The Spirit of the Lord has “rushed”
on David, The Spirit of the Lord as left Saul, and yet, for now, Saul is still
king. In this passage we see God’s masterful and providential hand. While Saul begins to receive punishment for disobeying
God, David gets thrown right into the lions lair.
While Saul is being tormented by an evil spirit, someone
in his court mentions that there just might be this boy in Bethlehem that can
help. Now imagine that you are Jessie, David’s father. Your son has been
secretly anointed king because if it was made public his life would be threatened
by the standing king. This standing king, Saul, is now specifically sending for
your son. Can you imagine the fear of sending your son to likely the most
dangerous place he could possibly go?
Working in ways that only God can do, God sends David to
comfort Saul with his skill in music. Along the way his other talents are discovered
and he becomes so close to Saul that he ends up his armor-bearer. By the world’s
standards this is the most dangerous place for David to be. By God’s standards
David couldn’t be any safer than being exactly where God wants him. David flourishes as he relies on God’s Spirit and power, Saul flounders and suffers
without it as he relies on himself. The contrast couldn’t be more stark than it
is in this passage.
Lessons:
We are never safer than when
we are in the will of God. No matter what the world says about physical or
financial security, we need to follow God’s call for us and not always fall
back on what the world says is safe and prudent. That doesn’t mean that we are
foolish for foolishness sake but sometimes God shows his power in our lives
when he puts us in places where only he can work.
Let your friends or family
members follow God’s will, not yours. Sometimes parents try and steer their
children away from missionary service or from ministry in general because it
isn’t very financially rewarding or perhaps it’s even downright dangerous. The
truth is it would be more dangerous for them to disobey God.The safest you can
ever be is when you are obeying God no matter where that might take you or what
it looks like by the world’s standards. So, which form of safety will you
choose? Gods? or something else…
Even though Samuel had told the
people that making Saul king would be a mistake, he is still sad to see Saul
fail, be rejected by God, and the people suffer for it. I imagine he was
feeling similar to a parent who sees a child make bad decisions and then suffer
the consequences. On the one hand they deserve the pain that has come their way,
but on the other you love them and don’t want to see them suffer. Perhaps
Samuel even feels partially responsible, wondering if there was anything more
he could have done. God doesn’t let him continue to wallow in his grief and self-pity
however. God has chosen another to be anointed king and tells Samuel where and which
family he needs to go pursue.
The tricky thing about anointing
another king at this point is that Saul is still king. As you might imagine, he
and his supporters would not be too happy about a potential usurper of their throne.
Samuel makes sure God understands this predicament (as if He didn’t know) and
then, at least publicly, claims he is going to the city of Bethlehem to “make
sacrifices to the Lord”. This isn’t a lie because he will do this, but his
primary mission is to anoint the king to be.
When Samuel gets to Bethlehem the
elders of the city are scared and come out to meet him, wondering why in the
world he has come so unexpectedly. Remember, in these days, Samuel still often
acted as a judge, so when he showed up in your town, especially unexpectedly,
he might very well be there to exact God’s judgment for some wrong you had
done. You know that feeling when your Mom or Dad unexpectedly opens the door to
your room? Ya. Samuel calms their fears though
and heads on to the house of Jessie.
This next section sums up the major
theme of the entire book. Samuel doesn’t know at this point which of Jessie’s
sons that God has chosen. He naturally assumes that the firstborn, strong and
able bodied will be the choice…but God says no. The narrator continues to walk
us through this process, slowly moving from son to son in order to make a
point. God’s chosen king will not be like the one the people have chosen. God’s chosen king will not be for the
people’s glory or for the king’s glory but for God’s glory alone.
Often in eastern storytelling traditions,
the center of the story is the most important part. Well, the center of 1st
Samuel is this story here, and the center of this story is the following quote
from God:
“For the Lord sees
not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the
heart.”
This is the center of 1st Samuel and the center
of what God wants to communicate to us through this narrative. There are
certainly many other things we can learn, but this is the central idea. God
chooses the least son of Jessie, so insignificant that he wasn’t even invited
to the party. They go and get David from the fields; he is anointed as the
future king (God’s choice) and God’s Spirit rushes upon him. He will be
successful not because of who he is but because he is God’s choice, because he has
God’s Spirit, because he will rely on God and give God the glory. Get the picture?
Lessons:
The overarching lesson here and of
the whole book is that God chooses people and things that will give Him glory. We
are best used by God when we seek his glory and not other’s or our own. God
uses those who know they are nothing without him. Sometimes he even puts us in
situations where we have no other choice but to turn to him so that He can show
us and others His glory.
So, are you seeking God’s glory? This
can be a tricky one sometimes for pastors (and bloggers) because it’s easy for
us to fall in the trap of wanting others to like us and thus basing our value
on other’s praise instead of God’s. No matter who you are you need to seek God
first in all things. God looks on the heart, so take a heart check. What do you
see?
God is not necessarily looking for
the best and the brightest. He is looking for those who will serve Him and give
Him glory. If you can do that, you can be great in the kingdom of God.
The instructions were clear. Israel
had been commanded to do this sort of thing before and Saul is commanded to do
it again to the Amalekites. Destroy everything; leave nothing alive, man or
beast. Saul rallies an impressive fighting force, goes to battle, and then
spares the king and the best of the sheep, cattle etc. He kills everything
else, but takes the best. Wouldn’t God rather Saul be happy? He is king after all
and this is what the other kings do so shouldn’t he get to enjoy at least some
of the benefits of being king? Practically he “destroyed” it all right?
God is
angry and lets Samuel know what’s happened. As Samuel attempts to confront Saul
about the matter (he can even hear the animals in the background), Saul tries
to play it off like he was going to give them to God. Samuel knows better, God
had already given him the scoop. When Saul realizes Samuel isn’t going to play
his game then he tries to blame the rest of the army, nice leadership move by
the way. Samuel has already told Saul that the kingdom won’t remain in his
family because of previous disobedience but this time it seems even more sharp
than before.
Here we get the famous quote “to obey is better than
sacrifice”.
A couple of cool things that round out the chapter:
-Old man Samuel hacks king Agag to pieces with a
sword.
-Saul panics (as well he should because if the
people saw that God had rejected him he might not live to see the night)
-Samuel still lets Saul worship God with him,
probably to help prevent all out national panic.
Lessons: God wants us to worship and follow him on his
terms, not ours. We don’t get to figure out what we do or don’t want to do and
then tell God that we are worshiping, or sacrificing for Him. He has given us
the Bible. He expects us to know it and follow what it says. Just like Saul we
have been given clear instructions and have no excuse for not following them.
The consequences could be drastic. What excuse do you have for not knowing what
the Bible says?
Greatness without God = nothing, anyone with God =
everything.
Although Saul still holds the
office of king in Israel he has just been rejected by God to continue as such
for his disobedience, the Spirit of the Lord has left him, his enemies are surrounding
him and his army…and he and his son Jonathan are the only ones in the whole
army that have swords. In case you were wondering, the narrator is intentionally
painting a very dire picture as he sets up what is about to happen in Chapter
14. The Israelites have once again been boxed into a corner where success or
even escape can only come from God and no one else.
Israel had chosen their king, but
the methods they used to do so had nothing to do with seeking or honoring God.
They wanted a king that had all the physical tools, a trophy king if you will.
They wanted someone they could trust in other than God. This king with all the
physical gifts has disobeyed and been rejected by God and is now impossibly surrounded
by the Philistine army here in chapter 14.
Enter Jonathan stage right. He is intentionally
contrasted with Saul who was, again, the trophy king that had been rejected by
God and therefore was not successful. Two people, count them, just two, decide
in this moment of hopelessness, when everyone else is hiding, to seek God and
take on the entire Philistine army themselves. An important quote, again
highlighting the theme is spoken by Jonathan “It may be that the LORD will work
for us, for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few.” Saul,
with all his physical gifts but without God could not have success, but
Jonathan is about to have amazing, impossible without God, success because he
seeks and trusts in God and not himself. He is able to do an amazing thing
because he puts himself in the proper place and allows himself to be used by
God in a mighty way.
Beyond all odds the Philistine army
is thrown into confusion, the Israelites come out of their holes and begin to
rout them…and then Saul, relying on himself instead of God, bungles up the
whole thing. First, he makes this stupid command that no one can eat while they
chase after the Philistines is on with a penalty of death for disobedience,
then, having not heard the command, Jonathan eats some honey, then Saul it
totally getting ready to actually kill Jonathan until everyone else gets in his
way. Saul, no longer hearing from God, has totally lost all sense of
leadership. He was actually going to kill his own son, the hero of the battle.
Thankfully everyone else present knew better and stood up against the King.
In the end, what could have been a
total rout was only a moderate victory as the Philistines escaped. God works
with the small and helpless to show His glory. Far too often rely on our own merits
and do far less than we could have otherwise if we sought God’s glory and
relied on his strength.
Lessons:
You do not have to let the sins of your parents or of others
define you. You can choose to live for God and do what is right despite what
has been done to you or the circumstances around you. Jonathan was in an
impossible situation and still chose to follow God and God used him in an
amazing way.
Greatness without God = nothing, anyone with God =
everything. No matter who you are or what your situation is, God can use you if
you seek his strength and power and seek his purposes for your life and not
your own. Be a humble and willing servant and see God work in amazing ways. Conversely,
if you think that God is lucky to have you or if you think that you can do your
own thing in your own power, no matter what you do it will be worthless in the
end.
Choose this day to use your life to point to God and His
power. We must decrease so he can increase in our lives.
Saul started out good, but as things go along it
progressively gets worse and worse. In this chapter Saul attacks the
Philistines but in the process awakes the “sleeping bear” and the Philistines
assemble a massive army against Saul. His army panics and many hide or run away
altogether. This isn’t exactly the kind of spot you want to be in (although
from what we’ve learned thus far this is the kind of spot where God just might
do something really cool).
Unfortunately, Saul doesn’t wait for God. You see, Samuel
was supposed to be showing up to make sacrifices for the people but while Saul
waits, his army is hemorrhaging men right and left who are afraid of the
amassing Philistine army. So what does Saul do? He performs the sacrifices
himself in an attempt to try and muster the confidence of his army, trying to
convince them that God really is on their side. The only problem with this plan
is that Saul has no business making the sacrifices. He might be king, but he is
not prophet or priest.
As you might guess,
Samuel shows up as soon as Saul has finished with the sacrifice. Instead of
simply owning up to his sin and repenting, Saul makes excuses for why he “needed”
to disobey God’s orders. He even goes so far as saying he “forced himself” to
do the deed. In other words, he says
that is wasn’t really his fault, the circumstances and the people made him do
it, Samuel didn’t show up in time, he was really doing it for God, etc.
However, God’s commands were clear and Samuel as God’s messenger tells Saul the
consequences for his actions. His kingdom will one day be given to another.
Saul’s disobedience will have lasting and drastic consequences. He can self-justify
and make excuses all he wants but he cannot fool God.
To round out the chapter, the narrator continues to paint a bleak
picture for the Israelites. Saul has only 600 men, they are surrounded by the Philistines,
and Saul and Jonathon are the only two in the entire army that have swords. In
case you were wondering, this doesn’t look very good at all. Only God could get
them out of such a predicament. If you hadn’t read the story before, in light
of everything that has happened in this chapter so far, is seems like Saul’s
end is near…
Lessons: God takes obedience seriously…seriously, He does.
Human nature really hasn’t changed all the much over the millennia.
We still like to make excuses for why our sin isn’t really our fault. We like
to blame others or our circumstances for why we act wrongly. We let others
around us or our problems influence us more than God’s word.
God wants to use you in His plan, He wants what’s truly best
for you. So the question is, will you trust Him? Will you obey Him even when
things get tough or when you are tempted? Will you trust him when you are
pressured not to? Will you chose to obey God even when the choice is hard?
Or…
Will you make excuses, will you choose temporary happiness over
lasting peace and joy, will you blame others and give in?
We never have a good excuse to sin. God sees strait through
us to the core. He knows what really goes on and we can’t fool Him. Our choices
matter so let’s make the right ones and trust that God knows what He is doing.
It will be worth it in the end.
Samuel has served the Lord faithfully but the people have
decided that they would rather be led by a king. King Saul has proved himself
in battle and so Samuel makes the public transference of power away from himself
and over to Saul. Samuel will, of course, still be a mouthpiece for God and
still be a spiritual leader but Israel now has a king and much of Samuel’s
responsibilities will be diminished.
Even though Samuel has been obedient to God’s command throughout
this transference, he really sticks it to the Israelites in his farewell speech.
They have been sinful and ungrateful and wanting a king and he makes sure that
they know it. He also makes them publically testify that he has been faithful
and just in his dealings with them.
If a tongue lashing wasn’t enough, he also has God rain down
thunder and lightning and destroys crops that were just about ready to be
harvested. The people freak and beg Samuel to ask God for mercy. He does of
course and leaves them with one final charge. If they will be faithful to God
and if their king will do the same, then things will be just fine. If not,
well, you know how that goes.
Lessons: Samuel wasn’t perfect but he finishes strong (and
still has some miles left to go). He is faithful to the end even if he is a bit
ornery in the process. Obedience through thick and thin counts and we need to
be able to trust God even when it’s not easy. How often to people willingly
give up power because it’s the right thing to do? Rarely are any of us humble
enough to do this at the right time. May we be obedient to let God work, even
if that means that we have to step aside and let someone else take authority
and credit. May we serve God how He sees fit, not how we see fit.
As you might imagine, now that Saul
is king, one of the surrounding nations is going to take a shot. Saul’s war
leadership will have its first test. The Ammonites want some more subjects and
land and so they decide that they want to take Jabesh-gilead. The people in the
city really would rather not die so they attempt to negotiate with the large
Ammonite army. The condition of gouging out all of their right eyes and becoming
slaves doesn’t sound very appealing though so they send out the alarm and appeal
for help to Saul.
Where is Saul, king of Israel to
come and help? He is plowing his own field. Not living in a palace, not being
waited on hand and foot, but doing hard labor in the field. Some might see this
as symbolic of a humble servant leader, others might see it as a man shirking
the heavy responsibilities that have been thrust upon them. At any rate, when
he hears the news he reacts decisively and sends out a threat to all of the
tribes if they do not respond to his call for arms. The people respond and the
battle is successful.
Remember
those guys who wouldn’t honor Saul when he was appointed king? Now that the
army has been successful in battle they are brave enough to want to take on
these guys and punish then for dishonoring the king. Saul wisely shows mercy
and seeks peace.
Lessons: Saul’s kingship starts off strong. If we didn’t
know the rest of the story we might be filled with hope that he just might be
the one to deliver the people and lead them toward God. Staring strong is good
but finishing strong is essential. So many of us can muster the effort to get
off on the right foot, or to follow God for a period of time, but will we do so
even when the going gets tough? Will we do so when life gets too easy? Will we
stay diligent until the end? We need to start strong AND finish strong.
