The Golden Ratio Format of the Bible Explained Study #41: Volume - TopicsExpress

The Golden Ratio Format of the Bible Explained Study #41: Volume 3: Synopsis of Samuel Chapter 5 (For best understanding, you need to read at least the first 12 studies before reading this one, or you wont understand it.) phibible.org/Bible_Pages/KBVMain.html Use the Navigation Panel on the left side to choose a version and a Book to read, and then use the drop-down list to choose a Chapter of that Book. C Gimel: The Believer desires to understand the Word for strength to endure opposition U Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live, and keep your Word. C Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your Law. C I am a stranger in the earth; do not hide your Commandments from me. O My soul breaks for the longing that it has to your Judgments at all times. O You have rebuked the proud that are cursed, who go astray from your Commandments. U Remove reproach and contempt from me: for I have kept your Testimonies. C Princes also sat and spoke against me; but your servant meditated in your Statutes. C Your Testimonies also are my delight and my counselors. Psalm 119:17-24 ----------------------------- Here again is the Chapter-level Golden Ratio arrangement of the Book of Samuel Part 1 C Part 1: The Construction of the Old Covenant Kingdom of Zion under the rule of Saul U Chapter 1.1: Jehovah raised up Samuel the prophet to judge Israel C Chapter 1.2: Jehovah gave the people of Israel a king after their own heart, but not after his: Saul C Chapter 1.3: Jehovah gave the people of Israel a king after his own heart: David O Chapter 1.4: Jehovah protected David from Saul’s futile efforts to kill him and save his kingdom O Chapter 1.5: Jehovah protected David from Abner’s futile effort to retain the kingdom for Saul’s son Comment: Chapter 4 was about the life of David while fleeing from Saul and his army. David spared Sauls life several times when he could have easily assassinated him, because he respected the fact that God had chosen Saul as king over Israel, and it would have been a sin for him to kill Saul himself, so he did his best to survive until God took care of the problem Himself. Chapter 5 is about the death of Saul, and the civil war in Israel between the competing kingdoms of David over Judah and Sauls son Ishbosheth over the other 11 tribes of Israel, and its final resolution 2 years later. -------------------- Introduction Section: Paragraph 1 (27:1-12): David moves to Gath of the Philistines with his men and pretends to be a mercenary working for Achish the king of Gath. And David said in his heart, “I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should quickly escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me anymore in any territory of Israel, so shall I escape out of his hand.” And David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that were with him to Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath. (27:1-2) Comment: This move by David effectively ended Sauls pursuit of him, as he didnt have the military capacity to directly attack the city of Gath, beyond the fact that God wasnt going to deliver David to Saul anyway. And Achish said, “Where did you go today?” And David said, “Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the Kenites.” And David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring news to Gath, saying, “Lest they should tell on us, saying, ‘So did David, and so will be his manner all the while he dwells in the country of the Philistines.’” And Achish believed David, saying, “He has made his people Israel to utterly abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant forever.” Comment: David obviously lied to Achish about his doings. This is another example of the Word of God recording the truth about what David said and did, but not giving Gods approval to his actions. There is no doubt that David had to repent of his sins afterward, because he was a saved man. No Believer can tell a lie and not be convicted by the Holy Spirit about that sin. It is wickedness, and must be repented of if the Believer wants to have fellowship with a holy and righteous God and not suffer his chastisement for sin. O This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is Light; and in him is no darkness at all. O If we say that we have fellowship with him, but walk in darkness, we are lying, and not telling the truth. GBut if we walk in the Light, as he is in the Light, we have fellowship one with another; and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son constantly cleanses us from all sin. C If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. C If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. U If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar; and his Word is not in us. (I John 1:5-10) Paragraph 2 (1 Sam. 28:1-25): Saul goes to a spiritist woman to get some kind of direction as to what he should do next. And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight with Israel...And when Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. And when Saul inquired of Jehovah, Jehovah did not answer him; neither by dreams nor by Urim, nor by prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek me a woman that has a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her.” (28:5-7) Comment: Saul was so far from the Lord spiritually that God would not answer him, so he decided to find a woman with a familiar spirit to try and get some kind of answer as to what he should do. This is called spiritism; and what it involves is asking a demon spirit about the future using a person called a medium. This practice is strictly forbidden by Jehovah, because it is disobedience to his Commandment not to worship other gods. I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery: you shall have no other gods before me. You shall make you no carved image, nor any likeness of anything that is in Heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water beneath the earth; you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them: for I, Jehovah your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and showing mercy to thousands of them that love me and keep my Commandments. Deuteronomy 5:6-10 And the person that turns after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people. (Leviticus 20:6) Comment: Spiritism is still going on today and has been for thousands of years. You can easily buy a game called a Ouija Board, which involves allowing yourself to be used to do automatic writing under the influence of an evil spirit. As a child, I remember when our parents bought a Ouija board in ignorance of what it was, and me and my siblings played with it. In hindsight, it is clear that having this evil device in our home brought much evil with it. Our family went downhill quickly after this, and I will not share the details of that; but trust me when I tell you that you should stay as far away as possible from this game and not allow it or any other occult object into your home, lest you become a curse like it. You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire. You shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it to you, lest you become snared in it: for it is an abomination to Jehovah your God. Neither shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you become a cursed thing like it. You shall utterly detest it, and you shall utterly abhor it: for it is a cursed thing. (Deuteronomy 7:25-26) Object associated with the occult attract demons to them. This is why no one should allow idols of any kind, or objects associated with the occult/witchcraft/Satanism or even music that does not honor the Lord; especially rock or rap music of any kind, even christian rock (so called). In this situation, God allowed Samuel to come from the Abrahams bosom side of Hell (Sheol) (Luke 16:22-26) to tell Saul that he and his sons would soon be with him, which terrified Saul. ------------------ Body Section: ---------------------------------------- Paragraph 1(1 Sam. 29:1-30:19): Jehovah providentially causes the Amalekites to take captive David and his mens families and property to keep him busy while he executed judgment upon Saul Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek; and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel. And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands; but David and his men passed on in the rear guard with Achish. Then the princes of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” (29:1-3) Comment: David had a band of 600 men with him, serving as Achish the king of Gaths personal guard. But the Philistines knew that David would likely turn to be their enemy in a direct battle with Israel, so they sent him away to the city of Ziklag, given to him by Achish. And it came to pass, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; and had taken the women captives, that were in it. They did not kill any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. So David and his men came to the city; and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. (30:1-3) Comment: This invasion of the Amalekites was no accident. Jehovah caused this invasion so that David and his men would be distracted from the coming battle between the Philistines and Saul, so that Saul would finally be eliminated and removed from being king by the hand of the Philistines. If David and his men were nearby, they almost certainly would have come to the aid of their brethren in Israel, and prevented the will of God from being done. And there was nothing lacking to them; neither small nor great; neither sons nor daughters; neither plunder, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered everything. Comment: No permanent harm was done to the wives and families of David and his men, nor their property. They destroyed the Amalekites and recovered everything. ---------------------------------------- Paragraph 2 (1 Sam. 30:20-31:13): David returns to Ziklag with much plunder from the Amalekites, and Saul and 3 of his sons are slain in battle against the Philistines And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drove before those other cattle, and said, “This is David’s plunder.” (30:20) So Saul died, and his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men, that same day together. (31:6) ---------------------------------------- Paragraph 3 (2 Sam. 1:1-27): David and his men mourn and weep over the defeat of the army of Israel and the deaths of Saul and his sons, especially Jonathan, Davids close friend. Then David took hold on his clothes, and tore them; and likewise all the men that were with him; and they mourned, wept, and fasted until evening: for Saul, for Jonathan his son, for the people of Jehovah, and for the house of Israel, because they were fallen by the sword. (2 Samuel 1:11-12) David receives news about the death of Saul and his sons from an Amalekite who falsely claims to have killed him as an act of mercy, and David executes him for this claim, even though it was false. David didnt know whether it was true or not, but his claim was an act deserving of the death penalty in Israel. David and his men then mourn and weep over this disaster that has befallen the army of Israel. ---------------------------------------- Paragraph 4 (2 Sam. 2:1-32): David is crowned king over the tribe of Judah, but Abner, Sauls general, crowns Ishbosheth the last son of Saul, as king over the other 11 tribes of Israel. And it came to pass after this, that David inquired of Jehovah, saying, “Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?” And Jehovah said to him, “Go up.” And David said, “Where shall I go up?” And he said, “To Hebron.” (2 Sam. 2:1) But Abner the son of Ner, general of Saul’s army, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim; and he made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel. Ish-bosheth Saul’s son was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David. And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months. (2 Sam. 2:8-11) --------------------------------------- Paragraph 5 (2 Sam. 3:1-21): Ishbosheth loses the support of Abner his leading general, who goes to David to offer his support for becoming king over all Israel Now there was long warfare between the house of Saul and the house of David; but David grew stronger and stronger; and the house of Saul became weaker and weaker. (2 Sam. 3:1) And it came to pass, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner made himself strong for the house of Saul. And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah; and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, “Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?” Then Abner was very angry for the words of Ish-bosheth, and said, “Am I a dog’s head, which against Judah do show kindness this day to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not delivered you into the hand of David, that you charge me today with a fault concerning this woman? So do God to Abner, and more also, except, as Jehovah has sworn to David, even so I do to him: to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beer-sheba.” And he could not answer Abner a word again, because he was afraid of him. (2 Sam. 3:6-11) So Abner came to David to Hebron, and twenty men with him. And David made Abner and the men that were with him a feast. And Abner said to David, “I will arise and go, and will gather all Israel to my lord the king, so that they may make a league with you, and that you may reign over all that your heart desires.” And David sent Abner away; and he went in peace. (2 Sam. 3:20-21) Comment: Ishbosheth the son of Saul was a figurehead king, a weak man who was only able to be king because of Abner, Sauls loyal general. Once he lost Abners support, his kingdom was over. ---------------------------------------- Conclusion Section: Paragraph 1 (2 Sam. 3:22-39): Joab murders Abner for both revenge and to eliminate a rival for the position of leading general over Israel And when Joab came out from David, he sent messengers after Abner, which brought him again from the well of Sirah, but David did not know it. And when Abner had returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there under the fifth rib, so that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother. (2 Sam. 3:26-27) Comment: Joab was a man who wanted power in Israel at any cost. He was already one of Davids leading generals, and could see that Abner, if he continued living, was a roadblock on his way to becoming the leading general over all of Israel, since Abner already served Saul and Ishbosheth in the role. So not only did Joab have bad blood between him and Abner for the death of his brother Asahel, but he wanted to eliminate Abner as a rival for the job of chief general over the army of Israel, so he did just that. But David had nothing to do with it (for all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to kill Abner the son of Ner. (3:37)) Paragraph 2 (2 Sam. 4:1-12): David executes the 2 men who slew Ishbosheth the son of Saul And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went, and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ish-bosheth, who lay on a bed at noon. And they came there into the midst of the house, as though they would have brought wheat; and they smote him under the fifth rib; and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped: for when they came into the house, he lay on his bed in his bedchamber, and they struck him, and assassinated him. And they beheaded him, and took his head; and went away through the plain all night. And they brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David to Hebron, and said to the king, “Behold the head of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul your enemy, who sought your life; and Jehovah has avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed.” (2 Sam. 4:5-8) Comment: David executed these two men for assassinating Ishbosheth. Finally, all of the rivals for the throne of Israel were now gone, and David could now become king over all Israel. This ends Part 1 of Samuel, and you should be able to easily see and understand now why the Traditional division of Samuel into 1 and 2 Samuel was faulty. If they had divided it after 2 Samuel 4:12, then the text would have been divided correctly according to the Golden Ratio format. Even without any further comment about the Golden Ration structure, by examining the themes of each Paragraph and Section, with the knowledge that you have gained from previous studies, you should be able to easily guess the Golden Ratio structure of Samuel Chapter 5. The themes (which represent the entire content of a text portion, boiled down to a single sentence) are the key to the Golden Ratio structure of the Bible. We will examine the Golden Ratio structure of Samuel Chapter 5 for the next study. ----------------------------- Are you saved? Do you know the Jesus Christ of the Bible as your Personal Lord and Savior? Have you been Born Again (John 3:3-5)? If you are not sure, please visit this page on my site to learn more about how to be saved and know the one true God of the Bible as your Lord and Savior: phibible.org/info/salvation.html Download free PDF samples of selected Books from any of 3 different Bible versions: The English KBV, the Spanish KBV, or the KJV 2014 phibible.org/info/Downloads.html Download a free PDF that provides all of the information in these posts and more (it is being updated with the material in these posts periodically) phibible.org/Downloads/Appendix.pdf The 3 Bible Versions published by JHS Publishing are currently out of print, because new Editions, starting with a Kindle Edition of the KBV, will be released very soon.