Autor: eabrazil

Finally at this point the elders of Israel anointed David King over Israel. So David had reigned 7 and a half years over Judah, then reigned 33 years over Israel and Judah united, making a total reign of 40 years.

When King Ish-Bosheth heard of Abner’s death he became despondent. Jonathan had a son called Mephibosheth who was lame in both feet as a result of a fall with his nurse when news reached them of Saul and Jonathan’s deaths.

Then 2 of Ish-Bosheth’s captains, Recab and Baanah, went to Ish-Bosheth’s house and upon finding him having his after lunch nap they stabbed him in the stomach and cut off his head! They then took it to David probably expecting a reward. David however was livid and ordered his men to execute them. They cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies by the Hebron pool. Then they took Ish-Bosheth’s head and buried it in Abner’s tomb at Hebron.   

While David was at Hebron he had 6 sons born, all of different women. David thus had 7 wives at this stage, as he was about to recover Michal the daughter of Saul.

The war between the house of Saul (Israel) and the house of David (Judah) was perpetuated for a long time. However Israel’s King Ish-Bosheth fell out with his army commander Abner and this resulted in Abner switching allegiance to King David. Abner negotiated with David the uniting of the kingdom under King David and things were progressing very well to this end. However Joab interfered, not understanding the healthy negotiations that were going on, and he killed Abner in revenge for him having killed his brother Asahel previously. David was furious and wept out loud at the funeral to the extent that it became clear to the people that David had no connection to the killing and was totally opposed to it. 

After some time God directed David, his 2 wives, his men and their families to go and settle in Hebron and there the men came and anointed him king of the house of Judah, where he reigned for 7 and a half years. However Ish-Bosheth, son of Saul, was made king of Israel reigning for 2 years, and the familiar theme of rivalry between Saul’s and David’s families soon resurfaced. Fighting initially took place between 2 groups of 12 men involved in armed wrestling, but this evolved into a full-scale battle which David’s men won. 

Following this the very fast runner from David’s men called Asahel chased the fleeing Abner who was the commander of Saul’s men’s army, but it was Abner who won the duel driving his spear right through Asahel! Then the 2 sides of this civil war tried to calm things down after David’s side losing 19 men and Abner’s side losing 360, but the civil war was far from over.

We now come to the second book of Samuel which tells about David’s reign as king of Israel and the establishment of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. It shows the successes and failures of David, including the sad Bathsheba story, and on the other hand speaks of the enduring covenant which God made with him.

This chapter begins with an Amalekite telling David that Saul and Jonathan were dead. When David sought confirmation of the deaths the man said that he himself had found Saul in the throes of death from battle and that he finished him off as Saul had requested. The man brought Saul’s crown with him. So David had him executed for having killed the Lord’s anointed and he mourned the deaths of Saul and Jonathan. He said “How the mighty have fallen!.. Saul and Jonathan – in life they were loved and gracious and in death they were not parted. They were swifter than eagles and stronger than lions… O daughters of Israel, weep for Saul… I grieve for you Jonathan my brother… your love for me was more wonderful than that of women”!

A Brazilian tourist, 26-year-old Juliana Marins, fell whilst hiking with a group in Indonesia near the crater of the active volcano of Mount Rinjani. She was seen alive after the fall, but searchers were trying to rescue her by helicopter, but were hindered by bad weather, but in the end she was found dead.

June 23rd, the eve of St John’s Day, is bonfire and firework night in Brazil. Nowadays bonfires and fireworks are less thanks to greater environmental awareness.

Our granddaughter Beatriz (Bia) has gone to the USA with an excursion of young people of her age group of 15 years of age. She is flying from Recife to São Paulo and from there to New York.

Research shows that 83.1% of people in Brazil have water on tap in their houses, but only 55.2% have drains/sewers.

I have just finished preparing sermons for Cedro (12th July) and Princesa Isabel Central (13th July) which will be the induction service for the new pastor there.

Last night we had an excellent meeting with co-pastor Rafael about a variety of pastoral issues. These meetings are important opportunities to share and pray together.

I have finished my résumés of another book of the Bible – the 9th – which is the book of 1st Samuel. 

The Philistines inflicted a heavy defeat on Israel on Mount Gilboa killing many, including Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. Then the archers overtook Saul wounding him critically, so he ordered his armour-bearer to draw his sword and kill him as he didn’t want to die and be tortured by uncircumcised Philistines, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it, so Saul committed suicide by falling on to his own sword. The Philistines cut off Saul’s head and fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan, together with the bodies of his sons. When the valiant men of Jabesh Gilead heard about this they attacked and took down the bodies to give them a decent burial under a Tamarisk tree. 

David and his men returned to Ziklag and found that the Amalekites had attacked it, set it on fire and captured the women, sons and daughters. David and the men sobbed, and the men blamed David and even talked about stoning him, but David found strength in the Lord. David consulted God regarding what action to take, through the priest Abiathar and the ephod, and he was encouraged to rescue their families. The 600 men set out in hot pursuit of the Amalekites, but when they got to the Besor Ravine 200 men were too exhausted to carry on. The remaining 400 men pressed on until they encountered an Egyptian slave from the Amalekites who was able to guide David to their goal. Then David and the men attacked the Amalekites and killed many of them, and David recovered everything that had been lost including his 2 wives. Some uncharitable men upon their return to Ziklag didn’t want to share the plunder with the 200 exhausted men who stayed behind, but David wouldn’t hear of such a thing. He said that all shall share alike.

David’s ironical intention to fight alongside the Philistines gathered at Aphek came to nothing when the Philistine commanders understandably objected for fear of David switching allegiance during the fighting. So Achish, full of apologies, asked David and his men to go back to Ziklag which is what they did.

 A great battle with the Philistines was imminent and Saul was terrified when he saw the opposing army. So Saul sought guidance from God but received no word from dreams, Urim or prophets. Hence he searched for a medium at Endor, the witch of Endor, despite himself having banned spiritists and mediums from the land! Saul disguised himself and went at night to ask the witch to consult a spirit for him. The woman was initially reticent, but went ahead after assurances from Saul. So Saul asked for her to bring up Samuel and at this she realized who Saul was. Saul then consulted Samuel as to the outcome of the imminent battle and he told Saul that the Philistines would win and he and his sons would die. Saul was devastated and the woman was petrified by the outcome of the occult consultation, so she insisted on Saul and his men eating a meal with her before leaving.  

David had had enough of being hunted by Saul so he came up with the idea of living amongst the Philistines as there would be out of reach for Saul. The plan worked as David, his 2 wives Ahinoam and Abigail, and his 600 men lived there with no problem for 1 year and 4 months. They were given the town of Ziklag by Achish son of the king of Gath. From there David would conduct raids against the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites although he used to tell Achish that he was attacking non-Philistine peoples. In every raid David left nobody alive and captured all the livestock. 

David now was in the Desert of Ziph and the Ziphites told Saul that he was there. So Saul went there with 3,000 men and camped for the night beside the road. In the night David went to Saul’s camp with Abishai when everyone was sleeping. They crept up to where Saul was and Abishai urged David to kill Saul, but David would not touch the Lord’s anointed. They just picked up Saul’s spear and water jug and withdrew. The following morning David reprimanded Abner, Saul’s army captain, for the lax guarding of the king and produced the king’s spear and water jug as proof. Upon recognizing David’s voice Saul was grateful for the reprieve and again promised he wouldn’t chase David again, and he blessed David. 

Samuel died and all Israel mourned before burying him at his home in Ramah.

Then David moved to the Desert of Maon where there lived Nabal and Abigail. She was intelligent and beautiful but he was bad-tempered, unfriendly and mean, despite being very rich with 1,000 goats and 3,000 sheep. David sent some men to get some supplies from Nabal as he was owing him favours, but Nabal humiliated the men and sent them away empty handed. David was infuriated by Nabal’s treatment and set out with 400 men to take vengeance. However Abigail got to hear what at happened and intervened taking 200 loaves of bread, 2 skins of wine, 5 dressed sheep, 37 litres of roasted corn, 100 raisin cakes and 200 pressed figs cakes to David. Her beautiful gesture and kind words turned away David’s wrath as she begged forgiveness. When Abigail got home, having solved the problem caused by her irrational callous husband, she told him what she had done. Nabal suddenly became ill and died within a few days, and Abigail became David’s wife together with Ahinoam, but he had already separated from Michal.

 Saul continued his pursuit of David near the Crags of the Wild Goats together with 3,000 men, and he went into a cave to relieve himself not knowing that hidden in that cave was David himself. David crept up on Saul and could easily have killed him, but he would not do harm to the anointed of the Lord. Instead David cut off a corner off his robe secretly. Outside the cave David presented to Saul the piece of his robe and explained to him how easily he could have killed him. Saul wept and said that David was much more righteous than he was. He said may the Lord reward you well for the way you treated me today. He said he was sure that one day David would be king and he asked David to swear to not harm his family, to which David agreed.

David heard that the town of Keilah was being attacked by the Philistines so he sought God’s guidance as to whether he should intervene and received the green light. The ensuing battle saw David and his men inflict heavy losses on the Philistines as they saved the people of Keilah. 

However word reached Saul of David’s whereabouts so he called up his men to besiege David and his men at Keilah. When David was tipped off concerning Saul’s plan he consulted God through the priest Abiathar who confirmed that Saul was on his way and that the people would hand over David in the event of a siege. Hence David and his 600 men escaped and stayed in the strongholds of the Desert of Ziph. There Jonathan sought him out and encouraged him in the Lord. Saul kept pursuing David into the Desert of Maon, but when Saul was closing in on him word reached him of a Philistine raid, so he was forced to go and deal with that, and David went up from there to live in the strongholds of En Gedi. 

8 people have been killed in a hot air balloon accident in the southern state of Santa Catarina in Brazil. There were 13 survivors from the accident. The balloon caught fire and fell to the ground.

Please pray for Jozilene and Toinho – a couple that had premature twin girls on April 28th called Sofia and Safira. Sofia is already home, but Safira is still in intensive care in the maternity hospital. This family is part of our São Mamede church. I married them 10 years ago.

On Saturday we spent over 5 hours at the Youth Conference at Green Pastures and what a joy it was to see the meeting hall full with 213 young people praising the Lord. After the service there was a competition for the best fancy dress and then they had a game of bingo with a variety of little prizes for the winners. On the way there I saw a Pigmy Nightjar and a Burrowing Owl.

Last night I both led the service and preached God’s word in Patos. Numbers were down owing to the youth conference and the general festive period. Nevertheless it was a good service.

David left Gath and went to the cave of Adullam where his family joined him with his father’s household. Thus leader David soon had a group of 400 men with him. Then David went to Mizpah where he left his parents with the king of Moab, doubtless for their protection. Then David left for the forest of Hereth in Judah. 

By this time Saul found out that David had been at Nob from his chief shepherd Doeg the Edomite who had seen David there. He told Saul of Ahimelech’s help given to David including the giving of Goliath’s sword. Saul was livid accusing his own men of treachery and Ahimelech and his priests as well. Then Saul ordered his men to kill the priests, but in view of the fact that they refused, he ordered Doeg the Edomite to do it, and he killed no less than 85 priests! They went on to slaughter the people and livestock of Nob! Just Abiathar, son of Ahimelech, managed to escape and joined forces with David.

David went to Nob and spoke with the priest Ahimelech inventing that he was on a secret mission for the king. He asked him for bread, but Ahimelech didn’t have normal bread so he gave him consecrated bread from the tabernacle. Unfortunately one of Saul’s servants was there and saw him, and David felt vulnerable being unarmed so asked Ahimelech for a weapon and he gave him Goliath’s sword which was stored there.

From Nob David fled to Gath but people soon recognized him as the warrior who had slain tens of thousands, so this left David feeling very apprehensive. The only way that David could think of to protect himself was to feign insanity and he completely deceived King Achish of Gad.

David discussed with Jonathan the inexplicable persecution by his father Saul. Jonathan insisted that everything would be alright and that David wasn’t going to die, but David knew he was but a step from death. Hence David wanted to avoid dining with Saul at the New Moon Festival as was planned and so they invented a story that David had gone to Bethlehem. If Saul was alright about this then all well and good, but if he went into a rage his murderous intent would be clear, and Jonathan would let David know through a pre-arranged signal firing arrows near where he was hidden. As it happened Saul was furious at David’s absence and nearly killed Jonathan in the process. When David and Jonathan met they wept profusely as they knew beyond doubt of Saul’s intent to murder David. They then swore a friendship pact, David left and Jonathan went back to town.

Brazil has the second highest interest rate in the world, second only to Turkey. Brazil’s interest rate is 9.53% per annum after having discounted inflation. This only goes to show the precarious state of the Brazilian economy. The UK’s interest rate after discounting inflation is 0.28%.

Thursday was a public holiday here so our Campina Grande Catolé church held an all night of prayer only going home when Thursday dawned. 120 people spent the night in God’s house in prayer. Praise God! 🙌

Patos is in the middle of its 5-day St John’s Day Festival, or rather 5-night festival as it is a series of 5 all night parties from about 10 pm till dawn with up to 100,000 people taking part! Entrance is free with the cost of the famous singers and bands paid by the town council.

Our Youth Conference is underway at Green Pastures.

I have just eaten a kiwi for my morning snack. 😋

It might be hotter in the UK than it is here as this is our coolest month of the year. Today we have a maximum of 32 degrees and a minimum in the night of 22 degrees. Take care! ☀☂

Yesterday we went to our girls’ TEFL school ‘Cultura Inglesa’ for the giving out of certificates for the first semester. Students and parents came to the school, received their certificates, ate maize tasties and heard live regional music. It was very nice. The school does a brilliant job teaching English as a second language in a wonderful way.

This chapter tells further about the erratic paranoic behaviour by Saul as he told his son Jonathan and his counsellors to kill David. However Jonathan tipped off David and told him he would work on his father to the contrary. Saul initially listened to his son and swore not to kill David, but he soon forgot his oath and tried again to kill him with his spear. 

Then Saul sent men to David’s house to kill him, but his wife Michal warned him and helped him escape to where Samuel was and told him all that was happening. When Saul heard where David was he sent men to capture him, but the men saw Samuel and other prophets prophesying and the spirit of God came on them and they prophesied too! Eventually Saul went to see what was going on and he ended up prophesying too!  

David and Saul’s son Jonathan became very close friends indeed as David stayed with Saul permanently. David was very successful in all he did, as the Lord was with him, so Saul gave him a high rank in the army. But as David started to get more praise than the king he became increasingly jealous, and one day, under the influence of an evil spirit from God, Saul twice tried to spear David but David was too quick and escaped. So Saul sent David away with a thousand troops but nothing hindered David’s success, and he became increasingly popular with the people.

Then Saul offered David his daughter Merab in marriage, but he turned her down. Next another of Saul’s daughters Michal fell in love with David so Saul offered her too in marriage, so as to serve as a snare to him, and the price would be 100 Philistine foreskins. This time David accepted the bride and proceeded to kill more that his stipulated quota and killed 200 Philistines. David became increasingly well known and Saul saw that the Lord was with him, and he considered him as his enemy.

Israel and the Philistines were lining up for another battle in the Valley of Elah. However a 3 metre tall Philistine giant challenged any Israelite with a winner takes all dual, but nobody would take the giant on as both Saul and all the Israelites were terrified. Goliath challenged the Israelites every morning for 40 days but nobody had the courage to face the giant. Then however young David was sent to the war front to take food to his older brothers, and he heard Goliath throwing down the gauntlet. So David offered to fight Goliath in the name of the Lord, but Saul said he wasn’t up to it. David retorted that he had killed both lion and bear whilst caring for the sheep so he believed God would deliver him from this Philistine giant. So Saul eventually gave in and said go, and the Lord be with you! Saul then put his armour on David but it didn’t feel right so he took it off, and advanced towards the giant with his staff in his hand, 5 stones in his bag and a sling. When Goliath saw that his Israelite opponent was just a boy he ridiculed him and cursed him by his gods. David reacted saying that Goliath might come with sword, spear and javelin, but he came in the name of the Lord! Then as the giant advanced towards him David put a stone in his sling and struck Goliath on his forehead knocking him out! He then took Goliath’s own sword and beheaded him. At this all the Philistines turned and ran, and the Israelites chased them back to their cities of Ekron and Gath killing many on the way. Meanwhile David took Goliath’s head to Jerusalem and kept his weapons as souvenirs in his tent. Saul was impressed by David to put it mildly.

Liz went to a hen party on Tuesday evening of Karol Macena who will be marrying our young lawyer and Bible College graduate Murilo on August 2nd. I will be conducting the wedding. Please pray for Karol and Murilo. They will be living in a flat not far from the church.

I hear you will be having a heatwave of up to 33 degrees in the UK. I suggest you take at least 2 cold showers a day to lower your body temperature. 

I have had my hair cut and I hope you like it? 👨

The Great Lumley Evangelical Church in County Durham has just held another sponsored toddle, together with a kids singing concert for the parents, to raise funds for the EAB 2-wings project with a chicken run and 7 chickens. Thank you Great Lumley kids!

I have just got home from conducting Bia and Kelvin’s wedding held in a chapel in the municipality of Junco do Seridó. Everything went off very well after a start about an hour late, which is about par for weddings here. The reception was lovely too.

God told Samuel to stop bemoaning Saul as he had now rejected him. So God told Samuel to fill his anointing horn with oil and go to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem because he had chosen one of his sons to be the next king. When Samuel saw the first son he was impressed, but God said he wasn’t the chosen one as God looks at the heart rather than outward appearance. This routine was repeated various times but never was the son God’s choice. Samuel asked if there were any more sons and Jesse said there was just the youngest out tending the sheep. When they sent and got David God told Samuel straight away to rise and anoint him, and from that day the Spirit of the Lord came on David in power. 

However the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. So Saul’s attendants sought out someone who could play the harp to sooth him and they came upon David who fitted that bill. Therefore David entered Saul’s service and Saul liked him, and every time Saul got down David would play the harp and the evil spirit would leave him.

God told Saul, through Samuel, that he was to attack the Amalekites as punishment for their ill treatment of Israel years earlier, and that he should annihilate them by killing every man, woman, child, infant, cattle, sheep, camels and donkeys! So Saul set forth with an army 210,000 strong and attacked and destroyed the enemy east of Egypt. He captured their king Agag, killed the rest except the best of the cattle and the sheep. 

God was most upset by Saul’s disobedience and grieved that he had made him king. He told Samuel to sort Saul out and when he went after him he had gone to set up a monument in his own honour at Carmel. When they eventually met up Saul said he had done with the Amalekites what God had requested, but Samuel questioned this as he could hear sheep bleating and cattle lowing! Saul’s excuse was that the best animals had been kept to sacrifice to the Lord, to which Samuel retorted that obedience was better than sacrifice! He sternly rebuked Saul in the name of the Lord telling him that because he had rejected the word of the Lord God was rejecting him as king.

Saul asked forgiveness but Samuel said that God would not change his mind. However Samuel and Saul did eventually worship the Lord together prior to Samuel executing King Agag. From that day onwards Samuel and Saul parted ways and never met again.

Jonathan went and attacked a Philistine outpost and killed 20 men, having received a sign from God that he was favourable to the endeavour, but his father Saul was not aware of the initiative. The surprise attack by Jonathan sowed panic amongst the Philistines, made worse by an accompanying earthquake. When Saul saw the Philistine disarray he attacked an enemy that was so confused that they even ended up fighting each other, and God helped Israel drive the Philistines back beyond Beth Aven. 

Saul banned his troops from even eating so as to keep them focused and cursed anyone that ate, but of course this made the troops faint. Jonathan didn’t know about his father’s curse and ate wild honey so that when Saul discovered this he wanted to kill him. But the men refused to let this happen in the light of his warfare achievements. 

The exhausted and famished troops, having struck down the Philistines from Michmash to Aijalon, butchered the plundered livestock and sinned eating it with the blood. But in Saul’s reign Israel was victorious over Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings of Zobah, the Philistines and the Amalekites.

Saul’s sons were Jonathan, Ishvi and Malki-Shua, and his eldest daughter was Merab and his youngest was Michal. His wife’s name was Ahinoam and his army commander was Abner. Throughout Saul’s 42-year reign there were constant wars with the Philistines. 

Saul was 30-years-of-age when he became king and his reign lasted 42 years. He chose 3,000 men from Israel and sent the rest home. When Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba this stirred things up. So Saul had the trumpets blown throughout the land and summoned the people to join him and Gilgal. But the Philistines massed forces against them at Michmash with 3,000 chariots, 6,000 charioteers and innumerous soldiers. This caused panic and widespread desertion by the Israelites who hid anywhere they could, but Saul remained at Gilgal despite the 600 troops with him quaking with fear. 

Then to make things worse Saul took the law into his own hands when Samuel was late to offer the pre-battle sacrifices, and Saul went ahead and did it himself! This was an outrageous error as such rituals were exclusively the domain of priests and this sin would cost Saul his kingly dynasty. 

Things only got worse because the Israelites also found themselves unarmed for a lack of blacksmiths to sharpen their weapons to the point that on the day of the battle the soldiers found themselves without swords or spears!

Samuel’s farewell speech starts by reminding Israel that he had always been prepared to listen to the people even if meant installing a king against God’s ideal will. He stressed how honest he had always been as judge to which the people agreed. He then warned the people to be careful to be faithful to God and not repeat the errors of the paganism of the past. Samuel said that if the people and the King remained faithful in following the Lord then all well and good, but if they rebelled against his commands then God’s hand would be against them. 

Samuel then charged the people to stand still and observe what God was about to do, and he called upon God to send thunder and rain on the wheat harvest and this took place the same day leaving the people in awe of God and of Samuel. Thus Samuel condemned idolatry and useless idols and challenged them to be sure to always fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all their hearts.

Nahash the Ammonite besieged Jabesh Gilead so that the people proposed a treaty with him involving their subservience to him. Nahash struck a hard bargain saying he would only make a treaty if he could gouge out the right eye of the entire population of Jabesh Gilead! When word reached Saul of this the Spirit of God came upon him with power and he burned with anger. He cut a pair of oxen into pieces and dispatched them throughout Israel saying that whoever didn’t follow Saul and Samuel would see their oxen suffer the same fate. The terror of the Lord fell on the people and united them so that when Saul mustered them at Bezek there were 300,000 from Israel and 30,000 from Judah, and they sent word to Jabesh Gilead that the following day they would be delivered. Saul divided his men into 3 divisions and broke into the camp of the Ammonites and slaughtered most of them. 

After this great victory the people wanted to kill those who had doubted Saul’s capacity as King, but Saul did not allow it. So Samuel called all to go to Gilgal and there reaffirm Saul’s kingship with great celebration and sacrifices of fellowship offerings in the presence of the Lord!

Samuel now privately and secretly anoints Saul King pouring a flask of oil on his head and kissing him. He then provides Saul with 3 confirming signs and experiences which will follow. He says that Saul will meet up with 2 men near Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah who will tell him his father’s donkeys have been found. He will next meet 3 men by the great tree of Tabor who are going up to Bethel with offerings. The men will offer him 2 loaves of bread which he should accept. The third sign will be meeting a procession of prophets which Saul will join and the Spirit of God will come upon him in power. All 3 of these signs were fulfilled that very day. People were surprised when they saw Saul prophesying.

Then  Samuel summoned the people at Mizpah and announced Saul as King, but they couldn’t find him because he was hidden in the baggage! When they got him out Samuel told the people to look at the man God had chosen, and the people shouted: “Long live the King”! Samuel then proceeded to explain the regulations of the Kingship. The assembly ended and Saul went home to Gibeah accompanied by valiant men, but there were some people opposed to his rule.

Saul, son of Kish, was a Benjamite who was taller than all the Israelites. He went searching for his father’s lost donkeys but he couldn’t find them. So he and his servants decided to seek out the man of God Samuel to see if he could help them find the donkeys. They met some girls on the way who confirmed that Samuel was in town, and then they bumped into Samuel.

The previous day God had told Samuel that he would send him a Benjamite whom he should anoint King. God said that this Benjamite would deliver Israel from the Philistines.

When Saul met Samuel he didn’t realize he was the seer he was looking for, but Samuel told him to relax about the lost donkeys as they had been found. He then invited Saul to eat with him and spend the night there, saying that Saul was the man who would fulfil the desire of all Israel for a King. Saul was taken aback questioning this because he was from the most insignificant clan from the smallest tribe of Israel. Samuel sat Saul at the head of the table for their meal together and gave him choice meat. The following morning Samuel asked Saul to send his servant on ahead because he had a message to give him before he left from God.

 Since problems arose in our 1st Princesa Isabel church in August 2024, which resulted in the removal of the pastor, the church has been under provisional pastoral care whilst a new pastor was found. I am glad to report that Pastor Robério has now been approved by the unanimous church council, and 75% of the church membership, and will take up office as soon as possible. May God bless our brother in his new sphere of ministry. Please pray for Robério. I will be preaching at his induction service on July 13th.

On Sunday night I led the main service of the week in Patos and young lawyer Murilo brought an excellent sermon from Jonah 4. 

Our grandson and doctor John David is working at a clinic in the town of Desterro which is 53 km south of Patos. 

One of our members at our church plant at Ipueira has just gone to be with the Lord aged 91. His name was Olival. 

Last night we had an excellent meeting with the youth leaders in preparation for the Youth Conference at Green Pastures this coming weekend. Please pray for the Conference.

When Samuel was old he appointed his sons Joel and Abijah to be judges but they were not like their father and turned to corruption. So Israel’s elders asked him for a king to lead them like other nations had, and this displeased Samuel. Samuel consulted the Lord about this and he told him to listen to the people but warn them of what to expect from a king. So Samuel told Israel that they would be exploited by kings who would be oppressive and abuse power, even conscripting their sons, daughters and land. But the people had their minds made up wouldn’t heed Samuel’s warnings. They wanted a king to be like other nations and he will lead them in battles. So the Lord told Samuel to listen to the people and give them a king. 

Having been brought from Beth Shemesh the ark was taken to Kiriath Jearim where it remained for 20 years as Israel mourned and sought after the Lord. So Samuel said that if they really meant it they should get rid of their pagan gods, and this they did. Then all Israel assembled at Mizpah under Samuel’s leadership and fasted and confessed their sins. When the Philistines got word of Israel’s assembly they approached to attack them, and Israel was scared. But Samuel sacrificed a lamb and cried to God, so that great thunder made the Philistines panic and Israel rushed out of Mizpah and routed them! Then Samuel set up a remembrance stone and named it Ebenezer saying ‘thus far has the Lord helped us’! Hence the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israelite territory again. Thus Samuel continued as judge over Israel all the days of his life. 

The Philistines had had the ark in their custody for 7 months when they called for their priests and diviners to decide how to send it back to its rightful place. They suggested that the ark should be returned with a guilt offering of 5 gold tumours and 5 gold rats symbolizing what they had been facing. So they put the ark with the guilt offering on a cart drawn by 2 cows and set them off in direction of Canaan, and when the people of Beth Shemesh saw the ark they were over the moon. They chopped up the cart and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering, observed at a distance by the 5 Philistine rulers who then went back to Ekron. However 70 men at Beth Shemesh died as a result of looking inside the ark of the covenant. However the good thing was that the ark was back in Israel.

The Philistines took the captured ark of God to Dagon’s temple at Ashdod, but the next morning the god Dagon had fallen on its face in front of the ark. They put it back in its place but the following morning it was back on the ground minus its arms and legs! The people of Ashdod suffered tumours, rats appeared in the land and death and destruction were rife. The people therefore demanded the ark to be removed, so the Philistines took it to Gath. However the story repeated itself at Gath, with tumours appearing in young and old, so they took the ark to Ekron. However the outcry from Ekron was great from the start and they made it clear that they didn’t want the ark there for fear of tumours and death.

The Israelites went to battle with the Philistines and lost 4,000 men in a crushing defeat. Israel’s elders were bewildered by the defeat and gambled on a quick fix by bringing the ark of the covenant to carry with them into the next battle. There was great enthusiasm at this but in the ensuing battle it made no difference as Israel was even worse off this time losing 30,000 men, the ark of the covenant was captured and Eli’s 2 sons were killed. 

News travels fast and a Benjamite took the news of the crushing defeat, the capture of the ark and the death of Hophni and Phineas to Eli at Shiloh. Eli, who had led and judged Israel for 40 years, fell off his chair, broke his neck, and died. One of his daughters-in-law was pregnant and died in child birth with the shock, but the surviving son they called Ichabod which means the glory of the Lord has departed in the light of the loss of the ark of God.

Samuel continued ministering before the Lord under Eli, although in those days “the word of the Lord was rare and there were not many visions”. But one night God called Samuel as he laid down in the tabernacle and Samuel ran to Eli thinking he had called him. After this had happened 3 times Eli realized that it was God calling him so he told Samuel that the next time it happened he should reply: ‘speak Lord, for your servant is listening’. This Samuel did so God spoke to him saying that he was about to do something that would make people’s ears tingle! God said he would fulfill his threats against Eli for having failed to restrain his sons. Eli enquired about God’s message the next morning and Samuel only told him after Eli’s insistence. 

So Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and he kept God’s word in his heart. All of Israel came to recognize his as a prophet of the Lord.  

This chapter starts with a beautiful prayer of praise and thanksgiving by Hannah. She exclaims: “My heart rejoices in the Lord… there is no Rock like our God… she who was barren has borne seven children… the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s”! Such joyful praise of God stands in stark contrast with the rest of the chapter’s description of Eli the priest’s wicked sons.

Eli’s wicked sons Hophni and Phinehas had no regard for the Lord. They used to steal portions of the sacrifices in the tabernacle and all the fat which was to be offered to God they took for themselves. The text says that they were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt. To the contrary Samuel grew up in the presence and service of the Lord, and every year his parents visited him and took him clothes. Eli the priest used to bless them and Hannah gave birth to 3 sons and 2 daughters. Eli however rebuked his sons but they just carried on with their evil deeds and wouldn’t heed him, even having sex with women that worked at the tabernacle.

Then a man of God came and rebuked Eli with a prophetic message concerning the scorn of God’s sacrifices and offerings by Eli’s sons asking Eli why he honoured more his sons than he honoured God? God said that he would only honour those who honoured him. God said that he would punish the priestly lineage with shorter lives and that Eli’s sons Hophni and Phineas would both die on the same day. God said he would then raise up a faithful priest who would do according to his heart and mind.

 I went for a nice walk at Green Pastures and saw many holes dug by the Armadillos. I also saw a flock of 6 Guira-Cuckoos, a pair of Red-cowled Cardinals, a pair of White-tipped Doves and a pair of Picui Ground-Doves. Some of the youth were there organizing things for the Youth Conference which will be held there next week.

I have finished by résumés chapter by chapter of the book of Judges, and have also done the 4 chapters of Ruth with that beautiful story of commitment, faithfulness and romance. Now I have started the 31 chapters of 1 Samuel. So that’s 8 books of the Bible done in 8 and a half months. 58 books to go!

Illiteracy in Brazil has slightly improved from 5.4% of the population in 2023 to 5.3% in 2024, which means 9.1 million can still not read or write a simple note.

Last night I spoke on the Song of Songs to the married couples fellowship, together with courting couples and engaged couples, who met together to celebrate Valentine’s Day which here is St. Anthony’s Day. At the end everyone ate maize which is the thing everyone eats here at this time of year.

The book of 1 Samuel covers the period of transition in Israel between theocracy under the judges to monarchy. It relates the life of judge and prophet Samuel, the rise and fall of Saul as king, and the anointing and preparation to succeed Saul by David. 

The first chapter starts by telling that Elkanah had two wives: Hannah, who was barren, and Peninnah. The child-bearing wife humiliated and provoked Hannah which made her very sad. But Hannah cried to God to help her become a mother and promised that if he did she would give him back to God under a Nazarite vow. One day Hannah was praying so intensely in the temple that the priest Eli thought she was drunk. Upon discovering the true motive of her prayer Eli blessed her wishing that her prayer should be answered. So it was that in due course Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son whom she called Samuel. Having weaned the child Hannah took him to Eli at Shiloh together with a thanksgiving sacrifice, and she gave him to the Lord’s service 100%.

Boaz went into town and sought out the kinsman-redeemer who was a closer relative than him. He explained to him before 10 elder witnesses that Naomi was selling land that belonged to their brother Elimelech and that he was first in line to buy it. The man said he would buy it until he found out out that the land involved taking on the widow Ruth! With this information the man didn’t want to know, so Boaz was left free to marry Ruth as her kinsman-redeemer and the deal was done and sealed by the removal of a sandal which was the cultural signal for closing a deal. So Boaz took Ruth as his wife, and they had a son called Obed who was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

One day Naomi encouraged Ruth to go to the threshing floor where Boaz would be, having bathed and put on perfume and her best clothes, and propose to him the triggering of the kinsman-redeemer clause in the law so as to bring into effect their marriage. So after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and gone to sleep at the end of the corn pile, Ruth discreetly uncovered his feet and lay there. Boaz only realized what was happening in the middle of the night as Ruth proposed him to be her kinsman-redeemer. Boaz was over the moon, but admitted there was another man that would have first choice in making Ruth his wife, so he would have to be honest and see what the other man said first. So whilst Boaz was sorting this out Ruth went and told Naomi everything, giving her the barley Boaz had sent with her. So Naomi and Ruth eagerly waited the outcome!

Ruth joined in the barley harvest gleaning grain left over by the regular harvesters as the law permitted, and she happened to find herself in a field belonging to Boaz who was from the clan of her late husband Elimelech. Boaz noted Ruth, enquired about her, encouraged her to keep gleaning in his fields and was kind to her providing her with food and water. Boaz learned about Ruth’s devotion to Naomi and asked God to richly reward her. So Ruth managed to glean 22 litres of barley that day, took it home to Naomi and told her about Boaz. Naomi remarked that Boaz was a close relative and one of their kinsman-redeemers. So Ruth continued working in Boaz’s fields till the end of the barley and wheat harvests. 

The book of Ruth contains a beautiful story set in the period of the judges. The story involves 3 women, Naomi, Ruth and Orpah who all lost their husbands, having settled outside of Canaan in Moab to escape a famine. It is a story of love and devotion, and of the providence of God.

This chapter begins with an Ephrathites family from Bethlehem going to live in Moab to escape a drought. Elimelech and his wife Naomi were with their sons Mahlon and Kilion. However Elimelech died, but the sons married Moabite girls Orpah and Ruth, but 10 years later both sons died too.

When Naomi learnt that things had improved back in Judah she decided to return there together with her 2 daughters-in-law. Then Naomi told Ruth and Orpah to go home to their families, but the girls resisted. Eventually however Orpah did leave, but Ruth stood firm, was inseparable from Naomi and said that wherever Naomi went there Ruth would go with her with total commitment and devotion including to her people and God. Their return to Bethlehem coincided with the beginning of the barley harvest.

The aftermath of the previous chapter’s civil war left the tribe of Benjamin bearing on extinction, especially after the Israelite oath to refuse their daughters in marriage to the Benjamites. The dilemma was how to therefore provide wives for the Benjamites to make possible the tribe’s survival. This problem was partially solved by killing all men and women of Jabesh Gilead who had failed to assemble before the Lord at Mizpah, except the virgins, and this provided 400 wives for Benjamin, though this was not enough. So a scheme was elaborated for the annual festival at Shiloh whereby the Benjamin men seized wives from the dancing girls of Shiloh without them actually being given! All this happened in the days that Israel had no king and when everyone did as they saw fit. 

Having spent 3 days in João Pessoa on the coast, we arrived back in Patos, after a 5-hour journey, on Wednesday night. I saw the sea for about 30 seconds from a great distance whilst there! It was a good trip with very happy content. I heard Southern Wrens and Parakeets whilst there and saw plenty of Vultures, Crested Caracaras and Egrets. 

I led the mid-week prayer meeting and Bible study last night and co-pastor Rafael gave the study concluding the book of Micah. Erika and Davi led the praise and worship.

Patos is highly decorated for the annual Saint John’s Festival with streamers all over the main street and lots of decorative lighting. The main festivities in Patos will be from June 19th to 23rd as St. John’s Day is on the 24th. However in Campina Grande the festivities started on May 30th and continue to July 6th!

The result of the abominable happenings with the concubine in the previous chapter was full-scale civil war in Israel. For as the word spread about the concubine’s murder Israel united to punish the city of Gibeah and the Benjamites. Israel demanded that the men who committed the heinous crime be surrendered to face capital punishment, but the Benjamites refused. 

There therefore ensued a series of battles between Israel as a whole, versus the Benjamites, with initially the latter prevailing killing 40,000 men. However in the third battle things were inverted with Israel defeating Benjamin killing 25,100 men and taking and burning the city of Gibeah. They then went on to take and burn the surrounding towns and villages with just 600 Benjamin fighters surviving.