To Desire a King

Reading:   1 Samuel 5-8

The people desired a king.  Samuel knew that such a desire would only bring wickedness to the people but he could not sway their united call.  Samuel's sons (like Eli's before him), were wicked and the people were therefore fearful that they would not be lead righteously when Samuel passed, he was quite old.   Samuel listened to their concerns for an annointed king and then brought their plea unto God...

1 SAMUEL 8:7

7    And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. 

Isn't that interesting?  God went on to explain the bleak future of the people should they commence with their appetite for a king and Samuel relayed the prophesy (v. 10-18).  Still, despite the warning, all desired a ruler and The Lord said, "Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king (v. 22)."

Reading through this chapter, I could not help but remember the same scenario happening with the Jaredites (Ether Chapter 8).  As Jared and his brother neared the end of their lives the people desired a king, and though the brothers refused to annoint one, they allowed the people their fervent need and a king was crowned.  Two generations ruled in honor and righteousness, but as was prophesied, the people eventually fell into captivity, war, and all manner of wickedness (see Cain - Gift of Secret Oaths).

The same is surely to happen with the Israelites as they move to a more secular leadership.  It is a subtle rejection of God that may not manifest itself in one or two generations but will eventually remove God completely from the house of rule...wait, is that happening today as well?  Has God been slowly pushed out of politics and our governing body...yes!  Where do we go from here?

~Kipling

Goliath has the Ark

Reading:   1 Samuel 4

The Philistines (the ancestors of Mr. Goliath) waged a mighty war on the Israelites and killed 45,000 plus!  At one point during the battle, the Israelites called upon the Ark of the Covenant to bolster their resolve and rally the troops.  the Ark did give the Philistines much cause for concern as they knew of its power, but unfortunately the priests accompanying the Ark where Eli's two wicked sons and therefore the Ark did nothing.  Tens of thousands of Israelites died, including the two evil priests, and the Ark was captured by the Philistines.

One Israelite escaped the slaughter and returned home to inform Eli of the terrible news, "We lost the war.  The Ark was stolen from us.  Oh, and both of your sons are dead."  As you can imagine, the news had a mortifying effect on Eli and, being a heavy man, blind, and ninety-eight, he fell from his seat and broke his neck.

One of the sons had a pregnant wife who went into labor upon hearing the news of her husband's death, she of course died as well, but the child was born.  A woman (possibly a nurse) who stood by and bewailed the death of the mother, took the newborn child...

1 SAMUEL 4:21-22

21 And she named the child I-chabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband. 

22 And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken. 

She named the child Ichabod which translates, "Where is the Glory."  The child lost his mother, father, uncle, and grandfather, all on or around the day of his birth.  The Ark of the Covenant was also lost around the same time.  The glory of the child's birth was definitely lost.

The death of Eli and his wicked sons fulfilled the prophesy of Samuel and was proof that Samuel was indeed a true prophet of God.

~Kipling

Don't Let Your Words Fall to the Ground

1 Samuel 3

The first few times I read today's verse, and I'm sure every perusal of the verse prior to today, I understood it in the wrong context.  The verse...

1 SAMUEL 3:19

19    And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. 

Grammatically, it is important to read the verse slowly or the mind tends (maybe just my mind) to assign the last clause of the sentence to Samuel as he is the subject, the one who grew.  I always read the verse as Samuel listening to the words of God and holding them so true and relevant that he never allowed any to slip from his thoughts, but in fact, the last clause is actually a subtext of how the Lord was with Samuel and how He aided Samuel in spiritual growth.  

Here is a more defined reading,  "...the Lord was with him [Samuel], and [the Lord] let none of his [Samuel's] words fall to the ground."

There is a higher meaning when understanding the verse in its proper context because it exemplifies the importance of Samuel - whatever he was inspired to prophesy on or about, it would come true.  The Lord would not let any of Samuel's words, "fall to the ground" or pass without fulfillment.  That is an impressive note, don't you think?  Samuel is therefore someone not to be taken lightly or trifled with, he has the ear of The Lord!

~Kipling

Fear: A Moral Stimulant

Reading:   1 Samuel 2

First, a side note on the neglected husband Elkanah, whose wife, Hannah, desired children and grieved because she had none.  Well, she gave birth to Samuel (yes the namesake of our current biblical reading) then three sons and two daughters after him - thought you'd like to know?

Eli, the chief judge/priest of the time, was growing old and discovered his two sons were committing heinous acts against their holy priesthood office.  He approached them and told them that he knew of their crimes but did not reprimand them in any way?  Saying only...

1 SAMUEL 2:25

25    If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the Lord would slay them.

It's clear that Eli felt helpless to intercede for his boys because they had sinned against God, not man; still, would it hurt to scare the daylights out of them - toss a little fire and brimstone their direction?  He was too soft and they did not fear his words or show concern for their future.  Sometimes the only solution is fear - when nothing else seems to work - fear may suffice...

JUDE 1:22-23

22    And of some have compassion, making a difference:

23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

Pull them out of the fire with fear!  When the mind is dull and without moral stimulant, slap some fear into the mind and reality may kickstart the repentance process - BELIEVE IT!

~Kipling

A Father's Day Note: Dear Elkanah...

Reading:   1 Samuel 1

Here we have the plight of all husband's, laid bare in a single verse...

1 SAMUEL 1:8

8    Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons? 

Hannah had not been able to conceive and was very distraught even to the point where she quit eating.  Poor Elkanah just wanted her to be happy and enjoy what she did have, namely him.  This plight, as I have called it, is a familiar one in that all men feel neglected by their wives when it comes to their place in relation to that of their children - even the unborn ones, as Elkanah suffered.

I'm not going to offer up any sage advice in regards to this because I have none to offer.  I simply wanted to point out that I, you, we, are not the first to feel this way.  We stand in a long line of neglected fathers: Famous, Infamous, Prize winners from (Nobel to Oscar), Olympians, Medal of Honor recipients, Geniuses, Leaders of men, Sexiest man alive honorees, Composers, that guy down the street, and the guy next door, all have felt this sting of neglect.

We many, we neglected many, need find comfort in the camaraderie of our fellow members of this banded group of men...Here's to you, Elkanah, and all the rest of us, our day is upon us, Father's Day, and on the morrow we shall reap in the benefit of our title and be neglected no more!

Stand up and be proud
Ye Father's of men!

~Kipling

The Ripple Effect of Ruth

Reading:   The Book of Ruth

It's so interesting to see the culmination and grandeur that occurs from the simplest of choices, okay maybe not the simplest of choices because I'm sure it was a very difficult choice, but still, a choice is made and centuries later an event occurs that -BOOM- changes the world...

Ruth was the daughter in-law of Naomi and when her husband died (Naomi's son) she was given leave to return to her people, the Moabites.  Ruth decided not to leave the widowed Naomi, who had lost her husband and both her sons, despite Naomi's fervent request that she do so.  This was the choice I referred to above...Ruth chose to stay with Naomi and willingly accompanied her back to Bethlehem despite being a stranger in the midst of the Israelites.  With much advice from Naomi, Ruth eventually married a wise man named Boaz and she soon gave birth to a son...

RUTH 4:17

17    And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 

Here we are given the name of Ruth's son and then immediately given a foretelling of his seed, Jesse and then the son of Jesse, David.  Why is this significant?  I will let Aileen H. Clyde tell you (as I learned it from her as well)...

In a culture hostile to the leadership of women, these women-Naomi and Ruth-lived to bring about an end the scripture's writer carefully emphasizes: Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David, through whose lines, which are carefully detailed for us in the first chapter of Matthew, came Jesus who is called Christ. Would you ever have expected the small book of Ruth to foretell such a great event? 

 Ruth confidently met hardships not uncommon in our time-the death of a loved one, loneliness in a new place, and the need to work hard for her bread. Her small efforts, linked significantly to a later great event, tell me that each of us can take seriously the importance of our daily lives and decisions as we choose to follow God. 

~Confidence Through Conversion, 1992 October General Conference, General Women's Meeting

I truly enjoy little nuggets of knowledge and this is definitely one of those nuggets to tuck way in the knowledge closet.  Ruth made a choice and that choice has affected all mankind through the eventual birth of our Savior and the global reach of Christianity!

~Kipling

The Arithmetic of Heaven

Reading:   Judges 20-21

In a nutshell, the dispersal of the raped and murdered concubine that was divided and sent forth in twelve pieces, brought about the brutal conflict between the Benjamites, who refused to give up those men who had committed the crime, and all the rest of Israel.  The number of counted dead were 83,000 and I'm sure, at minimum, that number could be doubled for actual dead.  In fact, I would not be surprised if the number of dead surpassed 250,000!

At the beginning of these last five chapters of Judges (17-21), it was made clear that the people had no king and therefore did as they thought best (see The Bitter Harvest of Ethical Relativism).  The culmination of these chapters, and the book of Judges, ends with the same note - in fact it is the very last verse...

JUDGES 21:25

25    In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. 

I'm not going to delve too far into this subject again, as I'm sure your mind is still pudding from my last attempt at coherence, but I wanted to point out how fascinating it is that these are the bookend verses...without a leader the people did what was right in their eyes.  I quoted Neal A. Maxwell in the previous post on this subject and I'm going to quote him again, albeit from a different conference address...

Why do we resist and resent life's developmental and obedience tests? By declaring, "I will walk in my own way and do that which is right in my own eyes," we reject the curriculum of the mortal school in which we are irrevocably enrolled. (See Judg. 21:25; D&C 1:16.) There is only one exit gate leading unto eternal life. Unhappily, only a few find it-but not because God is exclusionary, but because they exclude God from their lives. Even God cannot bring to pass a reconciliation involving only one party. 

Why do some think adultery and similar sins are permissible as long as anything else they do is commendable? The Lord's focus is not on the one thing we do which is good, but, instead, on the one or more things we still lack in order to have eternal life. (See Mark 10:21; 2 Pet. 1:9.) To compose a symphony, to win a battle, or to save a company-each can be a commendable and worthy entry in the book of life, but these do not fully compensate for breaking the seventh commandment. In the arithmetic of heaven, several commendables do not cancel out one inexcusable! The clear command from Jesus is to deny ourselves immorality and "to take up [the] cross daily," not to indulge ourselves and to take up the cross occasionally! (Luke 9:23; see also 3 Ne. 12:30.) The Old Testament advises, "He that ruleth" himself is better "than he that taketh a city." (Prov. 16:32.)  

~Answer Me, 1988 October General Conference

I love this talk and have quoted from it before (see Ritual Prodigalism) but the important thing to squeeze from Maxwell's remarks is the simple truth that walking in our own way and doing that which is right in our own eyes can only lead us away from the path of eternal life (and could easily lead to the death of 250,000 people).

Don't be that guy...

~Kipling

Divided into Twelve Pieces

Reading:   Judges 19

A kind of - no not kind of - a very, brutal event happens in this chapter.  Something hard to fathom and even harder to accept in the context of scripture.  A man seeks after one of his wives, a concubine, and after a successful sojourn to the house of the woman's father, and several nights of pleasant discussion and merriment, he gathers up the stray concubine and heads back home.  Along the way he is met by a kind man who offers his home as a refuge for the night and all seems well until a horde of men surround the house...

JUDGES 19:23-24

23 And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly. 

24 Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing. 

So, thank the heavens above, the men are not sufficed by the terms and the maiden daughter is not thrown out to them (who offers up their own daughter anyway - very disturbing) but the concubine does not fair as well and is tossed to the proverbial wolves.  The riotous men utterly abuse and destroy the poor woman then leave.  The brutalized concubine tremulously makes it to the door of the house and then drops dead - her hand on the threshold.  Brutal, I know, anyway the man comes out and places the ravished body on his donkey and returns home unmolested by the mob.  Safely home, the man goes a bit gangsta...

JUDGES 19:29-30

29 And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel. 

30 And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds. 

Okay, so, despite the seemingly carefree manner by which he tossed the woman to the mob in order to safe his own skin, it does seem as though he had some remorse - and a healthy does of anger towards the brutes that committed the a heinous crime.  The part I truly find precisely placed and extremely well said, is the end...

...consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds. 

It's a tough situation to swallow and definitely takes some intense consideration.  The advice portion is a good tool because there is quite a discussion that can be had in the understanding of this tale.  Finally, to speak your mind - express those concerns that bind the thoughts and allow the truth to sink in and speak to you.

I will follow this advice (especially for the given scriptures) and will use it as a template for other scriptural concerns; consider, listen, speak...accept the truth.  I will return to this blog when an understanding is reached as to the disturbing purpose of this chapter and will then comment.  Until then...

~Kipling

The Bitter Harvest of Ethical Relativism

Reading:   Judges 17-18

Without leadership man tends to gravitate toward that which best fulfills the needs of the day...

JUDGES 17:6

6    In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. 

To deem something "right in [your] own eyes" there must be a set of parameters in place to buoy your system of belief.  If you are raised in a family of thieves it would be difficult to find fault in the profession that has sustained so many and yet to steal from family would be a heinous trespass.  The same is true for any fish-out-of-water scenario where one must discover the parameters of existence, within a new system of life, to survive.  What may have been wrong in the known culture might be perfectly acceptable in the new one - usually dictated by authority and popular trends.

A good example would be the cinema in America verses cinema in most Western European cultures.  Nudity and sex elicite ratings for mature audiences in America whereas the same films in Europe would be deemed much less morally troublesome.  Violence, bloodshed and gore are deemed morally reprehensible in Europe, receiving much more restrictive ratings, while the same films in America barely garner a PG rating. 

Okay, I wandered off subject (verse) a bit but I think I can bring it around if you're patient...

In the current reading we are prefaced by the above verse describing existence as being without a king.  The people found comfort in various types of idol worship and each man did as he perceived to be right despite the history and lessons of countless honored ancestors.  The actions and numerous deaths that occur in the subsequent chapters stem from the lack of direction, a squabbling of idolatry, and a lack of core family values.  Neal A. Maxwell said,

The gospel's illumination provides so much greater perspective for us concerning the role of the family. 

Before citing some challenges to family life, consider, first...how living without God in the world brings a functional lack of consistent perspective. If there were no eternal truths, to what principles would mortals look for guidance? If not accountable to God, to whom are we ultimately accountable? Furthermore, if nothing is ever really wrong, then no one is ever really responsible. If there are no fixed boundaries, then there cannot be any excesses. Why should we be surprised, then, at so many disturbing outcomes, including the lack of community, when every man does that which is "right in his own eyes" (Judg. 17:6; Judg. 21:25) and seeks not the righteousness of the Lord but instead walks "in his own way"? (D&C 1:16). 

Reflect, for instance, on how inoperative the Ten Commandments are in many lives. Today, killing, stealing, and bearing false witness still carry some social stigma and legal sanction, but sanction is effectively gone regarding sexual immorality, the Sabbath day, honoring fathers and mothers, and the taking of the name of the Lord in vain. Some of this decline represents the bitter harvest of ethical relativism, the philosophy of choice of many, reflecting no fixed, divine truths but merely the mores of the moment. No wonder Ortega y Gasset wisely warned, "If truth does not exist, relativism cannot take itself seriously." (The Modern Theme (New York: Harper & Row, 1961), as quoted in Duncan Williams, Trousered Apes (New Rochelle, N.Y.: Arlington House, 1971), p. 69.)  

~Take Especial Care of Your Family, April General Conference, 1994 

Trousered Apes sounds like an interesting read (adding it to my wishlist).  Anyway, truth is definitely a key to relativism because it solidifies, when proven, the strength of one belief and, by relation, justifies connections and actions that adhere to that belief.  Let me try to explain...someone who lives in a desert might have a belief in snow because of television, movies, the Internet, and even eye witness accounts from acquaintances but until that individual actually experiences snow, sees it,  touches it, smells it, tastes it, and hears its muting affect, it remains just a belief, blind faith.  After the experience, then, by the laws of relativism, the desert dweller can now find truth in snowballs, snowmen, ice caves, blizzards, etc.

Maxwell explained that "the mores of the moment" tend to dictate what is ethical by scale.  The decrease in family values and the less-then stringent approach to the Ten Commandments are a relative reaction to the current trends of culture and authority.  These trends fluctuate greatly from region to region and culture to culture.  

Family and faith in God are the only true avenues of hope.

Okay, I realize this particular blog may take some additional time and effort to fully magnify and explain but trust me, in my head it sounds great and makes total sense...

~Kipling

Life is Not Stationary

Reading:  2 Corinthians 4:16

I broke from the reading schedule today because I came across a great note, while preparing my thoughts for the branch meeting, and decided to share that note with you.  The quote I want to share stems from a verse in Corinthians where Paul teaches us the value of eternal glory as opposed to the trials we encounter in our mortal existence...

2 CORINTHIANS 4:16

16    For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 

"...The inward man is renewed day by day," what a fantastic line.  It truly is an important idea to grab hold of and Hugh W. Pinnock makes it more accessible with his 1979 October General Conference talk, We Will Go with Our Young and with Our Old...

Life is not stationary. Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years all tick away at the same clip for everyone. No age-group can be isolated. None of us can settle into infancy, youth, middle age, or old age. We all grow older, and, incidentally, it is an exciting thought if the accent is on growing...

We all grow older and cannot allow that growth to happen without positive gain in wisdom and love.

~Kipling