Reference links:
Old Testament
Business trip + sore throat = another brief post.
Two things struck me in today’s reading today.
Very little was said about Samuel’s death.
Now Samuel died, and all Israel gathered for his funeral. They buried him at his house in Ramah.
I was surprised that such an important figure did not have a more thoroughly described death. I suppose that we did not hear much about the deaths of most of the judges either, but I kind of expected Samuel to give a long death speech like Moses or Joshua.
I like to imagine that when the text says that “all Israel gathered for his funeral” it means that David and Saul were able to temporarily put aside their mutual distrust and come together to mourn the death of the man who had changed both their lives.
The other thing that strikes me as interesting in today’s reading is the juxtaposition of David refusing to kill Saul with his desire to kill Nabal. David refuses to kill Saul when Saul hunts David, but he swears to kill Nabal and his men over an insult and refused aid. The juxtaposition of these two stories makes it clear that David was not uniformly merciful. In fact, it almost seems like David’s attitudes toward the two men are based on their status. The way that Saul has treated David is much worse than the way Nabal has treated him, but Saul, the king, is spared and Nabal nearly is not.
Also of note, Nabal dies naturally so David marries Abigail. He also marries Ahinoam from Jezreel.
New Testament
Jesus goes on about how he will give eternal life and how he and God are one. The people nearly stone him and try to arrest him. He escapes. John’s Jesus is only slightly more interesting than watching paint dry (and way less interesting than watching water boil).
Psalms and Proverbs
Nothing of particular interest today.