Joseph.

He was a young boy.  Handsome.  Had dreams.  His brothers envied him.  There were bigger ones.  Stronger ones.  And, they decided to kill him.  Leave him for dead in a pit.  Long story short is that he was rescued and God used him to rescue his whole family.

But, who would have thought?  The young one?  He didn’t look like he would have been the one.

Over 400 years later.

Moses.

A 40 year old adopted son strikes down someone, hides the murder, and then runs scared.  Like a little scared cat he runs away.  This is no champion.  This is a 40 year old runaway.  So, he hides in the wilderness. He’s scared to face the nation that adopted him and fearful of his own people.  When God appears to him in a burning bush, it’s no surprise that he makes excuses.  He says he can’t talk.  Think about it, though…He’s 80.  He’s been running all of his life from his real identity…but God calls him.  Think about that.  God calls an 80 year old scaredy cat.

Who would have thought?  The old one.  The runaway.   The excuse maker.

Fast forward over 400 years.

David.

The Prophet Samuel is called to go and anoint a new king.  Saul was rejected.  Time to anoint a new one.  He’s told to go to Bethlehem, to a man named Jesse, and to choose the new king from among his sons.  So, the first one comes out.  Looks pretty good.  Strong, rugged.  He’s about to anoint him, when God says, “No – not him.”

Another son comes along…he’s not quite as big, and not quite as rugged, but he’s pretty big.  He’s got a swagger about him.  Yes, he’s the one.

God says, “Not him.”

They go through this seven times.  Seven sons are paraded.  None are chosen.  Samuel gets upset and asks them…is there another?   And they tell him, “Well, he’s just a young kid…we left him out in the flock.  We knew you wouldn’t need to see him.”

Samuel says, “Bring him here.”

Samuel knows this must be the one.  He’s expecting the new warrior king.  I wonder what was running through his mind.  He may have been thinking, “I’m pumped…our next warrior king!”

He was expecting a first year NFL draft pick…instead he got something that looked more like boy band material.

I probably would have thought, “God, are you sure?  This kid is going to be our next warrior king?  He’s going to defeat the Philistines…Couldn’t you pick someone…that looks a little…tougher, meaner…stronger…older…anybody but this pretty boy?  I was expecting someone who looked more like The Rock and less like Justin Bieber!”

That’s basically what the people thought.  That’s what Saul thought when he saw him.  But, that’s not what God said.  It’s not the way his mind works.

Here’s what God said…

But, God said to Samuel, “’Rise and anoint him; this is the one.’ So, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David, ” I Samuel 16:12-13.

I want you to hear that again.

“Rise and anoint him; this is the one.“

I’m left wondering…Why David?  

I believe that God is predictable in that he is unpredictable.

He likes to use people you wouldn’t expect.  

Think about it.  No one expected David to be king, but he was the greatest Israel ever had.  No would would have expected Moses to lead the people out of Egypt.  No one would have dared dream that the dreamer Joseph would be the deliverer of his people.

Now, if you’re doubting yourself…

I’m too old…then remember Moses.

I’m not a good speaker…then remember who held the Ten Commandments.

I was adopted…then remember Moses.

I get bullied…then remember how Joseph survived and thrived.

I’m in the pit…in prison..falsely accused…then remember Joseph who was all those things…but later became second in command in the most powerful nation in the world..

My family doesn’t even like me…then remember Joseph and how he delivered his family.

I’m too young…then remember David the greatest king of Israel.

People don’t even consider me as a leader…then remember David who was left to tend the sheep..but later we still sing his Shepherd Psalm.

I’m not big enough, strong enough, or tall enough…then remember that God rejected the proud Saul and chose the humble David.

I don’t look the part…then remember the one who was chosen.

Any time you doubt that you are right for the part…know that God can use you in your weaknesses to show his strength…because God sees you differently:

“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.”  I Samuel 16:7.

So, remember this…once David was chosen, God’s Spirit came upon him mightily.  Be filled with God’s Spirit, and God can use you to do awesome things.  But, remember, it’s not about you.  It’s about God working in you.

flickr photo by Themeplus

Saul was rejected because he didn’t really see himself as God’s anointed.  If he had, he would have obeyed God, not man.

Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed.  He had God’s Spirit without measure.  He was the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.  He reigns.

But, his reign came at a price.  The cross.  Can you imagine a King that submits to death?  Can you imagine a King that literally rises from the dead to reign?  Well, most of the Jew couldn’t.  That’s why they rejected him.  But, God didn’t.  Jesus put his faith in his Father who had the power to literally raise him from the dead.

Well, we now have God’s Spirit (Acts 2, I Corinthians 6).  We will reign with Christ (II Timothy 2:11-13; Revelation 5:9-10; Revelation 20:6).  We will judge angels (I Corinthians 6:3).  We are a kingdom of priests (Revelation 5:9-10).  We have duties, responsibilities, and blessings.  I say that to say, like Saul, we have to believe that.  We have to believe that God will never leave nor forsake us.  In that way, we can carry out our responsibility, and we can say with Peter,

“We must obey God rather than men,” Acts 5:29.

And, we can say with the Hebrew writer,

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.    What can mere mortals do to me,” Hebrews 13:6.

If Saul had had that attitude, he would have reigned.

If you have that attitude, you will.

Fear God, not man.

When it comes right down to it, that’s what Saul did wrong.   That’s why he lost the Holy Spirit.  It’s why he was troubled.  It’s why he lost the kingship.  He respected man’s opinion more than God’s decree.

So, what did I learn from I Samuel 15?

If God commands you to hack Agag into pieces, you better do it.  Otherwise, it’s you that will fall apart.  Now, I don’t think God is commanding any of us to hack up any Amalekite kings any time soon, but he is telling us to offer a holy sacrifice.

Romans 12:1 says that sacrifice is ourselves.

Jesus says we are to take up our cross.

What if the Amalekite that God wants you to sacrifice to him is….yourself.  And, what if you lie about it?  Oh, you sacrifice the things that don’t cost, but when the good stuff rolls around…the things of value…you simply act like you’ve offered them up…when, in fact, you haven’t.  How do you think God will deal with that?

Well, it’s time that we offer up something that’s costly.  That doesn’t mean a few Amalekites won’t escape.  It doesn’t mean that we might sometimes slip up and let something pass through our sacrificial gaze.  But, when that happens, we won’t lie about it.  We’ll face it like a King.  We’ll pull out the Sword of the Spirit, and we’ll hack it into pieces.  We’ll completely destroy it.  Or, at least we’ll try.

If you want to know what that looks like…ask Peter.  Ask Paul.  They made some mistakes.  They let a few Amalekites escape for a while…but when they were confronted with their sin…they didn’t lie.  They didn’t shirk.  They took responsibility, and they turned around.  And, look what they became.

Saul, he didn’t fail because he thought too much of himself.  He failed because he thought too much of self and he thought too much of people’s opinions.  He didn’t have the sort of faith that says…I won’t offer God a sacrifice that costs me nothing.  He didn’t have the sort of faith that says, I will face a giant and slay him if God is on my side.  He didn’t have the kind of faith, that when confronted with a terrible sin, openly confessed and sat in sackcloth and ashes.

The question isn’t what kind of heart Saul had.  We know that he rejected God, and God rejected him.  The question is, what can we learn, and I think it’s pretty simple.

Pick a hero.

Don’t pick Saul.

Turns out, there’s another hero just around the bend.

 

 

Discussion Questions:

1.  Who were the Amalekites?  See Deuteronomy 25:17-19; Judges 6:3-4; I Samuel 14:47-58.
2. What does I Samuel 15:12 mean about Saul setting up a monument for himself?
3. Why did Saul lie in verse 13?  Didn’t he know Samuel would know?
4. I Samuel 15:17 is something that really struck me.  It talks about Saul being little in his own eyes.  Was the problem that Saul thought he was too big to obey God or too small to question the people?
5. Why did Saul disobey?
6. How do we respond to questions about genocide?  The question goes something like this.  If God is a God of love, as seen in Jesus, how could the same God command genocide in the Old Testament?  This can lead to apologetics type discussion or even theological discussions of the continuity of the OT and NT.
7. Why did God remove his Spirit from Saul?
8. Who got the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament?
9. Who has the Holy Spirit now?
10. Why did God deal with Saul the way he did, i.e., remove kingship and Spirit?  David, later, will sin, and God will not remove his Spirit from him.  Why not?  What’s the difference?
11. How do we keep the Spirit?  Can we put out the Spirit’s fire in our lives?  Can we grieve the Spirit?  Can we lose the Spirit?  Why would we want to hold on to the Spirit?

It’s great when God calls you to do something important…except when you realize that it’s a responsibility.  Then, you might hide from it (I Samuel 10:22).

It’s good to be given great power, except for when you forget where it  comes from (I Samuel 13).

It’s good to be king, except for when it’s not.

Here’s when it’s not:

When you don’t see where the real power and blessing comes from.

Here’s the thing: God has called us to do extraordinary things.

Here’s the two ways we mess it up:

1.  We hide.

When, we look at our weakness and inadequacy, we hide.  Can you think of a time that you just thought you weren’t up to the task.  It was something that God has called you to do, but you just didn’t accept the calling.

“I’m not smart enough.”

 “I’m not strong enough.”

“I just don’t think I can do it.”

Truth, is..they were looking for you.  You were the one for the job…but you hid.

It’s time to come out of hiding and accept the call of God on your life.

2.  We don’t wait on God.

Now, let’s say you’ve come out of hiding.  Maybe someone pulled you out.  And, now you’re front and center.  You’re doing the things God would have you do.  You’re out there working, you’re shining, you’re making things happen…and then you get the idea that it’s you that’s making things happen.  So, you begin to trust in yourself to get things done, and not wait on God.

“I’m ready to get married…so I know my girlfriend won’t help me reach my potential for God…but I’m ready right now.  God will understand.”

“I know this career move isn’t something that God would have me do…but I need the money, and I’m tired of waiting…gotta make things happen.”

Sound familiar?

What happens when we don’t wait on God?

Well, ask Saul.  He was king and one day decided that he didn’t need to wait on God.  He took matters into his own hands (I Samuel 13).  He was rejected by God, and ultimately, let’s just say it didn’t turn out well.

Here’s the other option:   “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.”  Isaiah 40:31 ESV.

The Key

What’s the key to it all?  Remember that if God calls you to do something, don’t shirk.  Go for it.  But, when you do, remember one thing:  It’s God’s mission, his calling, and his blessing.  Just follow in faith, and he will take you places you never imagined, and show you things you could never dream.  It may be hard, and there may be a few Philistines and Amorites along the way, but stay faithful, and he will be faithful to his promise.   You can soar like the eagles.

Discussion Questions

1.  Name some characters in the Bible who made excuses when God called them?
2. How does God call us today?  Is it through a prophet like Samuel, is it through his Word, or what?
3. Name a time when you made excuses for not accepting God’s Word in your life/
4. Name some characters in the Bible who trusted in themselves and not in God?
5. How did it turn out for those who trusted in themselves?
6. Name some times in your life when you trusted in yourself and not in God.
7. Are there ways right now that I’m trusting in myself and not in God?
8. How are arrogance and low self-worth related?

I recently saw Randy Harris preach on Mark 8.  He called his message “The Gospel of Peter.”   It was about the crucified Messiah, the cruciform life, and the gospel of the cross.

For Randy, preaching is 75% listening and 25% speaking.   So, he built a sermon on Mark 8 by trying to listen to the text.  He used a sort of odd way of doing it, that he called the Ignatian way.  (It’s so odd that WordPress doesn’t recognize “Ignatian” as a word!).  What that means is he tried to imagine himself in the text.  He imagined himself as Peter, and out of that grew his sermon (and a very powerful one to me).

Well, I thought, why don’t we try to do a little Ignatian way with the Bible class this Sunday.  Why don’t we try to enter the text.

The text is I Samuel 8-10.  It’s the story of Saul becoming King.  

Well, when I really listened to the text, I found some surprises.  The Bible has a way of doing that.   So, I’m not going to spoil all the fun in this post, but I would suggest that as you read through I Samuel 8-10 that you try the following:

1.  Imagine that you are Samuel.  Try to tell the story as Samuel.
2.  Now, imagine that you’re Saul.  Put yourself in his shoes.  I think you’ll find a really interesting story there.
3. Finally,  put yourself in the shoes of the people.  Try to tell their story.  I sort of did that in this post.

When I did all of that, I came away with one lesson.  It’s a simple one, and yet it’s one that I sometimes forget.  I think not just me, but WE forget.  We tend to forget this huge lesson because it just doesn’t feel right.  It just doesn’t set well with us sometimes.  But, when we do get it, it changes everything.

Are you interested in that lesson?

It’s God’s plan, and I will follow it even when I don’t understand and even when it hurts.

That’s it.  It’s his plan.  His kingdom.  His work.  His purpose.  We get to get in on it.  We may not understand it.  We may not see how the gears of his plan are fitting together to turn the wheels of history.  We may not understand how the foundations are being laid and the structure is being built.  But, he’s doing it.

I don’t know if Samuel understood what God was doing…but he was faithful.  Now, there’s a lesson.  You see, it hurt Samuel to appoint a King.  He felt rejected.  He felt like a failure.  And, I don’t think he really understood what God was up to with all of this…the long term…centuries long plan that was being carried out…but you know what?  Even though it hurt…even though he didn’t understand…he followed God.

Even When It Hurts (Hillsong United) 

Take this fainted heart
Take these tainted hands
Wash me in Your love
Come like grace again

Even when my strength is lost
I’ll praise You
Even when I have no song
I’ll praise You
Even when it’s hard to find the words
Louder then I’ll sing Your praise

This is the challenge for me.  Follow God, even when it hurts.  Strangely enough, this gets us back to Mark 8 and Randy’s message.  You see, in Mark 8, Jesus called his disciples to follow him…even if it means losing their lives.  Peter didn’t get that the Messiah had to die.  Didn’t understand.  He didn’t understand the message of the cross.  Sometimes, we don’t either.  But, just like Samuel who followed when he didn’t understand, and just like Samuel, who followed, even when it hurt, we take up our cross, and follow the crucified King, the King of all King, and the Lord of all Lords.  And, guess what?  He’s worthy of our following.  He’s worthy of our praise.  Even when we don’t understand, and even when it hurts.  Why?  Because he’s doing something more wonderful than we could have ever imagined.  That’s the gospel (good news) of Samuel.  

 Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,  to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forevermore, world without end.  Amen.

Discussion

1.  What do you think of the Ignatian way of reading Scripture?
2. When you look at the story from the people’s perspective, what do you see?
3. When you look at the story from Samuel’s perspective, what stands out?
4. The story of serving God even when he feels distant is found throughout Scripture.  Name an example.
5. The idea of serving God even when you don’t understand is tough.  Think of a time in your life when you dealt with this.  How do you find strength in the story of Samuel?
6. Serving God even when it hurts is tough.  What are the benefits of doing this?  Why do we often fail?  What lesson are we going to learn from Samuel?
7. What does the writer mean by the “gospel of Samuel”?

I’m telling you, they crossed the Jordan on dry ground.  Dry ground. It was terrific.  They had great leaders.  And, it got better.  They conquered Jericho.  I guarantee their enemies respected them then.

But, something happened.  Terrible leadership.  Terrible.  These last priests…total disaster.  Total disaster, I’m telling you.  And, I guarantee you this, Israel wasn’t respected.  The ark had been taken away.  Can you believe that?  The Philistines had taken cities, and the last judge…he was so old and fat, that when he heard the news, he fell out of his chair and his neck broke.

A tall, authoritative man came a long.  He was strong.  He looked like a leader.  He had a history of winning.  What did the people want?

Make Israel Great Again!

You see, they saw a strong human leader as the hope of Israel.  And, his name was Saul.

You see, they wanted a King.  But, when they put their hope in human leader, they were rejecting the divine one.  When they had their eyes set on an earthly king, they took their eyes off the heavenly King.  And, the shocking truth came later…God would be their King.

I wrote a post some time back titled More Than Decency: Jesus for President.  The backdrop of this is simple: When Jesus went to the cross, died, and was resurrected, this wasn’t just about forgiving us of our sins, though that’s a huge  part of it.  It was about God becoming King.

Now, Israel rejected God as their King, and history tells us how that turned out.  There is scandal in a King that has been crucified.  Truth is, there is scandal in following a cross-shaped life.  But, let me tell you this:  There is also resurrection.  And, in that pattern, we find the truth of the only one that can make Israel great again:

King Jesus.

Feature image courtesy of flickr/Gage Skidmore

What made Samuel different?

Different from Eli, whose neck broke soon after his heart.  Different from Eli’s sons, who died at the hands of the Philistines, but died really much earlier to the work of the temple.

What was his secret?

Why was Samuel chosen, literally called of God?

I know the answer.  It’s a simple one, but it will change your life.  Your calling will be fulfilled.  Your purpose will be lived out.

Wouldn’t you like to come to the end of your life, and look back on it and say, “I’m happy I lived my life that way!”

Here’s how to do it, and here’s the key to what was so special about Samuel:

He gave God his heart.

^“And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” ⁴ So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the Lord only,” I Samuel 7:3-4.

You see, these people had been under siege by the Philistines, the same ones who had killed Eli’s sons, the same Philistines who carried the ark away.  Now, Eli was dead, his scoundrel sons were gone, and the ark was returned…but now what?

Samuel knew.  He knew because his mother had lived that way.  He knew because he was a child of promise and a man of purpose.  He had the call of God forever resounding in his mind, and he knew what must be done.

Return to God.  Do it with your whole heart.

Now, here’s the thing.  He said this BEFORE defeating the Philistines.

Maybe there are some Philistines in your life.  Oh, you don’t call them Philistines.   But, they’re out there.  They’re big, and they’re scary, and they’ve defeated you in the past.  Maybe it’s addiction.  Maybe it’s the sin you just can’t seem to put away.  But, you’re ready to go to battle.  You’re ready to face your enemy.  What do you do?

Well, Samuel did three things:

• He declared his faith.  He said that what we have to do it give God our whole hearts.
• He prayed.
• He offered a sacrifice.

He did all of this before facing the Philistines.

What happened?

^” And Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. ¹⁰ As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel, ” I Samuel 7:9-10.

The Philistines were defeated, and not just that once.  God drove them back the rest of Samuel’s life.  He gave them back all the cities that the Philistines had taken.

Now, maybe you’re at the point in your life when the Philistines seem to have taken something from you.  Maybe it’s something you cherish.  Maybe it’s a son.  Maybe it’s a daughter.  Maybe it’s like the Israelites – it’s whole cities.  It’s big…and they won’t let you alone.  They keep coming.  What do you do?

Well, you remember the story of Samuel, and you remember what happened when they trusted in God.  They won!

Back to Samuel.

Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.  Here’s how the chapter ends, “and he built an altar to the Lord.”  He didn’t forget where his blessing came from.   He didn’t forget his praying mother.  And, he didn’t forget this.  It’s God that defeats the Philistines.

Questions:

1. Whom do you think Samuel learned his faith from?
2. What was Samuel’s situation like growing up?
3. What was the situation when Samuel became judge?
4. What was the military situation looking like at this time?
5. Why did Samuel propose a spiritual solution to a military problem?  Was it a military problem?
6. Why might he have mislabeled the problem?
7. Name some problems/struggles you are having right now.  Are they spiritual in nature?
8. How does turning to God relate to your problems?
9. If you turn to God with your whole heart, will he give you what you want?
10. What did Samuel want?
11. What do you want?
12. Why or why not would God give it to you?
13. How is Samuel like David?
14. How can we be like Samuel?
15. Are we guaranteed the promise?