Getting Biblical in Daily Life
Long Live the Revolution
We dare you to turn on the news and not read or watch something about a revolution. They seem to be all the rage in the last couple of years: Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Ukraine, you name it.
Why do you think that is? Did we find a new way that works well or is the world just sick of their governments?
Whatever the reasons may be, revolutions are nothing new. People have revolted against their leaders since before humans could say the word "no." Heck, America was founded by a revolution. Which worked out pretty well, if we may say so.
Although David in 1 Samuel doesn't revolt against Saul in the violent or radical ways that we're seeing on the news today, there is still an underlying current of rebellion through his actions. Willingly defying the king on multiple occasions, gathering followers to his cause and playing double agent to the enemy? These are the actions of a revolutionary.
Maybe David used to play Rebel Alliance vs. Galactic Empire while he was shepherding the flocks?
Hocus Pocus or Hocus Bogus?
Back during 1 Samuel, Saul has all the witches and wizards either exiled or put to death. It's more than a little harsh, right? It's like he learned nothing from The Crucible. Oh wait, we guess he'd have to wait a few thousand years to get that one on his bookshelf.
In any case, it's pretty ironic for Saul that he winds up having to seek out a witch for help towards the end of his life. We'd like to say that he came around on the whole persecuting people for their beliefs thing, but really this was just a case of desperate times call for desperate measures.
And while we modern folk may think we've done away with the whole witchcraft debate, there are still many corners of the world where witchcraft isn't exactly accepted. In fact, today, the debate over whether to accept Wicca as a religion is an ongoing struggle. Some believe Wicca is witchcraft whereas others believe that Wiccans are worshippers of nature. We're not here to tell you to pick a side, but if you're interested in learning more, you can read about them here.
War
War's as old as civilization itself, and though we hate to say it, it's not going anywhere anytime soon. 1 Samuel is no exception—wars and battles pepper every page.
The enemy? The Philistines, who threaten the Israelites at every turn. And the battles waged in these pages are more than just skirmishes over land (although they're that, too). Since, according to believers, the Israelites are the chosen people, these battles are really about defending God and his glory against any and all enemies. Every win is a win for their God, which only makes the battles more intense.
If that sounds at all familiar, well it is. Many of the wars and battles fought all over the world today, but especially in the Middle East, are being waged for this very same reason. The inter-religious strife in Iraq, the frequent outbreaks of violence in Israel, are conflicts rooted in religious belief. And just as war is as old as civilization itself, belief is one of the oldest reasons for fighting one.
There are numerous wars and battles throughout the course of 2 Samuel—especially civil war, when Ishbaal, Absalom and Sheba fight their respective wars against David. This is supposed to have happened three millennia ago, yet civil war persists in the region—the present conflict in Syria being the clearest example, but also the continuing inter-religious strife in Iraq.