1Samuel Ch.11-21

Saul’s leadership in battle against this warlike tribe helped unify the nation and proved that he was a worthy military ruler. Israel was disorganized and Nahash, an Ammonite, was betting that no one would come to the aid of the city and was hoping to take the city without a fight. “When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he burned with anger.” Here the Spirit came upon Saul to give justice and freedom. When injustice or sin makes you angry, asking God how to channel that anger in constructive ways to help bring positive change is a way to use such a powerful emotion to bring about good. Anger directed at sin and the mistreatment of others is not wrong. Samuel appointed Saul and he became Israel’s first King. God is the true King of ever area of life, and the Israelites soon forgot this. “I will call upon the Lord to send thunder and rain and you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the Lord when you asked for a King.” (1Sam12:16) Rain rarely fell during this time, and this unusual occurrence showed God’s displeasure with Israel’s demand for a King.

Samuel advised the people to pray consistently for others and to teach others the right way to God. In his farewell speech, he asked the people to take time and consider the great things God has done for them. Taking time for reflection allows us to focus our attention upon God’s goodness and strengthens our faith. Many times we are so future-oriented that we fail to take time and recall all that God has already done. Move ahead with gratitude by taking time remember the blessings of the past.

Saul’s growing pride grew into an obsession and destroyed him, ripped his family apart, and threatened the well-being of the nation. Pride controls your life when taking credit for others people’s accomplishments. During battle, the Israelites hid from the Philistine army and forgot that God was on their side. As we face problems and temptations, focusing on God and his resources and having trust in him to help us, will bring victory. Under pressure, Saul took matters in his own hands and disobeyed God. Like Saul, our spiritual character is revealed under pressure. The methods we use to accomplish our goals are as important as the attainment of those goals. How many of us will stop at nothing to get what we want even if it means stepping over anyone who gets in our way? Road-rage is a common example of this.

How many of us have been at a crossroad with a difficult decision pending? When faced with such a decision, don’t allow impatience to drive you to disobey God. Follow God’s plan regardless of the consequences and trust that God often uses delays to test our obedience and patience! This is a painful lesson, I know and have struggled myself with practicing patience. Saul lost his kingship trying to hide behind excuses to justify his disobedience. How many times have we justified our wrongs because we have “special” circumstances and feel certain rules don’t apply to us? God knows the motives in our hearts. When we are honest about our sin, that is when He forgives, restores and blesses us beyond our imagination.

Here are some important lessons from Saul that apply to us today. Saul had an image created by his appearance that contradicted his qualities and abilities. Even though Saul was God’s chosen leader, it did not mean he was capable of being a King on his own. Saul’s greatest success came when he obeyed God and greatest failure came when he disobeyed. He had the appearance, courage, action and confidence to be a great leader, but allowed pride to take over and he cut himself off from God. From Saul, we learn that our strengths and talents may make us useful, but it is our weaknesses that make us usable. Our failures remind us that we need a Craftsman to control our lives and know that what we accomplish on our own is only a hint of what God can do! Even when faced with overwhelming odds, when God calls you into action, bravely commit what resources you have to Him and rely upon him to lead you to victory. When facing something out of your control, ask yourself what steps can I take toward a solution and this may be all you need to begin the chain of events leading to eventual victory. That is faith. Having faith is not being lazy and waiting for God to give you all your hearts desires, its doing your part and having the faith that God knows best and will take care of the rest according to His will.

There is an old law that I believe very strongly in and would like to draw awareness to. Eating meat containing the animal’s blood, since Noah’s day, was considered sin because the blood represented life and life belonged to God. (Leviticus 7:26) God’s laws are not to punish us, He protects us and who knows better how to preserve our physical and spiritual health than the one who created us?

Some people have a spiritual gift of prophesy. Most of God’s selected prophets had messages they had to give and were unpleasant to hear. They preached repentance, judgment, impending destruction, and sin. Prophets were not the most popular, unless a false prophet who said what the people wanted to hear, but popularity was not the bottom line for TRUE prophets of God; it was faithfully proclaiming God’s word. There are many false prophets out there, and to know if they come from God is to test them against His word. God will never contradict Himself.
Samuel anoints David with the guidance of the Lord. The Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height. The Lord does not look at the things a man looks at. Man looks t the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. “(1Sam16:7) God judges by faith and character, not appearances and because only God can see us from the inside, only He can accurately judge people. What steps are we taking to improve our heart’s attitude? The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; he is the one…from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power…He (David) is a brave man and a warrior…he speaks well and is fine-looking and the Lord is with him” (1Sam16:12) David was anointed King in secret and God was preparing him for future responsibilities so he gained favor in the eyes of Saul in the beginning by playing his harp for him. The evil spirits that had come upon Saul were vanished when the Spirit of the Lord left him as David would play. Saul was driven to insanity by these evil spirits and led him to attempt to murder David many times.

Sometimes our plans, even the ones we think God has approved, have to be put on hold indefinitely. Like David, we can use this waiting time. Make a choice to learn and grow in your present circumstances, whatever that may be. How many times have you felt like something amazing was going to happen, and you were told to wait? It’s worth waiting for.
We can learn volumes from David. God Himself describes him as a man after His own heart. He was the greatest King of Israel, ancestor to Jesus Christ, a poet, and shepherd. He also sinned greatly, but not repeatedly. He demonstrates the importance of learning from the mistake and whole-heartedly sought forgiveness of his sin. He committed adultery, arranged for murder, was a liar at times and betrayer. These are dishonorable acts that formed weaknesses that the Lord was able to transform and restore. David suffered greatly the consequences of his actions and experienced the joy of forgiveness as well. He was able to learn from such mistakes precisely because he accepted the suffering that comes with sin.

Here are 4 ways to know the depths of your friendships. David and Jonathan shared the deepest and closest friendship in the Bible. This of course applies to all relationships. 1) They based their friendship on commitment to God, not just each other, (people will fail you; God will never forsake you), 2) They let nothing come between them, not even career or family problems, 3) They drew closer together when their friendship was tested and 4) They remained friends to the end. When Jonathan’s father Saul was going to kill David, Jonathan said to David “Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do for you.” (1Sam20:4)

Great friendships can be costly. Loyalty is one of life’s most costly qualities and is also the strongest part of courage. Loyalty is the most selfless part of love. Loyal people stand by their commitments are willing to suffer for them. Conflicting demands of our relationships challenge us and if we attempt to settle these conflicts only at the human level, we will deal with a sense of betrayal. When our loyalty is first to God and his truth, many of our choices will be clearer.