If ever there was encouragement that sons w ith ignoble fathers can still be noble men, this is it. “Saul,” dispirited and disinherited from his kingship, “was sitting in the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree” (1 Sam 14:2). How eloquent! Symbolic pomegranates were placed around the hem of the high priest’s garment, interspersed […]
Worldlings have no idea how destitute they are without Christ. But with Him, we have all we need. Saul has just heard the horrible news that “your kingdom shall not continue” (1 Sam 13:14). The Lord was transferring His endorsement from the line of Saul to “a man after His own heart.” Having delivered this […]
Read More… from October 9, 2023 — What Was Left When Thousands Left?
The Blame Game is very popular today. I’m not sure why, because everyone who plays loses. No doubt, with the aroma of the burnt offering still lingering in the air, word came to Saul that Samuel had arrived in the camp at Gilgal. “Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him. And […]
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