A Desperate Need

 

It’s one of those little statements in an account of a tumultuous time in Israel’s history. They had asked the Prophet/Priest Samuel to give them a king because his own sons “took bribes and perverted justice” (1 Samuel 8:3). The people of Israel decided they would rather have a king like neighboring countries than be responsible to God and His priests.

Saul is proclaimed to be the King who the people expected to “judge us and go out before us and fight our battles” (1 Samuel 8:20).  Saul disappoints the people and fails to obey God’s commands.

In 1 Samuel 13:14, Samuel tells Saul, “But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”

This had to be devastating news. But, the next verse says, “Then Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people present with him, about six hundred men.” (1 Samuel 13:15).

Saul seems almost unaffected by the words of Samuel, though he knew that Samuel was a prophet of God who had given him God’s message. He just carries on with business as usual (for wartime).

But, the worst part of this news for Saul (not that he seems to be aware of it) was the first 8 words of verse 15, “Then Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah.” Samuel, the one who had brought the word of God to Saul since he had been king, left. He was gone. No more word from God. Later, in 1 Samuel 15:26, “Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.”

What Saul is experiencing here is God’s response to his disobedience to what God had told him to do. It was not a one-time occurrence after which Saul repented. It was repeated offenses in defiance of God’s Word. At one point he acknowledges his sin and asks Samuel to speak well of him before his elders (1 Samuel 15:30). He is obviously more concerned with his reputation with men than he is with his standing before the Lord God Almighty. Could that be said of many of us?

How important is it for us to obey the Word of God?

• Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Proverbs 30:5
• But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD OF GOD.’ ” Luke 4:4
• But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” Luke 11:28
• But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

It is a fearful thing to think that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8) and then look at how He responded to King Saul’s disobedience. We have church and political leaders disobeying God in their positions of influence or authority.

Thinking about spheres of government; self-government, family government, church government, and civil government, are professing Christians of our day living accord to the commands of the Word of God? Should we expect God to tolerate the evil among us as well as our refusal to expose it?

No one confronted Saul when they saw him going off the path God had set for him. Are we bold enough to stand firm in our faith, challenging people in positions of influence to live according to the Word of God?

Perhaps   the “Sauls” of our day will be blind and deaf, but we will not have blood on our hands if we cry out to the King of Kings for a world of people who desperately need His intervention.