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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.