1 Samuel
6 – 10
The Philistines are trying to decide what to do with the
Covenant Chest and in verse 6:6 the priests and fortune tellers give their
view:
Why would you be
as stubborn as the Egyptians and their Pharaoh were? You’ve heard the
stories, haven’t you? When this God had taught them a lesson, didn’t they
release the people of Israel? Didn’t they go?
Think about what they have been enduring
and what they know. Then consider why they are even thinking about keeping it.
At this point logic should have taken over and the only option would be return
the chest. But no, they have to rely on mystics to give them the ultimate
decision.
Now the meat of this reading is in Israel
getting a king. Verse 8:20 has the people ignoring what Samuel is telling them:
so that we will be
like all other nations and will have someone to judge us and to lead us into
battle.
Sometimes I wonder if this was not the best
thing for them, because left on their own they tended to drift to other gods
and practices. At the same time once you allow this, the king has the power to
be a tyrant, removing all freedoms. This is why when the USA was formed the
leaders wanted limited power and election by the people of the “kings” to
represent them. When you think about it this model is ideal where people have
freedom yet are lead to stay on track. As we will see with Israel and all other
systems in history, they get corrupted and rarely survive unless a sharp turn
to the roots is made.
In chapter 9 Saul is selected by God and
anointed by Samuel which is something we often forget. I have heard from many
churched people that David was the first anointed king, but we see Saul is
really the first. But where the problem comes in is in verse 10:22 when Saul
rejects his calling:
So they asked the
Eternal One if the man had yet arrived.
Eternal One:
Look! He has hidden himself among the baggage.
Saul was anointed king before this and hid from
his God given responsibilities. How many times have we done that? I still kick
myself for that one prompt where someone had come to the front during an alter
call. The pastors were all busy and she kept searching right in front of me. I
was called to speak to her, but instead hid in the baggage and continued to
worship and sing. She left shortly after and I have no idea if she ever
resolved her salvation, but I hid. And this is the real problem with Saul!!
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