Chapter 7 GOD SPEAKS TO DAVID THROUGH SAMUEL
1 Samuel 16
Samuel has been a blessing to Israel but there is no king. Samuel maintained that the people did not need a king like all of the nations around – it was sufficient that God be the king of the people and that He speak to the people through the prophets and the priests. The people persisted in demanding to have a king because they wanted to have a figurehead to represent them. The people also felt that Samuel’s sons lacked the same integrity as their father and did not see them as leaders for the future.
Samuel warned the people that a king would do the following:
- A king would want a permanent army and would conscript men.
- The king would use labourers as slaves for his projects.
- A king would demand taxes in the form of money, food and labour from the people in order to keep his palace and life-style.
- A king would become remote from the people.
How did Samuel know this? The evidence was there in the other nations and so it would be no different in Israel – human nature being what it is! The people chose to reject Samuel’s advice and the older man is deeply hurt and feels that it as a personal rejection. How does he deal with rejection?
“The way you deal with rejection and get beyond it is not to give it your best shot. What you need is a whole new revelation of God and a new vision of what He wants to do in and through you….I mean the kind of rejection that tears your life up, the kind of circumstances that have altered the course of your life and left you with real and dramatic scars. To deal with that kind of rejection, you need to see a God who takes responsibility for people, including you.” – Tony Evans
Incredibly God takes the ultimate responsibility,
“ 6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7 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. 8 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. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.” [1 Samuel 8:6-9]
Think about situations when you have had to face rejection. We try to guide our children along a path that is both pleasing to God, healthy for them and good for their own personal and spiritual health. We feel rejected and hurt sometimes when people dismiss our advice. We genuinely love them and care deeply about their well-being and they have chosen to go off on a different path – at least for the present and foreseeable future. The Lord comes to us and speaks as he did to Samuel, “It is me they are rejecting, not you.” God lifts the responsibility from our shoulders even though we continue to feel pain.
The same principle can be applied across many different situations. It could apply to how a pressure group may feel when a genuinely righteous and just cause is being treated lightly by the general populace or the government of the day – one example I am thinking of is the SPUC [Society for the Protection of Unborn Children]. Perhaps it is a minister with a real passion for mission having to face the indifference of his or her congregation. Perhaps it is an Elder’s Meeting that wants to see the church grow and does not get the enthusiasm of a lukewarm congregation.
What we have got to be careful with here is thinking that every cause we promote is a “just” cause and has the blessing of God, therefore if people reject our opinion, they reject God. For example the person who feels passionately about modern worship music may make a considerable, potentially church- splitting issue of the matter. To this person, people who prefer traditional psalms and hymns are spiritually dead and against God and his will. “If they are not for me, they are against God!” We have got to be very careful not to go down that path but to weigh the true justice of any situation between that which is fundamental and that which is just a matter of opinion and optional – this calls for considerable wisdom and humility!
What is interesting here is that although both Samuel and God are convinced that this is the wrong course of action, God allows it and asks Samuel to support it! In other words God allows Israel to have what he considers for them is second best. Was the Kingship second best? The first King, Saul, turned out to be a bit of a disaster, although Israel grew as a Kingdom under his reign. David’s 40 year reign was a mixed bag and although the nation advanced in terms of its borders and influence, there was considerable conflict and the people paid a heavy financial price to keep their king in the style to which he became accustomed. Solomon followed David and ruled for another 40 years. He started well enough but his kingship degenerated and he became obsessed with women, sex, power and wealth and the seeds were sown in his lifetime for the united 12 tribes of Israel to become permanently divided. After Solomon, there were very few Kings who were spiritual and righteous leaders. In other words the people were making a poor choice but God allowed it to happen.
What is the lesson in this for our own lives? When we are making big choices or decisions, are we genuinely seeking the mind of God and looking actively for his guidance? I can think of no better person that James Packer to help us understand the process of making sure we are in the right state of mind when we are seeking guidance from God:
“If we want God to guide us, our attitude needs to be right. Here are some guidelines as to how we can play our part in arriving at right decisions.
First, we must be willing to think. It is false piety, super-supernaturalism of an unhealthy pernicious sort that demands inward impressions with no rational base, and declines to heed the constant biblical summons to consider. God made us thinking beings, and he guides our minds as we think things out in his presence.
Second, we must be willing to think ahead and weigh the long-term consequences of alternative courses of action. Often we can only see what is wise and right, and what is foolish and wrong, as we dwell on the long-term issues.
Third, we must be willing to take advice. It is a sign of conceit and immaturity to dispense with taking advice in major decisions. There are always people who know the Bible, human nature, and our own gifts and limitations better than we do, and even if we cannot finally accept their advice, nothing but good will come to us from carefully weighing what they say.
Fourth, we must be willing to be ruthlessly honest with ourselves. We must suspect ourselves: ask ourselves why we feel a particular course of action will be right and make ourselves give reasons.
Fifth, we must be willing to wait. “Wait on the Lord” is a constant refrain in the Psalms and it is a necessary word, for the Lord often keeps us waiting. When in doubt, do nothing, but continue to wait on God” – James Packer
What I find incredible is that God allowed Israel to choose what was second best for their lives, yet was gracious enough to continue to work with them and bless them. How does this work? First of all it surely indicates that God is a realist and knows that he is working with imperfect people who are not infallible and will make imperfect decisions. A bad decision is not the end of the road as far as God is concerned. He is able to accommodate all of this into his will and still promote positive growth in our lives. Here is an example. A gracious Christian man met and fell in love with a young woman who seemed to meet all of his ideas of what was right for his life. She was a Christian, intelligent and committed. However he never stopped for a moment to consider whether he was judging principally by appearance, whether this was the right person for him and indeed, if it was the Lord’s will to be married at all! Seeking the will of God did not seem a major consideration because they both assumed that their future together was the will of God. As their marriage progressed it became apparent that they were incompatible at almost every level and there was constant tension in the relationship. Had both of them accepted God’s second best? Who knows! But the story does not end there because both of them came to realise in their own time that they were learning what it means to love and show and experience grace at depth and this began to have a positive spin off in their other relationships – God was working in a situation that was less than perfect and bringing something special out of it. Did they both accept second best – less than what God had wanted for them? I don’t know! But God still continued to work to bring good out of the relationship.
The outcome for the people of Israel was that their first king was Saul – superficially a great choice. But this whole story is about how people can make poor choices because they judge by appearances and do not seek the will of God. A big decision needs to be made! What do we do? The first thing we should do is to seek the mind of God and if we are given no clear guidance to keep praying and not be forced into a decision that is not right.
I want to share a very personal story. My time in Skye as a minister was mixed – we had some times of real blessing, but it was a congregation with a “history” and there were times when for our whole family the going was hard! I still find it difficult to believe how wicked some people could be who still called themselves Christians! I have often wondered at the purpose of my time in Skye. Linda and I were excited at the prospect of leaving behind a workload which for 18 years had been prohibitive. We were excited about our children being brought up in a Christian community. I was looking forward to ministering to people who wanted an expository ministry. We knew that God had spoken very clearly to us about going to Skye and yet not everything appeared as it was on the surface. Without going into all of the depressing details almost from day one there was conflict and it continued almost for the 6 years we were there. What was God doing? Let me relate a conversation I had with God on my way back up from church one evening. We were in Skye by this time for nearly five years and by this time it had become apparent to us that the congregation we were serving had been known as a toxic congregation during its past 3 ministries – covering a period of over 30 years! I had just been reading again the story of the prodigal son. This is how the conversation went:
“Why am I here in a prodigal congregation Lord?”
“I have a purpose in this.”
“But these people have always been like this! They have driven 3 other ministers away. They are a prodigal congregation.”
“They have a prodigal minister”
I was stunned when God said this to me. I felt so disarmed that I could not answer. God answered for me.
“You cannot leave here until you have forgiven everyone from your heart and until you can honestly say that you love these people and pray to me that I will give the very best to them.”
I did not answer the Lord but held these words in my mind and very humbly walked up the road. It was the turning point of my ministry and a significant growth point in my life. The next year was spent in me taking on board what the Lord asked of me, and when we left Skye it was with a humble, forgiving heart, full of love for all the people I had been serving.
My big decision was my desire to leave Skye, but God, though He agreed with it, needed me to be in the right state of heart and mind if my future as a minister of the Gospel was to have any significance. Samuel learned to bow to the superior wisdom of God in the midst of serving people who did not want to pursue his will.
Like Samuel we can become much wiser people, but that does not put us beyond the pale of needing to constantly lean on God’s wisdom and be good learners. God eventually rejects Saul as king and here is how the story develops in 1 Samuel 16:
1 The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
The LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”
4 Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”
5 Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.”
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.” 9 Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the LORD chosen this one.” 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The LORD has not chosen these.” 11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”
“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”
12 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”
The crucial part of this passage for me is: 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Samuel, like all of us, was sold out to outward appearance. Think about how different Jesus was. He did not choose the rich young ruler who came to him [most churches would have had him in like a shot and on the Church Board] but instead chose the disreputable and wealthy tax collector, Matthew. We, if we are to hear God’s voice have to hear the above passage ring loud in our ears when we are making important decisions.
Let me tell you the story of two men; Andrew and Morrice who sat beside each other in church. Andrew was a very gifted and intelligent man. He was a company director and an elder in our church. However, Andrew could be very difficult and subversive and could be a negative influence in our congregation – a description he would not have recognised because he thought so highly of himself! Andrew would have described himself as having a strong faith and indeed at one time had considered becoming a minister. I have rarely seen someone so afraid to die and with so little positive effect on the lives of other people. Morrice, who sat beside him every Sunday, was the local road sweeper. He had been a steward on board passenger liners but came home to care for his mother, to whom he was devoted, and took one of the few jobs available to him as a road sweeper. Morrice was a humble, gentle man, who spoke to people as he went about his job and was known as a caring, praying man. Indeed there are people who came to church and to faith because of Morrice. When Morrice retired from the Cleansing Department Depot, among other things, he was gifted with a Bible by his work mates – they had seen the difference. Morrice was always there Sunday by Sunday, giving words of encouragement and a sweetie – odd fellows, as I remember.
The lesson from above is that if we are listening for the voice of God in our relationships and in our choices we have to learn to discern the heart of the people we relate to and never be taken in by or impressed by or dazzled by mere appearance. That is God speaking to us.