Opus 2025-486: Saul and David

I’m looking at the failure of Saul and the fact that he was rejected by God and Samuel.  At this point in my reading, God is sending Samuel off to find David and anoint him.  Both men were called by God and yet have totally different destinies.

What did they have in common?

Saul did not come seeking to be king.  He was looking for some lost donkeys.  When they tried to install him he was out hiding with the animals.  David did not come seeking to be king.  He was out minding his own business, tending the sheep.  Both sinned against the known will of God.  Both asked for forgiveness.  Yet God rejected Saul for a single failure and continued to interact with David after several.

What is the difference?  I think it comes down to this verse where Samuel is looking for a son of Jesse to anoint.

(1Sa 16:7 KJV)  But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

Saul may have been repentant but it was the repentance of being caught.  We all know people who exhibit a boat load of remorse when they are caught with their hand in the cookie jar.  All that means is they will be more careful next time.  David, on the other hand, seems to have had real repentance in his heart.  God can tell the difference.  We don’t have that ability to read the hearts of others so we are cautioned to be slow to judge.

I think we have more ability to measure our own hearts that we want to admit.  I think we can know if we are sincere or playing games.  Keep in mind God has more insight than you do.  I have felt sympathy for Saul but I must accept that he could have changed his attitude.

Be a David.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-163: Fantasy Traditions

I think we are always open to being made aware of the fantasies that we have in our theological framework.  We all have Bible stories that we have heard told or which we picture in our mind, which have nothing to do with what the Bible really says.  Simple examples are such things as Mary riding a donkey to Bethlehem, three wise men or Paul falling off a horse. Another one that struck me as I was reading and from a recent conversation was a picture in my mind of David, as he was called in to serve Saul with his harp and music.

I assume you are aware of the story.  Samuel had gone out to anoint the new king.  He rejected all of the older brothers, and finally settled on the baby of the family, David.  Most of us go from there to the story of David and Goliath and think of David as being this adolescent teenager who happens to be good with a sling.  That doesn’t quite work if you read the context.  Look at this description of David as he is called in to serve Saul with his harp,

1 Samuel 16:18 (KJV) Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, [that is] cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD [is] with him.

Notice this is not the picture of a teenage boy who is still wet behind the ears and goes out to foolishly challenge a giant.  Notice that he is considered a mighty valiant man, a man of war.  You need to readjust your thinking if you still think of him as a little boy.

When David went out to face Goliath, he had his own armor and his own weapons but instead he chose the five smooth stones to take on the giant.  His preparation reflected his statement about the living God.

1 Samuel 17:45 (KJV) Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

It probably doesn’t make any difference in your life to see David as a full grown warrior but doesn’t it feel good to have a little tidbit to share with the uninformed.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-134: Reasons for Election

If you read in the book of I Samuel about how David was picked out of a line of a brothers and anointed by Samuel, you come across this passage about how God was evaluating his choices.

1 Samuel 16:7 (KJV) But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for [the LORD seeth] not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

This is why God rejected the older brothers.  He is going to choose David a few verses later.  The lesson than that He is giving here, though, is that He doesn’t make superficial judgments but looks deeply into the heart.  He looks at the potential.  He looks at the attitude.  He looks at the leaning of the inner man.

Keep that in mind when you’re thinking about who is saved and who is not, about who is called to pastor and who is not, on any choices that you have to make in politics or within the church.  God is concerned about what is deeply buried within.

I think perhaps that also should be taken into consideration when we look at God choosing Abraham and his seed as His people.  It wasn’t a blind choice.  God makes it clear that He didn’t pick them for their great righteousness, but He had His reasons.  It wasn’t just a blind choice.

If you are one of those who likes to think about God, choosing some for heaven and choosing some for hell, then you need to keep in mind that God has his reasons, and He is not capricious.  He does not do things on a whim.  He knows the inner man and the potential future of a man.

He is a living God.  He is a person.  Serve Him like you believed that.

homo unius libri