When Self reigns, even seeming acts of worship are actually bowing at our own image in idolatry. Although there were many increasingly dark days for self-willed Saul, the event we have before us is the nadir of his career. Nothing could be worse than what seems to be an act of worship to the Lord. […]
Read More… from October 5, 2023 — That’s How The Kingdom Crumbles
Flush with the recent victory over Ammon, the new king needed a history lesson at Gilgal. At the time of Saul’s anointing (1 Sam 10), Samuel told him, “You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven […]
The town of Jabesh had suffered a near fatal blow in Judges 21; would it happen again? The first enemy who appears on the scene to challenge the new king should be no surprise to anyone. Nahash means “serpent”! He is an Ammonite, the inveterate enemy of Israel. Here we see the danger of world-bordering. […]
“Long live the king!” That’s something you don’t have to worry about if your king is the Lord. Mizpah means “watchtower” or “lookout,” and there seem to be many such places in the Hebrew Scriptures. The Mizpah in our story in 1 Samuel 10 was on the western border of Benjamin’s tribal territory; Samuel’s other […]
One question that perennially arises in this section of Scripture is this: Was Saul saved? Was Saul saved? The question is triggered by the following verses. “The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man” (1 Sam 10:6). “So it was,…that God gave […]
It seems that Samuel is trying to teach Saul to walk in a new way, the walk of obedience to God. In preparation for Saul’s coronation, Samuel “brought them into the hall, and had them sit in the place of honor among those who were invited” (1 Sam 9:22). He then instructed the cook, “Bring […]
Read More… from September 28, 2023 — 1, 2, 3 Steps In The Right Direction
Sometimes what at first seems to be humility is actually an unwillingness to be God’s man in the moment. Samuel had been forewarned that he would soon meet a Benjamite who was to be the first human king of Israel, the “King eternal” (1 Tim 1:17) having been rejected by the people. Not the man […]
The problem is not making mistakes early in life; the problem is never learning from them. Hmm. David is introduced while caring for sheep. We become acquainted with Saul when he’s looking for lost donkeys. Are these portends of things to come? There’s a lot of the sheep in David, too much of the stubborn […]