The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Samuel 13:11-14,
"What have you done?' asked Samuel. Saul replied, 'When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, I thought, "Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord's favor." So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.' 'You have done a foolish thing,' Samuel said. 'You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord's command.'"
As the Philistines prepared to attack Israel, King Saul was apparently told by the Lord to sit tight until Samuel arrived to make a burnt offering. When Samuel did not arrive as expected, Saul, instead of trusting in what God told him to do, made the offerings himself, displaying a lack of faith in the direction the Lord had given him. Also, Saul, as Israel's first king, was a Benjamite, and not a priest, and hardly qualified to approach the Lord in this manner.
Saul's stated motivation sounded good, in that he felt compelled to provide the offering himself because Samuel had not arrived and Saul had not yet "sought the Lord's favor". However, it was the military movements of the Philistines Saul had is eye on, as well as his own men who were scattering. Saul had taken his eyes off the Lord, and instead, allowed his circumstances to dictate his actions rather than follow the Lord's direction.
Samuel told Saul, "... the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord's command." What kind of man was the Lord seeking? A man after his own heart, and that would have to be someone who was a man of faith. We will see that the man the Lord chose to replace Saul was David, a man of great faith.
The Lord looks for those who will embrace him in faith. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses, Joshua and Samuel all demonstrated their faith in the Lord and it will be by faith and faith alone that anyone can enter into God's family today. You can be a card-carrying red-blooded conservative American who does all the right things, and it won't help a whit when it comes to gaining a position in God's good graces... it is faith alone, not our accomplishments, not our successes in life, not all the good things we have done (as well as shunning all the bad things others do) that brings us into God's favor.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
"What have you done?' asked Samuel. Saul replied, 'When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, I thought, "Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord's favor." So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.' 'You have done a foolish thing,' Samuel said. 'You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord's command.'"
As the Philistines prepared to attack Israel, King Saul was apparently told by the Lord to sit tight until Samuel arrived to make a burnt offering. When Samuel did not arrive as expected, Saul, instead of trusting in what God told him to do, made the offerings himself, displaying a lack of faith in the direction the Lord had given him. Also, Saul, as Israel's first king, was a Benjamite, and not a priest, and hardly qualified to approach the Lord in this manner.
Saul's stated motivation sounded good, in that he felt compelled to provide the offering himself because Samuel had not arrived and Saul had not yet "sought the Lord's favor". However, it was the military movements of the Philistines Saul had is eye on, as well as his own men who were scattering. Saul had taken his eyes off the Lord, and instead, allowed his circumstances to dictate his actions rather than follow the Lord's direction.
Samuel told Saul, "... the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord's command." What kind of man was the Lord seeking? A man after his own heart, and that would have to be someone who was a man of faith. We will see that the man the Lord chose to replace Saul was David, a man of great faith.
The Lord looks for those who will embrace him in faith. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses, Joshua and Samuel all demonstrated their faith in the Lord and it will be by faith and faith alone that anyone can enter into God's family today. You can be a card-carrying red-blooded conservative American who does all the right things, and it won't help a whit when it comes to gaining a position in God's good graces... it is faith alone, not our accomplishments, not our successes in life, not all the good things we have done (as well as shunning all the bad things others do) that brings us into God's favor.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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