Robert Smith – Page 21 – What Does This Mean?

David Anointed King

[Twenty-Eighth in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: In ancient times, people poured oil on themselves for various purposes, including as perfume, medicine, and to signify that something or someone was dedicated to serving God. Doing this was called anointing.

Anointing was a part of the ceremonies to make a king the ruler of Israel or a priest to serve God in performing sacrifices. The word “Messiah” comes from the Hebrew word that means “anointed one.” It was translated into Greek with the word “Christ.”

Before Jesus was called “Messiah,” the title pointed to another anointed one: David. When God chose him to be king, the prophet Samuel anointed him with oil—not simply to crown him, but to mark him out as someone set apart for God’s purpose. Though David was the youngest son, overlooked by others, God saw his heart. That moment of anointing wasn’t about politics or ceremony; it was about calling. From then on, David became the pattern—a king with flaws, yet deeply loved by God—through whom the promise of the true Messiah would come.

As the prophets God sent to Israel predicted more and more about the coming of Jesus, they began to use these words as the title for God’s Son. When the prophet Nathan promised that a descendant of David would be the Messiah, they also came to call this promised savior “The Son of David.”

Jesus is the Messiah promised. He did not come to be served, but to serve others and give his life for us. In this way, he truly is the man after God’s own heart.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

David and Saul

[Twenty-Seventh in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: David was a good man. He was a soldier who defended his king and his country. The people loved him and loved King Saul because of him. Prince Jonathan was his best friend. Princess Michal loved him and married him.

Yet King Saul was jealous of him. Like most kings, he was afraid of anyone who might take his kingdom from him. Because Saul saw David as a threat, he missed out on the good things a loyal and talented son-in-law could bring him. So, Saul tried to kill David. Jonathan and Michal warn David and help him escape Saul’s grasp. The future king seeks Samuel, and together they hide in the wild areas near Bethlehem. For a while, he hid in various Philistine cities and eventually returned to caves near Bethlehem. Members of his family and four hundred fighting men gathered with him there.

Soon, Saul would send an army to look for David and eventually led them. They played a cat-and-mouse game for some time. Twice, David snuck into Saul’s camp and took a personal item from him. Each time, he would display the item to Saul in the morning to prove his loyalty. Eventually, Saul gave up the effort to catch David and went after the Philistines. Saul, Jonathan, and most of Saul’s sons died in battle with them.

David would have been justified in taking the throne from Saul. No one would blame him if he killed Saul. But David loved God and Saul. He remained loyal until the day Saul and Jonathan died. Even when he had chances to kill Saul, he spared the king. After their deaths, he assumed the throne of Israel. For the rest of his life, he protected the disabled son of Jonathan.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

David and Goliath

[Twenty-Sixth in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: When Saul and David lived, war was very personal. Most of the fighting was done with swords, shields, and other weapons in hand-to-hand combat. Sometimes it was very hard to predict who would win a battle. Yet everyone knew hundreds to thousands of soldiers on both sides would die. To spare the armies from such losses, the two sides would sometimes agree to have their two best soldiers fight the battle for their armies. These soldiers were called champions.

Goliath proposed to fight for the Philistines. If he won, Israel would surrender to them. If he lost, the Philistines would surrender. All of Goliath’s strength did him no good, since he couldn’t reach David with his sword. David used his sling. Men from the tribe of Benjamin were known for their marksmanship with a sling. Like them, David learned his skill with the weapon in fending off animals that attacked his sheep. God guided David’s stone, which killed the giant. He finished Goliath with the Philistine’s own sword. However, the Philistine army did not honor the agreement; instead, it broke ranks and fled. The army of Israel followed them, killing many as they ran.

Saul recognized talent when he saw it. He kept David with him and sent him out on military missions. As David won victory after victory, the people came to love him. David became a good friend of Saul’s son, Jonathan. Saul would eventually give his daughter Michal in marriage to David. Soon, Saul would become jealous of David’s fame and see him as a threat to his throne.

David’s descendant, Jesus, is our champion. He fought sin, death, and the devil for us on the cross, suffered and died for our sins, and rose from the grave to defeat them. Because our Champion died for us, we now will live with Him forever.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

King Saul

[Twenty-Fifth in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: After Joshua’s death, God let each tribe of Israel rule their own lands. When needed, God appointed judges to settle disputes and lead them into battle. However, the tribes did not act as a single people. They were not impressed with the sons of their greatest judge, Samuel. So the people asked God for a king to unite them, fight their battles, and give them a sense of pride. What the people did not see was the downside — kings do whatever they want and take whatever they want. If they do not serve God, then the people would become slaves in their own country. They did not listen, so God granted their wish.

He sent to Samuel a handsome, tall, and charismatic young man named Saul. He was the son of a rich man from the tribe of Benjamin. Samuel anointed him king over Israel. At first, Saul was very successful. He raised a large army and liberated some Israelites from the Ammonites. He won a few victories against the Philistines with inferior weapons. He defeated the Amalekites and killed every one of them, yet spared their king against God’s command.

Ultimately, King Saul disobeyed God and did as he pleased. So God took the Kingdom of Israel back from him and gave it to a shepherd boy, David. A thousand years later, Jesus, the Son of David, served God and His people. He suffered and died for our sins and rose again to defeat sin, death, and the power of the devil. One day, he will return with the armies of Heaven to defeat these forces forever. On that day, we will live under the King of Kings forever.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Samuel’s Call

[Twenty-Four in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: Samuel is a unique figure in the history of God’s people. Samuel was the last and greatest of Israel’s judges and the one through whom God would anoint Israel’s first two kings. As a Levite dedicated to the Lord, he served as a priest. God also called him as a prophet. He was the only figure in the Old Testament who served in all three sacred offices: prophet, priest, and judge. In this way, Samuel paved the way for Jesus, who is the greatest of all: Prophet, Priest, and King.

Samuel’s birth was also unique. His mother, Hannah, was barren and prayed for the birth of a son. When Samuel was born, she gave him to the Lord so that the boy would serve as a priest in the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was Israel’s first temple. It was a tent whose layout was like the temple that would follow it. Here, in its Holy of Holies, was kept the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the tablets of God’s law, Moses’ staff, and other items that witnessed to God’s miracles during the desert years. Samuel’s duty that night was to keep the lamps lit all evening.

While he was sleeping near the sanctuary, God called out to Samuel. Thinking the voice was that of the high priest, Eli, he went to him. Eli instructed him to go back to bed. When God called two more times, Eli told him to say to God, “Speak, Lord, your servant listens.” God gave Samuel the first of many prophecies that night.

When Samuel was old, the people of Israel pressed him to give them a king, like all the neighboring nations. They believed it would unite them. Samuel warned them that substituting a human king for God, their King, would bring only trouble. He would, in a sense, enslave them. They did not listen. God told Samuel to give in. He revealed to the prophet-judge-priest that Saul would be king — handsome, strong, everything they thought a king should be.

At first, Saul was very successful. But soon his power convinced him he could do anything he wished. Even though he was not a priest, he personally sacrificed to the Lord. Even when God ordered the complete destruction of an enemy people and not to take plunder from them, he spared their king and took plunder. God deposed him and chose David of Bethlehem, son of Jesse, as his successor. Samuel anointed him king.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Ruth

[Twenty-Third in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: In ancient times, a widow was on her own. She had no means of supporting herself or her family. If she were fortunate enough to have adult sons, they would care for her. If she did not, she was completely at the mercy of her relatives. Most ancient societies placed great importance on descendants inheriting the family name and fortunes. To be a widow without sons meant the family line would die with her.

God’s laws for Israel provided for that. It required a man’s brother to marry his widow. The children born of that marriage would be the deceased’s legal heirs and would inherit all his property. This duty was a disadvantage to the brother. If he declined to perform it, the nearest relative would take his place.

Naomi and Ruth were in an especially tough spot. They were both widowed, and Ruth was childless. They lived in a foreign land where no family lived to help them. Ruth so loved and honored her mother-in-law that she would not hear of abandoning her. In addition, she believed in the God of Israel. So they returned to Naomi’s home — Bethlehem.

God also had not forsaken the two women. He protected them and led them home, where Naomi’s relatives took care of them. She helped Ruth understand the culture of Israel, which enabled them to find food to eat in gleaning in the fields of Boaz, the relative of Naomi’s husband. Even though Ruth was a gentile, Bethlehem received her as a member of his family. Boaz shows the true, selfless character of a redeemer — one who would establish a line for his relative by marrying Ruth and having a child with her, buying back all the property of Naomi and Ruth’s husbands and preserving it for their descendants.

But, as usual, God had bigger plans for his daughters. It was through their descendants that his Son would be born. The son of Ruth and Boaz was Obed, the father of Jesse, who was the father of King David. Through them, the redeemer of all would be born. When Matthew selected generations to mention in the genealogy of Jesus, he did not fail to mention Ruth, one of the very few women on the list. God had redeemed her and through her had redeemed the whole world.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Deborah and the Judges

[Twenty-Second in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Posts: Through Joshua, God defeated the Canaanites in the land he promised to his people. He instructed them to kill all of these people, since they were devoted to particularly evil gods — chiefly Baal and his wife, Asherah. They were fertility gods. Their religion promised many children and abundant crops to their followers. Part of their worship involved sexual relations with temple prostitutes and child sacrifice to influence the gods to give them what they desired. Yet Israel did not listen to God and let some of them live. This would lead to endless trouble for them.

After Joshua died, God ruled the people of Israel directly, primarily through judges. Mostly, this worked well. Yet, because often the people of Israel would fall into the temptation of worshipping the gods of Canaan, God allowed the Canaanites to raid or conquer one area of the land or another. When His people prayed to Him for help, God would raise up a judge in Israel to gather them together and defeat their enemies. Deborah was one of these judges. She is the only female judge mentioned in Scripture. She is also one of the very few prophetesses mentioned among God’s people. Her role was political — to settle disputes between various peoples in Israel and to summon them to battle.

Deborah brought the tribes together to fight against their enemies. The battle was not promising. Israel did not have chariots and faced an army that did. When the battle began, a thunderstorm soaked the field, bogging down the chariots in mud. In the confusion, the Canaanite general Sisera was defeated and fled. Once again, it is God who rescues His people from foreign armies. They turn again to worship Him as long as Deborah lives.

During these years, the relationship between God and the people went through a depressing cycle. When they forgot what God had done for them, they worshipped the gods of the Canaanites. God would send their neighbors to harass and oppress them. They would cry to God for help. He would raise up a judge like Deborah to rescue them. They would honor God as long as the judge lived. With each cycle, the people would grow worse.

Like the people of Israel, we also go through a similar pattern. When God shows mercy to us and blesses us, we honor Him. Eventually, we take his blessing for granted, and he allows us to suffer the consequences of our sins. We call out for help, and God rescues us. Ultimately, it leads to physical death. Yet God has sent the Judge of Judges to rescue us. He did battle with sin, death, and the devil for us. By his death, he destroyed death and earned for us everlasting life. On the last day, the cycle will come to an end once and for all. We will live forever in his blessing.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Joshua and the Battle of Jericho

[Twenty-first in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: Joshua was a young man when God freed his people from Egypt. When the people of Israel arrived at the border of the promised land the first time, he was one of twelve spies Moses sent into the land. Most of the spies were afraid of the armies in the land, but Joshua was confident that with God’s help, Israel could defeat those who lived there. Because the people were afraid, God decided the people would wander in the wilderness for forty years.

During this time, Moses appointed Joshua as his trusted assistant and designated him as the leader who would succeed him. When Moses died, Joshua took Moses’ place. Not long after that, the Captain of the Army of the Lord appeared to him. Many theologians believe this general is the second person of the Trinity — the Angel of the Lord. Under his direction, Joshua parted the Jordan River and led the people into Canaan. The first challenge was the powerful city of Jericho, located where the Jordan River meets the Dead Sea.

Joshua and Jesus have the same name. It comes from the same Hebrew words that mean God saves. God told Joseph and Mary to name His Son Jesus, because He would save His people from their sins. Joshua’s parents named him Hoshea, which means salvation. Moses changed his name to Joshua. In ancient times, a name was a kind of motto. Joshua depended upon God to give the people of Israel victory when they went to war. Because Joshua trusted God, Joshua led the people of Israel to capture Jericho and the rest of the promised land. Jesus lived a perfect life, suffered, died on the cross, rose from the dead. When He did these things, He paid the price for our sins, won forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. Jesus is more than just a man who died for us. He is literally God who saves us.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Bread from Heaven

[Twentieth in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: Once the people of Israel were safe on the other side of the Red Sea and the joy of freedom faded, they realized they had to provide for themselves. They grumbled at Mara that they were thirsty, and God provided water to drink. Once they reached the Wilderness of Sin, they grumbled that they had nothing to eat. God told Moses that he would provide bread in the morning and quail at night for them to eat.

When the people saw the bread God provided, it looked so strange to them that they said, “What is it?” They called it Manna, which means “what is it? ” in Hebrew. Moses answered that it was bread that God provided for them. God provided this food for six days, doubling the amount on the sixth day. On the Sabbath, manna did not come.

From the time people first planted crops until this very day, bread has been a staple food for people. God fed His people in the wilderness with manna to teach them to trust their Heavenly Father for daily bread.

God would do other miracles with bread. The prophet Elijah would feed the widow and her son with bread, flour, and oil that never ran out. Elisha would feed one hundred men with a few loaves. Later, Satan would tempt Jesus to make stones into bread rather than trust Him. Jesus quoted what Moses said to Israel about Manna: man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.. (Deuteronomy 8:3). Jesus fed crowds in the desert with a few loaves and fish. The crowd knew what it meant. Jesus was the Messiah, and like Moses and Elijah.

Jesus also used bread in another way. During His Last Supper, He took bread, broke it, blessed it, and gave His body for them to eat. To this day, when we gather for communion, Jesus feeds us with His body — the true Bread from Heaven. When we receive this bread, we are given strength for our journey through this life to life everlasting.

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Concordia Theological Seminary
Fort Wayne, Indiana

The Exodus

[Nineteenth in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: The night of the first Passover, the people of Israel prepared for the darkest of the plagues God sent to Egypt to free them from slavery. They killed a perfect lamb for the feast. They spread the blood on their doorposts to mark their homes. They prepared dinner quickly and prepared to leave Egypt in haste. They made their bread without leaven. They wore traveling clothes.

That night, God himself visited every home in Egypt and took the life of every firstborn in Egyptian households. He did this through the destroying angel. The outcry was great, and Pharaoh finally let God’s people go, telling them to leave quickly.

God led the people out of Egypt to the shore of the Red Sea, where they camped. He did so with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. In this pillar, the Angel of the Lord was present to lead them. Soon, Pharaoh changed his mind and pursued Israel with his army. The pillar moved from before the people to stand between them and the Egyptians.

God directed Moses to hold his staff over the waters of the Red Sea. Winds blew for hours, parting the sea. God then had Moses lead the people through the sea on dry land. Once they were on the other side, the pillar of the cloud of God’s presence moved from between Israel and the Egyptians to the front of the people. The Egyptian army charged into the sea, where the wheels of their chariots bogged down. God then had Moses put down his staff. The sea closed over the Egyptian forces, drowning them. The people of Israel were now free and safe.

When Jesus was transfigured, Moses and Elijah appeared with Him and spoke about Christ’s coming Exodus (a word that gets lost in translation; Most English versions use “departure” for its meaning). Through His death and resurrection, He would lead all God’s people through death to life. St. Paul tells us that the cloud and the Red Sea were a kind of baptism (1 Corinthians 10:1-2), which points to the Sacrament of Baptism. In baptism, our sinful nature is drowned, and we are free to serve God as His redeemed people.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana