Day 1 (Monday)
1 Kingdoms 13:1-22 (Saul’s Unlawful Sacrifice)
Last time, we saw Samuel give his final address to the people of Israel, and show them how they had sinned against God in demanding a king. Nonetheless, he promised them that, if they walked in repentance and faithfulness, God will still bless them, and the king they had demanded. But he makes clear to them that, if they do not walk in faithfulness and repentance, God will sweep them away, both them and the king they have chosen. So this time, we will see what kind of king Saul will be.
Saul’s Unlawful Sacrifice
13 Saul was thirty years old when he began to reign; and he reigned forty years over Israel.
2 Saul chose three thousand out of Israel; two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin; the rest of the people he sent home to their tents. 3 Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba; and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” 4 When all Israel heard that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become odious to the Philistines, the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal.
5 The Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude; they came up and encamped at Michmash, to the east of Beth-aven. 6 When the Israelites saw that they were in distress (for the troops were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns. 7 Some Hebrews crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
8 He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people began to slip away from Saul. 9 So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the offerings of well-being.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived; and Saul went out to meet him and salute him. 11 Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul replied, “When I saw that the people were slipping away from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines were mustering at Michmash, 12 I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down upon me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of the Lord’; so I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.”
13 Samuel said to Saul, “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, 14 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.” 15 And Samuel left and went on his way from Gilgal. The rest of the people followed Saul to join the army; they went up from Gilgal toward Gibeah of Benjamin.
Preparations for Battle
Saul counted the people who were present with him, about six hundred men. 16 Saul, his son Jonathan, and the people who were present with them stayed in Geba of Benjamin; but the Philistines encamped at Michmash. 17 And raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies; one company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual, 18 another company turned toward Beth-horon, and another company turned toward the mountain that looks down upon the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.
19 Now there was no smith to be found throughout all the land of Israel; for the Philistines said, “The Hebrews must not make swords or spears for themselves”; 20 so all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen their plowshares, mattocks, axes, or sickles; 21 The charge was two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and one-third of a shekel for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads. 22 So on the day of the battle neither sword nor spear was to be found in the possession of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan; but Saul and his son Jonathan had them.
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should point out that what Saul does here is his first and great sin, and it shows clearly what his character is. He is not trusting God for the victory, but is trusting in his own ability to gather the people to himself, by threats or by inspiration; when Samuel is running late, which gives him a chance to obey, and to trust, and to wait upon the Lord, he instead decides that the people are going to get impatient and leave, and that will mean defeat, so he takes upon himself to offer the sacrifice. This is not just a sign of impatience and a lack of trust in the Lord; it is a direct offense against the order that the Lord has established. Kings are not to make sacrifice. That is reserved for the priests. In the pagan nations surrounding Israel, the king is also a priest, and combines that religious role with the military role of a king. But it is not so for God’s people; only God Himself is both priest and king, and He has delegated limited authority to the priests and to the kings. For Saul to claim this is for him to act precisely as the people of Israel had said, like a king of the nations around them. But this is an act of faithlessness to God, and because of this, almost before his rule has begun, Saul has rejected God…and therefore God has rejected him.)
2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here?
3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us?
4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )
5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?
Day 2 (Wednesday)
Epistle of St. Clement to the Corinthians (translated by Roberts-Donaldson)
Last time, we saw St. Clement quote the majority of Psalm 50, the great prayer of repentance of David the King, and of the Church throughout the ages, as a prelude to a discussion of the creative power of the Lord, Who holds all things together in harmony and peace. The intent seems to have been to exhort repentance as the right manner in which to live in obedience to the Lord, at peace with one another and with the entire creation. This time, Clement will warn again against sedition, division, and pride, as the destruction of that peace for which we are created, and to which we are called.
Letter of Clement to the Corinthians: Chapters 21-23
CHAPTER 21 — LET US OBEY GOD, AND NOT THE AUTHORS OF SEDITION.
Take heed, beloved, lest His many kindnesses lead to the condemnation of us all. [For thus it must be] unless we walk worthy of Him, and with one mind do those things which are good and well-pleasing in His sight. For [the Scripture] says in a certain place, "The Spirit of the Lord is a candle searching the secret parts of the belly." Let us reflect how near He is, and that none of the thoughts or reasonings in which we engage are hid from Him. It is right, therefore, that we should not leave the post which His will has assigned us. Let us rather offend those men who are foolish, and inconsiderate, and lifted up, and who glory in the pride of their speech, than [offend] God.
Let us reverence the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood was given for us; let us esteem those who have the rule over us; let us honour the aged among us; let us train up the young men in the fear of God; let us direct our wives to that which is good. Let them exhibit the lovely habit of purity [in all their conduct]; let them show forth the sincere disposition of meekness; let them make manifest the command which they have of their tongue, by their manner of speaking; let them display their love, not by preferring one to another, but by showing equal affection to all that piously fear God.
Let your children be partakers of true Christian training; let them learn of how great avail humility is with God — how much the spirit of pure affection can prevail with Him — how excellent and great His fear is, and how it saves all those who walk in it with a pure mind. For He is a Searcher of the thoughts and desires [of the heart]: His breath is in us; and when He pleases, He will take it away.
CHAPTER 22 — THESE EXHORTATIONS ARE CONFIRMED BY THE CHRISTIAN FAITH, WHICH PROCLAIMS THE MISERY OF SINFUL CONDUCT.
Now the faith which is in Christ confirms all these [admonitions]. For He Himself by the Holy Ghost thus addresses us: "Come, you children, listen to Me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is he that desires life, and loves to see good days? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are [open] to their prayers. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cried, and the Lord heard him, and delivered him out of all his troubles." "Many are the stripes [appointed for] the wicked; but mercy shall compass those about who hope in the Lord."
CHAPTER 23 — BE HUMBLE, AND BELIEVE THAT CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN.
The all-merciful and beneficent Father has bowels [of compassion] towards those who fear Him, and kindly and lovingly bestows His favours upon those who come to Him with a simple mind. So let us not be double-minded; neither let our soul be lifted up on account of His exceedingly great and glorious gifts. Far from us be that which is written, "Wretched are they who are of a double mind, and of a doubting heart; who say, These things we have heard even in the times of our fathers; but, behold, we have grown old, and none of them has happened to us."
You foolish ones! compare yourselves to a tree: take [for instance] the vine. First of all, it sheds its leaves, then it buds, next it puts forth leaves, and then it flowers; after that comes the sour grape, and then follows the ripened fruit. You perceive how in a little time the fruit of a tree comes to maturity. Of a truth, soon and suddenly shall His will be accomplished, as the Scripture also bears witness, saying, "Speedily will He come, and will not tarry;" and, "The Lord shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Holy One, for whom you look."
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should point out that in all this, St. Clement is describing division and pride as a real and harmful evil. It’s important that we note that the remedy for these evils is not simply to cease from participating in division and pride, to return to some theoretical neutral state, but rather actively to turn TOWARD the Lord in repentance, humility, faithfulness, righteousness, and the holiness to which we are called. As it turns out, there IS no neutral space; if we are holding fast to the Lord in all things, we are, perhaps unknowingly, slouching toward evil.)
2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here?
3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us?
4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )
5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?
Day 3 (Friday)
Matthew 15:29-39; 16:1-12 (Jesus Cures Many People; Feeding the 4000, Demand for a Sign, Yeast of Pharisees & Sadducees)
Last time we saw the Lord teaching the people about purity and corruption in the eyes of God, and how our souls are not tainted by sin by eating with unwashed hands, but rather by the words and actions that come OUT of the heart and mouth. He then encountered the Canaanite woman who sought for Him to heal her daughter; when He told her that it was not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs, she accepted that in humility, but still asked for mercy, saying that even the dogs ate the crumbs that fell from the table, and she simply was asking for that. In her, we see a beautiful example of what humility truly looks like; not turning away from God because we believe we are unworthy, but rather turning TOWARD Him in our unworthiness and brokenness, and seeking the wholeness and peace that come only from Him. This time, we will see the Lord go again out into the wilderness, up a mountain, where He will once again feed a large crowd. We saw Him feed 5,000 in chapter 14; here again, in chapter 15, He will feed 4,000.
Jesus Cures Many People
29 After Jesus had left that place, he passed along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up the mountain, where he sat down. 30 Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them, 31 so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
Feeding the Four Thousand
32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” 33 The disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?” 34 Jesus asked them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”
35 Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 38 Those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 After sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.
The Demand for a Sign
16 The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees
5 When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 Jesus said to them, “Watch out, and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 They said to one another, “It is because we have brought no bread.” 8 And becoming aware of it, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why are you talking about having no bread? 9 Do you still not perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 11 How could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” 12 Then they understood that he had not told them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should point out that the Pharisees and Sadducees have just come and demanded that Jesus show them a sign to prove that He has authority to preach, immediately after He has, not once, but twice, feed a great crowd only with the “sack lunch” of His disciples. This is why He berates them for understanding the signs that they see in the sky, but not understanding the signs of the times. His many miracles are already sufficient to show who He is, and that He has authority; their demand for a sign is not in good faith, and is born of great pride and selfishness. This, it seems, is the yeast that Jesus warns His disciples about; pride and selfishness will poison every good thing we seek to do, if we allow them to take root in our lives and hearts.)
2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here?
3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us?
4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )
5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?