1 Samuel 8:1-3 And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba. And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.

If I were Samuel in this situation I would never have appointed my sons as judges.

There is example number one. We are quick to judge others actions since we know the outcome. There is absolutely no truth in inserting my judgment into a historical event. I am not God and I cannot force my will into editing history. There is no way to prove my actions would have produced any better results. That is playing god with history and should be avoided.

Have you read the commentaries on this? Did you dig deep enough into other writings by learned men? How about those study bible notes we all like to turn to for the easy answer? Do we rely on the opinions of others to replace our own studies? Do we use Cliff Notes?

Those may well prepare you to answer a quiz, but this isn’t a test, it is your relationship with your God. Did you take it easy or did you take the time? Only you can answer that to God. I don’t want to know, it is your relationship and it will be what you make of it.

I read several commentaries myself and I found that those authors based their assertions upon two main issues. Number one was that they believed Samuel was wrong. Number two was that they understood Samuel. Both approaches can be considered flawed.

Tomorrow I will do a deeper examination of those assertions and see how they stand up in the light of God’s Word.

Your assignment for tomorrow is examine Samuel’s historical experience and discover any hint that might influence his thinking and actions. Scriptures will be required as proof of effort.