Faithful Christian Commitment and service
in the Middle East for almost 150 years The Nazareth Trust Healing in the Name of Jesus Since 1861
in the Middle East for almost 150 years The Nazareth Trust Healing in the Name of Jesus Since 1861
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Welcome
Greetings to you all from Nazareth and I hope that this brings you encouragement and sustenance as we begin another week! Our community here at the hospital continues to grow and we welcome new volunteers, plus volunteers from other places in Nazareth as we join together to praise our God. It is wonderful to join together from so many different places and find ourselves united in Christ! We feel privileged to share with so many new and interesting people!
Devotion
1 Samuel 8: 1 – 22
When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.
So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have."
But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."
Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, "This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.
He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day."
But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."
When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king."
In looking at faith, we will look at the kingship of Saul, the king who ultimately failed before David was anointed and given the throne over Israel. We should first look at the circumstances in which Saul became King. The people were unhappy with Samuel’s sons, they were dishonest judges who perverted justice and all the people could see that they would not rule Israel fairly or with honour after Samuel died. Therefore the people were concerned for themselves, concerned who would lead them.
They didn’t know what would happen next. They only knew that things were going to change and they didn’t know what that change would be. They were also afraid that everything they had worked for would soon be lost. So they made a plan for tomorrow.
Isn’t this what we all do? We all plan for tomorrow, trying to guess what will happen and working to make sure that we have taken care of all the things we don’t yet know. It is human nature. One of our biggest fears is not being ready for what might happen next.
So the people made a plan, they looked at Samuel getting older and his sons who were not honest and they made a plan – they asked Samuel for a king. It all seems very good, in fact according to the world, they have done the best thing they can. They have seen the problem and worked out a solution – not only that but the solution will actually give the Israelites some status, giving them a king, just like the other nations. It all looks great – except there is a fundamental flaw in their reasoning.
They forgot that that they, just like the church today, is in the world, but not of the world. That they, just like the church today, is called to be sanctified, set apart from the world. They forgot that the foundation of their existence was not about the man at the front that they could follow, but it was that God Himself should hold the authority and lead them.
And as the elders of Israel made their plans, they looked only at the world, not at their faith. In verse 8, we see that their heads had been turned from God because they were serving other gods. They had forgotten the promises made to them, that they were to be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation – that they are a holy people a treasured possession.
He has told us the same, that He wants us as a holy people – His treasured possession.
So they get their king and we have the benefit of being able to look both behind and ahead and see what God’s plan was. God wanted them to have a king, as He had already promised to Abraham and Sarah that they would have kings in their descendants in Genesis 17:6. But God’s chosen king was David and David wasn’t ready yet.
So not only did the people lack faith in God’s provision, not only did they reject the anointed leadership in place, not only did they want their own plans to be used – they also wanted it now – outside of God’s timing. In verses 10 and onwards, Samuel warns them of the consequences of their decision.
We also have freedom to choose. When we use that choice, even against God’s will, He will forgive us but He may also allow us to experience the consequences of our choices. Those of us who are mature in the faith know that often the hardest lessons are learned when the Lord allows us to do things the way we think is best.
So what of this King? In chapter 9 we are told about him. His name, Saul, means “That which has been asked for”. He was from a good family, he was tall and handsome. He honoured his parents, even in small things. He cared about other people. He would listen to advice, even if it came from a servant. And when he listens to that advice, he meets Samuel. Samuel had gone to bless a sacrifice and ended up anointing a king. Saul was looking for donkeys and ended up finding a crown.
Isn’t this one of the wonders and mysteries of the God we serve? Even though Saul was not God’s plan, He was still compassionate and patient, He let the people have their way and even worked to give them the best chance of success. God did not say, “if this is what you want, you’re on your own”, He said “If this is what you want, so be it. I will give you everything you need to make this a success.” Even in His disappointment in us, God’s love for us as our Father is not diminished.
However, if our plans are not first rooted in God’s will, despite His support for us, in the end those plans will wither and fail. God knew Saul was not the right man to be King and we see how far he goes away from God.
Saul was going to war with the Philistines and was instructed to wait 7 days for the sacrifice to be offered and for God’s blessing to be sought on the army so they would win. However, Saul looked at the army in front of him, with his own troops deserting and decided not to wait any longer. He said “if we need a priest, I will be the priest – there is no more time!” This shows the major problem here – the massive distance between a man of little faith, trying to lead a people whose existence was founded on faith. Fear of the future puts a distance between us and the one who knows the future.
Saul had so much potential, but he lacked patience, he did not have trust in God and he did not have faith. Instead of fulfilling his role as King under God, he became his own god – believing he could fulfil the roles of leader, judge, priest and warrior all in his own strength. By the end of chapter 12, the people realize the sin they have committed. And Saul falls further from God, consults witches and commits suicide.
So what of this for us? We must be men and women of faith. We should be mindful of our future and circumstances but we should not fear them. If we feel the need to act, we must first be careful that we are acting according to the will of the Lord and not according to the will of our circumstances. The hardest aspect of living by faith is the ability to trust Him and to trust Him completely. This does not mean just lying down and letting things happen, but it means believing in the promises he has given us.
Speaker: Joseph Main, CEO