Category: Samuel

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Little Man – 1 Samuel 16:1-13 [God’s Little Deconstruction Book]

Welcome to the second installment of our new interstitial study, God’s Little Deconstruction Book. The verse from God’s Little Instruction Book for today is 1 Samuel 16:7b, “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” It’s part of a larger story that you’re likely familiar with, in which God, having rejected Saul as Israel’s king, leads Samuel to look for a new king to anoint from among Jesse the Bethlehemite’s sons. So as not to draw Saul’s ire, Samuel has a cover story: he comes together with Jesse and his sons to sacrifice a cow to God. And by the end of the tale, of course, Samuel has anointed the youngest son, David.

Written by Jackson Ferrell

A Life Well Lived – 2 Samuel 22 [Totally Hip Gratitude]

Now it’s time for another installment of Totally Hip Gratitude, our questionably-named study on thankfulness in the Bible. Today we’re looking at the first time in the Bible that someone explicitly makes a verbal statement of thanks to God. It’s King David, and you’ll find it in 2 Samuel 22.

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Thanks or No Thanks – 1 Samuel 1-2 [Totally Hip Gratitude]

Welcome back to another installment of Totally Hip Gratitude, the series on thankfulness whose name the more I think about it seems increasingly stupid. I don’t think it lands that it’s a play on the 90s’ obsession with edginess and attitude, juxtaposing it with the humility of sincere appreciation. But there’s no going back now! And in today’s post, we’re going to look at a passage that the NASB labels a song of thanksgiving, even though it doesn’t use the word “thank.”

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Psalm 51, Day 2 – Minty Fresh to Death

Here’s David’s psalm of penitence again. I forgot to mention something yesterday, though. As I’m typing up these posts, I often stream Switchfoot’s album Where the Light Shines Through, front to back. As I was listing off the various “clean-related” words that David uses, I fired up the album, and the very first track came on: “Holy Water.” The song is as much about sanctification, being set apart for a purpose and receiving anointing with the “holy water” of the Holy Spirit, as it is about cleansing from sin. But with opening lines like “Wash the dust off dirty wheels, / Give me the waters that could help me heal,” I couldn’t help but be struck by the parallels. The confluence was in fact so striking that I forgot to mention it, whoops.

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Psalm 51, Day 1 – Clean to Death

Today we flip back to the Triad study with a new theme and a new passage for the week. We’re looking at Psalm 51, which the authors of the study chose to illustrate God’s grace as it leads us to repentance, and which David wrote in response to his sin of adultery with Bathsheba. It’s a plea for cleansing and renewal, a desire to be set right.

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Psalm 140 – Deliver Us from Evil

I’ve never been in a fistfight. One time I got into a tussle with my brother and shoved him into a pine bush (which I almost immediately regretted), but I’ve never thrown a real, honest-to-goodness, let’s-hurt-someone punch. David, on the other hand, has been in battles. He’s used a sling to kill lions and bears and a huge Philistine warrior; he’s picked up a sword and fought people who want to kill him. Dude wasn’t just a king and a musician, he was also a soldier. So, you know, psalms like Psalm 140 are a little foreign to me.