Author: ianfrancoisdt

”You are God and I am not”, as I focus on Your faithfulness.

”It is good for you to meditate on the huge difference between you and I. Between all my creatures and Me. It is so easy to slip into this sort of thought that I am merely a super- human – with the same shortcomings as everyone just hidden under a mantel of holiness. That is not Me – I am transcendent, I am the creator and sustainer of, not only the world but the whole universe. I am totally dependable, faithful to all My promises, I never turn back. you can depend on Me totally and you can entrust yourself and your loved ones into My arms because all these characteristics are covered by My grace and My love. Come closer and receive my warmth.

I apologize for the misprint in last week’s blog. Please read my comment on Lily’s entry in the comments section. To access the comments just click the title of that blog and the comments will open up.

Now to chapter 16 of 1 Samuel (yes really 16). Chapter 15 ends with the statement “The Lord was grieved that He had made Saul king“. This statement sort of closes the story of Saul’s kingship. Although he continues to appear in the story from now on, he is no longer the “real king” in God’s eyes.

In his place we are now introduced to the king God wanted to rule in Israel. The king, described as “a man after God’s own heart” in Acts. Saul had been a king like the kings of the nations all around. He was very tall and good-looking, apparently very powerful but with lots of short-comings, similar to the pagan kings of those nations.

David on the other hand is only described as ruddy and without any physical qualities that are mentioned. He is the youngest son, a mere shepherd boy with no training as a warrior. This is typical of many who God has chosen over the years, stepping past the obvious choice and using a younger apparently weaker person instead. One whom He could use to demonstrate His own qualities and who would glorify Him. The words in vs7c affirm this “Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Although David falls into sin several times, he is nevertheless characterized by his faith in God and his love and absolute devotion to Yahweh. Samuel anoints David as king as he is chosen by God’s word to Samuel. As Samuel anoints him “the Spirit of the Lord came upon him”, vs 13, consecrating him and making his kingship official in God’s eyes. In the very next verse we read that God’s Spirit had now departed from Saul, who was therefore now no longer officially king in God’s eyes.

We need to understand that in the OT the anointing of God’s Spirit on someone had a different meaning to that which happened in Acts ch 2, which every Christian experiences when they are born again. In the OT the anointing was for the purpose of setting a person aside for God’s work. While He obviously would be active in many ways in that person’s life, it was not necessarily permanent as it is in the case of a Christian. We read of this anointing usually in the case of kings and prophets.

Immediately after the Spirit departs from Saul we are told “an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. v 14″. It is difficult to determine exactly what the writer meant by this statement. It clearly caused a major depression in Saul. In 1 Kings222 :19-23 there is an interesting interplay where an evil spirit talks to Yahweh and offers to do something for him.

Anyway, David is now brought into Saul’s proximity and does something very positive, playing the lute when Saul became depressed. He is not introduced to Saul as the future king, however. Saul would probably have killed him. So David, in what appears to be an innocent way finds himself serving Saul.

The chapter ends there. What are we to make of this for our personal application. I think that the whole scene again confirms God’s moving control in having His plan executed everywhere. Even to the point of allowing an evil influence or spirit. I am reminded of “The Lord’s prayer”, “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.” We are living in a world where evil and Satan’s agents are active and where temptation lies around every corner. I feel we should constantly be on our guard, because he seeks to devour us. 1 Peter 5:8.

Further we should take a leaf from God’s book and learn not to judge people by their outward appearance but their heart. I am reading “Pilgrim’s progress” at the moment and have come across a chap who is characterized by the fact that he talks a lot. Especially about spiritual and biblical things, but his life and actions do not reflect his words. Mervyn always said let our words be few for God is in heaven and we are on earth. It is a quote from Ecclesiastes or Proverbs I think.

May you all have a blessed week as we approach the Christmas festival.

Darkness – The darkness of the world is all around, sin, hate – expressed in so many ways, even load shedding. Thank you that you came and are the true light – to pierce that darkness and vanquish it.

”Could you but see the intensity of the light of My son Jesus as He drives out the darkness of the world. Yet as you said there is still so much darkness in the world. Let me assure you that that darkness is only temporary – My light has already vanquished it, yet you cannot see it now, it will be fully revealed when I return and establish My full kingdom which will no longer be clandestine. When the full manifestation of My light comes there will be no vestige of the darkness which seems to be so prevalent now .In the meantime I am there even when it appears inky black, leading you, loving you, protecting you especially your heart – so remember My word – ‘in the world you will have tribulation ( darkness) but take heart in me you will have peace (light). So walk in that light this coming week.”

As we come to chapter 15 of 1 Samuel, we may be filled with revulsion and horror at the instructions that the Lord gave to Saul. Surely a God of mercy and love would not give such awful instructions to not only kill the men and the soldiers but also the entire families of the people of the nation of the Amalekites. Not only was Saul to kill the people but he was to kill all live stock as well. Standing back and considering this passage should remind us of the total holiness of God who rejects all sin. It should remind us of the full awfulness of sin in the sight of God.

It almost reminds us of what Israel is trying to do to Hamas at the moment. There is however a huge difference. What Israel is doing now is being done out of retribution, anger and hate, which might be understandable with the provocation they had but there is no indication that this act has been ordained by God.

The real message of this chapter is focused on the disobedience of Saul to Gods word. As one reads through the chapter there are a number of indications of Saul’s rebellion against God and His instructions. Saul attempts to justify his actions in several ways. He tries to put a religious shade on his disobedience suggesting that there was a purpose in what he did to honour God. He also tries to pass the blame onto other people and so avoid responsibility for his actions.

There is an interesting interplay around the idea and word obedience from vs 12 but especially vs 17 ff. Notice Saul’s disobedience seems to be linked to His growing arrogance and self-importance. The reply that Samuel gives to Saul in verse 22 is a classical word. It is a reminder to Saul and all who follow him down the ages that meaningless religious rites don’t honour God in any way. God seeks our loving obedience which reflects our attitude towards Him and our love for Him. The best sign that we love God and seek to follow Him is demonstrated by our obedience to His word.

Ominous words are spoken by God in vs 27 through Samuel. Saul would remain king for the time being but there would be no deep long-term purpose in his rule. Twice in the chapter God is said to regret that He made Saul king vs 11 and 35. (the Hebrew word means repent or change one’s mind). Yet when Saul begs Samuel to forgive him Samuel is adamant that it is too late and that God never repents or changes His mind. Earlier in vs 11 we see Samuel crying out the whole night to God. This is all an interesting interplay as we see this relationship between Samuel, Saul and God playing out. It speaks of a real relationship on the one hand between Samuel and God and a separation between God and Saul.

On the whole this chapter really reminds us of the seriousness of sin. Of the symptoms of a deep rebellion in the heart of the sinner which gives rise to disobedience. A lifting of the person’s own view of himself against the view he has of God demonstrating his lack of submission to God It is a frightening process which should awaken us all to guard against it.

Of course, the really good news is that the greater son of David came many years later to deal with sin. Considering the picture in this chapter, we should have a greater degree of gratitude for what He did on the cross on our behalf, saving us from the awful result of rebellion against our Creator.

May the Lord bless you all during the next week.

The word I have from God is, “Be still and know that I am God”.

”In a world in tumult, when the general tempo is rush and restlessness, where everyone seeks instant answers, it is time to take stock, to be still and ask yourself ‘who are you trusting in? Are you looking to the world to give you the answers to your questions? Are you in disarray when everything does not work out exactly as you planned it?’ When you find yourself waiting and unable to change things, waiting on answers, waiting for things to happen, then it is time to be still and with My help, clean the slate of your mind and focus on me and my total Providence over the world, Over all around you and especially on you and your loved ones. Allow My word to suffuse into your mind and heart and become the great resting place for your mind and soul. You have trusted me to here and I have never failed you, so once again place your full trust in Me.“

As we ended Ch 13 in 1 Samuel, Israel was in disarray. No-one, except Saul and Jonathan had weapons. The Philistines were on their doorstep and aggressive. ‘What was going to happen to them?’ Is the question hanging in the air. At the beginning of ch 14 a little story unfolds, a story as astounding as David’s confrontation of Goliath, but not known as well as his.

Between the Israelites and the Philistines was a pass and in this pass were two precipitous cliffs called Bozez and Seneh. (14:4) Geography will tell that they were very steep and difficult to climb. Above the cliffs on the mountain was a Philistine outpost. The story does not exactly reveal Jonathan’s plan to us, except that, as he stood beneath the cliff he indicated that he was trusting the Lord to save.

“Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or few,” (14:6c) is his thinking and revealed to us in what he says to his armour-bearer and companion. Feeling guided by the Lord they scale the cliff. Arriving at the top they must have found the Philistine outpost relaxed in the false security of their position, without their arms at hand. In no time Jonathan and his armour-bearer kill 20 men.

This action sends a panic wave over the Philistine army and they are routed. Note 14:15c “It was a panic from God”. Let us stop there and consider. This act was any time as impossible as David’s facing Goliath, which we will read about later. So although the way it is written does not tell us this exactly, it is an example of someone trusting completely on God’s ability to act and save. And acting upon that God honours that. It is also an act not focused on Jonathan himself, but on doing something in an impossible situation to save a whole nation.

What follows is a comparison between the trust of Jonathan and his bravery and the bungling of King Saul as he tries to capitalize on the panic of the Philistines. He calls for the ark then tells the priest to back off (withdraw his hand), as he probably changes his mind. The ark here was simply a superstitious desire to get God to act further.

However 14:23 makes it clear that it is “the Lord that rescued Israel that day“.

It then appears that Saul, in a further superstitious religious act decides to call the whole army to fast as the battle continues. The consequences of this foolish superstitious act are dire and Jonathan the actual hero is almost put to death. The rest of the chapter is a summary of Saul’s family and rule and could have been given elsewhere.

The main message of the chapter is that God put the Israelites into an impossible position in a battle situation, to cause them to turn and call on Him for help. Jonathan shows his trust in the Lord and the Lord rescues Israel. Saul is clearly outside the line making one mistake after the other. Surely not trusting God in a personal way.

This chapter was a stark reminder to me of the two realities of our Christian walk. In His process of building our faith God regularly allows us to be in a situation where we are actually powerless to bring a result. This causes us to turn to Him in trust and dependence. Often keeping us waiting for the answer which deepens our awareness of our helplessness and dependence on Him. Ultimately when He does respond it is often not even in the way we expect, but is a great encouragement to our trust in Him and is one of the usual ways God builds our trust in Him. In reading a passage like this we are reminded of His dependability over all the years as well as in our own lives.

May the Lord bless you and give you peace when you are facing trials, especially now as we approach Christmas.

All the angels cry holy, all creation cries holy!

”Do you really understand and embrace my Holiness? There are many twisted views of My Holiness out there – giving it almost a negative slant in many people’s eyes. Yet it is an integral part of who I am – My very being, My everything is holy – from the beginning of time, forever more. It describes My total otherness in size and power, in the total influence and control I hold over the universe apart from my total purity. Yet within that a deep heart of mercy for those of My creation, mercy and love so deep that I endured the cross to open the way for every person to participate in my Holiness. If you have chosen to follow Me you will be enveloped by My Holiness – it will protect you and change you to become more and more holy like Me – and remember the word, “without holiness it is impossible to see the Lord”. So Go out and worship Me in My holiness and enjoy it as it envelops you.”

Now to 1 Samuel 13. The story of King Saul and his reign as he becomes the central figure in the story. When I say central figure the real central figure is, of course Yahweh Himself. Saul will reign for 42 years. War is in the air. There seems to be a constant conflict between Israel and its neighbours (sounds familiar), especially the Philistines at that time.

The focus of the chapter however is 7b to 11. Can you see what this is and why Saul failed totally as a true king? The key lies in the words in vs 14 “the Lord has sought a man after His own heart”. The situation is dire, surrounded and outnumbered by the enemy Saul waits anxiously for Samuel to come and offer sacrifices to God, which Saul felt would give them the victory.

However God tests him as Samuel does not arrive at the exact time he promised so Saul takes things into his own hands and offers a fellowship sacrifice to the Lord.

To us it may sound as a minor slip or sin, but the words of Samuel, as he opens with “What have you done?” warn us that something serious has happened here. can you see why this act is so serious and carried the serious consequences it did?

Well the words of Samuel where he says “the Lord sought a man after His own heart“, in vs 14, reveal the problem. The problem lay in Saul’s heart, His actions, usurping the role of a prophet and priest revealed that his heart was not devoted to God. He saw this act as a sort of almost superstitious significance, to get God to act. He was not seeking God’s fellowship or God’s heart, he was carrying out a ritual which he saw as carrying significance in itself.

It is almost like someone taking communion while his life is in disarray and there is no heart connection with our Lord. It becomes a meaningless act which is actually so abhorrent to God that He says some have even died because of this.

The words in vs 14 ring out through the ages and the one who is described like that is none other than the future king, king David. Paul describes king David in Acts 13:22b “God made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David, son of Jesses a man after my own heart, he will do everything I want him to do’. You see David was devoted to God. His heart connected with Him. So when he committed sins, some grievous, his lament was ‘Against you and you only have I sinned’.

Ultimately the Real One who would delight the Lord was Jesus Himself of whom God said: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”, as the Spirit descended on Him at His baptism. He is the ultimate King from David’s line

The question I have to ask myself, “Where does my heart lie? Would God call me a man after His own heart because I would anything He asks?”

The contrast between the two kings will become more and more apparent as 1 Samuel continues.

The rest of the chapter shows Israel being completely disarmed in the face of the Philistine forces. With the chapter ending: “So, on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a spear in his hand, only Saul and and his son Jonathan had them”. Like any good tale we are left hanging for the next episode. What is going to happen to the Israelites now?

Are you a man or a woman after God’s own heart? If you are ‘In Christ” you are because when God looks at you He sees His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased.

May God bless you till next week.

I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene and drink in the flood of love he is pouring out towards me.

”My Love is the most powerful force in the universe – manifested in My grace towards My creation. My common grace which keeps the universe running and My special grace which fills each one of my precious children giving them a sense of My presence and My power, enabling them to live remarkable lives despite the difficulties which face them and are common to all men. As you look out over My creation and see different people in different positions, some flourishing some struggling, know that they are under My common grace, but only those I have chosen and sanctified through the death of Jesus have the privilege of experiencing My love through My special grace. May that motivate every part of your life as I empower you to live the gospel life.“

Now to 1 Samuel 12. The chapter opens with Samuel’s farewell speech, in which he presents his life, a life of righteousness, as he sees it. He challenges the people to speak out if they have found any fault in him. He ends with vs 5 calling the Lord to witness that they had not found fault in him or his behaviour.

He then turns to remind the people of everything God has done for them vs 7 “I am going to confront you with evidence before the Lord as to all the righteous acts performed by the Lord for you and your fathers.“

Against this background he turns on them and puts his finger on their great shortcoming vs 9 “But you forgot…” In their forgetting all that God had done for them they forgot God Himself and turned to their own wicked and selfish ways. I am afraid this is a constant human problem, this forgetting. In the warmth of receiving God’s blessings in whatever form, it is easy to remember, but when the reality of life returns it is just as easy to forget. That is why Jesus instituted the whole communion service, as a reminder to us of the centrality of His death to our faith, who forget so easily.

A symptom of their forgetting that God is their real king they are demanding a king like the tribes around them to rule over them. So Samuel gives them God’s promise of a king. with this great proviso, vs 14,15. To receive the blessing of God’s king both the people and the king have to be totally obedient to God, otherwise God’s hand will be against them. What a terrible prospect, which they don’t seem to take too seriously.

To emphasize his words God sends rain in the harvest time, a sign of His judgement and power. The people, who may not have taken Samuel’s words too seriously respond in terror at the Lord’s power when He shows it practically.

To end the chapter Samuel again reiterates the promise that God will not abandon them, but this is dependent on their continuing to fear the Lord and demonstrate this by remembering all He has done for them vs 24. The chapter ends with a final warning of what will happen if they persist in doing evil. vs 25.

Just one or two more points. The fact that God will never completely abandon them is not because of their value as such but because God will defend His own name at all costs vs 22. The focus of our lives is not on us it is on our Lord who has created us and redeemed us. He keeps us going primarily for His Name’s sake.

The second vs which really convicted me was vs 3 “Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you…” Not remembering to pray is here pictured as a sin in itself. quite a challenge!

This chapter is a summary of the repeated story of the whole Old Testament which is shown repeatedly playing itself out in the same circle. God acts, the people respond, yet they soon forget and turn away making it necessary for God to act in judgment to bring them back to Himself. This powerlessness lays the whole platform for the coming of Jesus and the New Covenant where His selfless act on the cross deals with our sin and empowers us to live gospel lives. But our sinful nature is nevertheless still lying there and we still tend to forget so easily, hence God’s desire to keep us remebering.

God bless for this coming week and keep remembering all God has done for you and us and the whole world.

I feel weak and vulnerable this morning, then the words of this song come to me, “By Grace I am redeemed, by Grace I am restored”, and I am reminded of the endless supply of Gods grace towards me.

“My Grace is much misunderstood and often forgotten or underestimated, yet it is always there, always surrounding you and covering all your weakness and stumbling. it is so much more than just an attitude towards you and all My children. It is a powerful force to pick you up and change your life, change your perspective on your life and your current circumstances. My grace lifts you up into the heavenly realms to bring you really close to Me so that you can grow and move on from moments of weakness and stumbling. No matter what is happening and how you feel – My grace is always constant and complete in all its power and joy”.

Now to 1 Samuel 11. In our last reading God’s choice of Saul as king is described. He is described as having an outstanding appearance but weakness, as he is hiding away during this choosing and as he returns home there are many who reject him as their new king. In chapter 11 where is he and what is he doing? He was in his fields behind his oxen, certainly not ruling the nation.

Remember that Israel at that time was more like a bunch of loose tribes living in proximity to each other. It was going to need a work of God to unite them as a nation under one king. So how does God set about this? We are introduced to Nahash the Ammorite king. His name actually means serpent or snake. and he has a diabolical plan to humiliate the people living in Jabesh.

God then specifically uses this action to mobilize Saul to start uniting the nation with a common goal. As we read on we can see how God is involved in this event. cf v 6, when Saul hears of this threat “the Spirit of God came on him and he burned with anger”. Saul then acts out a charade which results in a nationwide reaction cf v 7 b. “the terror of the Lord fell upon them and they turned out as one man”. (Just a note from the New Bible Commentary: they suggest that the figures given here and elsewhere in the Old Testament for the number of soldiers in their battles are probably not a true representation of the real numbers. The problem comes apparently from the translation of the Hebrew. What is translated as thousands can also be translated as military units. Thus 300 military units here instead of 300 000 soldiers. This seems more likely to me) It does not affect the story though.

What has ,in effect happened is that in one move God has provoked a sense of nationhood. It would take years for this to be fully realized, but this was a start. The narrative goes on with Saul accomplishing a huge victory. The writer, quite rightly tells us who should get the glory, vs 13, “this day the Lord has rescued Israel.

There is so much to learn from this chapter. Israel who had been rescued from slavery in Egypt were brought through the desert and after 40 years they invade and take over the Promised land. But all is not well, they don’t destroy all the inhabitants and slowly their nationhood disintegrates into a number of loose tribes. They have lost touch with God, each one doing as he saw fit. The Lord has not left them as lost though. Samuel is the key figure God is going to use. The people now demand that they be given a king, so that they can be even more like the tribes around them. God still has a plan for a king, but the people need to learn some things.

Now notice the cruel threat to the people from Nahash, yet from that comes a victory which unites the people to some extent, bringing them back to God and raising the profile of Saul as king. Now friends, this bears some deep thought. God does not initiate cruel situations, but He does often allow adversity and suffering in the process of accomplishing His bigger plan and His plan for each of us, hence Romans 8:28. So when everything appears wildly out of control in your life and in the world around you, remember scenes like this from Gods word.

Notice also that the action of this new king is to accomplish a rescue which God initiates and completes. Remember we have said that the line of Israel’s OT kings were leading up to the revelation of God’s ultimate King – Jesus. Here we see the main action of the new king reflecting Jesus’ main purpose when He comes. The action of rescue or salvation. So this is once again a faint reflection looking forward to the ultimate King who we all adore and serve.

Plenty to think about in this small story of an evil (Snake) ruler being used by God to accomplish His ultimate purpose. See you all again next week.

“ Do you understand what it means when you sing “the Lord Almighty reigns”? Do you understand the difference between My reign and the reign of any king or ruler in this world? My reign extends to having authority over the whole world, but not only this world the whole universe as big as it is, extending tens of thousands of light years. Note though, it is not only a nominal authority it is a complete control of anything that is happening and will happen. There is not a king or ruler of this earth that I have not placed there through my authority and their authority only extends as far as I allow them. The only area that may appear that I do not have authority over is every persons will – their freedom to decide. Yet even that freedom is under my authority although it may not appear that way. So sing from the bottom of your heart ‘hallelujah the Lord Almighty reigns’, and believe it and trust it”

We continue with the choosing of the first future king of Israel in 1 Samuel 10:9-27. This should have been a joyous event, yet the writer wants you to see that there is a shadow looming over this new king.

The reader may have been encouraged by the description of Saul as a spiritually changed person as we read in the first verses of our reading today, with him ending up “prophesying with a group of other prophets. This type of prophecy, mentioned a number of times in the Old Testament, should not be confused with the great prophets of the Old Testament, like Samuel who spoke on behalf of God. It may have just extended to praise of Yahweh and telling out His attributes, but it is not clearly described and there is a suggestion that it was accompanied by music and ecstatic behaviour (New bible Commentary).

Although God has pointed Samuel to choose this man, there is a formal process which is now acted out at the end of Ch 10, where a lot is used. Before this process is initiated though, Samuel once again warns the Israelites in vs 19, “But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your calamities and distresses. And you have said, “No, set a king over us”.

As I read this I was reminded of Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:21: “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father in heaven” So although God is clearly guiding the process, it is being done, clearly against His immediate will.

As the process now unfolds where is this future king? He had hidden himself vs 22b. So although he is described as having an exceptional appearance there was a sense of uncertainty.

Further on there is another warning light. Way back in the book of Judges from ch 19 onward there is an awful story which almost reminds of Sodom and Gomorrah. It shows to what depth some of the Israelites had sunk. It also results in the rest of Israel almost completely annihilating the tribe of Benjamin. The name of the city where this awful incident takes place? “Gibeah”. And now we find that the new king of Israel comes from where? Gibeah, (10:26). It surely is no coincidence this and should raise a sense of uncertainty and alarm about the king, even if only small.

Then the chapter ends on another note which should should contribute to the reader’s sense of foreboding. Vs 27 tells us that there was a definite section of the population who were not happy with Saul as a choice of future king in fact they despised him.

So this new king starts his rule with a shadow hanging over him. Strangely but for another reason the real Messiah King, of God who appears 1000 or more years later is also born and raised with the cloud of rejection hanging over Him, but for a different reason.

So what is Jesus saying to us from this passage? Important is that we should not think that because things seem to be working out we have God’s blessing. Gods blessing goes with those who choose to do His will. See also the Lord’s prayer. for confirmation of this. Secondly as we see this stuttering start to the line of kings who will rule in Israel, we may be asking ourselves ,”Does this really reflect a God who is completely in control?” In answer to that I am reminded of the the word in Matthew 13:11. Where Jesus speaks of the secret things of God. The Greek word used here is ‘mysterion’. So much of God and His actions are mysterious and only able to be understood when He reveals it to us. And if we read the context in Mat 13, it is to those who choose to do His will that He reveals His mysterion.

So, dear friends join me in seeking to “let Thy will be done” in our lives. Blessings for this week, see you next week.

I stand amazed in Your presence Jesus the Nazarene, I stand in awe of who You are and Your mighty works.

“I invite you to consider Me, who I am, Yahweh, the Alpha and the Omega, who from nothing has created the entire universe and everything you see. It is right and good that you be filled with awe. It is right and good that you remember Me as I had revealed my presence to My people Israel. So great yet so far removed by my Holiness. Now you are so privileged to have access into My presence, real access where you can communicate with Me and hear My voice. All the glory to My Son Jesus who made this possible. Enjoy it, enjoy Me and My presence and grow in your love and enjoyment of Me even as I continue to draw you closer and closer to Me”

We consider 1 Samuel 9:1 – 1 Samuel 10:8..The people have continually demanded a king: 1 Sam 8:19; We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations with a king to lead us and go out before us and fight our battles” Samuel had been devastated at this, since there were clearly times when God had fought their battles and he felt they were clearly rejecting God. However God had said to Samuel, “Listen to them and give them a king”.9:22

The focus then in ch 9 moves away from Samuel as the central figure to the process of identifying this new king. Although the next number of chapters are now going to focus on Saul I remind you that the real central figure in this story is Yahweh himself as he moves and unrolls history.

Read now through today’s passage and consider what impression you get as this story unfolds. I see an incredible amount of detail. Much of it seemingly insignificant in the bigger scheme of things. Here is a young man. A man with great appearance huge and athletic, the perfect figure of a king. Yet he is humble, coming from the smallest tribe vs 21.

So what does all this detail tell you? Well it speaks to me of the total control of God over every individual and of the affairs of the world. Despite the fact that the people are going against God He is still guiding them in the finest detail. Of course we cannot see at this stage how this king is going to turn out in the long run, but here it is clear that he is God’s choice.

This passage climaxes in 10:6 with his anointing. Notice that Samuel prophecies that the “Spirit of the Lord will come on you in power…. and you will be a changed person.” Now if this was in the New Testament era we would immediately say that this promise was one of being born again. However as history unfolds and we look into the future the Spirit departs from him later and he is ruled by an evil Spirit. This is not part of this passage though, we will face that when we come to it. But we take note this promise is equipping him for the task ahead.

What we have seen so far is God’s intimate guidance in this process and as we meditate on this we should be reminded of Roman’s 8:28, that “God works all things together for the good of them that love Him and are called by His name”. Is that a promise unique to the NT? I don’t think so. However under the Old covenant, God tended to work with His people as a a whole group, rather than in the intimate individual way as in the NT.

Nevertheless He was working for the good of all who love Him down through the ages, as He planned the coming of His new king, the Messiah Himself, our Lord Jesus. The reminder in this passage is the fact that He is involved in every little detail of our lives. Of course when we deliberately go our own way, He will use his discipline to bring us back to Him again. Sometimes this will cause one to go on a wide detoir over many years.

May this passage and this thought bring you a deep peace and comfort in a world which seems to be being governed by evil and chaos. on all sides.

Hallelujah for the Lord Almighty reigns. He is indeed our only king.

“ It took many years for My people to really understand My kingship. Many stumbling steps and deviations and even now do you you truly understand what my kingship means? My complete, benevolent authority over My whole kingdom – the whole of creation. Many have submitted and recognize Me but many have not, The day will come though, when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that I am The king of all. Bring your voice, bring your whole being and worship at the foot of My throne, singing hallelujah for the Lord the Almighty reigns and revel in My reign, enjoy it and serve Me with gladness and rejoicing”

Now to 1 Samuel 8. This is a key chapter to understanding the steps towards the appointing of a king for Israel. To put this in perspective we need to take a step back and look at what God has been doing and will do in this process.

If we look at the appointing of Saul as king it appears to be a disaster as God allows them to appoint this man apparently against His wishes as king over the nation of Israel. However if we stand back and look at the bigger picture we see that this event did not take God by surprize. He had in fact anticipated it as we see in Deuteronomy 17. When they demanded to have a king, God said, they should appoint His choice and he should be a God-fearing man, following God and His law closely.

We don’t see this yet in today’s passage but the real choice of God was actually the humble shepherd boy David. But even David was only a step in God’s bigger plan as the story of Israel unfolds, because as much as he loved God he was very humanly fallible, despite his faith and love for God. What we can see today as we look back, however is that this concept of King and kingly rule was actually looking forward to the coming of the perfect King, King Jesus, many years later.

Now back to 1 Sam 8. We see the picture of Samuel getting old and the elders gathering to make the request for a king for the nation, vs 5. But there is a fatal flaw in their request, can you see it in this verse? They want a king “such as all the nations have”. Samuel was rightly displeased, as the nation had been led up to that stage by prophets, like Moses and judges like Joshua and Samuel who acted as God’s agents as it were, with God Himself actually ruling.

Although we know that this fitted God’s bigger plan, He nevertheless tells Samuel not to take this personally, vs 7 “it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king”. This is a symptom of their unfaithfulness surfacing again vs 8. (Remember the people had supposedly repented of their unfaithfulness in the previous chapter)

Then God tells Samuel to warn them of the dangers of having an independent king ruling over them vv 10-18 and he warns them there will come a time that the people will cry out for relief from these tyrants who would not care for them. vs 18.

Nevertheless he people ignore God’s warning and continue to demand a king so that they could be like all the nations around them vv 19,20. So God says to Samuel, “listen to them and give them a king”. vs 22.

Now there is an important application here. God wanted His people to be different, holy and different, following Him, representing Him to the nations around them. It was their very difference which would be their testimony. Yet they were avoiding this very privileged status and instead wanted to be the same as these people. Now, how often is there an avoidance on our part to standing out as God’s witness by being prepared to be different and instead wanting to “fit in” so that we don’t make ripples? You see it is not only what you say but your whole life which is a witness and if it does not demonstrate your unique relationship with our God and Creator through His Son Jesus then we are not true witnesses. It does not mean we have to be rude or prudish, we just need to live out our dynamic relationship with Jesus in a loving way in the community we live and move in and not be tempted to try and be like them so that we fit in..

There is another application which is echoed in Romans chapter 1. Three times in vv 24, 26, and 28, Paul says, “God gave them over” to continue in there sin. The warning is that if one sins continually and does not heed God’s warnings, He will step back, in judgement and “give you over” to continuing in your sin and then let you face the consequences of that. So here is and example of that. The Israelites kept demanding a king like the nations around them so God “gave them over” and said to Samuel “give them a king“, and we shall see what sort of king they got in the next chapters as we meet king Saul.

The message Jesus seemed to be saying to me was a reminder as to the the difference between human kings and rulers and our Almighty King and ruler of the universe. A reminder to examine my heart to plumb the depths as to whether I truly wanted to be totally different, in His words holy at the danger of being rejected by some. But the joy of realizing what it actually means to believe in this King of ours and truly serve Him. The question to you and and to me is do I really grasp and understand this? Like many things about our loving God, some things are so clear and some remain a mystery.

God bless you this coming week.

The battle belongs to You oh Lord and in the midst is the Lamb.
“Yes Ian, although you cannot see it, you can and do feel the effects of the unseen battle which is raging between My forces and the forces of evil. In the midst, symbolically stands the lamb – the symbol of victory won at a specific time and place on a cross. yet, although He has won the victory, the battle on the personal level still continues and will only cease when I wrap up the whole of history. It is important that you are aware of this much deeper level of our relationship because even as you face the battle you must remember the battle belongs to Me and you must stand in My armour and face the battle. The first step is just a reminder to be aware of this additional dimension of the walk along the narrow path filled with obstacles so that you can grow continuously.

Now on to 1 Samuel 7. After the apparent complete loss of awareness of Jehovah as described in Judges 21:25, and the evil of Eli’s sons, Israel has been brought up short by a massive defeat by the Philistine army. They then remember the ark, which represented God’s presence in the tabernacle and fetch it to help them in this battle. At this stage it seems they were seeing the ark as a sort of power in itself and God teaches them another lesson by allowing the Philistines to steal the ark. This proves to be a huge problem for the Philistines however and they get rid of the ark, sending it back to Israel. There it is put in the house of Abinadab under guard.

Today’s reading opens with the remark that the ark remained there for 20 years. A half a generation, a long time. Then comes this insightful statement in vs 2, “all the people of Israel mourned and sought after the Lord.” Samuel picks this up and makes the key statement of this chapter, “If you are returning to the Lord” vs 3.

Now there is a repeated sequence in the book of Judges which is repeated here. Israel sins, God brings judgement as a punishment which leads to Israel’s repentance. Samuel, who is now called a judge vs 15, picks up this lament of Israel and points them to why they are experiencing God’s judgement and what they should do about it. vs 3b. “If you are returning to God, get rid of all the foreign gods and Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to God and serve Him only and He will deliver you.”

Samuel calls the people together for a huge religious ceremony at Mispah. Here he calls on God on behalf of the Israelites. The Philistines misinterpret the gathering, thinking that the Israelites were gathering together for war and start mobilizing their troops. This terrorizes the Israelites even more. There follows a touch which is a shadow of something which would happen many years down the line. Samuel takes a suckling lamb and sacrifices it. Echoes of the words in John 1:29, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”. This turning from their sin in repentance and calling on the Lord for salvation from their hearts is followed by a divine slaughtering of the Philistines who are never again a problem to the Israelites.

Chapter 7 then is a story of the Israelites turning in repentance away from their unfaithfulness and to the Lord, but it is also a picture of Samuel’s rule, as judge over IsraeI. It describes the end of theocratic rule (rule by God directly through a human instrument) before the beginning of the choosing of the first king of Israel which we will see in the next chapter

There is much to learn from this chapter, which I am sure you can see. The way sin and unfaithfulness weakens us, the process that God uses to bring us to repentance. Does God still use this process today? To find the answer we need to look at this passage through the gospel filter. We have the Holy Spirit who helps us to walk with the Lord, we have Jesus who has died on our behalf for our sins, so we are very privileged. However we are still sinners and there is a pattern within this that God uses to discipline us and bring us back to Him.

The encouraging reminder here is that just as we are still involved in a spiritual battle, just as those Israelites, the battle belongs to the Lord. We need to use His tools to fight the battle, the main one is the shield of faith and we all need to learn that trusting God is the only way to win the battle. Take Ephesians 6 seriously where Paul describes the full armour of God. We also should not be fooled into thinking that there is no battle. The first step to victory is to recognize the reality of the battle.

So rest in God. When the storms of life arise and relationships are under attack, remember the battle is not yours, it belongs to the Lord. So bless you all till next week.