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Acts 8:34-40 New American Standard Bible 1995 34 The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. 36 As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 37 [[a]And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] 38 And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, [c]but went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip [d]found himself at [e]Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea. It's interesting to note that the meeting between Philip and the Ethiopian Bureaucrat Eunuch Government Official was quite brief because it was immediately after Philip shared The Gospel that The Holy Spirit snatched Philip away. Does it have something to do with Popular / pop psychology? (Also, as an Interesting Side Note: (Acts 8:26-40) narrative gives credibility to supporters of Short-term Christian missionary work because some Short-term Christian missionary work critics complain that short-term missionary work does Not allow Christian missionaries enough time to gradually develop a strong relationship with NonChristian people who need the Gospel.)

Thanks for suggesting the website . Also, it's good you sort of distinguished a) Expository Biblical class study Group Vs b) Small/Cell Group meetings I would Not want the group meetings to be overly scholarly/overly erudite. As per The Holy Spirit's guidance, a book/website/guide that brings up discussions & topics need to be reasonably easy for the average John Doe congregation member to understand. However, I would like book/website/guide to bring up a lot of bible scripture /passages.

I feel led by The Holy Spirit to start and lead a bible study small/cell group ( preferably for men because at this point in time, I am a single male ), In any case, I'm trying to search the internet for some good biblically focused bible study small/cell group books/websites. I say biblically focused because I prefer books that would focus on discussing bible passages and verses as opposed to books/websites that revolve around Christian anecdotes. In any case, please feel free to suggest some books/websites, and possibly list out their pros and cons. Thanks.

I feel led by The Holy Spirit to start and lead a bible study small/cell group ( preferably for men because at this point in time, I am a single male ), In any case, I'm trying to search the internet for some good biblically focused bible study small/cell group books/websites. I say biblically focused because I prefer books that would focus on discussing bible passages and verses as opposed to books/websites that revolve around Christian anecdotes. In any case, please feel free to suggest some books/websites, and possibly list out their pros and cons. Thanks.

In society, we obviously need leaders so that their peoples/ subjects/ voters can be governed and guided. I'm Not trying to be too cynical when it come to leaders(especially political leaders) just so that I can sound like someone who is too clever by half, lofty or sanctimonious however t I wanted to emphasize the dangerously complex relationship between leaders and their subjects / voters. (Important Side Note: This might be good topic for a different post but It is also important to Note the difference between: Leaders Directly appointed by God that generally occurred Prior and During the time of the Book of Judges Leaders Indirectly(i.e with God's reluctant acceptance) and/or Directly empowered by the peoples / subjects that generally occurred After and some During the time of the Book of Judges ) However, 1 & 2 Sam, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chron, Esther & Judges (even to a lesser extent Psalms & Proverbs) are some books in the bible that should be must-read for Christians who may be interested in being part of leadership (especially political leadership) because said books emphasize the difficulties & challenges that leaders face. Leaders are tempted to engage in and/or faced with such evils like backstabbing, lying, grandstanding, deceiving, pretending, volatility of voters & supporters, egotism, pride etc. One particular aspect of leadership that is interesting is the relationship that leaders have with their peoples / constituents / voters who they lead. Leaders & their subjects / voters have a Relationship that needs to be handled with care and attention because it can become dangerously harmful if it's mishandled. Again, I want to emphasize that I'm Not trying to be too cynical but we Christians should sort of approach leaders in a sympathetic & empathetic manner because all humanity is broken and in need to help due to sinfulness The following ( 1 Timothy 2:1-2) shows us a constructive approach with good intentions when it comes to praying for our leaders: 1 Timothy 2:1-2 New American Standard Bible 1995 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in [a]authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. However, Here are some bible passages and scriptures that emphasize the dangerously complex relationship between leaders and their subjects / voters: Let's start off with bible verses that indicate the dangers that leaders themselves pose to their subjects / voters / people: -In the 1st Samuel 8 chapter, Prophet Samuel makes a speech of Warning to the Israelites. The aforementioned speech is about the powers and actions of Leaders Indirectly ( i.e with God's Reluctant acceptance) empowered by the peoples ( i.e the establishment of Israelite monarchy ). Prophet Samuel tells the Israelite peoples that the Israelite Kings would for the most part use the peoples as laborers & military personnel , and use the land of the nation for king's own farming, & take a percentage of their crops, flocks and cattle. Essentially, Samuel tells the Israelites that a king would view Israel as his own personal fiefdom. King Saul gave into the fleshly desires of the people in 1 Samuel 15 by allowing them to take the choicest of spoils of the Amalekites instead of obeying God's command that ordered Saul to utterly destroy all the Amalekites,and everything belonging to the Amalekites.(which is very similar to modern day elected politicians in democracies who might give into fleshly desires of the voters based on opinion polls for specific political issues even though their desires are wrong) -The Proverbs 23:1-3 bible verses suggest that we should Not be too dependent on sustenance of rulers probably because the rulers might find out that they have leverage over you, and therefore, can possibly bully/oppress you: (Proverbs 23:1-3) 23 When you sit down to dine with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you, 2 And put a knife to your throat If you are a man of great appetite. 3 Do not desire his delicacies, For it is deceptive food. -The (Psalm 118:8-9) bible verses suggests that people that it is better to take refuge in the Lord than in some worldly individual person: (Psalm 118:8-9) 8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord Than to trust in man. 9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord Than to trust in princes. -Even a man after God's own heart, King David,takes advantage of his powers as king in 2 Samuel 11 by sinfully committing adultery with a married woman, and then goes on to kill her husband. Now, it's certainly Not one-sided because the bible also indicates the faults of the subjects / voters / people: -The Judges 9 chapter's narrative is a good example of the volatile nature of the peoples / subjects behaviour towards their leaders. Judges 9:2-4 show how Abimelech convinced the people of Shechem to follow him, but then as time goes by, it mentions in Judges 9:23 that Shechem's people later turned against Abimelech. -Absalom's handsome features are referenced in the 2 Samuel 14:25 bible verse, and with his charisma he (2 Samuel 15:6) "stole away the hearts of the men of Israel". The use of the word (2 Samuel 15:6) "stole" has a negative connotation that suggests how the people can mistakenly be so enamoured by the image of their leaders as opposed to the leader's actions and policies which is the actual substance. -Furthermore, 2 Samuel 15:10-11's recounts the events just before Absalom's attempted coup against King David which states that the followers of Absalom "went innocently, and they did not know anything." Essentially, 2 Samuel 15:10-11 is evidence that the people can easily be swayed to do the will of a leader who is handsome, charismatic and charming. Acts 12:21-23 is a great example in the New Testament that shows the dangerously complex relationship between leaders and people because the people mistakenly say that King Herod was a god, and King Herod Fails to give the Glory to God, and therefore, an angel of God killed King Herod. (As a side Note, an interesting leader who showed some good leadership qualities was Queen Elizabeth II who worked behind the scenes to fight the South African government's apartheid which suggest that she did Not do it for the popularity or fame: ----------------( Credit Reference: https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/tv/crown-season-4-did-queen-elizabeth-ii-margaret-thatcher-get-n1247289 )----------------- Nonetheless, Elizabeth has been credited with using her influence to pressure the South African government over its institutionalized racist segregation. Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, for instance, has described her as a "behind-the-scenes force" in helping to bring an end to South African apartheid."Did she work behind the scenes in the case of South Africa to offer encouragement to Nelson Mandela? Yes," Smith said. "But she did it by using her soft power. She never was in a confrontational situation with Margaret Thatcher." ----------------( Credit Reference: https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/tv/crown-season-4-did-queen-elizabeth-ii-margaret-thatcher-get-n1247289 )----------------- To conclude, as (1 Timothy 2:1-2) states, it is important for people to pray for their leaders but at the same time people should cautiously view their worldly leaders.

In society, we obviously need leaders so that their peoples/ subjects/ voters can be governed and guided. I'm Not trying to be too cynical when it come to leaders(especially political leaders) just so that I can sound like someone who is too clever by half, lofty or sanctimonious however t I wanted to emphasize the dangerously complex relationship between leaders and their subjects / voters. (Important Side Note: This might be good topic for a different post but It is also important to Note the difference between: Leaders Directly appointed by God that generally occurred Prior and During the time of the Book of Judges Leaders Indirectly(i.e with God's reluctant acceptance) and/or Directly empowered by the peoples / subjects that generally occurred After and some During the time of the Book of Judges ) However, 1 & 2 Sam, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chron, Esther & Judges (even to a lesser extent Psalms & Proverbs) are some books in the bible that should be must-read for Christians who may be interested in being part of leadership (especially political leadership) because said books emphasize the difficulties & challenges that leaders face. Leaders are tempted to engage in and/or faced with such evils like backstabbing, lying, grandstanding, deceiving, pretending, volatility of voters & supporters, egotism, pride etc. One particular aspect of leadership that is interesting is the relationship that leaders have with their peoples / constituents / voters who they lead. Leaders & their subjects / voters have a Relationship that needs to be handled with care and attention because it can become dangerously harmful if it's mishandled. Again, I want to emphasize that I'm Not trying to be too cynical but we Christians should sort of approach leaders in a sympathetic & empathetic manner because all humanity is broken and in need to help due to sinfulness The following ( 1 Timothy 2:1-2) shows us a constructive approach with good intentions when it comes to praying for our leaders: 1 Timothy 2:1-2 New American Standard Bible 1995 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in [a]authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. However, Here are some bible passages and scriptures that emphasize the dangerously complex relationship between leaders and their subjects / voters: Let's start off with bible verses that indicate the dangers that leaders themselves pose to their subjects / voters / people: -In the 1st Samuel 8 chapter, Prophet Samuel makes a speech of Warning to the Israelites. The aforementioned speech is about the powers and actions of Leaders Indirectly ( i.e with God's Reluctant acceptance) empowered by the peoples ( i.e the establishment of Israelite monarchy ). Prophet Samuel tells the Israelite peoples that the Israelite Kings would for the most part use the peoples as laborers & military personnel , and use the land of the nation for king's own farming, & take a percentage of their crops, flocks and cattle. Essentially, Samuel tells the Israelites that a king would view Israel as his own personal fiefdom. King Saul gave into the fleshly desires of the people in 1 Samuel 15 by allowing them to take the choicest of spoils of the Amalekites instead of obeying God's command that ordered Saul to utterly destroy all the Amalekites,and everything belonging to the Amalekites.(which is very similar to modern day elected politicians in democracies who might give into fleshly desires of the voters based on opinion polls for specific political issues even though their desires are wrong) -The Proverbs 23:1-3 bible verses suggest that we should Not be too dependent on sustenance of rulers probably because the rulers might find out that they have leverage over you, and therefore, can possibly bully/oppress you: Proverbs 23:1-3 23 When you sit down to dine with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you, 2 And put a knife to your throat If you are a man of great appetite. 3 Do not desire his delicacies, For it is deceptive food. -Even a man after God's own heart, King David,takes advantage of his powers as king in 2 Samuel 11 by sinfully committing adultery with a married woman, and then goes on to kill her husband. Now, it's certainly Not one-sided because the bible also indicates the faults of the subjects / voters / people: -The Judges 9 chapter's narrative is a good example of the volatile nature of the peoples / subjects behaviour towards their leaders. Judges 9:2-4 show how Abimelech convinced the people of Shechem to follow him, but then as time goes by, it mentions in Judges 9:23 that Shechem's people later turned against Abimelech. -Absalom's handsome features are referenced in the 2 Samuel 14:25 bible verse, and with his charisma he (2 Samuel 15:6) "stole away the hearts of the men of Israel". The use of the word (2 Samuel 15:6) "stole" has a negative connotation that suggests how the people can mistakenly be so enamoured by the image of their leaders as opposed to the leader's actions and policies which is the actual substance. -Furthermore, 2 Samuel 15:10-11's recounts the events just before Absalom's attempted coup against King David which states that the followers of Absalom "went innocently, and they did not know anything." Essentially, 2 Samuel 15:10-11 is evidence that the people can easily be swayed to do the will of a leader who is handsome, charismatic and charming. Acts 12:21-23 is a great example in the New Testament that shows the dangerously complex relationship between leaders and people because the people mistakenly say that King Herod was a god, and King Herod Fails to give the Glory to God, and therefore, an angel of God killed King Herod. (As a side Note, an interesting leader who showed some good leadership qualities was Queen Elizabeth II who worked behind the scenes to fight the South African government's apartheid which suggest that she did Not do it for the popularity or fame: ----------------( Credit Reference: https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/tv/crown-season-4-did-queen-elizabeth-ii-margaret-thatcher-get-n1247289 )----------------- Nonetheless, Elizabeth has been credited with using her influence to pressure the South African government over its institutionalized racist segregation. Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, for instance, has described her as a "behind-the-scenes force" in helping to bring an end to South African apartheid."Did she work behind the scenes in the case of South Africa to offer encouragement to Nelson Mandela? Yes," Smith said. "But she did it by using her soft power. She never was in a confrontational situation with Margaret Thatcher." ----------------( Credit Reference: https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/tv/crown-season-4-did-queen-elizabeth-ii-margaret-thatcher-get-n1247289 )----------------- To conclude, as (1 Timothy 2:1-2) states, it is important for people to pray for their leaders but at the same time people should cautiously view their worldly leaders.

@Sold Out DisciplesThanks for your compliment. Also, on to a slightly different topic. What do you think about my the following post which compares King David's reign to Queen Elizabehth II ( and also Prince Absalom to Princess Diana )?

@Who me Sorry, on to a slightly different topic. What do you think about my the following post which compares King David's reign to Queen Elizabehth II ( and also Prince Absalom to Princess Diana )?

We as Christian should be concerned about who attends a Christian fellowship, and more importantly who takes on the roles of elders, leaders, advisors, etc., in a Christian Fellowship Let's start off with the following given premise: -Nation of Ancient Israel ---could be viewed as-----a modern day church congregation In the 2 Samuel 13:2-5 bible passage, we as Christian could view Amnon & Jonadab engaging in fellowship with each other as members of the Ancient Israelite Hebrew congregation. To put it in a modern perspective, it's like 2 Christians engaging in fellowship with each other regardless of whether they are in a cell group, bible study group or if they just are having 1-to-1 fellowship together at a cafe. However, Jonadab's advice to Amnon that involves giving into Amnon's fleshly desires for his Tamar is scary. More importantly, it should be a severe warning to us Christians about being concerned & cautious about who attends a Chrisitan Fellowship, and maybe even more importantly who is taking on the roles of elders or leaders in our Christian fellowship. Christian leadership ( especially Church leadership) need to be firmly guided by The Holy Spirit when they appoint church elders, leaders, advisors etc.

We as Christian should be concerned about who attends a Christian fellowship, and more importantly who takes on the roles of elders, leaders, advisors, etc., in a Christian Fellowship Let's start off with the following given premise: -Nation of Ancient Israel ---could be viewed as-----a modern day church congregation In the 2 Samuel 13:2-5 bible passage, we as Christian could view Amnon & Jonadab engaging in fellowship with each other as members of the Ancient Israelite Hebrew congregation. To put it in a modern perspective, it's like 2 Christians engaging in fellowship with each other regardless of whether they are in a cell group, bible study group or if they just are having 1-to-1 fellowship together at a cafe. However, Jonadab's advice to Amnon that involves giving into Amnon's fleshly desires for his Tamar is scary. More importantly, it should be a severe warning to us Christians about being concerned & cautious about who attends a Chrisitan Fellowship, and maybe even more importantly who is taking on the roles of elders or leaders in our Christian fellowship. Christian leadership ( especially Church leadership) need to be firmly guided by The Holy Spirit when they appoint church elders, leaders, advisors etc.

I try Not to get too distracted by news and current affairs too much, but the recent death of Queen Elizabeth II who was supposedly a Christian caught my attention. ( Supposedly she did seek Christian counsel from Billy Graham during her lifetime). This might be a bit of a stretch but I would like to sort of put forth the following analogy: Queen Elizabeth II ---sort of roughly equivalent to----Bible Old Testament's King David Prince Charles (now King Charles III) ----( sort of roughly equivalent to)------Prince Amnon ( one of King David's son who was initially the heir to the throne prior to being killed ) Princess Diana ---( sort of roughly equivalent to 2 Bible characters )----Bible Old Testament's Prince Absalom ( one of King David's sons who revolted against him ) and Princess Tamar ( one of King David's daughters who was raped by her half-brother Amnon ) Prince Philip, Princess Ann, Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother ---( sort of roughly equivalent to ) --- Joab ( Commander of David's army) King David was Certainly Not a perfect person, but I do want to point out some of the many honorable aspects about King David's life: 1)-Bible Scripture emphasizes clearly that David is man after God's own Heard as evidenced by the following 2 bible verses: a) (Acts 13:22) After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My [a]will.’ b) (1 Samuel 13:14) But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” 2) When King Saul became an enemy of David, and started to hunt for David, the response from King David was broadly compassionate & gracious. a) For example, in 1 Samuel 24:10-22, David responded to King Saul's attempts to hunt David by restraining himself by Not responding violently when he had a chance to kill King Saul in a cave, but instead spoke to King Saul by claiming that he did Not want to harm King Saul: (1 Samuel 24:10)Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord had given you today into my hand in the cave, and some said to kill you, but my eye had pity on you; and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’".....................more scripture..........................more scripture............................................. (1 Samuel 24:13) As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness’; but my hand shall not be against you. b) Another example, in (1 Samuel 25:33-34) David listens to Godly wisdom provided by Abigail which Stopped him from taking revenge: ( 1 Samuel 25:33-34 ) 33 and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from [a]bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand. 34 Nevertheless, as the Lord God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from harming you, unless you had come quickly to meet me, surely there would not have been left to Nabal until the morning light as much as one male.” I'm Not saying Queen Elizabeth II was a perfect person( just like King David was Not a perfect person), but I do want to point out some honorable aspects about her life ( just like King David was honorable ): -At a very young age of 25 years old, she responsibly and dutifully took the throne when her father suddenly unexpectedly died. -For the most part, she kept a neutral role in politics but would always diligently give her best advice in private to UK Prime Minister on major issues --------Queen Elizabeth II wanted sanctions against South African apartheid but the UK Prime Minister at the time, Margaret Thatcher, did Not want to enforce sanctions against South Africa ( https://www.biography.com/news/queen-elizabeth-ii-margaret-thatcher-relationship ) -Queen Elizabeth II remained loyal to her husband, Prince Philip, in their marriage even though her husband was a womanizer and adulterer when they were young married couple. Let's start off by looking at the similarities between King David to Queen Elizabeth II. Other than David's illicit affair with Bathsheba, and his responsibility for the murder of her husband, Uriah, let's also try to analyze another sinful act by David that involved his inability to bring justice after hearing about Amon raping his half-sister Tamar. **It's very important and interesting to note that David merely had a galling silent angry reaction when it came to hearing about Amnon raping his half-sister Tamar, and David did Not enforce any sort of justice as a response: (2 Samuel 13:21 ) Now when King David heard of all these matters, he was very angry.** Queen Elizabeth II also was guilty of quasi-inaction because she, for the most part, ignored Princess Diana's complaints about her husband, Prince Charles, in regards to her adulterous love affair with Camilla Parker Bowles: ( Credited Reference: https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/11/06/princess-diana-queen-elizabeth-relationship/ ) (Quote)"Tensions emerged between Diana and the royal family, including the queen, when their marriage hit romantic and then tabloid troubles. The relationship worsened as Diana suffered from bulimia. Diana told biographer Andrew Morton that during one conversation with the queen, “she indicated to me that the reason why our marriage had gone downhill was because Prince Charles was having such a difficult time with my bulimia.” “She hung her coat on the hook, so to speak,” Diana continued, according to Morton. “And it made me realize that they all saw that as the cause of the marriage problems and not one of the symptoms.” Diana kept trying to confide in her mother-in-law. The queen, now 95, grew weary of it all. One afternoon, Diana stopped by to visit the queen and was made to wait. “The princess,” a palace footman told the queen, according to Seward, “cried three times in half-an-hour while she was waiting to see you.” The queen’s reply: “I had her for an hour — and she cried nonstop.” In public, even as rumors of the prince’s affairs swirled, Diana was still saying the right things — that the prince supported her, that he was a good father and husband. “That was not what she was telling the queen in their private meetings,” Seward wrote. “Charles, Diana kept saying, was letting down the monarchy.” The queen couldn’t deal with her daughter-in-law anymore. “Faced with a situation that was slipping out of her control,” Seward wrote, “the queen retreated from the problem and started seeing less of Diana.” ( Credited Reference: https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/11/06/princess-diana-queen-elizabeth-relationship/ ) Let's now see the similarities between the bible characters named Princess Tamar and Prince Absalom, and Princess Diana of modern day's UK's monarchy. Princess Tamar and Prince Absalom were really physically attractive just like Princess Diana was attractive: (2 Samuel 13:1 ) Now it was after this that Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister whose name was Tamar, and Amnon the son of David loved her. (2 Samuel 14:25-27 ) Now in all Israel was no one as handsome as Absalom, so highly praised; from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no defect in him. 26 When he cut the hair of his head (and it was at the end of every year that he cut it, for it was heavy on him so he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head at 200 shekels by the king’s weight. 27 To Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar; she was a woman of beautiful appearance. Forgive me, however, it's also important to note that 2 Samuel 16:20-22 recounts Prince Absalom's promiscuous lifestyle when had sex with his father's concubines( who during King David's reign were responsible for the upkeep of the Royal palaces, etc. ) which was somewhat similar Princess Diana's promiscuous lifestyle: (2 Samuel 16:20-22) 20 Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your advice. What shall we do?” 21 Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself odious to your father. The hands of all who are with you will also be strengthened.” 22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel. Not to sound vulgar, here is a listing of Princess Diana's numerous extra-marital affairs: ----------------------(Credit Reference: https://www.tatler.com/gallery/princess-diana-boyfriends-lovers )------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Barry Albert Mannakee – 1985 Mannakee worked as a police officer with the Royal Protection Squad before being assigned to Princess Diana as a bodyguard in 1985. Palace rumours circulated of an affair between the two of them that ultimately led to his dismissal from the role a year later. In 1987 he was killed in a motorcycle accident that led to conspiracy theories that his death had been planned. These were fuelled by Diana in a video later obtained by NBC, where she confessed, ‘I was only happy when he was around,’ and she described his death as, ‘the biggest blow of my life’. She also said: ‘I think he was bumped off, but there we are.’ He was never mentioned by name in the secret tapes – when she spoke of a man she was in love with – but it was assumed she was referring to him. In the tapes she said she was ‘deeply in love’ with the unidentified security guard and was ‘quite happy to give all this up and to just go off and live with him’. The death of Mannakee was reinvestigated during the inquiry into the death of Diana, as part of Operation Paget, overseen by Sir John Stevens. James Hewitt – 1986-1992 The dashing former Household Cavalry officer and tank commander began his five-year affair with Diana in 1986 after they met at a cocktail party, with Diana later confessing to the romance in the 1995 BBC Panorama interview – much contested this past year, 25 years on. The affair happened at the same time that Prince Charles was widely reported to have been cheating on Diana with his ex-girlfriend, Camilla Parker Bowles. The metaphorical rug was pulled from under the relationship when Hewitt was deployed to serve in the Gulf War, before splitting permanently, when their affair was exposed. Diana’s former protection officer and confidante, Ken Wharfe, wrote about the affair in his book Diana: Closely Guarded Secret with the cooperation of Hewitt – which was said to leave the Princess heartbroken. The Princess later revealed: ‘I was in love with him. But I was very let down’. Oliver Hoare – 1992 to 1994 Diana embarked on an affair with old Etonian art dealer Oliver Hoare, who was 16 years her senior, in the early nineties. Hoare, 46 at the time, was actually a friend of Diana’s husband, Prince Charles, and he and his wife, Diane de Waldner de Freundstein (from a wealthy French oil family) had stayed at Windsor on multiple occasions. In Diana’s former bodyguard’s book Diana: Closely Guarded Secret, Ken Wharfe wrote: ‘The Princess was instantly attracted to him. Diana later confessed to me that she had felt a little shy when, at Windsor, she shook his hand for the first time, and had blushed as she flirted with him. That conversation ended abruptly when Charles and the Queen Mother joined them.’ One night, Hoare was found by a policeman hiding behind a potted tree smoking a cigar after the fire alarm sounded at Kensington Palace where Diana had her apartment. On another occasion, he was said to have been seen entering Kensington Palace via the boot of Diana's car. The affair came to an end owing to Hoare’s refusal to leave his wife and Diana is thought to have become a little over infatuated when she rang his Chelsea home 300 times in one night. Hoare died of cancer on 23 August 2018. ----------------------(Credit Reference: https://www.tatler.com/gallery/princess-diana-boyfriends-lovers )------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Bible character named Prince Amnon is somewhat similar to Prince Charles. Both are the heir apparent to their thrones. Here is the bible passage that mentions Prince Amnon's raping his half-sister, Tamar, and then subsequently intensely hating her: (2 Samuel 13:11-22 ) When she brought them to him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.” 12 But she answered him, “No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this disgraceful thing! 13 As for me, where could I [a]get rid of my reproach? And as for you, you will be like one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.” 14 However, he would not listen to [c]her; since he was stronger than she, he violated her and lay with her. 15 Then Amnon hated her with a very great hatred; for the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Get up, go away!” 16 But she said to him, “No, because this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you have done to me!” Yet he would not listen to her. 17 Then he called his young man who attended him and said, “Now throw this woman out of my presence, and lock the door behind her.” 18 Now she had on a [d]long-sleeved garment; for in this manner the virgin daughters of the king dressed themselves in robes. Then his attendant took her out and locked the door behind her. 19 Tamar put [e]ashes on her head and tore her [f]long-sleeved garment which was on her; and she put her hand on her head and went away, crying aloud as she went. 20 Then Absalom her brother said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? But now keep silent, my sister, he is your brother; do not take this matter to heart.” So Tamar remained and was desolate in her brother Absalom’s house. 21 Now when King David heard of all these matters, he was very angry. 22 But Absalom did not speak to Amnon either good or bad; for Absalom hated Amnon because he had violated his sister Tamar. Now, Prince Charles's troubled marriage to Princess Diana is certainly Not tantamount to Prince Amnon raping Princess Tamar. However, Prince Charles and Princess Diana's marriage did End painfully: (credited reference: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/charles-and-diana-divorce ) "Before long, however, the fairy tale couple grew apart, an experience that was particularly painful under the ubiquitous eyes of the world’s tabloid media. Diana and Charles announced a separation in 1992, though they continued to carry out their royal duties. In August 1996, two months after Queen Elizabeth II urged the couple to divorce, the prince and princess reached a final agreement. In exchange for a generous settlement, and the right to retain her apartments at Kensington Palace and her title of “Princess of Wales,” Diana agreed to relinquish the title of “Her Royal Highness” and any future claims to the British throne. In the year following the divorce, the popular princess seemed well on her way to achieving her dream of becoming “a queen in people’s hearts,” but on August 31, 1997, she was killed with her companion Dodi Fayed in a car accident in Paris." (credited reference: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/charles-and-diana-divorce ) We, as bible readers, can probably infer/deduce that David's silence, and lack of enforcing justice as King of Israel in response to Amon raping Tamar is what led to Absalom's violent & vicious response. Princess Diana's response to how Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family for the most part ignored her complaints about Prince Charles's illicit affair with Camilla Parker Bowles might Not have been as violent and vicious as Absalom which involved killing his brother Amnon out of revenge, and then leading a violent coup but it still was damaging to Queen Elizabeth II's monarchy. Princess Diana publicly battled against Queen Elizabeth II and her royal family by using the media and press. To elaborate, she was secretly involved in Indirectly encouraging the writing of a tell-all book: ( Credited Reference: https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/30/world/now-it-can-be-told-1992-tell-all-book-s-source-was-diana.html ) (Quote) "The principal source disclosing details of the Princess of Wales's unhappy marriage to Prince Charles and her troubled relations with the royal family for the 1992 book ''Diana, Her True Story,'' was Diana herself, the author, Andrew Morton, said today." ( Credited Reference: https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/30/world/now-it-can-be-told-1992-tell-all-book-s-source-was-diana.html ) Furthermore, Princess Diana also went to give a public TV interview about the troubles behind her marriage: https://youtu.be/8lflg5m7cbY?t=36 Also, more specifically, Search the internet for Princess Diana's 20 November 1995 BBC Interview where she stated “I’d like to be a queen of people’s hearts” ( Side Note: Understand the similarity with Absalom's rising popularity among the Israelites by grandstanding which is recounted in the ( 2 Samuel 15:1-6 ) bible passage. ) (2 Samuel 15:1-6) 15 Now it came about after this that Absalom provided for himself a chariot and horses and fifty men as runners before him. 2 Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the way to the gate; and when any man had a suit to come to the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say, “From what city are you?” And he would say, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” 3 Then Absalom would say to him, “See, your [a]claims are good and right, but no man listens to you on the part of the king.” 4 Moreover, Absalom would say, “Oh that one would appoint me judge in the land, then every man who has any suit or cause could come to me and I would give him justice.” 5 And when a man came near to prostrate himself before him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. 6 In this manner Absalom dealt with all Israel who came to the king for judgment; so Absalom stole away the hearts of the men of Israel. ( -------------------------------------------------- Credit Reference: https://www.vox.com/culture/21593569/princess-diana-explainer-crown-netflix-marilyn-monroe-britney-spears-innocence ) When pop culture’s princesses are virgins, the press treats their sexuality as unthreatening. They are hot, but not in a scary way; they don’t know what they’re doing; they are safe to want. But if they begin to wield their sexuality knowingly, everything changes. And their relationship with the public changes, too. The big question with Diana, the question on the cover of The Diana Chronicles: How much of it did she do on purpose? “Was she ‘the people’s princess,’ who electrified the world with her beauty and humanitarian missions?” asks Brown. “Or was she a manipulative, media-savvy neurotic who nearly brought down the monarchy?” Any honest reckoning of Diana would have to say the answer to that question is both. She was beautiful; she did have a remarkable gift for connecting with disenfranchised people doing humanitarian work — and she also spent much of her time as Princess of Wales in the grips of bulimia and suicidal ideation, using her skill with the press as her most potent weapon against the Windsors. **Throughout Diana’s marriage to Charles, she consistently outshined and outworked him. At public gatherings and charity events, she was able to genuinely connect with the crowds in a way Charles couldn’t. She would crouch down on her knees to talk to the kids. She would shake hands with an AIDS patient. Such moments established both her reputation as the “people’s princess” — the saint in the killer designer suit who could love her subjects more than anyone else could, who could transcend the monarchy — and her reputation as a schemer who was upstaging the monarchy on purpose, out of selfishness and greed. And after Diana’s divorce from Charles in 1996, as she partied her way across multiple continents and began campaigning against land mines, those two ideas became ever stronger.** But Brown frames her question in a way that suggests these two opposing images of Diana are mutually exclusive. The idea that Diana might have been intentionally using the press, that she might have desired to be as famous and beloved as she was and that she might have intentionally wielded her beauty and charisma to get there, seems to somehow negate the idea of saintly Diana, the people’s princess. And if Diana courted the press, if she used them in the same way they used her — well, how does that square with the way she died? How can we say that Diana was using the press that drove her off the road and to her death? ( -------------------------------------------------- Credit Reference: https://www.vox.com/culture/21593569/princess-diana-explainer-crown-netflix-marilyn-monroe-britney-spears-innocence ) All of Princess Diana's aforementioned public responses really did hurt the public image of Queen Elizabeth II, and her royal family. Finally, Just like Absalom's violent death, Princess Diana also died violently To me, it was really interesting how Bible stories sometimes are repeated in today's world. (Major Side Conclusion: A Highly relevant bible verse associated with Princess Diana's story is (Ecclesiastes 9:11) "I again saw under the sun that the race is Not to the swift and the battle is Not to the warriors, and Neither is bread to the wise Nor wealth to the discerning Nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all." The reason being is that Princess Diana was very physically attractive and had an aristocratic background but was Not loved by her royal princely husband, and was merely used by other men in her life for short-term flings. Therefore, even though you might expect her to have a happy family life by being in a royal marriage with wonderful children, her life was a tragedy. )

I try Not to get too distracted by news and current affairs too much, but the recent death of Queen Elizabeth II who was supposedly a Christian caught my attention. ( Supposedly she did seek Christian counsel from Billy Graham during her lifetime). This might be a bit of a stretch but I would like to sort of put forth the following analogy: Queen Elizabeth II ---sort of roughly equivalent to----Bible Old Testament's King David Prince Charles (now King Charles III) ----( sort of roughly equivalent to)------Prince Amnon ( one of King David's son who was initially the heir to the throne prior to being killed ) Princess Diana ---( sort of roughly equivalent to 2 Bible characters )----Bible Old Testament's Prince Absalom ( one of King David's sons who revolted against him ) and Princess Tamar ( one of King David's daughters who was raped by her half-brother Amnon ) Prince Philip, Princess Ann, Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother ---( sort of roughly equivalent to ) --- Joab ( Commander of David's army) King David was Certainly Not a perfect person, but I do want to point out some of the many honorable aspects about King David's life: 1)-Bible Scripture emphasizes clearly that David is man after God's own Heard as evidenced by the following 2 bible verses: a) (Acts 13:22) After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My [a]will.’ b) (1 Samuel 13:14) But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” 2) When King Saul became an enemy of David, and started to hunt for David, the response from King David was broadly compassionate & gracious. a) For example, in 1 Samuel 24:10-22, David responded to King Saul's attempts to hunt David by restraining himself by Not responding violently when he had a chance to kill King Saul in a cave, but instead spoke to King Saul by claiming that he did Not want to harm King Saul: (1 Samuel 24:10)Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord had given you today into my hand in the cave, and some said to kill you, but my eye had pity on you; and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’".....................more scripture..........................more scripture............................................. (1 Samuel 24:13) As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness’; but my hand shall not be against you. b) Another example, in (1 Samuel 25:33-34) David listens to Godly wisdom provided by Abigail which Stopped him from taking revenge: ( 1 Samuel 25:33-34 ) 33 and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from [a]bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand. 34 Nevertheless, as the Lord God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from harming you, unless you had come quickly to meet me, surely there would not have been left to Nabal until the morning light as much as one male.” I'm Not saying Queen Elizabeth II was a perfect person( just like King David was Not a perfect person), but I do want to point out some honorable aspects about her life ( just like King David was honorable ): -At a very young age of 25 years old, she responsibly and dutifully took the throne when her father suddenly unexpectedly died. -For the most part, she kept a neutral role in politics but would always diligently give her best advice in private to UK Prime Minister on major issues --------Queen Elizabeth II wanted sanctions against South African apartheid but the UK Prime Minister at the time, Margaret Thatcher, did Not want to enforce sanctions against South Africa ( https://www.biography.com/news/queen-elizabeth-ii-margaret-thatcher-relationship ) -Queen Elizabeth II remained loyal to her husband, Prince Philip, in their marriage even though her husband was a womanizer and adulterer when they were young married couple. Let's start off by looking at the similarities between King David to Queen Elizabeth II. Other than David's illicit affair with Bathsheba, and his responsibility for the murder of her husband, Uriah, let's also try to analyze another sinful act by David that involved his inability to bring justice after hearing about Amon raping his half-sister Tamar. **It's very important and interesting to note that David merely had a galling silent angry reaction when it came to hearing about Amnon raping his half-sister Tamar, and David did Not enforce any sort of justice as a response: (2 Samuel 13:21 ) Now when King David heard of all these matters, he was very angry.** Queen Elizabeth II also was guilty of quasi-inaction because she, for the most part, ignored Princess Diana's complaints about her husband, Prince Charles, in regards to her adulterous love affair with Camilla Parker Bowles: ( Credited Reference: https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/11/06/princess-diana-queen-elizabeth-relationship/ ) (Quote)"Tensions emerged between Diana and the royal family, including the queen, when their marriage hit romantic and then tabloid troubles. The relationship worsened as Diana suffered from bulimia. Diana told biographer Andrew Morton that during one conversation with the queen, “she indicated to me that the reason why our marriage had gone downhill was because Prince Charles was having such a difficult time with my bulimia.” “She hung her coat on the hook, so to speak,” Diana continued, according to Morton. “And it made me realize that they all saw that as the cause of the marriage problems and not one of the symptoms.” Diana kept trying to confide in her mother-in-law. The queen, now 95, grew weary of it all. One afternoon, Diana stopped by to visit the queen and was made to wait. “The princess,” a palace footman told the queen, according to Seward, “cried three times in half-an-hour while she was waiting to see you.” The queen’s reply: “I had her for an hour — and she cried nonstop.” In public, even as rumors of the prince’s affairs swirled, Diana was still saying the right things — that the prince supported her, that he was a good father and husband. “That was not what she was telling the queen in their private meetings,” Seward wrote. “Charles, Diana kept saying, was letting down the monarchy.” The queen couldn’t deal with her daughter-in-law anymore. “Faced with a situation that was slipping out of her control,” Seward wrote, “the queen retreated from the problem and started seeing less of Diana.” ( Credited Reference: https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/11/06/princess-diana-queen-elizabeth-relationship/ ) Let's now see the similarities between the bible characters named Princess Tamar and Prince Absalom, and Princess Diana of modern day's UK's monarchy. Princess Tamar and Prince Absalom were really physically attractive just like Princess Diana was attractive: (2 Samuel 13:1 ) Now it was after this that Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister whose name was Tamar, and Amnon the son of David loved her. (2 Samuel 14:25-27 ) Now in all Israel was no one as handsome as Absalom, so highly praised; from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no defect in him. 26 When he cut the hair of his head (and it was at the end of every year that he cut it, for it was heavy on him so he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head at 200 shekels by the king’s weight. 27 To Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar; she was a woman of beautiful appearance. Forgive me, however, it's also important to note that 2 Samuel 16:20-22 recounts Prince Absalom's promiscuous lifestyle when had sex with his father's concubines( who during King David's reign were responsible for the upkeep of the Royal palaces, etc. ) which was somewhat similar Princess Diana's promiscuous lifestyle: (2 Samuel 16:20-22) 20 Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your advice. What shall we do?” 21 Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself odious to your father. The hands of all who are with you will also be strengthened.” 22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel. Not to sound vulgar, here is a listing of Princess Diana's numerous extra-marital affairs: ----------------------(Credit Reference: https://www.tatler.com/gallery/princess-diana-boyfriends-lovers )------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Barry Albert Mannakee – 1985 Mannakee worked as a police officer with the Royal Protection Squad before being assigned to Princess Diana as a bodyguard in 1985. Palace rumours circulated of an affair between the two of them that ultimately led to his dismissal from the role a year later. In 1987 he was killed in a motorcycle accident that led to conspiracy theories that his death had been planned. These were fuelled by Diana in a video later obtained by NBC, where she confessed, ‘I was only happy when he was around,’ and she described his death as, ‘the biggest blow of my life’. She also said: ‘I think he was bumped off, but there we are.’ He was never mentioned by name in the secret tapes – when she spoke of a man she was in love with – but it was assumed she was referring to him. In the tapes she said she was ‘deeply in love’ with the unidentified security guard and was ‘quite happy to give all this up and to just go off and live with him’. The death of Mannakee was reinvestigated during the inquiry into the death of Diana, as part of Operation Paget, overseen by Sir John Stevens. James Hewitt – 1986-1992 The dashing former Household Cavalry officer and tank commander began his five-year affair with Diana in 1986 after they met at a cocktail party, with Diana later confessing to the romance in the 1995 BBC Panorama interview – much contested this past year, 25 years on. The affair happened at the same time that Prince Charles was widely reported to have been cheating on Diana with his ex-girlfriend, Camilla Parker Bowles. The metaphorical rug was pulled from under the relationship when Hewitt was deployed to serve in the Gulf War, before splitting permanently, when their affair was exposed. Diana’s former protection officer and confidante, Ken Wharfe, wrote about the affair in his book Diana: Closely Guarded Secret with the cooperation of Hewitt – which was said to leave the Princess heartbroken. The Princess later revealed: ‘I was in love with him. But I was very let down’. Oliver Hoare – 1992 to 1994 Diana embarked on an affair with old Etonian art dealer Oliver Hoare, who was 16 years her senior, in the early nineties. Hoare, 46 at the time, was actually a friend of Diana’s husband, Prince Charles, and he and his wife, Diane de Waldner de Freundstein (from a wealthy French oil family) had stayed at Windsor on multiple occasions. In Diana’s former bodyguard’s book Diana: Closely Guarded Secret, Ken Wharfe wrote: ‘The Princess was instantly attracted to him. Diana later confessed to me that she had felt a little shy when, at Windsor, she shook his hand for the first time, and had blushed as she flirted with him. That conversation ended abruptly when Charles and the Queen Mother joined them.’ One night, Hoare was found by a policeman hiding behind a potted tree smoking a cigar after the fire alarm sounded at Kensington Palace where Diana had her apartment. On another occasion, he was said to have been seen entering Kensington Palace via the boot of Diana's car. The affair came to an end owing to Hoare’s refusal to leave his wife and Diana is thought to have become a little over infatuated when she rang his Chelsea home 300 times in one night. Hoare died of cancer on 23 August 2018. ----------------------(Credit Reference: https://www.tatler.com/gallery/princess-diana-boyfriends-lovers )------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Bible character named Prince Amnon is somewhat similar to Prince Charles. Both are the heir apparent to their thrones. Here is the bible passage that mentions Prince Amnon's raping his half-sister, Tamar, and then subsequently intensely hating her: (2 Samuel 13:11-22 ) When she brought them to him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.” 12 But she answered him, “No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this disgraceful thing! 13 As for me, where could I [a]get rid of my reproach? And as for you, you will be like one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.” 14 However, he would not listen to [c]her; since he was stronger than she, he violated her and lay with her. 15 Then Amnon hated her with a very great hatred; for the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Get up, go away!” 16 But she said to him, “No, because this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you have done to me!” Yet he would not listen to her. 17 Then he called his young man who attended him and said, “Now throw this woman out of my presence, and lock the door behind her.” 18 Now she had on a [d]long-sleeved garment; for in this manner the virgin daughters of the king dressed themselves in robes. Then his attendant took her out and locked the door behind her. 19 Tamar put [e]ashes on her head and tore her [f]long-sleeved garment which was on her; and she put her hand on her head and went away, crying aloud as she went. 20 Then Absalom her brother said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? But now keep silent, my sister, he is your brother; do not take this matter to heart.” So Tamar remained and was desolate in her brother Absalom’s house. 21 Now when King David heard of all these matters, he was very angry. 22 But Absalom did not speak to Amnon either good or bad; for Absalom hated Amnon because he had violated his sister Tamar. Now, Prince Charles's troubled marriage to Princess Diana is certainly Not tantamount to Prince Amnon raping Princess Tamar. However, Prince Charles and Princess Diana's marriage did End painfully: (credited reference: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/charles-and-diana-divorce ) "Before long, however, the fairy tale couple grew apart, an experience that was particularly painful under the ubiquitous eyes of the world’s tabloid media. Diana and Charles announced a separation in 1992, though they continued to carry out their royal duties. In August 1996, two months after Queen Elizabeth II urged the couple to divorce, the prince and princess reached a final agreement. In exchange for a generous settlement, and the right to retain her apartments at Kensington Palace and her title of “Princess of Wales,” Diana agreed to relinquish the title of “Her Royal Highness” and any future claims to the British throne. In the year following the divorce, the popular princess seemed well on her way to achieving her dream of becoming “a queen in people’s hearts,” but on August 31, 1997, she was killed with her companion Dodi Fayed in a car accident in Paris." (credited reference: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/charles-and-diana-divorce ) We, as bible readers, can probably infer/deduce that David's silence, and lack of enforcing justice as King of Israel in response to Amon raping Tamar is what led to Absalom's violent & vicious response. Princess Diana's response to how Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family for the most part ignored her complaints about Prince Charles's illicit affair with Camilla Parker Bowles might Not have been as violent and vicious as Absalom which involved killing his brother Amnon out of revenge, and then leading a violent coup but it still was damaging to Queen Elizabeth II's monarchy. Princess Diana publicly battled against Queen Elizabeth II and her royal family by using the media and press. To elaborate, she was secretly involved in Indirectly encouraging the writing of a tell-all book: ( Credited Reference: https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/30/world/now-it-can-be-told-1992-tell-all-book-s-source-was-diana.html ) (Quote) "The principal source disclosing details of the Princess of Wales's unhappy marriage to Prince Charles and her troubled relations with the royal family for the 1992 book ''Diana, Her True Story,'' was Diana herself, the author, Andrew Morton, said today." ( Credited Reference: https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/30/world/now-it-can-be-told-1992-tell-all-book-s-source-was-diana.html ) Furthermore, Princess Diana also went to give a public TV interview about the troubles behind her marriage: https://youtu.be/8lflg5m7cbY?t=36 Also, more specifically, Search the internet for Princess Diana's 20 November 1995 BBC Interview where she stated “I’d like to be a queen of people’s hearts” ( Side Note: Understand the similarity with Absalom's rising popularity among the Israelites by grandstanding which is recounted in the ( 2 Samuel 15:1-6 ) bible passage. ) (2 Samuel 15:1-6) 15 Now it came about after this that Absalom provided for himself a chariot and horses and fifty men as runners before him. 2 Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the way to the gate; and when any man had a suit to come to the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say, “From what city are you?” And he would say, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” 3 Then Absalom would say to him, “See, your [a]claims are good and right, but no man listens to you on the part of the king.” 4 Moreover, Absalom would say, “Oh that one would appoint me judge in the land, then every man who has any suit or cause could come to me and I would give him justice.” 5 And when a man came near to prostrate himself before him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. 6 In this manner Absalom dealt with all Israel who came to the king for judgment; so Absalom stole away the hearts of the men of Israel. ( -------------------------------------------------- Credit Reference: https://www.vox.com/culture/21593569/princess-diana-explainer-crown-netflix-marilyn-monroe-britney-spears-innocence ) When pop culture’s princesses are virgins, the press treats their sexuality as unthreatening. They are hot, but not in a scary way; they don’t know what they’re doing; they are safe to want. But if they begin to wield their sexuality knowingly, everything changes. And their relationship with the public changes, too. The big question with Diana, the question on the cover of The Diana Chronicles: How much of it did she do on purpose? “Was she ‘the people’s princess,’ who electrified the world with her beauty and humanitarian missions?” asks Brown. “Or was she a manipulative, media-savvy neurotic who nearly brought down the monarchy?” Any honest reckoning of Diana would have to say the answer to that question is both. She was beautiful; she did have a remarkable gift for connecting with disenfranchised people doing humanitarian work — and she also spent much of her time as Princess of Wales in the grips of bulimia and suicidal ideation, using her skill with the press as her most potent weapon against the Windsors. **Throughout Diana’s marriage to Charles, she consistently outshined and outworked him. At public gatherings and charity events, she was able to genuinely connect with the crowds in a way Charles couldn’t. She would crouch down on her knees to talk to the kids. She would shake hands with an AIDS patient. Such moments established both her reputation as the “people’s princess” — the saint in the killer designer suit who could love her subjects more than anyone else could, who could transcend the monarchy — and her reputation as a schemer who was upstaging the monarchy on purpose, out of selfishness and greed. And after Diana’s divorce from Charles in 1996, as she partied her way across multiple continents and began campaigning against land mines, those two ideas became ever stronger.** But Brown frames her question in a way that suggests these two opposing images of Diana are mutually exclusive. The idea that Diana might have been intentionally using the press, that she might have desired to be as famous and beloved as she was and that she might have intentionally wielded her beauty and charisma to get there, seems to somehow negate the idea of saintly Diana, the people’s princess. And if Diana courted the press, if she used them in the same way they used her — well, how does that square with the way she died? How can we say that Diana was using the press that drove her off the road and to her death? ( -------------------------------------------------- Credit Reference: https://www.vox.com/culture/21593569/princess-diana-explainer-crown-netflix-marilyn-monroe-britney-spears-innocence ) All of Princess Diana's aforementioned public responses really did hurt the public image of Queen Elizabeth II, and her royal family. Finally, Just like Absalom's violent death, Princess Diana also died violently To me, it was really interesting how Bible stories sometimes are repeated in today's world. (Major Side Conclusion: A Highly relevant bible verse associated with Princess Diana's story is (Ecclesiastes 9:11) "I again saw under the sun that the race is Not to the swift and the battle is Not to the warriors, and Neither is bread to the wise Nor wealth to the discerning Nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all." The reason being is that Princess Diana was very physically attractive and had an aristocratic background but was Not loved by her royal princely husband, and was merely used by other men in her life for short-term flings. Therefore, even though you might expect her to have a happy family life by being in a royal marriage with wonderful children, her life was a tragedy. )

Just FYI, I just thought the following obscure bible's Old Testament verses point to some interesting facts about cases where some enemies of Israel came to fear The Lord, and in one case came to accept The Israelite God as the True God: (Exodus 9:20) The one among the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord made his servants and his livestock flee into the houses; (Esther 8:17)....And many among the peoples of the land became Jews, for the dread of the Jews had fallen on them. I just thought the aforementioned examples were interesting because most stories in the bible's Old Testament show the enemies of The Israelites being killed, and retreating to find refuge. However, the aforementioned cases are sort of unique because they seem to show enemies of Israel accepting The Israelite God as the True God.

The verse Romans 12:18 is emphasizing that we should Try our best to be at peace with all men. Therefore, would a person be adhering to Romans 12:18 if he/she -were Always Avoiding an ex-spouse/ex-girlfriend/ex-friend/relative because the relationship with said person in question has deteriorated to such a bad state that any sort of interaction would always lead to quarrels?

The verse Romans 12:18 is emphasizing that we should Try our best to be at peace with all men. Therefore, would a person be adhering to Romans 12:18 if he/she -were Always Avoiding an ex-spouse/ex-girlfriend/friend/relative because the relationship with said person in question has deteriorated to such a bad state that any sort of interaction would always lead to quarrels?

I view (1 Corinthians 7:25-31 ) bible passage as a Warning for Christians to Not idolize and/or Not to worship the practice of looking for a Christian spouse. ( 1 Corinthians 7:25-31 ) 25 Now concerning virgins I have no command of the Lord, but I give an opinion as one who [a]by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy. 26 I think then that this is good in view of the present distress, that it is good for a man [c]to remain as he is.27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28 But if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have [d]trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you. 29 But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none; 30 and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess; 31 and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away. However, I'm trying to reconcile ( 1 Corinthians 7:25-31 ) bible passage warning with the following biblical narratives -Jacob & Rachel's Love Story, and their ensuing Relatively Happy marriage -David & Michal's relationship, and their ensuing failed marriage Let's start off with Jacob & Rachel's Love Story. The (Genesis 29:9-12) bible passage seems to show Jacob letting his loving emotions for Rachel get the better of him by -being so eager to roll the stone from the mouth of the well so that Rachel's sheep can drink water -, and how he embraced Rachel by kissing her, and lifted his voice and wept -Furthermore, (Genesis 29:15-20) states that "Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her" Essentially, what I'm trying to emphasize in listing out the aforementioned points is that Jacob seems to have gone against (1 Corinthians 7:25-31 ) bible passage Warning Against idolizing and/or worshipping the practice of looking for a spouse because Jacob let's his loving emotions for Rachel get the better of him. Moreover, despite Jacob's initial actions, he goes on to have a reasonably successful marriage with Rachel. Genesis 29:4-12 (NASB) 4 Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Haran.” 5 He said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.” 6 And he said to them, “Is it well with him?” And they said, “It is well, and here is Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep.” 7 He said, “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered. Water the sheep, and go, pasture them.” 8 But they said, “We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered, and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.” 9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted his voice and wept. 12 Jacob told Rachel that he was a [c]relative of her father and that he was Rebekah’s son, and she ran and told her father. Genesis 29:15-20 New American Standard Bible 1995 15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my [a]relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 And Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful of form and face. 18 Now Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” 19 Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than to give her to another man; stay with me.” 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her. Now let's try to analyze David & Michal's relationship which ultimately led to a failed marriage. David initial actions seems to be more aligned to (1 Corinthians 7:25-31 ) bible passage Warning Against idolizing and/or worshipping the practice of looking for a spouse because David responds to the different marriage proposal by stating for following: -For Merab's marriage proposal, he says, (1 Samuel 18:18) But David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my life or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be the king’s son-in-law?” -And initially for Michal's marriage proposal, he says, (1 Samuel 18:23) ...But David said, “Is it trivial in your sight to become the king’s son-in-law, since I am a poor man and lightly esteemed?” I mentioned the aforementioned points about David because David is cautious about getting married to one of the king's daughters which seems wise & cautious, and therefore, seems to align with (1 Corinthians 7:25-31 ) bible passage. However, even though David is at first cautious about Michal's marriage proposal, he ultimately accepts Michal as a wife. But, it's sad & strange that despite David's cautiousness which could be seen as being wisefully thoughtful about Michal's proposal, their marriage is a failure because we can read about the breakdown in (2 Samuel 6:16-23) bible passage that shows Michal's spite for David's dancing leaping and dancing in order to celebrate the return of the ark of The Lord. Ultimately, Michal mocks David face-to-face, and then ends up having No children for the rest of her life. (1 Samuel 18:17-27) 17 Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife, only be a valiant man for me and fight the Lord’s battles.” ....more scripture.............18 But David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my life or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be the king’s son-in-law?” 19 So it came about at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife. 20 Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. When they told Saul, the thing was agreeable [a]to him. ....more scripture.............Therefore Saul said to David, “For a second time you may be my son-in-law today.” 22 Then Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David secretly, saying, ‘Behold, the king delights in you, and all his servants love you; now therefore, become the king’s son-in-law.’” 23 So Saul’s servants spoke these words to David. But David said, “Is it trivial in your sight to become the king’s son-in-law, since I am a poor man and lightly esteemed?” 24 The servants of Saul reported to him [c]according to these words which David spoke. 25 Saul then said, “Thus you shall say to David, ‘The king does not desire any dowry except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to take vengeance on the king’s enemies.’” Now Saul planned to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. 26 When his servants told David these words, [d]it pleased David to become the king’s son-in-law. [e]Before the days had expired 27 David rose up and went, he and his men, and struck down two hundred men among the Philistines. Then David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. So Saul gave him Michal his daughter for a wife. 2 Samuel 6:16-23, New American Standard Bible (NASB) 16 Then it happened as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David that Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. 17 So they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent which David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 18 When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the peace offering, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. 19 Further, he distributed to all the people, to all the multitude of Israel, both to men and women, a cake of bread and one of dates and one of raisins to each one. Then all the people departed each to his house. 20 But when David returned to bless his household, Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel distinguished himself today! He uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants’ maids as one of the foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself!” 21 So David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel; therefore I will celebrate before the Lord. 22 I will be more lightly esteemed than this and will be humble in my own eyes, but with the maids of whom you have spoken, with them I will be distinguished.” 23 Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death. To conclude, Jacob's love for Rachel leads to overemotional enthusiastic actions that suggest his emotions are getting the better of him. Jacob's actions seem to go Against the (1 Corinthians 7:25-31 ) warning. David's initial cautiousness seems to be a sign of being wisefully thoughtful, and in turn, seems to align with the (1 Corinthians 7:25-31 ) warning. Sadly, David's marriage to Michal fails. Could someone please try to give their opinions about the aforementioned intertextual scripture-interprets-scripture analysis?

Sorry, in my previous post I was viewing Ancient Israel ( as in the entire nation of Israel. Not individually viewing the 2 Kingdoms of Northern Israel and Southern Judah separately )

The following 2 are different a) inferring/deducing with scripture ( e.g. an example could be applying hermenutic tool called scripture-interprets-scripture ) Vs b) distorting of scripture to suit our needs When we apply hermeneutic tools, apply exegesis and analyze and study bible scripture, we can infer/deduce. For example, I agree that there is No Explicit scripture that states that the Ancient Nation of Israel is like today's modern day church congregation. However, by inferences/deductions, there is a lot of scripture that Implicitly emphasizes God being the husband of Israel: (Jer 31:31-33 NKJV) "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; {32} "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD............................ (Jer 3:14-20 NKJV) "Return, O backsliding children," says the LORD; "for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. {15} "And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding....................................................... (Isa 54:5-17 NKJV) For your Maker is your husband, The LORD (H3068 - Jehovah) of hosts (Heavenly hosts) is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God (H430 - Elohiym) of the whole earth........................................... , and there is correlated scripture that emphasizes Jesus Christ being the husband of the church (2 Corinthians 11:2) For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. (Ephesians 5:25) Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, Therefore, to conclude, by inferences/deductions, we can say: -Nation of Ancient Israel ---could be viewed as-----> a modern day church congregation

Yes, Joab is following David's instructions. However, there is more to it than Joab just merely following David's instructions. To elaborate, I believe that 2 Samuel 3:26-39 bible passage is an example how we Christians shouldbe cautious about thinking that all church pastors and elders are sincere & genuine followers of Jesus Christ. There are people who are eager to take on leadership roles like leading bible cell group studies and/or lead singing during worship or church choir but might just be eager to take on said roles because of their egos and/or yearning for popularity among the people. King Saul of The Old Testament Bible is a good example of a person who yearned for popularity among the people, and Not really sincerely & genuinely seeking God. To elaborate, after Prophet Samuel yells at King Saul for disobeying the command of the Lord, the dialogue between the 2 goes on as follows: (1 Samuel 15:24-31) (New American Standard Bible 1995) 24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have indeed transgressed the [a]command of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice. 25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.” 26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 As Samuel turned to go, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. 28 So Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. 29 Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.” 30 Then he said, “I have sinned; but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and go back with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel went back following Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord. (1 Samuel 15:24) .......(King Saul) I feared the people and listened to their voice. In the aforementioned verse, King Saul is more concerned about the Israelite people, and the fleshly needs of the Israelite people as opposed to being concerned about God and Godly needs. In other words, King Saul is concerned about his own popularity among the Israelite people. (1 Samuel 15:25) (King Saul) 5 Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.” In said verse, King Saul thinks that Prophet Samuel( i.e, a man ) can pardon his sin which is totally Wrong because Only God can forgive sin. (1 Samuel 15:30) (King Saul) 30 Then he said, “I have sinned; but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and go back with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.” In said verse, King Saul requests Prophet Samuel for a 2nd time to honor King Saul with the Prophet Samuel's presence among the people. I know of a person at my church who has sung songs during worship, and started a bible study cell group. The aforementioned person definitely looks the part of a church elder who dresses really well, and is disciplined about attending church service, and spouting out scripture. The aforementioned person is good at portraying a good image. However, I've heard and seen said person yell at another person for minor problems, and seems to be short-tempered, and arrogant when faced with minor aspects of life that said person does Not like. Essentially, a calm temperament is lacking in said person.( I do pray for said person). Another case involves congregation members who are driven by personal ego. Now in the case of King Uzziah of Israel, it is a little bit more complicated because it does say that in 2 Chronicles 26:4-5 that ( 2 Chronicles 26:4-5) He did right in the sight of the Lord according to all that his father Amaziah had done. 5 He continued to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding [c]through the vision of God; and [d]as long as he sought the Lord, God prospered him. However, as we read "2 Chronicles 26:16-21", we can probably assume that King Uzziah's personal ego got the better of him, and he wanted to take up temple ritual practices that Only priests are supposed to carry out. (2 Chronicles 26:16-21) 16 But when he became strong, his heart was so [a]proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the Lord his God, for he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 Then Azariah the priest entered after him and with him eighty priests of the Lord, valiant men. 18 They opposed Uzziah the king and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful and will have no honor from the Lord God.” 19 But Uzziah, with a censer in his hand for burning incense, was enraged; and while he was enraged with the priests, the leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord, beside the altar of incense. 20 Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous on his forehead; and they hurried him out of there, and he himself also hastened to get out because the Lord had smitten him. 21 King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death; and he lived in a separate house, being a leper, for he was cut off from the house of the Lord. And Jotham his son was over the king’s house judging the people of the land.

The title of my posting was "(2 Samuel 3:26-39) Bible passage is an account that shows us that we can expect some church congregation members to be deceptively pretentious/fake". "congregation members" includes all people involved in church which includes pastors, church elders, volunteers, bible study cell group leaders, all the way to the typical congregation member who just attends the church service. Furthermore, I emphasized the following (2 Corinthians 11:13) verse in my response: The aforementioned verse includes "deceitful workers" which can include: -church elders -church volunteers -bible study cell group leaders -(this might be a little bit far-fetched or a stretch) typical congregation member who just attends the church service( and the reason I would include the typical congregation member with No title and/or No official role at church is because I could interpret / view said typical congregation member raising their hands at church while singing worship songs, meeting new church members, new visitors, etc., are all actions/behaviours associated with workers ( now some of the workers might be deceitful).

@Who me Let's try to show warnings about Fake Christians in the bible. The Ephesians 5:22-32 bible passage establishes the fact that Jesus Christ is married to the church. In 2 Corinthians 11:1-3, Paul tells the Corinthians church that they are a bride of Jesus Christ. In 2 Corinthians 11:12-15, Paul tells the Corinthians church that he wants to cut off any opportunities that "false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ" would want when they interact with Corinthians. To conclude, the aforementioned reasoning concretizes the fact that there are fake Christians (i.e, "false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ" ) in the church. Now, we can infer that said fake Christians at first glance will blend in quite well with other sincere Christian church members. To elaborate, fake Christians might raise their hands just like sincere Christians when the church choir or the worship band sings. Fake Christians might even spout out bible verses. Fake Christians can mourn when they attend a funeral( just like Joab who was commanded by David to mourn in 2 Samuel 3:26-39 ). Essentially, Paul tells the Corinthians church about the dangers of fake Christians.

Apostle Paul wrote (1 Corinthians 7:25-31) bible passage in order to emphasize that it's alright to seek courtship, and subsequently get married, however, Paul goes on to emphasize that seeking courtship and/or marriage should Not be idolized and should Not be a form of worship. ( 1 Corinthians 7:25-31 ) 25 Now concerning virgins I have no command of the Lord, but I give an opinion as one who by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy. 26 I think then that this is good in view of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is.27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28 But if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you. 29 But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none; 30 and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess; 31 and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away. He resorts to using hyperbole/figure of speech to bring up his points in (1 Corinthians 7:25-31). ( Please click on reference link to read about hyperbole & similes Reference: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/fancy-words-rhetoric ) Based on the aforementioned reference link's explanation for hyperbole and simile, I can say the following are examples of hyperbole and simile: ( 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 ) 29 But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none; 30 and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess; 31 and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away. In any case, I posted this explanation because I believe that ( 1 Corinthians 7:25-31 ) bible passage should be as famous and popular as Psalm 23, John 3:16, Jeremiah 29:11 , etc., which are usually well-known among Christian. The reason being is that in today's world of romantic comedy movies, advertising of sexually appealing products that would attract the opposite sex, etc., it is good to know that the ( 1 Corinthians 7:25-31 ) bible passage emphasizes emphasize that seeking courtship and/or marriage should Not be idolized and should Not be a form of worship. (Let's pray that ( 1 Corinthians 7:25-31 ) bible passage becomes well-known, popular and memorized by all)

I just thought it was interesting to note that Joab was ordered by King David to openly express mourning for the death of Abner. To elaborate, let's infer/deduce by trying to interpret some key aspects of the 2 Samuel 3:26-39 bible passage To elaborate, let's infer/deduce by trying to interpret some key aspects of the 2 Samuel 3:26-39 bible passage -Nation of Israel ---could be viewed as-----> a modern day church congregation -King David of Israel ---could be viewed as---> pastor/senior elder of church congregation -Joab ---could be viewed as ---> a rank-and-file congregation member or elder congregation member at church -Abner ----could be viewed as ----> some congregation member who was killed It's interesting that King David ordered Joab in the following bible verse: (2 Samuel 3:31) Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes and gird on sackcloth and lament before Abner.” And King David walked behind the bier.Jo The reason being is that Joab probably just went along with the ritual/process of tearing his clothes and girding on sackcloth and lamenting in a perfunctory and legalistic mechanical manner. In other words, Joab is like some of church congregation members in today's modern church that are just deceptively pretentious/fake (i.e Joab is playing church ) Essentially the 2 Samuel 3:26-39 bible passage is an account that shows us that we can expect some church congregation members to be deceptively pretentious/fake when they come to church just like Joab. 2 Samuel 3:26-39 New American Standard Bible 1995 Joab Murders Abner 26 When Joab came out from David, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the well of Sirah; but David did not know it. 27 So when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the middle of the gate to speak with him privately, and there he struck him in the belly so that he died on account of the blood of Asahel his brother. 28 Afterward when David heard it, he said, “I and my kingdom are innocent before the Lord forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner. 29 May it [a]fall on the head of Joab and on all his father’s house; and may there not fail from the house of Joab one who has a discharge, or who is a leper, or who takes hold of a distaff, or who falls by the sword, or who lacks bread.” 30 So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon. David Mourns Abner 31 Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes and gird on sackcloth and lament before Abner.” And King David walked behind the bier. 32 Thus they buried Abner in Hebron; and the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. 33 The king chanted a lament for Abner and said, “Should Abner die as a fool dies? 34 “Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put in fetters; As one falls before the [b]wicked, you have fallen.” And all the people wept again over him. 35 Then all the people came to [c]persuade David to eat bread while it was still day; but David vowed, saying, “May God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun goes down.” 36 Now all the people took note of it, and it [d]pleased them, just as everything the king did [e]pleased all the people. 37 So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the will of the king to put Abner the son of Ner to death. 38 Then the king said to his servants, “Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? 39 I am weak today, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah are too difficult for me. May the Lord repay the evildoer according to his evil.”

I suppose a somewhat related modern day real life scenario would be like the following: A Christian man named John Doe seems to be enamoured by a lady named Mary Smith. However, even though Mary Smith has the physical attractive features that perks John Doe's interest, Mary is deep down an arrogant, selfish & rude person. John Doe approaches Mary Smith at a party, church gathering, etc. John Doe: Hey, how is it going? What is your name? Mary Smith: (in a cynical, arrogant manner suspecting that he is attempting to try and court her says in an uncaring manner) My name is Mary John Doe: So what made you come to the party?(Or When did you start coming to this church?) Mary Smith: (Mary responds rashly & arrogantly). I do Not even know you. Who are you? Why do you care? I suppose a key event that is similar to Mary's harsh response to Samson's story is when Samson's father-in-law gives away Samson's first wife to some other companion: (Judges 15:1-2) (New American Standard Bible 1995) But after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a young goat, and said, “I will go in to my wife in her room.” But her father did not let him enter. 2 Her father said, “I really thought that you hated her intensely; so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister [a]more beautiful than she? Please let her be yours instead.” Now, here is where my story sort of diverges from Samson's story in Judges. John sheepishly walks away or quiets down. I suppose you could say that John Smith has The Holy Spirit's humility or meekness(gentleness). (Side Note, relevant verse: Matthew 5:5 "Blessed are the [a]gentle, for they shall inherit the earth." ). However, God's intentions and plans were quite successful in a strange way. Since Mary responded rashly & arrogantly to John at a party or church gathering, it is a signal to other people at the party or church gathering that Mary is Not a nice person, and has serious problems. Therefore, other people at the party or church gathering will avoid Mary, and Not want to socialize with her. God disciplines Mary by make her ostracized by others because of the arrogance that she displayed. However, unlike John Doe who sheepishly walks away or quiets down, Samson yields to his fleshly desires, and decides to do harm to the Philistines by taking revenge: (Judges 15:3-4) (New American Standard Bible 1995) 3 Samson then said to them, “This time I shall be blameless in regard to the Philistines when I do them harm.” 4 Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took torches, and turned the foxes tail to tail and put one torch in the middle between two tails.

(Judges 14:1-4) (New American Standard Bible 1995) Then Samson went down to Timnah and saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines. 2 So he came [a]back and told his father and mother, “I saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife.” 3.......more scripture.....more scripture...... But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she [e]looks good to me.” 4 However, his father and mother did not know that it was of the Lord, for He was seeking an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel. (Galatians 5:16-17)(New American Standard Bible 1995) 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh [a]sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. (Isaiah 55:8-9) (New American Standard Bible 1995) 8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. How can today's bible reader get a deeper understanding of the Judges' Samson especially in light of (Galatians 5:16-17) & (Isaiah 55:8-9)?