Great beginning... Ignominious ending! A lesson from the life of King Saul

There are days when the little that I know about myself, makes me question if I will finish this race and be able to say as Paul said, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." - 2 Timothy 4:7.  Then, I tell myself to trust the Lord for the Bible says, "The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it." - 1 Thessalonians 5:24.

Few days ago during our nightly family prayer, the scripture we read and discussed was from the book of 1 Samuel, chapter 31. In there we read of the death of King Saul. A very ignominious end to a king who was chosen by Jehovah and anointed by his prophet Samuel to rule over the Israelites. The very first king for the people of Israel! We read, under attack from their enemies, the Philistines, Saul was pinned down and wounded severely.  Also, his three sons were killed in the intense fighting between the Philistines and Israelites. Wounded severely, with no way to escape, Saul committed suicide by falling on his own sword rather than fall into the hands of his enemies alive.  The Philistines cut off his head and mounted his body along with the beheaded bodies of his sons as war trophies outside their city gates.

When we go back to the earlier portions of the book of 1 Samuel, we see the making of the first king of Israel (chapters 8 onward).  Appointed and anointed by God, we read of a naive, scared young man turning into a great fearless warrior and leader for the Israelites. One of his greatest victories was against a huge army of Philistines that Saul fought with mere 600 soldiers (the same enemy that gave him his final defeat!). The Lord gave him victory! We read, "Now when Saul had secured his grasp on Israel's throne, he fought against his enemies in every direction - against Moab, Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines.  And wherever he turned he was victorious.  He did great deeds and conquered the Amalekites, saving Israel from all those who had plundered them." - 1 Samuel 14:47-48.

Saul became the king at age 30 and ruled the nation of Israel for forty-two years. - 1 Samuel 13:1.  As he grew in power and stature, we see the character traits of Saul developing; and they were not pleasing to God. He was selfish, arrogant, lustful, prideful, impatient, petulant, and disobedient to God.  How could the chosen one of God have such character flaws ???

God had predicted that the Israelites would ask for an earthly king just like all the other nations around them at time. He had prepared for his people to succeed by establishing guidelines for them to follow when it happened. In Moses' book of Deuteronomy, chapter 17, verses 14-20, we read God telling Moses, "You will soon arrive in the land the LORD your God is giving you, and you will conquer it and settle there. Then you may begin to think, 'We ought to have a king like the other nations around us.'  If this happens, be sure that you select as king the man the LORD your God chooses.  You must appoint a fellow Israelite, not a foreigner.  The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself, and he must never send his people to Egypt to buy horses there, for the LORD has told you, 'You must never return to Egypt.' The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will lead him away from the LORD. And he must not accumulate vast amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.  When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy these laws on a scroll for himself in the presence of the Levitical priests.  He must always keep this copy of the law with him and read it daily as long as he lives.  That way he will learn to fear the LORD his God by obeying all the terms of this law. This  regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens.  It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way.  This will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel."

What we realize as we read the book of 1 Samuel is that as Saul's fame, stature, and power grew, he failed to acknowledge the LORD for who He is! Meanwhile, his successor, King David, though with some of Saul's same character flaws, was keen on acknowledging God for being God! Where Saul was blatantly disobedient to God and defiant when confronted by Prophet Samuel, David acknowledged his sins and made reparations to God and man. We see the inner working of David's mind and heart as he wrote in Psalms 19:12-13, "How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults.  Keep me from deliberate sins! Don''t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin."  In Psalms 139:23-24 we read David's prayer, "Search me O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.  Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life."

It is not so much that we will always be obedient to God's laws and and never fail, rather what matters to God is our free will choices and intentions of our heart.

Lauren Daigle - Trust in You

My God, My God, why have you forsaken me...?

"Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" we read in the book of Matthew 27 and Mark 15, Christ cried out in anguish as he hung on Calvary's cross, which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

I wondered, why was the plea of the Son of God in the final moments of his life not, "My Father, my Father, why have you forsaken me?" Instead, it was "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.?"

Here was the plea of every man in his desperation. Here was the cry of desperation from every man, woman, and child at the lowest point in their lives. Here was my cry when I'd been down and out.

Who was this man hanging on the cross crying out - My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?

If only we could see him through the eyes of Prophet and Apostle John as he wrote the book of the Revelations - the fearsome and awesome God in whose presence one day we will stand!

If only we could see through the eyes of Prophet Daniel - a God most adored by hundreds of millions of angels!

If only we could see through the eyes of Prophet Isaiah - a holy God in whose glorious presence the mighty Seraphims covered their faces and feet with their wings as they flew and worshiped him in a loud chorus, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty. The whole earth is filled with his glory!"

If only we could see through the eyes of Prophet Ezekiel - a God who reigns in indescribable majesty and glory!

If one would look with a little care through the lens of the old testament prophets, he was also the ever merciful God, who even today pursues his love - you and I - at any cost even as we have prostituted ourselves to every lustful desire of our evil heart.

Jesus did call out to his father - at the garden of Gethsemane before the trial and suffering began, he cried out "Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine." (Mark 14:36) But his Father, God the creator of you and me, rejected his son's plea on behalf of his creation (we) by not taking the cup of suffering away from his son.  Rather he let him face the suffering that was our cup to drink, for our sins. His sacrifice was the price paid for you and I to be called the sons and daughters of the most high God.

On Calvary's cross Jesus was not the God who by his God nature somehow lessened his pain and suffering, but endured it all as a man who had lost complete and total control of his situation and had none to turn to for a little solace.

Here was the holy, glorious, awesome, and mighty creator of whom Apostle Paul summarized in the book of Hebrews, chapter 2, "Because God's children are human beings - made of flesh and blood - Jesus also became flesh and blood by being born in human form. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the Devil, who had the power of death." Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and life. The one who believes in me will live, though he dies." (John 11:25)