2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
God is taking us on a very interesting path through these latter chapters of 1 SAM and lays out a detailed picture of how covenants made with Him as a Participant move from generation to generation in the families of the people who are involved. We are also getting to see His interaction in the lives of David, Saul, Jonathan, and later on, in the life of Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth. Read the words of RO 3: 25-26, which have some direct bearing on the messages we will get from today’s examination of 1 SAM 28: 3-25. “God offered Him [Jesus Christ], so that by His death He should become the means by which people’s sins are forgiven through their faith in Him. God did this in order to demonstrate that He is righteous. In the past He was patient and overlooked people’s sins; but in the present time He deals with their sins, in order to demonstrate His righteousness. In this way, God Himself shows that He is righteous and that He puts right everyone who believes in Jesus.” You might ask how this principle can apply when Christ’s incarnation hadn’t yet happened in Saul’s time. The answer is that the principle is always the same. If a person chooses a lifestyle of sin, that is he heaps sin upon sin, then God demonstrates His righteousness by allowing negative consequences happen to that sinner. If He didn’t do this, then He would be a Parent Who didn’t care enough about His children to show them that they must correct their behavior when it is evil. Saul had broken his covenant relationship with God, which is why God removed the authority from Saul to be king of Israel in the first place. Now, let’s look at what happened to Saul as a result of his decision to consult a medium in 1 SAM 28.
After Samuel had died, was mourned by Israel, and was buried at Ramah, Saul had forced all the fortunetellers and mediums to leave Israel. Something else would happen that would force Saul’s attention on to it. The Philistines assembled to prepare for a battle near the town of Shunem. In response, Saul gathered Israel’s troops and camped at Mount Gilboa. When Saul saw the Philistines, he became terrified, and asked the Lord what to do. But God did not answer him, either by dreams, by the use of the Urim and Thummim [special devices used by the High Priest to communicate with God], or by the prophets. It was then, that Saul ordered his officials to find a woman who was a medium for consultation (3-5). One might ask why God didn’t answer Saul’s question, but the answer must remain in the fact that He had already decided to have nothing further to do with Saul. Judging from Saul’s actions in consulting a medium, it is not hard to see why. Before going on, I feel it is necessary to comment on something related to this that is going on today. We have all seen TV ads for psychics, small shops where palmists and fortune tellers are open for business, and the like. There are some seriously misguided people who believe that these people are either harmless entertainment or the source of some kind of help. They are not only not these things, but they are spiritually highly dangerous. We should never follow Saul’s example and get sucked into the evil that at the base of what these people do for a living. The same applies to people who get involved in astrology. The level at which people do this is downright scary, even people who are well-educated who one would think would know better.
Saul consulted this medium of Endor, asserting to her that “by the living Lord I promise that you will not be punished for doing this (10). Talk about taking the Lord’s name in vain! Saul asked the woman to call up Samuel, and it was then that she realized who Saul actually was. The spirit of Samuel appeared and told Saul what the former king already knew, “God has taken the kingdom away from you and given it to David. You disobeyed the Lord’s command and did not completely destroy the Amalekites and all they had. That is why the Lord is doing this to you now. He will give Israel over to the Philistines . Tomorrow you and your sons will join me, and the Lord will also give the army of Israel over to the Philistines” (17-19). Samuel asked why Saul had called to him when the Lord had abandoned him and become his Enemy. This is food for thought when one considers all the blessings Saul could have had just for being consistently faithful. Saul was even more depressed than before. The chapter ends here, but we will find out later what becomes of Saul and his sons at Mt. Gilboa. Our story will continue tomorrow.
As our nation faces the aftermath of the terrorism worked against it, we find the lesson that God will not let sin go unchecked very valuable. Naturally, we are mourning the loss of the dead and rallying around our leaders, praying that they will ask for God’s direction in dealing with this situation. Those of us who know God well, can take some comfort that He will not let the sins of the terrorists go unpunished. Our job is to trust in Him and to seek His help in reacting to what has happened. Remember PS 46: 1, “The Lord is our Refuge and Our strength, a present Help in times of trouble.” Turn to Him in pray today and every day.
PRAYER: O Lord, there are times when we feel very helpless, threatened, and frightened. You have made it clear that you want us to seek You and to follow Your commands. This is true, even when we are not sure we can do that or don’t completely understand what You are telling us to do. It is at these times that this truth must be remembered, because we are most vulnerable then to the assault of the adversary. Sadly, we find ourselves surrounded by mediums, fortunetellers, psychic hot-lines, horoscopes, and other forms the Satan’s evil (astrology and the occult). These evildoers want us to think that they are offering real help or entertaining us. What they are really doing is attempting to lure us away from faithful trust and dependence on You. We beseech You today to give us the discernment to know the danger they present and to cast it away from us. You have given us the tools to fight this spiritual warfare successfully if we will simply listen to Your direction and follow it. Saul’s story in 1 SAM 28: 3-25 is near its end. He is the example of the person who heaps sin upon sin that we are not to follow. Out of Your wisdom You show us the folly that his sin was and horrific consequences that he will suffer, so that we will not make the same mistakes. You are indeed a loving, wise, compassionate, and just Deity. You deserve nothing less that what we offer You today, our adoration, humility, loyalty, diligence, worship, glory, honor, trust, obedience, praise, and thanks. We offer these things before Your altar. In Christ, we pray. Amen
Tomorrow, I am led to share a message on 1 SAM 29-30 with you. This will allow us to see the remarkable contrast to what happened to Saul and his men with what happened to David he was rejected by the Philistines and he and his men fought their battle against the Amalekites. We can learn by examining God’s interaction with David what it means to keep one’s covenant promises with Him. PS 85: 8-13, the latter half of David’s prayer for the nation’s welfare, reveals to us God’s aim for His people. Please read that and meditate on how that applies to our own situation with the terrorism that happened on 9-11-01. Take comfort in knowing that our faithfulness to God will grant us His protection and eventual peace. That is a gift of His great love for those who love Him [RO 8: 1, 28 & 38-39]. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn