God's Judgment Is Fair

2 ^(A) Some of you accuse others of doing wrong. But there is no excuse for what you do. When you judge others, you condemn yourselves, because you are guilty of doing the very same things. ² We know that God is right to judge everyone who behaves in this way. ³ Do you really think God won't punish you, when you behave exactly like the people you accuse? ^4 (B) You surely don't think much of God's wonderful goodness or of his patience and willingness to put up with you. Don't you know that the reason God is good to you is because he wants you to turn to him?

⁵ But you are stubborn and refuse to turn to God. So you are making things even worse for yourselves on that day when he will show how angry he is and will judge the world with fairness. ^6 (C) God will reward each of us for what we have done. ⁷ He will give eternal life to everyone who has patiently done what is good in the hope of receiving glory, honor, and life that lasts forever. ⁸ But he will show how angry and furious he can be with every selfish person who rejects the truth and wants to do evil. ⁹ All who are wicked will be punished with trouble and suffering. It doesn't matter if they are Jews or Gentiles. ¹⁰ But all who do right will be rewarded with glory, honor, and peace, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. ^11 (D) God doesn't have any favorites!

¹² Those people who don't know about God's Law will still be punished for what they do wrong. And the Law will be used to judge everyone who knows what it says. ¹³ God accepts those who obey his Law, but not those who simply hear it.

¹⁴ Some people naturally obey the Law's commands, even though they don't have the Law. ¹⁵ This proves that the conscience is like a law written in the human heart. And it will show whether we are forgiven or condemned, ¹⁶ when God appoints Jesus Christ to judge everyone's secret thoughts, just as my message says.

The Jews and the Law

¹⁷ Some of you call yourselves Jews. You trust in the Law and take pride in God. ¹⁸ By reading the Scriptures you learn how God wants you to behave, and you discover what is right. ¹⁹ You are sure that you are a guide for the blind and a light for all who are in the dark. ²⁰ And since there is knowledge and truth in God's Law, you think you can instruct fools and teach young people.

²¹ But how can you teach others when you refuse to learn? You preach it is wrong to steal. But do you steal? ²² You say people should be faithful in marriage. But are you faithful? You hate idols, yet you rob their temples. ²³ You take pride in the Law, but you disobey the Law and bring shame to God. ^24 (E) It is just as the Scriptures tell us, “You have made foreigners say insulting things about God.”

²⁵ Being circumcised is worthwhile, if you obey the Law. But if you don't obey the Law, you are no better off than people who are not circumcised. ²⁶ In fact, if they obey the Law, they are as good as anyone who is circumcised. ²⁷ So everyone who obeys the Law, but has never been circumcised, will condemn you. Even though you are circumcised and have the Law, you still don't obey its teachings.

²⁸ Just because you live like a Jew and are circumcised doesn't make you a real Jew. ^29 (F) To be a real Jew you must obey the Law. True circumcision is something that happens deep in your heart, not something done to your body. And besides, you should want praise from God and not from humans.

3 What good is it to be a Jew? What good is it to be circumcised? ² It is good in a lot of ways! First of all, God's messages were spoken to the Jews. ³ It is true that some of them did not believe the message. But does this mean that God cannot be trusted, just because they did not have faith? ^4 (G) No, indeed! God tells the truth, even if everyone else is a liar. The Scriptures say about God,

⁵ If our evil deeds show how right God is, then what can we say? Is it wrong for God to become angry and punish us? What a foolish thing to ask. ⁶ But the answer is, “No.” Otherwise, how could God judge the world? ⁷ Since your lies bring great honor to God by showing how truthful he is, you may ask why God still says you are a sinner. ⁸ You might as well say, “Let's do something evil, so that something good will come of it!” Some people even claim that we are saying this. But God is fair and will judge them as well.

The Lord Shows Israel that Saul Will Be King

¹⁷ Samuel sent messengers to tell the Israelites to come to Mizpah and meet with the Lord. ¹⁸ When everyone had arrived, Samuel said:

The Lord God of Israel told me to remind you that he had rescued you from the Egyptians and from the other nations that abused you.

¹⁹ God has rescued you from your troubles and hard times. But you have rejected your God and have asked for a king. Now each tribe and clan must come near the place of worship so the Lord can choose a king.

²⁰ Samuel brought each tribe, one after the other, to the altar, and the Lord chose the Benjamin tribe. ²¹ Next, Samuel brought each clan of Benjamin there, and the Lord chose the Matri clan. Finally, Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they looked for him, he was nowhere to be found.

²² The people prayed, “Our Lord, is Saul here?”

“Yes,” the Lord answered, “he is hiding behind the baggage.”

²³ The people ran and got Saul and brought him into the middle of the crowd. He was more than a head taller than anyone else. ²⁴ “Look closely at the man the Lord has chosen!” Samuel told the crowd. “There is no one like him!”

The crowd shouted, “Long live the king!”

²⁵ Samuel explained the rights and duties of a king and wrote them all in a book. He put the book in one of the shrines where the Lord was worshiped. Then Samuel sent everyone home.

²⁶ God had encouraged some young men to become followers of Saul, and when he returned to his hometown of Gibeah, they went with him. ²⁷ But some worthless fools said, “How can someone like Saul rescue us from our enemies?” They did not want Saul to be their king, and so they didn't bring him any gifts. But Saul kept calm.

Saul Rescues the Town of Jabesh in Gilead

11 About this time,^[a] King Nahash of Ammon came with his army and surrounded the town of Jabesh in Gilead. The people who lived there told Nahash, “If you will sign a peace treaty with us, you can be our ruler, and we will pay taxes to you.”

² Nahash answered, “Sure, I'll sign a treaty! But not before I insult Israel by poking out the right eye of every man who lives in Jabesh.”

³ The town leaders said, “Give us seven days so we can send messengers everywhere in Israel to ask for help. If no one comes here to save us, we will surrender to you.”

⁴ Some of the messengers went to Gibeah, Saul's hometown. They told what was happening at Jabesh, and everyone in Gibeah started crying. ⁵ Just then, Saul came in from the fields, walking behind his oxen.

“Why is everyone crying?” Saul asked.

They told him what the men from Jabesh had said. ⁶ Then the Spirit of God suddenly took control of Saul and made him furious. ⁷ Saul killed two of his oxen, cut them up in pieces, and gave the pieces to the^[b] messengers. He told them to show the pieces to everyone in Israel and say, “Saul and Samuel are getting an army together. Come and join them. If you don't, this is what will happen to your oxen!”

The Lord made the people of Israel terribly afraid. So all the men came together ⁸ at Bezek. Saul had them organized and counted. There were 300,000 from Israel and 30,000^[c] from Judah.

⁹ Saul and his officers sent the messengers back to Jabesh with this promise: “We will rescue you tomorrow afternoon.” The messengers went back to the people at Jabesh and told them that they were going to be rescued.

Everyone was encouraged! ¹⁰ So they told the Ammonites, “We will surrender to you tomorrow, and then you can do whatever you want to.”

¹¹ The next day, Saul divided his army into three groups and attacked before daylight. They started killing Ammonites and kept it up until afternoon. A few Ammonites managed to escape, but they were scattered far from each other.

¹² The Israelite soldiers went to Samuel and demanded, “Where are the men who said they didn't want Saul to be king? Bring them to us, and we will put them to death!”

¹³ “No you won't!” Saul told them. “The Lord rescued Israel today, and no one will be put to death.”

Saul Is Accepted as King

¹⁴ “Come on!” Samuel said. “Let's go to Gilgal and make an agreement that Saul will continue to be our king.”

¹⁵ Everyone went to the place of worship at Gilgal, where they agreed that Saul would be their king. Saul and the people sacrificed animals to ask for the Lord's blessing,^[d] and they had a big celebration.

(For the music leader. To the tune “A Silent Dove in the Distance.”^[a] A special psalm by David when the Philistines captured him in Gath.)

A Prayer of Trust in God