Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem(4/20/15)[Prayer]

The Holy Scriptures | 4/20/15 | left that other site

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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Character Studies From The Bible

Samuel

New International Version (NIV)

15 Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. 2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. 3 Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy[a] all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

4 So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim—two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand from Judah. 5 Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine. 6 Then he said to the Kenites, “Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.

7 Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt. 8 He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. 9 But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves[b] and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.

10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the Lord all that night.

12 Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.” 13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.”

14 But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”

15 Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”

16 “Enough!” Samuel said to Saul. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”

“Tell me,” Saul replied.

17 Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18 And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.’ 19 Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?”

20 “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”

22 But Samuel replied:

“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
    as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
    and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
    and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
    he has rejected you as king.”

24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them. 25 Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord.”

26 But Samuel said to him, “I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!”

27 As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you. 29 He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.”

30 Saul replied, “I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

32 Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.”

Agag came to him in chains.[c] And he thought, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”

33 But Samuel said,

“As your sword has made women childless,

    so will your mother be childless among women.”

And Samuel put Agag to death before the Lord at Gilgal.

34 Then Samuel left for Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. 35 Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

Footnotes:

a. 1 Samuel 15:3 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verses 8, 9, 15, 18, 20 and 21.
b. 1 Samuel 15:9 Or the grown bulls; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
c. 1 Samuel 15:32 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.

New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

(1 Samuel 15)

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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Oh LORD, Our God
Blessed Be Your Holy Name!
How Wonderful You Are,
Holy, Righteous and Just,
Yet Abounding in mercy and Love.
Teach us discernment, Oh LORD,
And righteous good judgement,
That we will not fall prey to Deceivers,
Nor be cynical against sincere seekers of Truth.

We Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem,
According to Your Will and Promise.
We Pray For the People and Leaders of Israel,
that They Will Look to You for the Protection
and Prosperity of their Nation.
We Also Pray For Revival in our own Beloved USA.


We Pray For The Swift and Sure Coming of Messiah,
Blessed Be He,
To Establish His Kingdom,
and Make All Things Right.


Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

This harsh Chapter from the life of Samuel shows us a number of things about his character.

1. Even though Saul is the King, he does not have a direct line of communication with God. He still depends upon Samuel for both Spiritual and Temporal direction, including the order to destroy the Amalekites. Samuel is the actual leader of Israel.

2. Samuel hears directly from the Lord about Saul's disobedience, and he becomes very angry, as if it is a personal affront. He does, however, deal with his anger in an appropriate way, through prayer!

3. Samuel is not above using sarcasm when talking to the King. He knows that he answers to a "Higher Authority".

4. Although it pains him to do so, Samuel gives a very hard message to Saul. We can just imagine the scene as Saul begs to be reinstated in God's Good Graces, and tears Samuel's cloak in desperation.

5. The last line says it all. Samuel must have loved Saul as a friend and respected him as a King, but The Word of God came first. Nevertheless, Samuel mourned the loss of his friendship with Saul, and the direction he had to take to anoint a new king.

Sometimes we have to take a stand for God's Word, even if it means the loss of a friend, the end of a partnership, or even great political or financial loss. Samuel did not know that this pivotal chapter in his life would lead to the kingship of David, and eventually the Messiah. Nor did he know that one of the spared Agagites would be a distant ancestor of a great enemy of the Jews, a man named Haman.

Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.


Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[Alamo-Girl]

I join in prayer for Israel, Jerusalem and all God’s beloved.

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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, Alamo-Girl, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.


Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[etabeta]

Prayers always.

Blessings, etabeta

[NEWwoman]

Connection to Esther is interesting. Hard lesson today, but a good one.

Joining in prayer, left that other site, for Israel, our beloved America, and all God’s people.

[Hiskid]

Amen.

[ConorMacNessa]

PRAYERS ASCENDING ON HIGH FOR
THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM!
And for the Preservation of the Valiant
Israeli Nation!

"Saul Reproved By Samuel For Not Obeying
The Commandments Of The Lord"
John Singleton Copley (1798)

_

AMUEL also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.

Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.

And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.

And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.

And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.

And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.

But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying,

It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.

And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.

And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.

And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?

And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.

Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.

And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?

And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.

Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?

And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.

And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.

And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.

And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.

And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.

And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.

Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God.

So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD.

Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.

And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.

Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.

And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.

_____________________________________ 1 Samuel 15:1-35 (KJV)

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We pray in particular on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Libya and throughout the Mideast. The members of the oldest of our Christian Communities, some of which date from the days of the Apostles, suffer under cruel, merciless and unrelenting persecution. They are Orthodox and Catholic, Protestant and Evangelical, Coptic, Pentecostal, and Baptist. To the persecutors, we are all "Nazarenes."

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Thank You, Etabeta, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.


Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

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Thank You, NEWwoman, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.


Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, Hiskid, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.


Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, ConorMacNessa, For Your Prayers and Wonderful Graphics For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.


Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[Jeanbl]

In prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem, for our families and friends, for our persecuted, for our nations.

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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, Jeanbl, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.


Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS