       David, a king; ‘a man after God’s own heart’

                                                            ii.      Religious History

1.       Beginning to know and follow God

                                                          iii.      Current Leaders

1.       Samuel

2.       Saul

3.       David

Samuel was a judge as well as a prophet. He also took on some priestly duties, because Eli would not do his levitical duties. Saul was a Benjaminite, who was anointed king, because the people demanded a king. David was considered a man after God’s own heart, and was anointed king by Samuel.

                                                          iv.      Current Enemies

1.       The Philistines

                                                            v.      Geography

1.       Israel

c.       Original Reader’s Background

Because I do not know who the OR is, I will be unable to tell you any of their background information.

3.      Reasons Written

a.       To teach the king how to be Godly and how to carry out God’s laws.

4.      Author’s Literary Tools

a.       Kind of Writing

                                                              i.      Prose

                                                            ii.      Poetry

1.       2:1-10

2.       15:22-23

3.       15:33

4.       18:7

5.       21:11

6.       1:19-27

7.       3:33-34

8.       20:1b

9.       22:2-51

10.   23:1-7

b.      Type of Literature

                                                              i.      Narrative

c.       Structure

                                                              i.      Biological

                                                            ii.      Chronological

d.      Composition Tools

                                                              i.      Cruciality

5.      Main Idea

a.       God seeks a man after his own heart to lead the people in following God’s laws.

Ruth BRI

B.R.I—Ruth

1.      Identify what Author wrote for which Original Reader, and When

a.      Author/Compiler of the Book

                                                              i.      Internal

1.      1 Samuel 7:3-17 ‘Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel...’

2.      1 Samuel 16:11-12 ‘Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep...” The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; for he is the one.”’

a.       This verse indicates the Samuel knew David as well as David’s father.

                                                                                                                                      i.      1 Samuel 19:18 ‘Now David fled and escaped; he came to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. He and Samuel went and settled at Naioth.’

                                                            ii.      External

1.      The author of the book is really unknown, but some scholars believe that the book of Ruth was written by Samuel. (Nelson’s)

2.      The author of Ruth is unknown. (ISBE)

                                                          iii.      Conclusion

I believe that Ruth was written by Samuel, because he wrote Judges. I don’t believe that they were written at the same time, because of 1:1, but the fact that the 4:17b refers to David, makes me believe that it was in fact Samuel.

b.      To Whom was it Written

                                                              i.      Internal

1.      1 Samuel 7:3-4 ‘Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel...’

2.      1 Samuel 12:1 ‘Samuel said to all Israel, “I have listened to you in all that you have said to me, and have set a king over you.’

                                                            ii.      External

1.      Megan Burmester says that the OR is the Israelites. (lecture)

2.      Emily Yoder said that the book of Judges was written to the Israelites, and if Ruth was written during the same time period, then the OR would have to be the Israelites. (lecture)

                                                          iii.      Conclusion

I believe that the OR of the book of Ruth is the Israelites, the same generation as the OR of the book of Judges. As with Judges, I believe that because of the newness of the nation, the author wanted them to choose the right king. The author obviously wanted David to be king, since he made a point to refer to him. While Davie was a descendant of an Israelite man and a Moabite woman, the author was trying to tell the OR that because of his great-grandfather’s traits of kindness and obedience to God’s laws that David would be the better king.

c.       When/where was it Written

                                                              i.      Internal

1.      Ruth 1:1 ‘In the days when the judges ruled...’

2.      Ruth 4:17b ‘They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David.

                                                            ii.      External

1.      Since it references David, it might have been sometime around 990 BC. (Nelson’s)

2.      In the period of the judges. (ISBE)

                                                          iii.      Conclusion

While some people believe that 4:13-22 were added after the composition of Ruth, I believe that it was written by the actual author. It seems that in 1:1, the author is looking back on the days of the judges. Both of these lead me to believe that the book of Ruth could have been written, shortly after David became king; while the events must have taken place during the time of the judges of Israel.

2.      Research the Background of the Author, Original Audience, and Readers

a.      Author’s Background

Samuel was a prophet of God, who anointed both Saul and David, as king over Israel.

                                                              i.      Political History

1.      Corrupt levitical system

2.      Theocracy

3.      Beginning of the monarchy

                                                            ii.      Religious History

1.      Prophet of God

2.      In service to God since early childhood.

b.      Original Audience’s Background

The OA is the Israelites, who were the fourth generation; who did not know God and his laws as they should have, causing them to turn to the pagan ways.

                                                              i.      Political History

1.      Corrupt levitical system

2.      Theocracy

                                                            ii.      Cultural History

1.      Pagan mindset caused depravity

                                                          iii.      Religious History

1.      Did not know God

2.      Worship of Baal and other pagan gods

                                                          iv.      Current Leaders

1.      Ehud

2.      Deborah and Barak

3.      Gideon

4.      Abimelech

5.      Jephthah

6.      Samson

The Judges of Israel; only a few of them were good role models and leaders, Deborah and Barak. Even Gideon, who was called by God to defeat the Midianites, turned to the Canaanite gods, and Samson, a nazirite since birth fell prey to Philistine woman, and forgot what God had commanded him, believing that his strength was his own.

                                                            v.      Current Enemies

1.      The Canaanites

2.      The Philistines

3.      The Moabites

4.      The Midianites

5.      The Ammonites

                                                          vi.      Geography

1.      The land of Canaan and the surrounding area

c.       Original Reader’s Background

The OR is the generation after the generation of Judges.

                                                              i.      Political History

1.      Corrupt levitical system

2.      Either no king, or Saul, a bad king

                                                            ii.      Religious History

1.      Rejected God as king.

                                                          iii.      Current Leaders

1.      Samuel

                                                          iv.      Geography

1.      The former land of Canaan, now called Israel.

3.      Reasons Written

a.       To show the OR how to love and how to care for those who are less fortunate than themselves.

b.      To show the OR that there is always hope.

4.      Author’s Literary Tools

a.      Kind of Writing

                                                              i.      Prose

                                                            ii.      Poetry

1.      1:16-17

2.      1:20-21

b.      Type of Literature

                                                              i.      Narrative

c.       Structure

                                                              i.      Biological

d.      Composition Tools

                                                              i.      Climax

1.      The death of Elimelech leads the Naomi returning; Naomi’s return to Bethlehem leads to Ruth meeting Boaz, which led to the marriage of Ruth and Boaz and the birth of Obed, David’s grandfather.

5.      Main Idea

a.       Loyalty and love will, in return, bring love and loyalty.