October 31, 2012
And So: The Kingdom Begins
1st Samuel 11:1-12:25
I Saul Steps Up 11:1-15
II Samuel Steps Down 12:1-25
"Once upon a time, there was woman who was married to a perfectionist husband. No matter what his wife did for him, it was never enough. At the beginning of each day, he would make out his list of chores for her to do, and at the end of each day, he would scrutinize it, to make sure, that she had done all that she was supposed to do. The only complement she ever received was a disinterested grunt, if she finished everything. She grew to really resent her husband. When he died unexpectedly, she was embarrassed to admit to herself, that she was relieved.
Within a year of husband's death, she met a warm and loving man who was everything her former husband was not. They fell deeply in love with each other, and were married. Each day that they spent together, seemed better than the day before.
One afternoon, as she was cleaning out boxes in the attic, a crumpled piece of paper, caught her eye. It was one of the old chore lists, that her first husband used to make out for her. In spite of her bitter feelings, she couldn't help but read it again. To her shock and amazement she discovered, without even thinking about it, she was now doing for her new husband, all the things that she used to hate to do, for her old one. Her new husband never once suggested that she do any of those things. But she was doing them anyway-----because she loved him, and she wanted to please him.
A lot of people think of the Christian life as a list of "thou shalts" and "thou shalt nots"------But that was never what God intended. The truth is, all God has ever wanted from His children, was to have a relationship with them, that was based on love and obedience. From the beginning, His plan, was always to send Jesus to the world, so that He could put an end to the long list of rules and regulations, that had governed Israel for so many years. Jesus came with a new understanding of a very old law-----"the law of loving the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and loving your neighbor as yourself." (Matt. 22:37)
Jesus came to teach His fellow Jews and everybody who came after them, including us, that if we love God, we will do the right things-----not because we're afraid of breaking the law, but because we want to please Him.
Living as a believer has very little to do with laws and lists---- and it has everything to do with love and obedience. When Peter needed forgiveness and healing, after he had denied knowing Jesus---the Lord asked him the same question, 3 times, "Peter do you love me?" And Peter answered, "Lord, you know I do." And we know from the scripture, that Peter wasn't just giving lip-service to his words----he went out and proved with his life, how much he loved Jesus.
God gave Saul and the Israelites many opportunities to declare their love for Him and to show their desire to obey Him. In the passage this week, we've witnessed what a fine start Saul got off to, as God's man and as the people's king----- and, we've seen how repentant the Israelites came to be, for their sin of disobeying God, when they clamored for a king, and chose to accept him, because they had decided, that they were entitled to him. But, as Billy Graham says, God doesn't call us to be successful-----He calls us to be obedient. And we can't be obedient, if we don't understand and trust the love, that God has for us.
Saul and the Israelites started out doing what God told them to do-----but they didn't really understand His love, so, in the long run, they didn't trust Him enough to stay the course that He called them to------so their obedience, ultimately, didn't last------but for this week, at least----- there is much for us to learn, from their beginning, shining example…
Saul Steps Up 11:1-15
About a month, after Saul's public appointment as the king of Israel, the Israelite city of Jabesh-gilead, came under siege by Nahash, the commander of the Ammonites. The Ammonites, were descended from the incestuous liaison of Lot, with one of his daughters, after Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. They occupied the desert-fringe territories of the tribes, of Gad and Manasseh, on the east side of the Jordan River.
The terms of surrender, that were demanded by Nahash, included thrusting out the right eye of all the inhabitants of the city. And, he'd already gouged out, the right eye of thousands of Israelite men, that he'd previously warred against, from the tribes of Gad and Reuben. Not only, was it a way of humiliating them, but it disabled their warriors, too----in battle, their right eye was the one exposed, because the left one was typically behind their shields----
They would have had to learn a whole new way of combat. Can you imagine an army or one-eyed men?
Nahash, ranks right up there, with the world's most brutal oppressors----he rubs shoulders with Herod the Great and Nero and Genghis Khan, and Hitler, and Stalin and Saddom Hussein and Osama Bin Laden.
The elders of Jabesh asked for a 7 day delay, before they surrendered themselves, hoping for deliverance from the Israelites, west of the Jordan. Nobody knows why Nahash agreed to their proposal, but it's been speculated, that it was because he wasn't prepared to take the city by force, and he certainly didn't expect, for anybody to come to their rescue.
That was the first time, that Israel had had a king, so nobody knew how the king was supposed to act or what he was supposed to do. Samuel had told everybody to go back home, so that seems to be the reason, why Saul had gone home and picked up, where he left off---- dirt-farming. He had no court, no palace, no throne. He did have a job, but he had no job description. The king, having no kingly work to do, went back to his family's farm, to wait to see what would come next.
He had just come in from plowing, when he heard the news about Jabesh-gilead. It made him livid! And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, in a mighty way, and empowered him to take charge of the leadership reins, and deliver the desperate citizens of Jabesh-gilead from their tormenter. (This is a remarkable demonstration of the wonderful grace of God. On a personal level, it shows what can happen when someone is going about their mundane, every-day, even irksome tasks, and the Lord reveals Himself, and calls us to come work with Him. Saul went our looking for lost donkeys and was anointed king, with holy oil, by the time he got back home. He was out plowing his field and came home, to be anointed by the Holy Spirit, so that he could lead a victorious army, into battle, before the week was out. Who knows what God will call us to do, on any given day, and how He will use our daily tasks to get us ready for it, or to accomplish it. God regularly, provides more balance and blessing and glimpses of Himself, than we can even think of asking for.) And God's timing is always perfect----He equips us for the task, when the task is at hand, and we need the strength and the power and the wisdom to do what He tells us too.
Theologians believe, that Saul's anger and quick response to the request, might reflect the fact, that his very existence was owed to Jabesh-gilead. Back during the period of the judges, in the time of the Benjamite War (Judges 20-21)----all the other tribes had declared that none of them would give their daughter to a Benjamite, in marriage----but after a little while, the people regretted, that the tribe of Benjamin had almost been wiped out, except for 600 men----- so they went to Jabesh-gilead and took 400 young virgins, and gave them to the men, to be their wives, so that the tribe would be restored. And it's very probable, that Saul was descended from one of those marriages.
It also could have been, that Saul truly did, feel responsible for his people, and that rescuing them, would have proven ,that he was a king worth having. Whatever it was, the scripture says, that "the spirit of God came upon him powerfully, and he became very angry. (Anger is a powerful emotion. Way too many times it can drive people to hurt others with words or physical violence. But anger directed at sin, or moral injustice, or the mistreatment of others, is not wrong. Saul was angered by the Ammonites threat to humiliate and mistreat his fellow Israelites. And the Holy Spirit used Saul's anger, to being justice and freedom to them. When injustice or sin, makes us angry, we need to ask God to help us channel our anger in a constructive way, to help bring about a positive change, and provide a means, for bring glory to Him.)
To call the tribes to arms, in one of the Israelites, ancient, time-honored traditions, Saul slaughtered his own oxen, and sent the pieces throughout Israel, with the message that the same thing would happen to any one who didn't come and follow Saul and Samuel. (Even God had had used that same kind of graphic illustration, with Abraham, when He made His covenant with him---Abraham had cut sacrifice-animals into pieces and then fallen into a deep sleep---and then God, in the image of a smoking firepot, had walked in-between them, vowing, to keep His promise to Abraham---Abraham, would have understood God's implication to be, "If I don't do what I promise, then may what has happened to these animals, happen to me." not that could have happened to God, but, that was a way that ancient men cemented their vows to each other, and God was using it, as an example that Abraham could understand, to prove the seriousness and the validity of His promise.)
All the Israelite tribes, responded to Saul's call to arms, and 330,000 warriors assembled at Bezek. Saul employed a surprise tactic----He divided his troops into 3 companies and then attacked the Ammonites at the morning watch, sometime around dawn. Jabesh-gilead was delivered and the Ammonites were soundly defeated. The survivors were scattered so far and wide, that no 2 of them escaped together.
As a result of the victory over the Ammonites, Saul gained even more support and allegiance from the people of Israel, as their king. And the people were so moved by patriotic pride, that they cried out for Samuel, to being out the men who had opposed Saul, when he had first been announced as their king---- and to execute them. But Saul recognized, that God, had accomplished the deliverance for Israel, not him, and certainly, not the people, and he refused to heed the suggestions, of his over-zealous supporters.
Samuel concurred with Saul's decision, and then commanded, for all the tribes to reconvene for ceremonies and sacrifices of thanksgiving, to God, at Gilgal, and to reaffirm Saul, as their earthly king.
II Samuel Steps Down 12:1-25
Hannah had promised the Lord, that her son would devote his whole life, in service, as His priest. But, God must have told Samuel, that it was time, to step down from the political leadership, of the people, because, that, more than anything, would have encouraged the Israelites to start looking to Saul, as the leader of their nation.
The people of Israel were hardly ready for a complex government with rigid controls. Although, on an earthly level, unity, was their goal---- the old tribal borders were still observed. The manner, that Samuel used, to encourage Saul to begin his reign, which Saul did espouse, showed insight and good judgement, because the new central form of government, had to be accepted gradually, and not forced on the people, overnight. There was huge learning curve.
Samuel began his charge to the people, seeking to establish his own integrity. He reminded them, that he could be trusted to tell the truth, and that they needed to listen to him, so that they could understand the magnitude of their sin, in choosing a human king over God.
But he also reminded them, that even though they had sinned against him, God had not taken his hand off of them, and that they could trust Samuel's words, about how to follow God in their future. And Samuel wanted them, to trust him enough, to believe, that if he was reminding them, that Saul was the man, whom, they had chosen to follow---- then they needed to follow him---- and trust him with all the loyalty, that they had always given Samuel---- as long as Saul kept following God.
Samuel invited anybody who would, to come forward and bring any charges of injustice against himself-----he even made an obvious reference, to the failed administration of his sons------He wanted to make everything right, between himself and the people, before he stepped away from them politically, and certainly, before he died. But, there was nobody who came forward, which is remarkable------because, Samuel, had been in the public eye, his whole long life, and there was not one person who could step forward and say a negative thing about him. What a lesson for us-----what a remarkable testimony of a man of honesty and integrity, who exemplified a life, spent walking close to the Lord!(Samuel lived the scripture passage (Proverbs 16:7) that says, and I'm paraphrasing, "walk in such a way that even your enemies have to respect you…)
Israel's history, as a nation, had begun at the Exodus. Samuel pointed out to them, that their demand for a human king like the rest of the nations, was just one more instance of their rebellion against God, in a long history, of rebellion against him. He mentioned some of their great leaders and he emphasized, that it hadn't been Moses and Aaron, who had delivered them from Egyptian slavery--- it had been God. In the same way, He wanted them to understand, that it hadn't been Saul ,who had delivered them from Nahash and the Ammonites, it had been God. He wanted them to comprehend and believe, that God will work through human leaders, but ultimately, it is God's will, that delivers His people, from evil and bondage.
Samuel basically, summoned the Israelites to take their stand before God, and to hear the charges against them, as if they were in a courtroom, on trial. History was a witness to the fact, that the blessings they had received, were not a result of their own righteousness. Their "modis of operandi" had been----- that they would love God; then they would turn to the worship of idols, like the people around them; then they would become oppressed by another nation; then they would cry out to God to deliver them; and God would hear them, and have compassion on them, and finally, He would deliver them. Samuel reminded the Israelites, that repeatedly, God had graciously delivered the people, from their enemies, but, that they persistently, kept falling into the same pattern of behavior. Samuel cited illustrations from major experiences in their lives---the Exodus, the wilderness wanderings, the possession of the land under Joshua, and the ruling period of the judges, to prove his words.
Then he linked Israel's past, to the situation they were experiencing, at that moment. Like the Israelites, who had gone before them, they had once again, been oppressed by a neighboring nation. But unlike the people of previous generations, who had realized that their outside oppression, had come as a result of their sin, and they had repented, before crying out to God for deliverance------the generation under Samuel and Saul, had not acknowledged their sin and had not repented. Instead, they had blamed their circumstances on bad leadership---- and had demanded a king, so that they could be like all the other nations. Samuel wanted them to see the error of their ways and to repent, so that they could go forward.
Although God had given the Israelites a king, in accordance with their demands, Samuel warned them, that the king would only be able to procure deliverance for them, if they would fear the Lord and give up any rebellion against Him, and look only to Him, for all things.
Samuel underscored the importance of what he was saying, with a sign of divine intervention. He wanted to drive home the point, that God is powerful, and that He can use anything He wants to, to get our attention.
It wasn't the rainy season. (In Palestine the rainy season is in winter) And I think, it's an extreme rarity for it to rain there, unless it is the rainy season. The people would have been astounded-----there was no reason for them to have, even short, gentle showers, much less, a huge storm. I think that it must have been, an unprecedented storm. And right on cue, in response to Samuel's prayer, a great thunderstorm immediately blew in---- at their harvest time. That would have terrified the people, because they would have been afraid for their livelihood----the untimely storm, would have been a threat to their crops. (harvest was in late May or early June) Plus, it must have been violent enough to make them fear for their lives. The unexpected storm, reminded the Israelites that God is in control of all things, and that there was nothing that they could do to change that, or get away from it. If God doesn't prevent something, then He is allowing it------in both calamity and in blessing.
(I'm reminded of listening to the news on Monday morning, when the media was making all the projections for the storm this week-----apparently it was an unprecedented storm, especially for the northeast. The media were listing all the preparation measures, that the different states and governors, and the cities and mayors were taking---- and one thing that struck me, was the fact that President Obama and Governor Romney, had to change their plans for campaigning-----they had been rendered helpless to visit, any states on the east coast, because of the storm----it made me think of just how small this election is, in light, of the big picture, of God's plan-----in the long run, its a "nevermind"------God's Will, will be God's will----and it's how we fall in line with His will, that makes the difference in our lives, and in the lives of those around us.)
Samuel's message----- which was punctuated by the sudden storm----did result in great fear, among the people and they began to comprehend, the severity of their sin, in general, and their demand for a king, in particular. They didn't want to be disciplined any further than they already had been, by the Ammonites, and the ever-present threat of the Philistines.
They plead for Samuel to pray for them!! And they admitted their guilt in requesting a king to lead them, instead of turning to God and trusting Him.
Samuel, as the man of God that he was, was gracious and he tried to reassure the people with words full of mercy and hope. Without minimizing the magnitude of their sin, he gave them good reason, for faithfulness, patience and endurance. We have talked before, about how it wasn't wrong for them to have a king, but that, it was wrong, for them to espouse the idea, that any human being, could be trusted with salvation, and with the deliverance, from the guilt of sin. (We can't let past sins and mistakes spoil our lives-----regardless of who we are or what we've done, if we turn to Him in repentance, the Lord will forgive us; and He will accept us, as if we had never sinned; and He will richly bless us. We can't let the past, destroy the future, and ruin the present, for us-----we have to trust, that when God says He has forgiven us, that He truly has, and live like it.) And by the same token, we have to forgive other people. If God doesn't give up on people , then neither should we….
Samuel never suggested, that Israel's salvation would, ever, be based ,on their good works, or their faithfulness to laws and regulations. And he never suggested, that they try harder, in order to receive God's blessings. Samuel told them that obedience and service to God, is the result of God's grace, it isn't it's source. There is no evil, unless we deny the Lord, Himself, that can separate us from God's gracious mercy toward us. Nothing we can ever do, other than denying Him, can put us outside the power of God's grace to forgive and reconcile.
----a thousand years later, Jesus embodied what Samuel preached-----"do not be afraid….yes, you have sinned, but don't let your sin paralyze you with guilt-----don't let your sin, dupe you into thinking, that you are irredeemable; don't for a minute, suppose that God has called it quits on you. He never will! It is God's business, to save us and He wouldn't give up----He will save anybody who will turn from their wicked ways, and humble themselves and pray, and seek God's face…
Samuel's farewell as Israel's political leader, was precious. It was honest and sincere and spiritual. It was loving and kind and gentle. It was the way God treats us, when He moves us from one season in our lives to another or from one ministry to another, so that the transition doesn't tear our world apart, or make us go off the deep end. God is not the one who creates stress for us, when life's changes come----what isn't physically based, on hormones, or situationally, based on our environment and other people, I believe, is stress, that we create for ourselves.
We can't forget, that God is a God of order----we just need to keep our focus on Him----the circumstances may not change, but focusing on Him, will help us to walk through the stress, with joy and victory.
Samuel left them with 2 wonderful promises!
After having exhorted the people to faithfully serve the Lord, Samuel promised, that Yahweh would never forsake His people. That promise was based on God's own name. In the ancient Bible days, a person's name represented their character and their reputation. The Israelites could rest assured, in the truth, that God would never abandon them, because it would be inconsistent, with His name and His reputation----- because Yahweh, means I Am that I Am, and that defines His faithfulness.
The second promise, was given by Samuel, in response to the request of the people. Samuel promised the people that he would not ever sin against God, by ceasing to pray for them.
The way that Samuel had lived his life, illustrated the truth, that prayer is an essential ingredient, to an effective ministry, and to a worthy life. Do we think that failing to pray for others is a sin?----Samuel seems to have…His words indicate that God's people have a responsibility to pray for each other----Samuel assured the people, that even though he didn't agree with their demand for a king, he would continue to pray for them, and teach them.
We may disagree with each other, and we may hurt each other, but we should never stop praying for each other. Because God has given us the responsibility to pray for each other. Sometimes that is the only thing we can do. But it's always the thing that we should do. We need to take everything to the Lord in prayer---first, middle and last!
When we pray for people and we tell them that we have, or that we're going to----it encourages them-----when people tell me that they're praying for me---it encourages me, but more than that, it redirects me and my focus, to the Lord, and off of myself and whatever circumstances, I might be dealing with.
And then he closed his address, with a formula for blessing, and a dire warning, "Be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve Him. Think of all the wonderful things He's done for you---- but know, that if you continue to sin, you and your king will be swept away." (This is the second time, in his farewell address, that Samuel had reminded the people to take time to consider, what great things, that God had done for them. Taking time to remember, allows us to focus our attention on God's goodness and it strengthens our faith. Sometimes we are so future-oriented, that we forget to take time to remember everything that God has already done, and be grateful to Him, for it. In Jesus' farewell address, in the upper room, He told us to remember Him every time we take the cup and eat the bread, so that we won't forget the greatest gift He has given us, eternal life.)
I went to the Wake Forest/Clemson game last week. I sat behind a man who was rooting for Clemson! I was not. I have to tell you---he acted like a crazy person---I think he was drunk, but I couldn't be for sure. Clemson would move an inch on the field and he would jump to his feet and tune around to everybody all around him to get a high-five. The silly thing was---Clemson was killing us----so his wild enthusiasm was unwarranted! He irritated the fire out of me and I wanted to tell him to calm down! But, after a while, I got so annoyed, with how bad Wake was playing, that I tuned the game out, and started focusing on this lesson, in my mind----and it occurred to me, that the excitement and the commitment of the man, in front of me, might be a terrible example of sportsmanship, but it was a great example of how we should be, about the things of God----we should be sold out, on fire, unrelenting and unembarrassed, to shout our love and loyalty for Him, to everybody around us!
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