We just spent a week with the teens in what’s called our In-Town trip. Every year we host our youth group for five full days and two half days of staying here at the church facilities. In the mornings they do work projects, and in the afternoons they put on a Vacation Bible Camp for local kids. The week is pretty well scheduled. Wake up is at 6:15am, breakfast is at 6:30, devotions at 7:30, work project from 8-11, lunch at 11:30, prep for VBC from 12-1, kids arrive between 1-1:30, VBC goes from 1:30-3:30, kids go home and teens have down time until the drivers return, then they begin to prep for the next day from 4-6. 6pm is dinner, 7:30 is devotions, 8-10 is free time and showers, 10pm is lights out. That’s the basic schedule for everyday, with a little variation here and there.
Yet, even though the week is very structured, we don’t know what each day will bring. We know when things will most likely happen, but we don’t know what will happen. How many kids will be here today? We don’t know. How long will our work project last. We don’t know. We were scheduled for the food bank, but they had enough volunteers. We had a yard project that was done around 10:30am. We had some kids come the first two days who didn’t come back. But most stayed through the whole week. All parents are invited, but not all come. All are invited to come to church, but the majority won’t.
The reality is, we don’t know tomorrow or what we will have to deal with when it comes. We can plan and prepare, but in the end, we have no control on what will happen.
And its this idea of not knowing tomorrow that brings us back to our series in the books of Samuel, where were will be picking it back up in First Samuel 10:1. And as we open up to First Samuel 10:1, let’s look back to last week.
Last week we began the second section of First Samuel. In the first section we saw How God calls us to abide in his holy will, so that we might follow his direction and see his work. We saw this positively through the lives of Hannah and Samuel, and we saw the negative side of this through the lives Eli, his sons, and the nation of Israel as a whole.
It was also last week where we began the second section of First Samuel, with seeing Saul before he became king of Israel. Most know Saul as the guy who later became paranoid of David and ended his life as more of a villain than a hero. Yet we saw some both the weaknesses and strengths of Saul when he was younger. Though he would not end well, his start was, at the very least, commendable. It is because he had this commendable start and downfall, that we talked about how we need to go before the Lord to have ourselves examined, so that we may always be growing in our relationship with him.
Now with these things fresh in our minds we can jump into First Samuel 10:1. In order to see the overall thought, we’re going to be covering chapters 10 and 11. But since we are doing this, your default homework is to go back and read the entire chapters in context, as we will only be reading portions of them today.
So let’s jump into First Samuel 10:1.
1Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage. 2 When you depart from me today, you will meet two men by Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now your father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”’ 3 Then you shall go on from there farther and come to the oak of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. 4 And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand. 5 After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim, where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. 6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 7 Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you. 8 Then go down before me to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.”
v.10:1-8 - Here is the anointing of Saul as king of Israel by Samuel. Except we are told that Saul is a prince of Israel. This is the second and third time the word prince is used in our passage, the first time was last week in chapter nine. We did not press this understanding then so that we could briefly look at it here. The word prince can be translated as leader or regent. The word carries with it representative power. Saul is not a king unto himself, but a is a representative of the true King of Israel, Yahweh. This is important, because later on, Saul will see himself as the seat of power, rather than as a representative of that power.
But to prove that Saul is truly called by God to be king, Samuel relays a prophetic word of what Saul will encounter as he heads back home. Samuel’s prophecy is that Saul will meet a series of groups: a group of men who will tell him about the donkeys, a group of men who will give him food, and a group of musical prophets. This three-fold repetition is to convince Saul of God’s providence in making him prince over all of Israel. These encounters, and Saul being told of them prior to them happening, will turn him into “another man.” No longer will he be Saul, but King Saul, representative of Yahweh to Israel.
One thing we have to note, is that the Spirit of the Lord comes upon Saul in the midst of the prophets worshiping God through music. This is the same way the Spirit came upon the Judges. It is a empowerment to do the things God tasks the person to do. But, as we talked about in our Judges series, the Spirit of the Lord does not stop the person from acting in their own will. Though the Spirit is upon them, it does not force people to act in a certain way. The will of the person is still free to act in sinful ways.
v.9-16 - Dropping down to verses 9-16 we get the statement, “… God gave him another heart. (v.9)” This isn’t the heart of salvation that God gives to people when they come to Jesus’ as their Savior. Rather, God giving Saul a new heart, is a comment on Saul changing his mind on the idea of him being chosen as king. This change happens due to Samuel’s prophetic words coming to pass. Yet, when the opportunity to share the news with his uncle that he was anointed to be king, Saul either shows the humble characteristic from the previous chapter, or he shows that he is still unsure about becoming king. We would hope for the humble answer, but we find out a few verses later that it is not from a humble position that he stays silent.
v.17-27 - Moving to verse 17, Samuel brings the people together to make the choosing of the king official. Samuel begins by sharing God’s triumphs over the centuries on behalf of Israel. He does this to remind the people what they are about to reject. This is their last opportunity to turn back to God and keep him as the only King in Israel. Instead, the people reject having God as their King and have chosen to put their nation into the hands of a man.
Lots are drawn as a way of showing divine intervention, but, as we have already seen, God had already prepared Saul to be the king, so this isn’t random.
It’s here that we see that Saul’s will is still at work and hasn’t been lost by the Spirit coming upon him. It’s here that we see that, though he has been anointed by Samuel, and though he has seen Samuel’s words fulfilled, and though he himself has prophesied, he is reluctant to become king and was hiding among the belongs of the people, rather than with everyone else.
Now it seems that the majority of people were excited for Saul to become king, with some even following after him when he departs. Yet there were those who, like Eli’s sons, and like the people of the Judges era, were worthless. Again, this word means that they would be more willing to follow Satan than anyone else. It is not Saul they are rejecting, but the whole concept that God is still calling the shots to appoint anyone.
This might seem like a throw away line about some men being upset that Saul of all people was made king, but their inclusion becomes more important in chapter eleven. Let’s pick up the passage in chapter 11 verse 1.
11:1 Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.” 2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty with you, that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus bring disgrace on all Israel.” 3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days' respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you.” 4 When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, and all the people wept aloud.
5 Now, behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen. And Saul said, “What is wrong with the people, that they are weeping?” So they told him the news of the men of Jabesh. 6 And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled. 7 He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out as one man.
11:1-11 - The Israelites face another threat, this time not from the Philistines, but from the Ammonites. Nahash of the Ammonites beside one of Israel’s cities and when the people of the city request a treaty, Nahash makes a counter offer. His offer is meant to be an affront to the people and shame them. In reality, Nahash does not want to make a treaty and so makes a ridiculous requirement. He is desiring a fight, and his allowing the people in the city to request help from their fellow Israelites shows that desire. And so the word goes out.
It’s here that we find Saul, not in a palace or being waited upon, but working as he always has, in his father’s field. This is a good beginning. If Saul had continued in this humble state, maybe he would have been better off in the long run.
It is on his way back from the field that Saul hears that his fellow Israelites are being besieged. At this report, the Spirit ignites an anger inside Saul and the king calls for all the people to unite and produced a large army to march against Nahash.
After the battle has been won and Nahash has been defeated, we see the aftermath beginning in verse 12.
12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is it that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.” 13 But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has worked salvation in Israel.” 14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
v.12-15 - With the victory, Saul proves that God has called him to be the king of Israel, his representative to the people. It is here that the people call on Samuel to pass judgment and punishment on all the worthless men who doubted choosing Saul. Their punishment? Death. However, Saul disagrees and let’s the men live.
This presents an interesting situation, who is to be the judge in such matter? This moment shows a vital transition between the era of the Judges and the era of the monarchy. Saul has taken the role of Judge in both a military and political sense. His decision now out weighs the Prophet’s. Whereas Samuel was the decision maker under the old political structure, his judgment is no longer the final word under the new. Those like Samuel, who fulfill the role of prophet, are now reduced to an advisory position. A position we can see happens time and time again throughout the era of the monarchy.
It is here that we step back and look at the whole situation. We see that God is still in control. Though a new king has been anointed and accepted as ruler over the people. It is God who calls Saul, it is God who reveals what is ahead, it is God who empowers Saul, and it is God who wins the day for Israel. Though human kings make plans, it is God who is working at all times to fulfill his purpose of bringing salvation to all people.
Another king of Israel, Solomon would write these words in Proverbs 21:1-2, “The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.”
We may have our own intentions, and they may seem right, but it is God who will bring his plans to fruition. God is calling us to recognize that he is at work even as kings and rulers carry out what seems right to them.
Our world is in a state war. The Russo-Ukrainian war has been going on since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea. It escalated when Russian invaded Ukraine, with a full blown war in the region going on for over three years now. In the last week the cold war between Iran and Israel again blew up with full military action taking place in both countries. We have entered that war by dropping bombs on Iran’s nuclear sites. Rulers are seeing years of planing come to reality as the threat of a third world war looms over everyone. And it all seems right in their eyes.
Yet as believers, we should hold fast to God working out his plans. Jesus told us that he would return and that his return would be proceeded by strife. So whether this is the final strife before his return, or one of the birth pains leading up to it, what we can be secure in is that our King, is greater than a representative of his and greater than any ruler who would usurp his position.
Therefore, let us hold fast to the Lord, recognizing his work to bring all things in line with his purposes.
My challenge for you this week is to take one headline that troubles you and bring it before the Lord and praise him that he is working out his purposes. After you praise him, seek him to ease any fear that creeps into you mind about the future. For as one of the hymns we sing states,
“Many things about tomorrow,
I don't seem to understand;
But I know who holds tomorrow,
And I know who holds my hand.”
Let us be a people who trust in the only King that matters, for his purposes will always come to pass. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment