1 Samuel 9-12

The Facts (Chapter number: Verse)

9:11-13 - Saul and his boy came across some girls drawing water and asked them where the seer was. The girls told Saul and his boy that the seer was just ahead of them in the town where he was to perform a sacrifice. They should hurry to meet him.

10:2 - Samuel tells Saul when he departs today Saul will meet two men by Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and the men will tell him that the donkeys had been returned and their father has stopped worrying about the donkeys and is now worrying about his son.

1 Samuel 11 - No mention of any women.

1 Samuel 12 - No mention of any women.

My Comments

It is actually kind of hard to feel any sort of pity or sadness about Nahas, King of the Ammonites, gouging out the right eyes of the Israelites. The Israelites, since they escaped from Egypt, have just been on a killing spree, most time completely wiping out entire tribes and cities, leaving no one alive. So really, am I supposed to feel bad for them now? Feel like this is undeserved? Yeah, sure, gouging out people's eyes isn't cool, but the Israelites have pretty much done nothing to deserve any other kind of actions from nations around them. I'm sure people have learned that if they are not in the Israelite tribe it's only a matter of time before they will be slaughtered like the rest of the non-Israelites. So why not take some action before that happens? Can't say I blame the Ammonite king, really. The Bible wants to make him out to be the bad guy, but the Bible is written so poorly and God in the Old Testament is way beyond loving and kind that I'm finding it hard to side with the Israelites here. I often find myself more often rooting for or feeling for the people God has turned the Israelites against. Maybe if the Bible had been written by ancient Greeks we'd have a better narrative akin to the Aeneid or the Illiad, with protagonists I can actually feel for and a story I can really get into.

But it's just too much to ask. Maybe the Bible's incredible ability to bore its reader is proof of it's truth. Because who the hell would perpetuate this book over something as awesome as most Greek mythology? Or Norse mythology? Or the tales spun in the Asian religions? I guess the only conclusion one could make is the Bible is the Truth and the Light. Or just that the people who started the major Abrahamic religions are boring people who have no taste in literature.

Doesn't really matter which is true, it doesn't change the fact that the Bible is boring and poorly written.

I recently bought The Lolcat Bible. When I have a post that is lacking in anything to talk about I might start adding passages to my posts. It is seriously one of the funniest things I have read in a while. :)

Tomorrow: 1 Samuel 13-17