First Samuel 15-16

God’s message to me: Obedience is better than sacrifice. This is the way of God. The way of man is, it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission. Don’t follow the way of man.

Promises: God does not see with man’s eyes. What you perceive as weakness may be overlooked by God and the strengths you do not see He will promote. No matter what you think prevents you from doing the work God laid before you He will overcome it. No matter what you think makes you the best person for the job, don’t complain if God puts someone else in the duty.

Commands: The law of God is what God commands. When God sent manna in the wilderness He said He was doing it to test whether the Israelites would obey His law. At that point the law had not been written. The only law was God’s command and his command was to gather one days worth of manna and not save any for the next day. (the Israelites failed that test too)

God told Saul to wipe the Amalekites off the map entirely. Saul took the best of the plunder and kept the king of the Amalekites alive. Both these acts were direct violations of God’s command. Faced with this fact Saul claimed the plunder was taken for sacrifice, when that argument failed he blamed his army for taking them and said he was afraid to defy them. That argument failed as well and he begged Samuel to sacrifice with him and give him forgiveness.

God is not a man that He should go back on His word. Saul defied God’s command and God removed His blessing from him. He would not pass the throne to his son and he no longer had the spirit of God to strengthen him. A spirit of distress settled in him. The spirit of God had gone to David, who would be king next. The effect of this spirit was to make David an attractive choice to aid the king. His musical ability could sooth the kings stress and he had the strength and ability of a strong soldier. Saul made him court musician and his personal armor bearer.

Timeless principles: Waste not, want not, is a wise old saying but it isn’t always the best course of action. Following God’s plan, even if it seems insane, will never fail you. The Amalekites were like bandits. When we first see their actions they are attacking the stragglers at the end of the group of Israelites coming out of a tough stretch of wilderness on their way to the promised land. Tired and weakened from their journey with most of their protectors to far away to help quickly, these travelers seemed like easy pickin’s and the Amalekites tried to attack and plunder them when they were least able to defend themselves.

Being bandits, they no doubt had plenty of goodies to claim but God wanted them destroyed completely with no reminders or souvenirs left behind. Saul ignored this and took the best stuff for Israel. He didn’t see any point in destroying useful goods but had no problem burning, smashing and destroying everything he saw no use for. By the wisdom of man(waste not, want not) he was doing right. What is the verse I keep repeating class? “Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

How can I apply what I’ve learned: Forget the view of the world and don’t look for the path that will be honored by men. Obey God’s command in all things and let His strength and honor be your reward. Man can only give you so much recognition and, as can be seen in the media every day, he will take that back with a vengeance. Those who gain fame, recognition and prestige are the biggest targets for those who look for a way to make every hero look like the worst among us.

What God gives can only be taken by God. No matter how the world sees you, your effectiveness and ability to succeed can never be diminished when you serve God.

more to learn for in-depth study: Remember the Amalekites? at the end of Exodus 17 they delivered a surprise attack at the rear of the formation and God gave Israel victory over them anyway. This was the battle in which Moses held his rod in the air and when it was up the Israelites were winning and when he lowered it the began to loose so Aaron and Hur got a rock for Moses to sit on and held his arms up so he wouldn’t get to tired to keep it up until the battle was won. The Amalakites had been causing problems since Abraham’s time and God tired of their ways. God commanded Saul to finish them off. When Saul failed and the king of the Amalekites was spared, Samuel saw to it that they wouldn’t repeat the mistake of the past and turn an enemy that should have been obliterated into a thorn in the side that wouldn’t go away. Samuel had the king brought to him and when the king suggested that they had seen enough killing for one war, Samuel said he was wrong. Then Samuel hacked the king into pieces before the Lord in the place where they had just worshiped and sacrificed to God.

KINGS: On the TV series, David Shepherd is a pianist. The Spirit of God has moved from the king and left him a paranoid old fool while the Spirit moves David into actions which continue to save his life from the kings paranoia and strangely sooth the kings nerves in the most stressful situations. So far, I gotta say, I like this show. It’s not mirroring the bible exactly but, that wouldn’t make sense in a modern setting. It is closely following the way Saul and David’s story might have played out if it occurred in the modern era.

tomorrow: First Samuel 17-18