David anointed King
1 Sam 15:34 - 16:13 must not be read in isolation. King Saul by this stage has fallen out with Samuel. It is not just a matter of fact that the two never met again face to face. It starkly summarises the deep rift that opened up between Saul and Samuel.
15:11 The word of the Lord came to Samuel, “I repent that I have made Saul king; for he has turned back from following me, and has not performed my commandments.”
V19 Samuel ask Saul, “Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord?”
V20 Saul: I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, but the people took of the spoil.
v22 Samuel: Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
v23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He has rejected you from being king.
V24 SauI: I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
V28 Samuel: The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day …
Having a politically engaged brother, who has fallen out of favour with his party leaders, makes this story come alive.
God said to Samuel, “anoint me another king from Jesse’s sons.” That is an instruction to treason. It blatantly undermines Saul’s kingship.
Samuel responded with “How can I go?” - Samuel was politically aware … God advises him to fly under the radar. Tell Jesse, you are coming to perform a sacrifice. Not a lie, but a cover. The elders of the city of Bethlehem came to Jesse, trembling. “Do you come peaceable? Good question, since Samuel had hacked to pieces the King of the Amalekites. Who is he going to hack to pieces here in Bethlehem …
Samuel said to them, “Consecrate yourselves. Come to the sacrifice with me..” - Is this worship of God to cover up an act of sedition?? Or is the consecration a sign that God will do a new thing in the nation of Israel?
Samuel has the sons of Jesse parade before him, one by one. But God keeps silent. None of the sons are named to Samuel.
Samuel must have got a bit puzzled. “Are all your sons here?”, he asks. When David comes in, the Lord does NOT name him, but says to Samuel, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”
Samuel anointed David, the youngest, in the midst of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily. And Samuel went to Ramah.
To anoint the youngest in the midst of his older brothers was provocative. David would have copped some teasing – as we hear in the story of Goliath. David stood up for himself.
David would develop- into a person unlike Saul – Saul, who said, “I feared the people and obeyed their voice.”
What does the story reveal about?
Living with God
Living with yourself
Living with each other?
Living with God
God expects obedience
God is tough on leaders who do not discipline their people
God is tough on leaders who change his commands.
The heavy responsibility of /leaders/teachers in the I highlighted in the NT (cf James, Peter).
God asks Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, whom I have rejected?”
God expects us to get over it …
God may ask us to do things that are not culturally correct, that appear seditious, rebellious:
We believe God asked us to:
Incorporating the ACC
Instituting our own lay preacher training
Doing what we are doing as ACC NOW.
Living with yourself
Do you go with the flow, or do you speak up?
“I feared the people and obeyed their voice.”
How do you exercise discipline as an individual?
How do you exercise discipline as a leader?
Do you change God’s command to “suit the occasion”?
Do you give in to internal rather than external pressure
When are you casting pearls before swine and get trampled? (Cf Matthew 7:6)
Living with your neighbour
Samuel never saw Saul again. Samuel had too many bad experiences with Saul doing his own thing.
Samuel (as OT Judge) hacked Agag to pieces
Not for us as individuals to copy!
Do not blame others for your short comings
“I feared the people and obeyed their voice.”
How do we overcome our fears?
* * *
How far is the UCA National Assembly a Saul?
It is the leadership of a once obedient ecumenical church.
Did they “fear the people and obeyed their voice”?
In how far is the ACC a Samuel?
We have rejected the National Assembly’s leadership.
What are we doing with our grief?
What light does the NT shed on our situation?
Jude Some pervert the grace/commands of God
But you build yourselves up on your most holy faith:
\Convince, save, have mercy with fear.
The story of Saul and Samuel is an interesting and challenging study in psychology and spirituality.
In conclusion I want to encourage you to exercise church discipline – individual to individual, individual to group, and group to congregation (Mt 18:15-20).
Our fall-back position for a corrupt church is Jude ...convince some, save some, be merciful with fear (so you yourself do not pervert the grace/commands of God), and when asked by God, be bold enough to do something that is seditious, for the sake of his eternal kingdom. Amen.