"Yeah, I Know That Already": Week 2

Yeah, I just remembered that I didn't post this week's study topic on our blog. Ah, well, better late than never? Tonight we'll be studying Jonah & the Whale, and reading the first two chapters of Jonah. Like last time, I've put the Amplified version up below for your reference. :) I'll see you tonight!

-- Chels

Jonah, Chapters 1 & 2

Jonah 1

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying,

Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.

But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from being in the presence of the Lord [as His prophet] and went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish [the most remote of the Phoenician trading places then known]. So he paid the appointed fare and went down into the ship to go with them to Tarshish from being in the presence of the Lord [as His servant and minister].

But the Lord sent out a great wind upon the sea, and there was a violent tempest on the sea so that the ship was about to be broken.

Then the mariners were afraid, and each man cried to his god; and they cast the goods that were in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.

So the captain came and said to him, What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call upon your God! Perhaps your God will give a thought to us so that we shall not perish.

And they each said to one another, Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us. So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.

Then they said to him, Tell us, we pray you, on whose account has this evil come upon us? What is your occupation? Where did you come from? And what is your country and nationality?

And he said to them, I am a Hebrew, and I [reverently] fear and worship the Lord, the God of heaven, Who made the sea and the dry land.

Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, What is this that you have done? For the men knew that he fled from being in the presence of the Lord [as His prophet and servant], because he had told them.

Then they said to him, What shall we do to you, that the sea may subside and be calm for us? For the sea became more and more [violently] tempestuous.

And [Jonah] said to them, Take me up and cast me into the sea; so shall the sea become calm for you, for I know that it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.

Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring the ship to the land, but they could not, for the sea became more and more violent against them.

Therefore they cried to the Lord, We beseech You, O Lord, we beseech You, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.

So they took up Jonah and cast him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.

Then the men [reverently and worshipfully] feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

Now the Lord had prepared and appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah 2

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish's belly,

And said, I cried out of my distress to the Lord, and He heard me; out of the belly of Sheol cried I, and You heard my voice.

For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the floods surrounded me; all Your waves and Your billows passed over me.

Then I said, I have been cast out of Your presence and Your sight; yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.

The waters compassed me about, even to [the extinction of] life; the abyss surrounded me, the seaweed was wrapped about my head.

I went down to the bottoms and the very roots of the mountains; the earth with its bars closed behind me forever. Yet You have brought up my life from the pit and corruption, O Lord my God.

When my soul fainted upon me [crushing me], I earnestly and seriously remembered the Lord; and my prayer came to You, into Your holy temple.

Those who pay regard to false, useless, and worthless idols forsake their own [Source of] mercy and loving-kindness.

But as for me, I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that which I have vowed. Salvation and deliverance belong to the Lord!

And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

"Yeah, I Know That Already": Week 1

I thought I'd give you our text this week, in case you want to read in advance. We'll be studying David & Goliath, in 1 Samuel, chapter 17. See you on Tuesday!

--Chels

1 Samuel 17

Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle and were assembled at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim.

Saul and the men of Israel were encamped in the Valley of Elah and drew up in battle array against the Philistines.

And the Philistines stood on a mountain on one side and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with the valley between them.

And a champion went out of the camp of the Philistines named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span [almost ten feet].

And he had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of mail, and the coat weighed 5,000 shekels of bronze.

He had bronze shin armor on his legs and a bronze javelin across his shoulders.

And the shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam; his spear's head weighed 600 shekels of iron. And a shield bearer went before him.

Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me.

If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.

And the Philistine said, I defy the ranks of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.

When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah named Jesse, who had eight sons. [Jesse] in the days of Saul was old, advanced in years.

[His] three eldest sons had followed Saul into battle. Their names were Eliab the firstborn; next, Abinadab; and third, Shammah.

David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul,

But David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.

The Philistine came out morning and evening, presenting himself for forty days.

And Jesse said to David his son, Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain and these ten loaves and carry them quickly to your brothers at the camp.

Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See how your brothers fare and bring some token from them.

Now Saul and the brothers and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

So David rose up early next morning, left the sheep with a keeper, took the provisions, and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the encampment as the host going forth to the battleground shouted the battle cry.

And Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army.

David left his packages in the care of the baggage keeper and ran into the ranks and came and greeted his brothers.

As they talked, behold, Goliath, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, came forth from the Philistine ranks and spoke the same words as before, and David heard him.

And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, terrified.

And the Israelites said, Have you seen this man who has come out? Surely he has come out to defy Israel; and the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, and will give him his daughter and make his father's house free [from taxes and service] in Israel.

And David said to the men standing by him, What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?

And the [men] told him, Thus shall it be done for the man who kills him.

Now Eliab his eldest brother heard what he said to the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David and he said, Why did you come here? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and evilness of heart; for you came down that you might see the battle.

And David said, What have I done now? Was it not a harmless question?

And David turned away from Eliab to another and he asked the same question, and again the men gave him the same answer.

When David's words were heard, they were repeated to Saul, and he sent for him.

David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of this Philistine; your servant will go out and fight with him.

And Saul said to David, You are not able to go to fight against this Philistine. You are only an adolescent, and he has been a warrior from his youth.

And David said to Saul, Your servant kept his father's sheep. And when there came a lion or again a bear and took a lamb out of the flock,

I went out after it and smote it and delivered the lamb out of its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard and smote it and killed it.

Your servant killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God!

David said, The Lord Who delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and the Lord be with you!

Then Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail.

And David girded his sword over his armor. Then he tried to go, but could not, for he was not used to it. And David said to Saul, I cannot go with these, for I am not used to them. And David took them off.

Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones out of the brook and put them in his shepherd's [lunch] bag [a whole kid's skin slung from his shoulder], in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand, and he drew near the Philistine.

The Philistine came on and drew near to David, the man who bore the shield going before him.

And when the Philistine looked around and saw David, he scorned and despised him, for he was but an adolescent, with a healthy reddish color and a fair face.

And the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog, that you should come to me with sticks? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

The Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.

Then said David to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the ranks of Israel, Whom you have defied.

This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will smite you and cut off your head. And I will give the corpses of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands.

When the Philistine came forward to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.

David put his hand into his bag and took out a stone and slung it, and it struck the Philistine, sinking into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.

So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck down the Philistine and slew him. But no sword was in David's hand.

So he ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath, and killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their mighty champion was dead, they fled.

And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. So the wounded Philistines fell along the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.

The Israelites returned from their pursuit of the Philistines and plundered their tents.

David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.

When Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As your soul lives, O king, I cannot tell.

And the king said, Inquire whose son the stripling is.

When David returned from killing Goliath the Philistine, Abner brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.

And Saul said to him, Whose son are you, young man? And David answered, I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.