Will Vaus

Author   Our next stop in our “Route 66” sermon series is the Old Testament book of 2 Samuel. As we learned last week, originally 1 and 2 Samuel were one book. Jewish sources ascribe the composition of 1 Samuel to Samuel himself. But since Samuel’s death is recorded in chapter 25, Samuel could not have been the author of 1 Samuel 25 and following.    As I pointed out last week, according to most modern scholars, 1 Samuel is but one part of the Deuteronomistic History which consists of the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings. The editor who put together this history probably drew together earlier written sources to compose the book of Samuel.    Date   If we follow the traditional view of authorship by Samuel, then the composition of the books of 1 and 2 Samuel may be dated to the time of Samuel’s life and the lives of Nathan and Gad who also, according to the traditional view, had a hand in this work. If this is true, then we...

One of the most oft-repeated phrases in this prophetic book is: “The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah…” It appears over thirty times in 52 chapters. Of course, this phrase is not confined to the book of Jeremiah. We read that… The word of the Lord came to Abram… (Genesis 15:1) The word of the Lord came to Samuel… (1 Samuel 15:10) The word of the Lord came to Nathan… (2 Samuel 7:4) The word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad… (2 Samuel 24:11) The word of the Lord came to Solomon… (1 Kings 6:11) The word of the Lord came to the prophet… (1 Kings 13:20) The word of the Lord came to Jehu… (1 Kings 16:1) The word of the Lord came to Elijah… (1 Kings 18:1) The word of the Lord came to Shemaiah… (2 Chronicles 12:7) The word of the Lord came to Isaiah… (Isaiah 38:4) And Ezekiel says, over and over again, “The word of the Lord came to me.” Where would the people of God have been without the word of the Lord, especially in the time of Jeremiah, w...

This is my 500 th blog post since joining Blogger in 2006! Without further ado, here it is…. Throughout these chapters, the Chronicler emphasizes the qualities that made King David a great man of God. David… Inquired of God. (1 Chronicles 14:10, 14) Commanded the gods of the Philistines to be burned. (14:12) Did as God had commanded him. (14:16) Prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. (15:1) Commanded that no one but the Levites were to carry the ark of God. (15:2) Appointed certain of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord… (16:4) Appointed the singing of praises to the Lord by Asaph and his kindred. (16:7) Went home to bless his household. (16:43) Desired to build a house for the ark of God (17:1 ff.) Notice that when the ark is brought up to Jerusalem, David dances before the ark, just as in 2 Samuel, and his wife Michal despises him. However, there is no suggestion here, as there is in 2 Samuel, that Davi...