“Wake up! See what is happening and help me!”
Haven’t we all felt this way at times? God must be asleep, or somehow distracted. Whatever the case, He’s not seeing my situation because, if He did see it, He would surely do something about it.
Only an illusion (1 Samuel 19)
But on the way to Naioth in Ramah the Spirit of God came even upon Saul, and he, too, began to prophesy all the way to Naioth! He tore off his clothes and lay naked on the ground all day and all night, prophesying in the presence of Samuel. The people who were watching exclaimed, “What? Is even Saul a prophet?”
When David fled for his life from Saul’s irrational anger, he went to live with Samuel in Ramah.
Saul sent a team of soldiers to Ramah to capture David but, as the soldiers approached, they were overwhelmed by the Spirit of God and could not carry out their mission. Instead, they all began to prophesy and give glory to God! This happened three different times.
Finally, Saul went himself to Ramah, fully intending to capture David and kill him. But the same thing happened to Saul, only the Lord caused Saul to tear off his clothes and lie naked on the ground all day and all night while he prophesied!
If we really think that we are fully in control of our lives, it is only an illusion.
A steel-eyed killer (1 Samuel 18)
“David was delighted to accept the offer. Before the time limit expired, he and his men went out and killed 200 Philistines. Then David fulfilled the king’s requirement by presenting all their foreskins to him.”
“This is barbaric!”, we might be quick to say. It is indeed awful to imagine. The tender-hearted shepherd boy is now a steel-eyed killer. But let’s not forget the context.
The Philistines oppressed the Israelites for years; it was their desire to wipe them out entirely. They were not interested in peaceful co-existence. They were a godless, cruel people.
David was a warrior, yes. But he was not a cold-blooded barbarian.
With blood still dripping (1 Samuel 17)
“As soon as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand.”
With blood still dripping from the head of the slain Philistine giant, David stood before the king, victorious.
But it wasn’t his victory; As David himself told the giant, the battle and the victory belonged to the Lord of hosts.
David’s response (Psalm 23)
“You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.”
When David was just a teenager, Samuel anointed him to be the next king of Israel. He was called in from the fields where he was watching his father’s sheep. This best-known of all the psalms might well have been David’s response.
Dark and handsome (1 Samuel 16)
“People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
It wasn’t that David’s physical appearance was homely. He is actually described in this chapter as “dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes”. But the Lord God of Israel saw something more beautiful on the inside —where only He can see.
Saul, after all, was not only “dark and handsome”; he stood head and shoulders above his countrymen. Yet he was rejected by the Lord because of his willful disobedience.
Doing even this (1 Samuel 15)
“And Samuel cut Agag to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal.”
Samuel is often remembered as the little boy who heard God speak to him while he served in the temple. Here is Samuel the man of God, ever the Lord’s servant, doing even this at His direction.
Useless (1 Samuel 14)
But while Saul was talking to the priest, the confusion in the Philistine camp grew louder and louder. So Saul said to the priest, “Never mind; let’s get going!”
Saul had called for the ephod, i.e., for special direction from God, but then he told the priest to forget about it —time was wasting.
This was Saul —impulsive, self-willed. Those two characteristics render any man useless in the kingdom of God.
He failed the test (1 Samuel 13)
“How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.
Saul’s army became discouraged waiting for Samuel to come to Gilgal, and many of them left for home. Saul took matters into his own hands and offered the sacrifices to the Lord himself, despite Samuel’s clear instruction to wait for him. But a week had gone by, and Samuel had not come.
It was this “taking matters into his own hands” that proved to be his downfall. The Lord delayed Samuel’s coming to Gilgal, so as to test Saul. But he failed the test. The Lord would now look for a new king —one who, as Samuel told him, was “after my own heart”.
The past doesn’t matter (1 Samuel 12)
“The Lord will not abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name. For it has pleased the Lord to make you his very own people.”
The Lord is merciful. He is merciful to those who call on Him for mercy. The past doesn’t matter. God can cause the past to be the servant of the future.
