Daily Old Testament and Early Christian Writings: 1 Samuel 14:1-23, Proverbs 12-13 and Augustine's Confessions 20

1 Samuel 14:1-23 – Jonathan goes down to the Philistine garrison without telling his father.  Back in the camp Saul has about 600 soldiers along with Ahijah, Eli's great-grandson.

Jonathan has, in many ways, the same virtues as we will later find in the young David.  He thinks even though the odds are against him, “it may be that the Lord will act for us; for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few” (14:6). 

No one in the camp knows he has gone off on his own. Jonathan makes up this sign in his mind.  If they show themselves and the Philistines hail them to them, then it will mean God is going to turn them over to them. They do hail them, and Jonathan and his armor bearer go—they kill about 20 men, causing a panic in the garrison (14:15).  When the men in Saul’s camp see the uproar, Saul calls for the ark to be brought forth.

The Jerusalem Bible note says that the word “ephod” here was changed to “ark” by a scribe who may have thought the ephod to be an idolatrous article.  As the priest is about to draw lots from the ephod, Saul stops him and goes out to battle without consulting the oracle.

The text says at this point some of the Israelites who had previously gone over to the Philistines return and join with Saul (14:21). They all go out and do battle.  The men in hiding come out and fight, so the Lord gives Israel a great victory.

Proverbs 12 – Again, a few:

“To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction” (12:1).

“Wickedness never brings stability, but the godly have deep roots” (12:3).

“Thieves are jealous of each other’s loot, but the godly are well rooted and bear their own fruit” (12:12).

“Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others” (12:15).

“There are some whose thoughtless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (Jerusalem Bible 12:18).

“The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in those who tell the truth” (12:22).

“The idle man has no game to roast; diligence is a man’s most precious possession” (Jerusalem Bible 12:27).

Proverbs 13 – More wise words:

“He keeps his life who guards his mouth, he who talks too much is lost” (Jerusalem Bible 13:3).

“A sudden fortune will dwindle away, he grows rich who accumulates little by little” (Jerusalem Bible 13:11).

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, desire fulfilled is a tree of life” (Jerusalem Bible 13:12).

“Make wise your companions and you grow wise yourself; make fools your friends and suffer for it” (13:20).

And this famous one: “Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them (13:24).

Augustine (354-439)

Confessions

20 - But what was the cause of my dislike of Greek literature, which I studied from my boyhood, I cannot even now understand. For the Latin I loved exceedingly—not what our first masters, but what the grammarians teach; for those primary lessons of reading, writing, and ciphering, I considered no less of a burden and a punishment than Greek. Yet whence was this unless from the sin and vanity of this life? For I was "but flesh, a wind that passes away and comes not again." For those primary lessons were better, assuredly, because more certain; seeing that by their agency I acquired, and still retain, the power of reading what I find written, and writing myself what I will; while in the others I was compelled to learn about the wanderings of a certain Æneas, oblivious of my own, and to weep for Biab dead, because she slew herself for love [Dido’s sister Anna dies for love - not sure who Biab is] ; while at the same time I brooked with dry eyes my wretched self dying far from you, in the midst of those things, O God, my life.

He had not yet learned to SEE in the characters and people he studied examples of his own life.

Daily Old Testament and Early Christian Writings: 1 Samuel 13, Proverbs 10-11 and Augustine's Confessions 19

1 Samuel 13 – The text is corrupted so we don’t know how old Saul was when he became king, but it says he served only two years by this translation. Eerdman’s suggests it must be 32 years since he was young when anointed and now has a son old enough to lead men in battle.  Three thousand Israelis serve in Saul’s army—two thousand under him and one thousand under his son Jonathan.  When Jonathan defeats the Philistines at Geba, the enemy muster a huge army (30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen).  The Israelites are “in distress” when they saw them; they go and hide in “caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns” (13:6).

Saul is in Gilgal (to renew the ceremony making him king and apparently Samuel has told him to wait seven days—again, as he did in 10:8-- for him to get there. But Samuel does not show.  The people begin “to slip away from Saul” (13:8)—a worrisome thing in light of the already fragile acceptance he has gained in the latest victory.  So Saul offers the burnt offerings Samuel was supposed to have offered (13:9-10) and then Samuel arrives.  He is furious. He says, “You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which he commanded you.  The Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever, but now your kingdom will not continue; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart; and the Lord has appointed him to be ruler over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you” (13:13-14).

        

The Philistines are at Michmash.  The Israelites have no smiths (iron-workers).  The Philistines have a lock on this technology.  What swords and spears the people have are in the possession of Saul and his son.

Proverbs

Proverbs 10 – Here begin the first major collection of proverbs, attributed to Solomon. They are two liners with no strong line of flow. These are the ones that stand out to me:

“A wise son is his father’s joy, a foolish son his mother’s grief (10:1)

You can gain “treasure” with wickedness, but not “delivery from death” (10:2).

“The mouth of the virtuous man is a life-giving  fountain, violence lurks in the mouth of the wicked” (10:11).

“Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut” (10:19).

“When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the godly have a lasting foundation” (10:25).

“The hopes of the godly result in happiness, but the expectations of the wicked come to nothing” (10:28). This one seems shallow to me. Sometimes the godly are devastated. They do have the “lasting foundation” but it’s too much to say their hopes will always lead to happiness.

Proverbs 11 – Again, two liners, all pretty much the same. I have selected a few:

In the day of wrath riches will be of no advantage, but virtuous conduct delivers from death” (11:4).

“Their virtuous conduct sets honest men free, treacherous men are imprisoned by their own desires” (11:6).

“For want of guidance a people fails, safety lies in many advisers” (11:14).

“Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed” (11:24-25).

“Those who bring trouble on their families inherit the wind” (11:29). 1960 movie called “Inherit the Wind.”

“The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life” (11:30).

Augustine (354-439)

Confessions

19 - But in this my childhood (which was far less dreaded for me than youth) I had no love of learning, and hated to be forced to it, yet was I forced to it notwithstanding; and this was well done towards me, but I did not well, for I would not have learned had I not been compelled. For no man does well against his will, even if that which he does be well. Neither did they who forced me do well, but the good that was done to me came from you, my God. For they considered not in what way I should employ what they forced me to learn, unless to satisfy the inordinate desires of a rich beggary and a shameful glory. But you, by whom the very hairs of our heads are numbered [Matthew 10:30] used for my good the error of all who pressed me to learn; and my own error in willing not to learn, You made use of for my punishment— of which I, being so small a boy and so great a sinner, was not unworthy. Thus by the instrumentality of those who did not well did you do well for me; and by my own sin you justly punished me. For it is even as you have appointed, that every inordinate affection should bring its own punishment.

As I have probably said, I loved every day and year of school I ever had. There were teachers I did not care for but not many and mostly not until high school. I remember the kindergarten class I went to. You could see the window the class from the house I lived in up the hill behind. I remember my grandfather taking me the first day, the excitement of seeing my friends in a new context and kids I’d never seen before. It was a crowded classroom, and there were two teachers – Mrs. Bloxom and Miss Squarey (love those names – for kindergarteners!). The Ardsley School – today a place to buy a condo, but then the only school for kindergarteners through 12^th. Throughout my childhood, the blossoming “Baby-Boomer” generation made schools very crowded, brought new schools to be constructed.

Numbers, letters, words, simple books about Dick and Jane. The first “substantive” content I remember was about history, in 5^th grade in School #7 in Bronxville where I first heard about the discovery of spices in the Far East. We spent some time putting tiny cloves into oranges as an activity – made the lesson about the pull of the spices very palpable. Loved it.

Daily Old Testament and Early Christian Writings: 1 Samuel 11-12, Proverbs 8-9 and Augustine's Confessions 18

1 Samuel 11 – Nahash besieges Jabesh-gilead.  They plead to make a treaty with him, and he agrees—if they will permit him to gash out their right eyes (right!). 

They ask for a week to see if they can come up with a savior amongst the tribes of Israel.  Saul gets the request, and “the spirit of God came upon Saul in power when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled” (11:6).  He cuts a yoke of oxen in pieces and sends the pieces throughout the country, threatening to do the like to anyone’s oxen that will not come to the aid of Jabesh-gilead.  They muster at Bezek—300,000 from Israel and 70,000 from Judah.  They send word to the town.  The town in turn deceives Nahash, saying they will give themselves up the next day. The next day, Saul defeats the enemy. 

The people now want to punish those who went against the idea of making Saul king, but Saul sets himself against that, saying now is just time to celebrate Israel’s victory.  But Samuel suggests they go to Gilgal and renew the appointment of Saul as king, and the people do it.

1 Samuel 12 – Samuel is now an old man.  He has maintained his integrity all his life. So, one last time, he recounts for the people all the saving deeds the Lord has done for the people over the years, but particularly the deeds performed during the age of the judges, ending with appointment of a king to rule over them.

“If you will fear the Lord and serve him and heed his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord you God, it will be well; but if you will not heed the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king” (11:14-15).

He still insists, though, that the asking for a king is a “wickedness” that the Lord does not favor but that He will countenance.  Samuel comforts them by saying, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart; and do not turn aside after useless things that cannot profit or save, for they are useless.  For the Lord will not cast away his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself” (11:20-22). Though the king has been set above them at their request, he will be held to the same standard as the people.

Proverbs 8 – Wisdom and Discernment also call. “Accept [her] discipline rather than silver, knowledge in preference to pure gold” (8:10).

Wisdom is the “inventor of lucidity of thought” (8:12). “Fearing” the Lord means hating evil (8:15). By Wisdom “rulers govern, and the great impose justice on the world” (8:16).

Wisdom was with God in the creation of the world. “I was by his side, a master craftsman, delighting him day after day, ever at play in his presence, at play everywhere in his world, delighting to be with the sons of men” (8:30-31).

Happy the man who keeps my ways, “For the man who finds me finds life, . . .but he who does injury to me does hurt to his own soul, all who hate me are in love with death” (8:35-36).

Proverbs 9 – “Wisdom has . . . prepared a great banquet, mixed the wines, and set the table. She has sent her servants to invite everyone to come. . . . ‘Come in with me,’ she urges the simple. To those who lack good judgment, she says, ‘Come, eat my food, and drink the wine I have mixed” (9:2-5). But those who “mock” her will not respond.

This reminds me immediately of the parable Luke tells in his gospel (Luke 14:21) about the man who invites guests to eat with him, but they do not respond, and he responds by rejecting them and inviting only the “rejects,” the people no one dreams of having as their intimates – the poor, the blind, the crippled and the lame.

“The fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment” (9:10).

“The woman named Folly is brash. She is ignorant and doesn’t know it. She sits in her doorway on the heights overlooking the city. She calls out to men going by who are minding their own business. ‘Come in with me,’ she urges the simple. To those who lack good judgment, she says, ‘Stolen water is refreshing; food eaten in secret tastes the best.’ But little do they know that the dead are there. Her guests are in the depths of the grave” (9:13-18).

Augustine (354-439)

Confessions

18 - I beseech You, my God, I would gladly know, if it be Your will, to what end my baptism was then deferred? Was it for my good that the reins were slackened, as it were, upon me for me to sin? Or were they not slackened? If not, whence comes it that it is still dinned into our ears on all sides, "Let him alone, let him act as he likes, for he is not yet baptized"? But as regards bodily health, no one exclaims, "Let him be more seriously wounded, for he is not yet cured!" How much better, then, had it been for me to have been cured at once; and then, by my own and my friends' diligence, my soul's restored health had been kept safe in Your keeping, who gavest it! Better, in truth. But how numerous and great waves of temptation appeared to hang over me after my childhood! These were foreseen by my mother; and she preferred that the unformed clay should be exposed to them rather than the image itself.

Irony of how NOT following the pattern might be good – not pushing it.

Daily Old Testament and Early Christian Writings: 1 Samuel 10, Proverbs 6-7 and Augustine's Confessions 17

1 Samuel 10 – Samuel anoints Saul, and then tells him that as a sign to him that he has been anointed, he will meet two men by Rachel’s tomb and they will tell his that the donkeys he was looking for have been found by his father—that his father is now more worried about him than about them.  And then he will meet three men going to Bethel with sacrifices (3 kids, 3 loaves and a skin of wine).  They will give two of the loaves; and after that he will meet a band of prophets in a prophetic frenzy and that he will be overtaken by the frenzy himself.  When all these things happen, he is to do what seems fit to do, for whatever it is, it will be well since God is with him (10:7). He should wait for Samuel at Gilgal for seven days (10:8).

As a result of the anointing “God gave him [Saul] another heart, . . .” (10:9). When the people who know him see him in the prophetic frenzy, they wonder, “What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” (10:11) This rings a little like the reaction the gospels tell of those who know Jesus when they see him taking on the role of healer and teacher.  See Mark 6:1-6. When Saul’s uncle asks about his trip, he tells him everything, but not about the matter of the anointing.

Samuel summons “the people” to Mizpah where he repeats the narrative, and then goes back to the line he first took on the kingship: “But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses; and you have said, ‘No! but set a king over us” (10:19).  And he calls the clans up one by one.  The clan of Benjamin is selected by lot, and then the family of the Matrites, and finally Saul.  But he is not there—he is hiding amidst the baggage.  They bring him out and the people all proclaim him king.  Samuel tells the people what the rights and duties of kings are; he writes it all in a book and lays it up “before the Lord” (10:25). So, there might have been a written source for the books we read here.  These were likely written down in this form much later—after the division of the kingdom but before the exile.  900 is the earliest date suggested for the books in their present form according to Eerdman’s Handbook. The Jerusalem Bible seems to suggest a time nearer to the exile—since anti-monarchy sentiments were inserted in the redaction or writing of the final text. The psalms were also known to the writer. Then he sends the people home.  There is some division in the community over him.  Some warriors follow him, but others do not.  They doubt his ability to save them, and they offer him no gift.  He does nothing.

        

Then the story introduces an enemy—Nahash, an Ammonite king who oppresses the Gadites and Reubenites by gouging out their right eyes (10:27). 7,000 had escaped him though.

Proverbs

Proverbs 6 – If you go “surety” for your neighbor or guarantee the bond of a stranger, you put yourself in the power of others. You must break free. “Save yourself like a gazelle escaping from a hunter, like a bird fleeing from a net” (6:5).

Ants do not work for others. They work hard all summer but gather in their supplies at harvest time. If you are not like the ants but are idle, poverty will be at your elbow.

Seven things are hateful to God: haughtiness, lying, hands that shed innocent blood, hearts that hatch evil plots, feet that hurry to do evil, false witnesses and men who sow dissension among brothers (6:16-19).

Keep your father’s values, your mother’s lessons. “Correction and discipline are the way to life” (6:23). Stay away from the “alien woman” (adulterous).  People who steal to fill their stomachs must be punished, but they are not unforgiveable. The adulterer, though, “has no sense; act like him, and court your own destruction” (6:31).

Proverbs 7 – “Keep my teaching as the apple of your eye” (7:2). The adulteress looks for ways to seduce you, but you must not give in. She “has done so many to death, and the strongest have all been her victims. Her house is the road to the grave. Her bedroom is the den of death” (7:26-27).

Augustine (354-439)

Confessions

17 - Even as a boy I had heard of eternal life promised to us through the humility of the Lord our God condescending to our pride, and I was signed with the sign of the cross, and was seasoned with His salt even from the womb of my mother, who greatly trusted in You. You saw, O Lord, how at one time, while yet a boy, being suddenly seized with pains in the stomach, and being at the point of death— You saw, O my God, for even then You were my keeper, with what emotion of mind and with what faith I solicited from the piety of my mother, and of Your Church, the mother of us all, the baptism of Your Christ, my Lord and my God. On which, the mother of my flesh being much troubled—since she, with a heart pure in Your faith, travailed in birth Galatians 4:19 more lovingly for my eternal salvation—would, had I not quickly recovered, have without delay provided for my initiation and washing by Your life-giving sacraments, confessing You, O Lord Jesus, for the remission of sins. So my cleansing was deferred, as if I must needs, should I live, be further polluted; because, indeed, the guilt contracted by sin would, after baptism, be greater and more perilous. Thus I at that time believed with my mother and the whole house, except my father; yet he did not overcome the influence of my mother's piety in me so as to prevent my believing in Christ, as he had not yet believed in Him. For she was desirous that You, O my God, should be my Father rather than he; and in this You aided her to overcome her husband, to whom, though the better of the two, she yielded obedience, because in this she yielded obedience to You, who so commands.

There is a certain sweetness in hearing this famous thinker acknowledge the great importance of his mother in a world and culture that simply did not see the equality of women to men. But the passage here is focused on the mystery of how Augustine was drawn to Christ and the Church. In my own life, I supposed my grandmother – my mother’s mother – was the one praying for my conversion. She was the one who taught me to pray each night. She was the one who took me to church. But I have no memory of her ever saying a word to me about her faith. She just surrounded herself with little things that spoke silently to me about something that was really beyond words – the rosary she had (but never said with me), the prayer book she had worn down (but never read a word of to me), the little picture of St. Therese a l’Enfant Jesus [Therese de Lisieux] with a red thread taken from the floor of the room in which she died in 1897. It seems a tiny miracle to me that I still have this little item from the room I inhabited with my grandmother 60 years ago, especially since I never really cared about it. I never cared about relics – I still don’t. Why do I even have it still in my possession? Somehow the faith she had spilled into me silently. I lost Frankie Avalon’s autograph; I have no idea where my most valued possessions of that time period went to, but I still have this small, framed relic.

I wasn’t baptized – just as Augustine was not – as a child. My mother and father would not have approved of that; they were both atheists. And I am glad I was not as was he. It permitted me to grow and think and come to know God in my own way.

Daily Old Testament and Early Christian Writings: 1 Samuel 9, Proverbs 4-5 and Augustine's Confessions 16

1 Samuel 9 – We are introduced to Saul’s family, a wealthy Benjaminite family from Gibeah (just north of Jerusalem), and to Saul, “the most handsome man in Israel” (9:2) and tall—“head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the land” (9:2).

Kish, Saul’s father, sends Saul after some stray donkeys, and Saul searches everywhere for them.  Just when he is getting ready to give up, the boy who is with him suggests they consult Samuel, a man reputed to be a man of God.  Saul wonders what they will give him to help them out, but the boy has some silver.  They think of Samuel as a “seer” and the scripture tells us this was the word for prophet earlier in their history.  They meet some girls at a well (9:11) and ask them.  They follow instructions and go looking for him. 

Meanwhile Samuel the day before had some opening about how he would identify the man whom he is to anoint king.  Strangely, here, in verse 16, we hear God put the anointing of the king in much more positive terms.  The king—far from being a parasite and affront to God—is now described as the one who “shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have seen the suffering of my people, because their outcry has come to me.”

Here we see the recasting of the king’s request as something desired by God, indeed part of his plan.  The king will be his saving agent, as Moses was.  The description is put in Mosaic terms. The Jerusalem Bible note on page 353 adds that the pro-monarchy version we read here is the more ancient of the two lines of text we encounter in Samuel. The movement against the monarchy arose after the dissolution and corruption of it during the post-Solomon period—a dissolution that finally ended in the destruction of both branches and the period of exile. This would put composition of this text—or its final redaction—into the period of the 6^th c. BC, during the exile. This last is my guess.

Saul finds Samuel, and Samuel tells him to eat with him and then return in the morning, when he will tell him all that is on his mind (9:19) He also mentions the donkeys out of the blue—they are found.  Saul talks of himself as “from the least of the tribes of Israel, . . .the humblest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin” (9:21). Samuel tells Saul to send his companion on and to stay so “that I may make known to you the word of God” (9:27).

Proverbs

Proverbs 4 – “My children, listen when your father corrects you. Pay attention and learn good judgment” (4:1).

“The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. They have no idea what they are stumbling over” (4:18-19).

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life . . . Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you” (4:25).

The wisdom writer here was once a son whose father tried to tell him these same things. It is the tradition for fathers to teach their sons the ultimate value of Wisdom. Wisdom will multiply the years we have, will keep us from stumbling and give us a “glorious diadem” in the end (4:9). Do not follow the path of the wicked.

Proverbs 5 – He warns his son against “noticing” the loose-living woman whose “steps lead down to Sheol” (5:5). Go nowhere near her door or all will be lost. “Find joy with the wife you married in your youth” (5:18).

Love wisdom and instruction, for life flows from that source. And do not be seduced into adultery – here sexual – but also anything that calls you into darkness.

Augustine (354-439)

Confessions

16 - And yet I erred, O Lord God, the Creator and Disposer of all things in Nature — but of sin the Disposer only—I erred, O Lord my God, in doing contrary to the wishes of my parents and of those masters; for this learning which they (no matter for what motive) wished me to acquire, I might have put to good account afterwards. For I disobeyed them not because I had chosen a better way, but from a fondness for play, loving the honor of victory in the matches, and to have my ears tickled with lying fables, in order that they might itch the more furiously— the same curiosity beaming more and more in my eyes for the shows and sports of my elders. Yet those who give these entertainments are held in such high repute, that almost all desire the same for their children, whom they are still willing should be beaten, if so be these same games keep them from the studies by which they desire them to arrive at being the givers of them. Look down upon these things, O Lord, with compassion, and deliver us who now call upon You; deliver those also who do not call upon You, that they may call upon You, and that You may deliver them.

But Augustine knows that he was no better as a child in discerning what was really important. At bottom, he knows that all of us need “deliverance” – a reorientation in love to that which is important, that which is “of the Lord.”

Interesting how similar (by chance), the focus of Proverbs is to the focus of Augustine’s Confessions. Augustine is more critical of the teachings of wise men, or at least he does not assume that the teaching of elders is always the Wisdom God wants us to learn. The writer of Proverbs had more faith in the wisdom of the community’s elders.

Daily Old Testament and Early Christian Writings: 1 Samuel 7-8, Proverbs 2-3 and Augustine's Confessions 15

1 Samuel 7 – The people take the ark to Kiriath-jearim [thought by many to be today’s Abu Ghosh, 10 miles west of Jerusalem], to the house of Abinadab on the hill. His son Eleazar was given charge of it.  It remains there for 20 years. 

There is a period of revival during this time.  “Israel put away the Baals and the Astartes, and they served the Lord only” (7:4). Samuel called the people together at Mizpah to do penance and fast.  When the Philistines hear of this, they come against them there.  Samuel makes a sacrifice to the Lord and the Philistines are routed (7:10-11).

The “hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel” (7:13). And there was peace with the Amorites as well.  Samuel was judge all his life.  He went on circuit—from Bethel, Gilgal, Mizpah and then home to Ramah.

1 Samuel 8 – When Samuel gets old, his sons rule—Joel and Abijah—but they “turned aside after gain; they took bribes and perverted justice”(8:3). 

The elders come to him and beg him for a king “to govern us, like other nations” (8:5). Gideon refused a request to make himself king in Judges 8:22 on the grounds that it would be unfaithful to YHWH, but the Jerusalem Bible points out that the offer pertained only to his clan and not to the whole of Israel.

When Samuel asks the Lord what he should do, the Lord replies sadly: “’Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.  Just as they have done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are going to you. Now then, listen to their voice; only—solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them’” (8:7-9). So Samuel does—he tells them it is the way of kings to take away peoples’ sons and make them military troops and servants; to take away their daughters and make them cooks and bakers.  He will take the best of their lands and tax their harvests.  He shall, in effect, return them to a condition of slavery.

But the people “refuse to listen to the voice of Samuel” (8:19).  They want to be like other nations.  And the Lord acquiesces to their wishes (8:22).

Proverbs

Proverbs 2 – “My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. . . . Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures. Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord and you will gain knowledge of God” (2:1-5)

The Lord “is a shield to those who walk with integrity” (2:7).

Evil people “take pleasure in doing wrong, and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil” (2:14). God will plant the people who are good in His land, but the wicked will be uprooted.

Proverbs 3 – Beautiful words: “My son, do not forget my teaching, Let your heart keep my principles, For these will give you lengthier days,longer years of life, and greater happiness. Let kindliness and loyalty never leave you: tie them round your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart (3:1-3).

He tells his son to trust in God, not in his own view of things. And do not “scorn correction” from God (3:11). He corrects those he loves.

“Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly. By wisdom the Lord founded the earth; by understanding he created the heavens” (3:18-19).

“Do not refuse a kindness to anyone who begs it, if it is in your power to perform it (3:27). Do not pick “groundless quarrel[s]”. God blesses the home of the virtuous.

Augustine (354-439)

Confessions

15 - Is there any one, Lord, with so high a spirit, cleaving to You with so strong an affection— for even a kind of obtuseness may do that much— but is there, I say, any one who, by cleaving devoutly to You, is endowed with so great a courage that he can esteem lightly those racks and hooks, and varied tortures of the same sort, against which, throughout the whole world, men supplicate You with great fear, deriding those who most bitterly fear them, just as our parents derided the torments with which our masters punished us when we were boys? For we were no less afraid of our pains, nor did we pray less to You to avoid them; and yet we sinned, in writing, or reading, or reflecting upon our lessons less than was required of us. For we wanted not, O Lord, memory or capacity, of which, by Your will, we possessed enough for our age—but we delighted only in play; and we were punished for this by those who were doing the same things themselves. But the idleness of our elders they call business, while boys who do the like are punished by those same elders, and yet neither boys nor men find any pity. For will any one of good sense approve of my being whipped because, as a boy, I played ball, and so was hindered from learning quickly those lessons by means of which, as a man, I should play more unbecomingly? And did he by whom I was beaten do other than this, who, when he was overcome in any little controversy with a co-tutor, was more tormented by anger and envy than I when beaten by a playfellow in a match at ball?

It is hard for me to relate to Augustine’s thoughts here, for as a child I was never beaten, never abused or neglected and the learning I was asked to do was my great pleasure and joy. Were all of the adults given authority over me loving and good? No, but by seeing their faults and experiencing their imperfections, I learned that there were choices to be made out there, models to follow and examples to avoid.

What I think he is saying is that it is not only the boys fixed on playing ball who are not tending to vital matters, the men who punish them for not attending to things they deem important – learning the arts and skills that will make them successful adults – are also obsessed with things that are ultimately unimportant: worldly success, money, power and influence. I don’t think teachers today are motivated by the same worldly values, but call me naïve. Many have. I spent most of my working life as a teacher, and the teachers I worked with were not “worldly” in their focus. I think that is what made it such a wonderful vocation. This is not to say that they always were absent a desire for “success” and “status” as teachers; I guess that was and remains a temptation for anyone.

Daily Old Testament and Early Christian Writings: 1 Samuel 5-6, Proverbs 1 and Augustine's Confessions 14

So, I will resume where I took off last June, with 1 Samuel and Augustine. I will also be adding in another Old Testament reading, so that I am keeping up with the annual schedule. We'll be caught up in a month and then I'll go back to just one OT reading each day.

1 Samuel 5 – The ark is brought to Ashdod (south of Aphek, near the coast) and placed in a shrine to the god Dagon. The presence of the ark causes problems for the idol - it keeps falling on its face and finally comes apart - and the people suffer tumors.  The people demand removal of the ark; it is moved to Gath, but there too “the hand of the Lord was against the city” (5:9). It is moved again, this time to Ekron with the same result. The people want it returned to “its own place, that it may not kill us and our people” (5:11).

1 Samuel 6 – The Philistines confer and decide to return it accompanied with a “guilt offering” of “five gold tumors and five gold mice” (both things that had plagued the five towns and were believed to have come upon them because they had the ark—the towns were Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, Gaza and Ekron). They will place these things in a cart, harness two milch cows to it and let them go.  If it goes to Beth-shemesh, they will take that as a sign that the harm they suffered was due to the ark; if not then to chance.  Needless to say, the cows go “straight in the direction of Beth-shemesh.” [this despite the fact that were separated from their calves] (6:12).

When the people see it coming, they rejoiced. “A large stone was there [in a field near the town]; so they split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord” (6:14).

For some reason, the descendants of Jeconiah do not rejoice with the people in greeting the ark, so seventy of them are killed (6:19). A voice of complaint is heard about the harshness of this God. “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? To whom shall he go so that we may be rid of him?” (20) They are referring to the ark, but the ark and God represent the same presence, a presence that at times can be a great burden—a cross even-- as the people of Beth-shemesh can attest.

Proverbs

Introduction: Called by Jerusalem Bible editors the “most representative work of Israelite wisdom literature,” Proverbs is made up of two collections: 10-22:16 (the Proverbs of Solomon) and 25-29 (Proverbs of Solomon transcribed by the men of Hezekiah). Chapters 1-9 is a long introduction.

According to 1 Kings 5:12, Solomon wrote about 3000 proverbs. The second collection was already ancient when the “men of Hezekiah” collected them around 700 BC. There are a few smaller sections too – saying of Agur and Lemuel (two Arabian sages – possibly fictitious but included as a demonstration of the universality of “wisdom”). The nucleus of the book (10-29) is dated to the pre-exilic period. The prologue is later – when the whole book was put together.

Proverbs 1 – The purpose of these proverbs of Solomon are “for learning what wisdom and discipline are, for understanding words of deep meaning, for acquiring an enlightened attitude of mind – virtue, justice and fair-dealing” (1:2-3).

“Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline” (1:7).

When your father and mother correct you, do not ignore them. If “sinners entice you, turn your back on them” (1:10). They are just trying to get all that you have. “If a bird sees a trap being set, it knows to stay away” (1:17).

“Wisdom shouts in the streets. She cries out in the public square” (1:20). Listen to her counsel. She will share her heart with you and make you wise. If you ignore the advice of Wisdom and reject her correction, she “will laugh when you are in trouble, [she] will mock you when disaster overtakes you” (1:26).

If you will not be instructed by Wisdom, you “must eat the bitter fruit of living [your] own way” (1:31).

Augustine (354-439)

Confessions

14 - O my God! What miseries and mockeries did I then experience, when obedience to my teachers was set before me as proper to my boyhood, that I might flourish in this world, and distinguish myself in the science of speech, which should get me honor among men, and deceitful riches! After that I was put to school to get learning, of which I (worthless as I was) knew not what use there was; and yet, if slow to learn, I was flogged! For this was deemed praiseworthy by our forefathers; and many before us, passing the same course, had appointed beforehand for us these troublesome ways by which we were compelled to pass, multiplying labor and sorrow upon the sons of Adam. But we found, O Lord, men praying to You, and we learned from them to conceive of You, according to our ability, to be some Great One, who was able (though not visible to our senses) to hear and help us. For as a boy I began to pray to You, my "help" and my "refuge," and in invoking You broke the bands of my tongue, and entreated You though little, with no little earnestness, that I might not be beaten at school. And when You hearded me not, giving me not over to folly thereby, my elders, yea, and my own parents too, who wished me no ill, laughed at my stripes, my then great and grievous ill.

The highlighted words of Augustine are the words that speak to me from this section. We sometimes forget that the people of the past we learn about in history classes and in pursing any path of learning were just like us. They learned as we learned; they saw that their knowledge of or inquiry into religious ideas was inspired by the practices of others, passing down the faith from ages past. And our desire to learn about and relate to this “Great One, who was able (though not visible to our senses) to hear and help us” is something that starts very early. The help we can receive from our elders, teachers and friends is not sufficient. We reach out into the abyss for that support and miraculously it is from that invisible presence that we do receive the love and support we need to thrive.