| What I Can Learn From . . . , Part 6: King Saul |
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| Written by David Lawrence |
| Monday, October 17 2005 00:00 |
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We may indeed learn that outward appearance and qualifications from the world’s standpoint do not necessarily equip us to act righteously or serve acceptably in God’s Kingdom. Perhaps that is the lesson God wished to convey to Israel, that a king who met their preconceptions of who a king should be was not necessarily the right choice. Saul is certainly an example of the consequences of disobedience to God. On three occasions he acted based on what he thought was right, rather than on the directives of God. It seemed best to him to go ahead and fight the Philistines before Samuel arrived to offer sacrifice that would invoke the Lord’s blessing. Then he foolishly issued an edict that anyone who ate anything prior to a final victory would be executed, not knowing that his brave and loyal son, Jonathan, had refreshed himself with food after winning a great victory over the Philistines. Finally, Saul followed his own reason and judgment rather than God’s directive when he saved Agag, king of the Amalekites, and the best of their flocks and herds when God told him to annihilate all of them. As a consequence, God took the throne away from him. It is always better to trust and follow the commands of God rather than what we think is best in a given situation. Saul also serves as an excellent example of how God’s sovereignty and man’s free decisions work together. When being pursued by the Philistines after having lost a critical battle at Mt. Gilboa, Saul committed suicide by falling on his sword. It is obvious he was determined to die, for he first commanded his armor-bearer to kill him. However, we read in a postscript to the account in 1 Chron. 10:14 that the Lord put him to death. As St. Augustine so aptly stated it many years ago, “What we do, we do freely, but of necessity.” |
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