1 Samuel Series Wk 12 - “Say Yes”

 What’s the one word that no parent has to teach their child? “NO.” As children develop and begin to experience life, there are a lot of “no’s” that are told to them. “No, don’t touch that.” “No, don’t go there.” “No, don’t eat the cat.” “No” is one of the first words kids learn because its something that is used on them a lot. Then for the next sixteen years, as a parent, you try to unteach the “No” when you tell your kid to go to bed, or eat their vegetables, or clean their room.

Yet studies have been done that show saying “Yes” can be a better tool to boost someone’s creativity, reduce conflict, build rapport, and get people out of their comfort zones. INStead of saying “No, don’t rip that box apart,” because you don’t want to clean up the mess, tell the kid “yes, but you have to clean up afterward.” “No” is important, but so is “yes”. Sometimes the “yes” can get difficult, but it can also open up a new experience where things we once thought were often limits simply needed to be understood in light of boundaries.

And its this idea of saying yes that brings us back into our Samuel Series, where we’ll be picking it back up in the third section of First Samuel, starting in chapter 16 verse 1. As we head into First Samuel 16:1, let’s recap the overarching ideas of the last two sections. 

In section one, we saw how God calls us to abide in his holy will, so that we might follow his direction and see his work. This was seen positively in the persons of Hannah and Samuel, while it was seen in the negative with Eli’s sons and the whole of Israel. When we follow God’s holy will, we will see his work play out in our lives. However, if we choose to go against his will, then we will see judgement and defeat. 

This leads into the second section. Israel was given a human king who had the makings to be a good king. Yet, Saul eventually began to think of himself as wielding the seat of power in Israel, forgetting that it was God who was King over him, and he was an under-king to the true seat of power. Through several rebellious acts, God decided to take away Saul’s dynasty and give it to another. We could summarize this section as understanding that God calls us to freely accept his will, and not rebel against him. One leads to his blessings, the other leads to his judgment.

With the last two sections recapped, we can now dive into the life of David. Let’s read together starting in First Samuel 16:1.

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” 4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?” 5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord's anointed is before him.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

Here we have a pause in between the moments of God’s rejection of Saul. Between the moment where Samuel communicates God’s regret over Saul’s choices, and a future moment where the ramifications of that rejection are seen and felt. Though the thought of this moment and the next are a continuous one, we’re going to take a moment and look at David’s introduction in the same way that we looked at Saul’s. Except this time, we’re going to break these thirteen verses down.

v.1 The passage begins where the last one left off, with Samuel grieving over Saul. This shows us how deeply Samuel cares about the situation. The king that could have been, whom God called and Samuel mentored, was lost. Due to Saul’s rebellious choices, that dynasty never came to be, and so Samuel grieves over Saul on a deeply personal level. 

Yet God calls him out of his grief. God isn’t done with Samuel, and so Samuel has to get on mission even as he grieves. This in and of itself is a hard lesson to learn: Sometimes we have to work in the pain we’re feeling because God has work to bring about a better situation. 

v.2 It’s in verse 2 that we get a moment of concern from Samuel in asking God about Saul killing him. Remember, Samuel knows how far Saul has descended into his rebellion against godly actions. If Saul was willing to kill his own son, though he was acting in godliness, how much easier would it be for Saul to kill Samuel if he thought Samuel was leading a rebellion against him? The question is valid and shows us how far Samuel has watched Saul fall. 

v.3 Verse 3 then gives us God’s instructions to Samuel to go and make a sacrifice. He was to continue to perform his regular duties as prophet, and God would work through it. Samuel’s godly consistency of leading the people in sacrifice to God, gave God the room to work without putting anyone into danger. In performing the sacrifice, Samuel could then invite others to be a part of it. So Samuel not only invites Jesse’s family, but also the elders of the city. This further insulates Samuel against any accusations of overthrowing Saul. 

v.4 -5 But in verse 4, Samuel’s presence sends concern through the elders of the town. Remember, Samuel just laid out some pretty violent judgment on the king of the Amalakites in the last chapter. Even at the age of eighty, Samuel was still seen as God’s prophet and where Samuel went, God’s blessing or judgment followed. And the people of Bethlehem did not know which one, Samuel was bringing this time. But Samuel eases their fears in verse 5 and calls a large group to be a part of a sacrifice to the Lord. 

This would have been seen as a great honor. The prophet of God coming to the out-of-the-way people in Bethlehem to offer sacrifice on their behalf. Samuel would have been seen as bringing God’s blessing upon the whole community, with a special blessing on the family of Jesse. 

v.6-10, This special blessing on Jesse’s family can be seen in his calling on Jesse to present all his sons. One was to receive a special blessing from the Lord. And so Jesse begins to present his sons one-by-one.

The first born was similar in look to Saul, he looked the part of a king. However, God gives us this profound theological insight into the difference of how the world looks upon people, and how he does. “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. (v.6)”

Saul was a good looking and tall man. To the world around them, this is what it meant to be a king. But to God, a godly king is one whose heart will be fixed on him. So God rejects the first son, as his candidate for king, and then proceeds to reject six more of Jesse’s sons, because, though they look the part, they do not have the inner look that God sees. And for the briefest of moments there is a question of why did God send Samuel to anoint one of Jesse’s sons just for all of them to be rejected?

v.11-12, But then, in verse 11, we learn there is one more son. The youngest, who is out with the sheep. Everything is put on hold until the boy arrives. And it’s here that we get his description. “Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. (v.12)” 

There are several Hebrew words at play here that we need to talk about to get the full picture of what is being communicated in comparison to Saul. Remember the description of Saul that we got: he was taller than most and handsome.

David is first described as the youngest of the sons. What’s interesting about the word used here to communicate young is that there are about 300 ways to say young in Hebrew. One of the most common ways was tsa’ir (tsaw-eer'), which just mean’s youngest of a group. That should be the word used here, as David is the youngest of his brothers. Except it isn’t. The word here is the root word, qatan (kah-TAHN) which literally means “diminutive in stature” and figuratively as “least important.” There seems to be a little word play going on. David isn’t just the youngest of his brothers, he’s probably the smallest and least important. That’s why he’s out in the fields and not around with the others. Very different than Saul, who is taller than everyone else.

But then we’re told that David is ruddy. This word in Hebrew is admoniy (ad-mo-NEE) and means having a reddish complexion. It is only used three times in the Bible: two of which to describe David in this chapter and the next. The only other time it is used is to refer to Esau’s red hair when he’s born. Now there are two interpretations to this, first, David had red hair. Which might not be so hard to imagine because he had two non-Israelite ancestors in Rahab and Ruth. So there might have been some DNA crossed in there. The other interpretation is that his ruddiness is due to him being youthful and his cheeks being red from exerting himself. This second interpretation is what most scholars believe, as it shows a distinction between Saul and David. Saul just kind of went along with life and let things come as they may; whereas David chose to live life to its fullest, taking chances along the way. This is why David’s ruddiness and bright eyes are paired with each other. David was young and full of energy ready to embark on an adventure, where Saul, had to be forced into it.

But what we’re seeing is the difference between Saul, who was the biggest and strongest, but had no desire for the life God called him to, compared to David, who wasn’t the biggest or strongest, but ready to embark wherever he was needed. 

This is the Captain American story. A frail Steve Rogers gets injected with a super soldier serum to become a great hero. The movie “Captain America: The First Avenger” plays out this theological truth of a the youth who doesn’t seem to fit what the world thinks a person should look like for the calling of God, and what God sees on the inside. 

The description that a bad men getting power amplifies his evil is what we see in Saul. Saul had everything going from him, and he didn’t seek the Lord to work out the weaknesses that led to his downfall. David doesn’t have everything going for him. He isn’t the biggest or strongest, but there is something inside that only God sees, and what will be revealed to us in later chapters, which is a desire for God and his will. The very thing that the last fifteen chapters have been calling us to do.

v.13 Verse 13 ends our passage with David receiving the special blessing by being anointed with oil in front of his entire family and presumably in front of the town’s elders. Once the anointing is done, God’s Spirit rushes upon David. And it’s the Spirit’s movement that links David’s anointing to Saul’s downward spiral in next week’s passage.

But what can we walk away with from this passage? There has been a lot to say about David’s anointing. Most of which focuses on God seeing beyond our outward appearance to what lies underneath. We could walk away with the typical understanding that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Instead, to look at people the way God does, and this is a valid and important point. We should seek to see people the way God does. He sees the sin and yet loves us enough to die for us. We too should see and love people beyond their outward appearances.

However, there’s another teaching in this passage. We need to have the passion for life that David did. The zeal for God that says, “Wherever you want me to go I will go.” “Whatever you would have me do, I will do.” In the passage we have two people that respond to God. The first is Samuel. Eighty years old, he is called again to be faithful. He’s called out, in the midst of his grief, to possible death, to anoint a new king. That new king is a wild-eye boy ready to embark on the calling of God. Both are examples that we are called to. No matter what our age, the calling of God should be our first priority. Whether we have been faithful for years, or just getting started, we are to have the zeal, the passion and desire to follow where God leads. 

My challenge for you then this week, is to seek the passion to respond to God’s calling with faithfulness. You might not have the physical ability of a youth, but you have the knowledge of a life, with all its struggles, defeats and victories. Whatever the season of life you are in, is where you must respond with the zeal of a youth. 

You might be younger and have the ability, but you need the wisdom that comes with it. Look to mentors, ask the faithfully older generation to give you guidance. We are all called to have the zeal of the Lord and to respond to him as he directs.

This week, pray the “yes” prayer. “Yes God, I will follow.” “Yes God, I will listen.” “Yes, God, I will obey.”

Let us be a people of saying “yes” to God. Whether we’re old or young, God isn’t done with us until the day he returns or we breath our last. In this way, we experience his work and see the glorious victories he has. Amen.

1 Samuel Series Wk 11 - “A Smile, Not a Sigh”

Ever hear the phrase, “That boy ain’t right?” It was popularized by an animated TV show called King of the Hill, which is being revived this year. The phrase captures a parent’s exasperation with their kid. Hank, the father, comes from a time when handwork and dedication was the core of what made a man. His son, Bobby, tends to be lazy. Hank is pretty serious about things, whereas Bobby is a class clown. Hank loves football, working on his lawn, and his job. Bobby would rather play soccer, he likes growing flowers, and likes to goof off. When Hank sees Bobby doing things that make him roll his eyes, he uses the phrase, “That boy ain’t right.”

The phrase became popular because as a parent, kids do some pretty weird things. I’ve seen it in my own life, where kids, both mine and other people’s, do things like: eating dirt, licking random things, and randomly making noises out of nowhere. They’ll say things out of the blue, or cut their hair. As a parent you just shake your head and deal with whatever they throw at you.

It’s that kind of shake your head situations that brings us back into our First Samuel series, where we’ll be picking it back up in First Samuel chapter 15, verse 1. This is the final passage of the second section and where we see everything that has happened come to a head. And as we open up to the conclusion of the second section in First Samuel 15:1, let’s look back on the last five weeks, to see the lead up to where we are.

The second section began by introducing us to Saul, God’s pick for the Israelites’ desire for a human king. He had a few commendable attributes that could aid him in his calling, but it was the weaknesses that went unaddressed that would be his downfall. Commendable starts are good, but we’re also called to finishing strong. In order to finish strong, we need to bring ourselves before God to be evaluated and the weaknesses in our lives dealt with. If not, we can end up just like Saul, starting off strong, but ending poorly.

Following the introduction to Saul, we saw how God established him and his kingdom through his first victory. After Saul had won the day, we saw the transition from the era of the Judges to the era of the monarchy. Yet through it all, we could see that it was God who establishes kings and kingdoms, and it is he who removes them. 

It was here that we then read through the farewell address of the final Judge, Samuel. Samuel had lived his life in front of the nation of Israel and fulfilled his calling as both Prophet and Judge. It was a life well lived, and though his sons did not follow their father’s example, and though the people of Israel rejected God’s Kingship on Samuel’s watch, he still showed what it meant to be a faithful follower of the Lord. We too are called to be faithful to God, understanding that we alone are responsible for our walk with the Lord. 

Then in week nine, we read how Saul allowed his worries of the Philistine army to lead him in overstepping his boundaries as king; sacrificing an animal on behalf of the people, and breaking God’s command in the process. This was the first, in a long line of unfaithful actions that Saul took. Saul allowed the worry he felt to lead him into disobedience. In order to not allow our own anxieties to lead us into sin, we must take them before the Lord through prayer and praise of who he is and what he has done.

Finally, last week, we saw how far Saul’s spiral was going. This downward spiral was juxtaposed against Saul’s son Jonathan and his faithfulness to God. Saul’s unfaithfulness almost led to the destruction of the people through their breaking of God’s command, and the death of his own son. Saul had become someone who thought himself as the victory maker, and so lost his focus on the true God who brings about victories. In this we saw how we must look to the Lord as the one who brings victory, and while we wait on that victory, we must faithfully trust his timing. 

With the last five weeks in our minds, we can now read together, starting in First Samuel chapter 15, verse 1.

 1 And Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord. 2 Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. 3 Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”

4 So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah. 5 And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. 6 Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7 And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. 8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.

Let’s stop right there, because this passage, though one thought, is separated into several parts.

The first part we just read is God’s call to Saul to take up arms against a nation, and how it actually worked out. In verses 1-4, God is reasserting his Kingly position over Saul. Remember, Saul was always to be a prince, or under-king, to the Lord, who is the King of Israel. This comes out in the language of “The Lord sent … to anoint … listen to the words of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts … (v.1)” God is doing this, because Saul has shown that he has lost sight of the fact that he is an under-king. And so, God is initiating a judgment and calling Saul to play his role. 

This judgment is against the Amalekites, and it was to be a total destruction. Now we might grimace, because in our modern western world, we tend to shudder at God when he carries out judgment. There is an inconsistent morality that we in the modern western world can place on God. In the modern world, we’ll accuse God of not punishing those who commit horrible acts, and then when we see that he does carry out judgment, we get mad at God for doing so. This is an inconsistent and hypocritical moral position, that is more about hating God for whatever he does, than for understanding why he does the things he does. Instead, we have to remember that God is the only one who can dole out true justice. 

But we would be amiss if don’t address the question, “Why would God call for the destruction of the men, women, children, and livestock?” We might think, the men make sense, they’re the warriors, but what about everyone else?

In order to answer this, we have to put the situation into the context of its day. First, God has allowed the sin of the Amalekites to go unpunished for several hundred years. In this case, the Amalekites sin, that is mentioned, happened during the time of the Exodus, which was several generations prior to this moment. God had given them ample time to repent. Which we know God wants, due to the stories of non-Israelite people like Rahab and Ruth.  

Secondly, we have to understand what the Amalekites continued to do. The Amalekites were engaging in random killings of the Israelites. They would raid the Israel’s lands, murdering and stealing food supplies. Also, like other Canaanite groups, the Amalekites engaged in kidnapping children from other nations. In the broader religious and moral side, these children were most likely used for child sacrifices. In addition to this, sexual sins such as prostitution, which kidnapped girls and boys were forced into, bestiality, and homosexuality were running rampant. Schalar Robert D. Bergen states of the condition of the Canannites, that, “These cultures had become spiritually gangrenous and had been that way for hundreds of years. Since they refused to change, the only way to keep their deadly influences from spreading to other societies was through the complete elimination of every object and person associated with them.”

Finally, the phrase “utterly destroy” (charam [khaw-ram’]) may not mean the lost of life, but rather to destroy the means of rebuilding their society and religious orders. God was eradicating the society which was producing horrible pain and suffering to other nations. 

To the inconsistent moralist of today, if God didn’t do anything and allowed these sins to go unpunished, they would accuse God of being complacent and not a good God. Yet when he acts in mercy, allowing the people hundreds of years to repent, and then when they don’t, he judges them, the inconsistent moralist, accuses God of being unjust. Yet in all of it, what we see is a consistent balance of mercy and justice from God throughout the Bible. Mercy first, and then judgement when people don’t get their act together.

Returning back to the passage, Saul does not fulfill God’s call to destroy the Amalekite society. Instead, the situation plays out that Saul allows the Kenites, who were Moses’ father-in-law’s people, to leave the area. This is because there was no judgment on them, so this was a good thing. Yet when it comes to the Amalekites, Saul spares the king, and the best livestock. It is then that we get this interesting statement that connects back to the book of Judges, “All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction. (v.9)” The people decided what was to be destroyed and what wasn’t. Just like in the era of the Judges where the people did what was right in their own eyes; here the people are not listening to God, but deciding what to destroy and what not to. 

Then, starting in verse 10, we get God’s response to what has happened. 

10 The word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night.”

Let’s talk about the regret language. The word Hebrew word, nacham (nah-kham’), means to let out a strong sigh, as if one is exasperated with the situation. In this understanding, regret does not mean a mistake of purpose, but rather irritation or outrage over the outcome. Many parents have felt the regret of their child’s actions, and have sighed in exasperation. Yet for a free person to act, they have to be given room to make a choice. Saul had the makings of a good king, and his son had the makings of being a great king. However, Saul is accountable for his own actions, and it is those actions that the Lord is exasperated with. In other words, God regrets that Saul made the choices he did. 

It is in verses 12-33 that we get the back and forth between Samuel and Saul, as the prophet has to confront the king. Dropping down to verse 13 where Saul greets Samuel when the prophet arrives.

13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” 14 And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.” 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.”

17 And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18 And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?” 20 And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” 22 And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.”

This is where the hammer has been brought down on Saul for his repeated disobedience to the Lord. Let’s walk through this conversation real quick. 

Saul is joyful thinking that he has done everything the Lord required.

But Samuel points out that they kept livestock.

Saul responds that the people kept the livestock to sacrifice them to God.

However Samuel rebukes Saul and tells him, “The Lord anointed you king … The Lord sent you on a mission … (v.18)” Samuel presses Saul to take responsibility as the appointed king. In the last chapter he was willing to kill his own son for disobedience, but now he wasn’t interested in holding the people to their obediences, and he wanted to hide his own disobedience by passing the responsibility on others.

In response to the rebuke, Saul digs in that he did everything the Lord required, but it was the people who took the livestock. We see the weakness of passing reasonability onto someone else that we first saw in Saul when we were first introduced to him back in chapter 9.

Samuel counters that what God delights in is obedience to his voice, not the sacrifice of animals. The late John MacArther wrote, “This is an essential Old Testament truth … The sacrificial system was never intended to function in place of living an obedient life, but rather to be an expression of it.” 

It is in verse 24 Saul finally comes clean, “Saul said to Samuel, ‘I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the Lord.’ (v.24-25)”

Saul let’s Samuel know that the real reason he didn’t stop the people was because he feared the them. Now we might think that Saul is repenting here. He’s asking for forgiveness, but it doesn’t seem like Samuel believes it, because he at first deny’s Saul’s request in verse 25.

26 And 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 away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. 28 And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. 29 And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” 30 Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul bowed before the Lord.

Saul pleads on his knees for Samuel to go with him, and ends up tearing Samuel’s rob. Samuel then uses his torn robe to illustrate how God has torn Saul’s kingdom from him.

Yet, Samuel relents and goes with Saul to the elders of Israel. 

Here we must address the second time the word repent is used in the passage. Except Samuel states that God does not repent, yet God himself had said he did earlier in the passage. So what does this mean? The same Hebrew word is used again, but in this context Samuel is saying that God is not lying about taking the kingdom away, and God will not regret doing so. Samuel is telling Saul, that God will not pine for the days of Saul in anyway. That when he does this, he will move on in a better direction, never to give another thought to the once king. 

In other words, Samuel is letting Saul know, that even though he is going to go with him to the elders, this doesn’t fix anything. Saul won’t get his kingdom back no matter what he does now.

Then in verse 32-33, Samuel shows that the power of Saul’s monarchy has been broken. Samuel does this by taking back his role of Judge for the moment and passes a gruesome judgment on the Amalekite king; killing the king himself. 

Finally, the chapter ends very somberly. Verse 34 reads, “Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel. (v.34-35)”

Samuel leaves Saul, and won’t see him again until the day he dies. Their mentorship and friendship had basically ended. Yet, Samuel grieved over Saul, and in doing so, shows his love for the man he anointed king. Samuel is disappointed, but has not stopped caring for Saul. Like Samuel’s dedication in praying for the people, he was still dedicated to Saul, and knowing what we know about Samuel, he probably continued to pray for him until the day he died.

Then, for the third time in the passage, we hear the words, “The Lord regretted …(v.35)” Again, this regret is that Saul did not live up to his potential. Saul didn’t end the race well. 

It is moments like these throughout the Scripture that point to God giving us room to make free decisions. Saul was chosen because God had purpose through him. There were both commendable attributes and weaknesses in Saul that could lead him to being a good, or  bad king. Saul chose not to be faithful and allowed his weaknesses to turn into sin, and that sin led to unfaithfulness. Saul is his own downfall. Instead of seeking the Lord and being faithful to his orders, Saul went his own way, shucking his responsibilities and allowing the fear of men to overcome him. Saul had no one else to blame except himself for the downfall of his kingdom. And though it was still a ways off, his reign had been broken.

It’s the same with us. If we had nothing else, but what God has given us in his word, we would have all we need to know to follow him. But God also gives us the nature around us, and a conscience as additional directions to him. Due to this, Paul writes, “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)”

We are all accountable for the decisions we make, which at the root of most of our decisions is, “Will I faithfully walk with God or not?” We’re either moving closer to God, or further. We’re either bringing joy to the Lord, or making him sigh in exasperation. God’s desire is that we freely chose his path, that we may experience all the blessings he has in store for us. But in the end, it is our choice.

My challenge for you this week is to look at the choices you make and ask the question, “Will this bring me closer to or further from God?” Not every choice leads us to more or less faithfulness; the color of your socks, or what type of toothpaste. But the choices of how we respond to people, how we vote, how we engage in moral and eternal discussions should all be asked and answered through the lens of God’s word. In so doing, we can walk more faithfully everyday, using our free choices to honor and not exasperate God.

So let us be a people who bring a smile and not a sigh to the Lord. Amen.

1 Samuel Series Wk 10 - “Faithful Under God’s Banner”

  There are those in media, and in work places that attach themselves to whatever, or whoever is in the spotlight. They may befriend the popular person, or wear the latest fashion. They see the rising star and attach themselves to them. A famous example of this is Don King and Mike Tyson. Don King came from a modest neighborhood in Cleveland where his desire to be a lawyer gave way to him becoming a bookie. He was denied entrance in to law, so he employed the Machiavellian principles of being feared rather being loved, into his life. 

King became ruthless in his dealings as he built his promotional empire. It was in the 1980s when King met the up-and-coming Mike Tyson. King saw the potential in the young boxer and crafted matches that favored Tyson, and contracts that favored him. In the end, King and Tyson’s relationship is looked upon, at the very, least as a chaotic partnership, but to some, King is seen as the reason Tyson had the downfall in the ‘90s that he did.

It’s this idea of clinging to another’s fame, which we’ll see in our passage today as we get back to our series in First Samuel, where we’ll be picking it back up in chapter 14, verse 1. And as we open up to First Samuel 14:1, let’s look back over the last few weeks. 

We began the second section of First Samuel, by being introduced to the king, who the people had requested and whom God had chosen. We saw that in Saul, there were commendable attributes, like obedience, and humility, that made his beginning promising. However, finishing well is the goal, not simply starting off well. In order to finish well, we talked about how we need to go before God to be examined, so that he may transform us into the image of the Son.

Following that, we saw how Saul was made king in front of the people of Israel. After which he won his first battle, and proved that God had called him to the position. It was after the battle, that we saw the transition from the era of the Judges, to the era of the monarchy, when Saul made the decision not to punish those that had grumbled about him becoming king. We walked away from that week with the understanding that it is God who establishes kings and kingdoms, and it is God who removes them. 

In the eighth week, we read through Samuel’s farewell speech. His life was a model of faithfulness to God, one that we can look to and say, “That’s the kind of life I want to live.” Yet even though he was faithful, his sons did not follow his example, the people rejected God’s Kingship under his watch, and Saul would eventually fall as king. We walked away from that week with the understanding that, we should seek to live faithful lives, with the understanding that, though we may influence others, each of us is responsible for our own walk with the Lord. 

Finally, last week, we read how Saul, facing an overwhelming military battle, allowed his worry to push him to breaking the command of God. Saul stepped into the role of priest, made a sacrifice on behalf of the people without waiting for Samuel to arrive. Due to this, Saul showed that he had become unfaithful. When Samuel showed up, he informed Saul that what could have been a lasting kingdom, was lost on that day. It was from this that we talk about how our anxieties can cause us to rebel against God, so we need to bring them before the Lord and have them dealt with through prayer and praise, so that God’s peace may rest on us. 

With these last four weeks in our minds, we can move into chapter 14, where, like other parts of this summer series, the big thought here covers an entire chapter, and that chapter is very large. So we will only be covering pieces of it, and so your homework is to go back and read the chapter in its entirely.

Let’s read together the opening of chapter 14, starting in verse 1.

1 One day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. 2 Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah in the pomegranate cave at Migron.

Dropping down to verse 6, we continue to read, 

6 Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.” 7 And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am with you heart and soul.” 8 Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. 9 If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. 10 But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.” 11 So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.” 12 And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.” And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after me, for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.” 13 Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him. 14 And that first strike, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, killed about twenty men within as it were half a furrow's length in an acre of land. 15 And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even the raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic.

v. 1-23

This sets the scene for the rest of the passage. Saul’s son Jonathan, who was leading others into battle, gets this idea in his head to go off with his armor bearer to look at the Philistine garrison. Now reading this, I don’t know if this is the story of the garrison that Jonathan defeats, that is briefly mentioned in chapter 13 verse 3, since it is in the same area. But in all my research, I couldn’t find anyone who connected the two, so we’ll treat it as a separate instance. However, if the two are the same, then Saul’s actions in unfaithfully making the offering from chapter 13, and God’s rejection of Saul makes more sense after we understand this chapter. Either way, we see Saul’s spiral away from God.

Here, we see Jonathan as a man who has a great faith in the Lord. If Saul had not fallen, then this was the next generation of king that was to be on the throne. 

In a very similar fashion to the two spies of Numbers 13, we see that Jonathan does not see human might as what wins the day, but rather Israel only wins by what God does. 

So he tells the armor bearer that they will reveal themselves to the Philistines, and if the enemy calls for them to come up, that means that God is with them. And this is what happens. The two warriors reveal themselves, the Philistines call for them, and then God sends a panic among them very similar to Samuel chapter 7, and Judges chapter 7. 

It is following this, starting in verse 7, that we’re told that the news got back to Saul about the panic in the Philistine camp. They make a quick count and find that Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there.

Now in a ray of hope, we see that Saul had asked the priest Ahijah to inquire of the Lord as to what they should do, but when Saul heard the news of the panic, he told the priest to, “Withdraw your hand, (v.19)” from seeking God’s guidance in what to do with the Philistines. Whether this is good nor not, we’re not told, but what we do know is that Saul’s men, the Israelites who had gone to the Philistines, and some more Israelites from Ephraim joined the battle. 

This section of the passage ends in verse 23 with, “So the Lord saved Israel that day. And the battle passed beyond Beth-aven.” Proving that Jonathan was correct: it was God who won the day for Israel. 

v. 24-46

However, the physical victory of verse 23 quickly gives way to spiritual defeat with Saul,  in the second section of the passage. In verse 24 we read, “And the men of Israel had been hard pressed that day, so Saul had laid an oath on the people, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies.’”

Notice that the oath is made because Saul wants vengeance on his enemies. Not the enemies of God, not the enemies of Israel, but his enemies. Saul’s focus is not on being a under-king, a prince of God, but rather, in the last two plus years that he has been king, Saul has usurped God’s rule and seeks his own. This is the very thing that God communicated through Samuel to Israel. 

It is Saul’s oath that parallels Jephthah in Judges 11:29-40. And like Jephthah’s oath, the oath maker speaks rashly and puts his family at risk.

But Jonathan doesn’t know about the oath and its punishment and he eats honey. As he is eating the honey, Jonathan is informed of the oath and punishment, and he recognizes that it was a bad pronouncement from his father. Again, we see in Jonathan what could have been the monarchy moving forward if Saul was faithful. 

Back in chapter 13 we saw how the people did not follow Samuel's lead, which was with God, but instead, they went with their choice of king, Saul. It is in verse 31 that we see how far Saul’s choices have led the people to rebel against God. We read in verse 31, “They struck down the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. And the people were very faint. The people pounced on the spoil and took sheep and oxen and calves and slaughtered them on the ground. And the people ate them with the blood. (v.31-32)”

Since Saul was rash in his oath, the people were so hungry by the end of the battle that they ripped into the meat without draining the blood. Saul’s rashness in oath, led to his son’s life being in jeopardy and the people rebelling against God’s command not to eat meat with blood in it. (Gen 9, Lev. 17, Deut. 12:23)

Saul knows this is wrong and for a brief moment comes to his senses and orders the people to bring their food that it might be slaughtered properly. It is also here that Saul builds his first alter to God. 

Then in verses 36-46, we see that, once the sin of eating meat with blood in it is dealt with, Saul wants to finish the job by attacking the Philistines at night. It is here that the priest directs Saul to seek God. However, when they do, God doesn’t answer. This leads Saul to believe there is sin in Israel that needs to be dealt with. So Saul divides the people into two groups: the leaders of the people of Israel who represent the masses, and Saul and Jonathan who represent the monarchy. They cast two stones, one called the Urim and the other the Thummim. The lot points to the monarchy. So again the stones are cast and the lot falls to Jonathan. And we get this interaction between Jonathan and his father in verse 43, “Then Saul said to Jonathan, ‘Tell me what you have done.’ And Jonathan told him, ‘I tasted a little honey with the tip of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am; I will die.’ And Saul said, ‘God do so to me and more also; you shall surely die, Jonathan.’(v.43-44)” 

The glimmer of hope in Saul who called the people away from the sin of eating meat with blood in it, fades with his intention to kill his son. Yet the people protest, and we’re told that they ransomed Jonathan. In other words, they had to pay Saul in order to keep him from killing his son.

v. 47-52

The chapter ends with a recognition that Saul fought many enemies through out his tenure as king of Israel and he did so valiantly. But it’s in the last verse that we see something curious. The last verses reads “There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he attached him to himself. (v.52)”

Though Saul himself was considered valiant when fighting, it seems that he was not a military minded man, and instead relied heavily on Abner his army commander, and other strong and valiant men. There’s a hint of how Saul clings to those warriors who act valiantly in war, instead of clingy to the Lord. 

Yet through this whole passage, we can see that even those who are in rebellion against God, can still be used by him to accomplish God’s plans. God has purpose through Saul and even though Saul ended up rebelling, God still worked it out through others, like Jonathan. 

It doesn’t excuse Saul’s unfaithfulness, but it shows that God works even through our unfaithfulness.

This moment in Saul’s life leads into the next chapter where he gets a talking to by Samuel, and we learn about how Saul’s unfaithfulness has led to his downfall.

But its here that we can walk away with a couple of lessons. First, we need to see the Lord as our Victory Maker. There is a long history of God’s people seeing God as the one who brings victory to a situation. Deuteronomy 20:4 reads, “for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:57, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

We are called to recognize that we do not win victories, the Lord does.

However in that same line of thinking, we are also called to be faithful. In the situation in which Moses speaks of God bringing the victory in Deuteronomy 20:4, the context shows that the Israelites still had to go out to the battle. God calls us to the moment of battle, that we might walk in it faithfully. Through that faithfulness God works to bring about victory, whether through us, or someone else. God won the battle against the Philistines, but Saul wasn’t faithful, it was Jonathan. 

God is calling us to faithfulness so that we may fully reap the benefits of his victory. 

My challenge for you today is this: there is a banner in the bulletin. Take that and place it where you will see it everyday. Each time you see it, say a prayer like this, “Lord you win the victories, help me to faithfully walk with you that I may see and enjoy them.”Let us be a people who live under the banner of God, and rejoice in him who is our Victor. Amen.