LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?
THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
The treatment of the nations by Israel. The details of the conquest of the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15 are hard to stomach, and I won't pretend otherwise. Somehow we need to come to terms with a picture of God that is both righteous and just, and who would command this kind of action to be carried out. Here are a couple of things that might start to help: (1) This takes place around 400 years after Israel first began to conquer the land of Canaan. It is very possible that, in God's mercy, he allowed an extra period of time so that the Amalekites could have additional time to repent. (2) As we have seen with Rahab, Ruth, Caleb, and the Gibeonites (as well as among others Shamgar the Judge, who I didn't really put much focus on), God was more than willing to adopt the Canaanites and surrounding nations into his own people. These previous examples are just the highlights, and so we can expect that during the 1000 or so years since Abraham's time (see Genesis 15), as well as the 400 years since the battle of Jericho, God had allowed for many people of the nations to seek him and to make peace up to this point. It is very possible that many did so. (3) As we see in the time of the Judges, and later in Israel's history, the presence of the other peoples really was a corrupting influence that helped to ruin spiritual vitality of the project of Israel. God knew what he was doing here. (4) Israel did actually have the first code of conduct for carrying out war (Deuteronomy 20), and though some aspects of it were suspended specifically in the case of the people of Canaan (Deuteronomy 20:15-18), the presence of that code in Israel's law shows that God has compassion on the peoples of the earth. These lines of thought are just the beginning of an answer to this problem. But they blow some holes in the idea of Israel as monstrously and unfeelingly killing, indiscriminately, the peoples of the land. For the ancient world, they actually seemed unparalleled in their practice of making peace with the surrounding nations and adopting them into their own midst--with Caleb, Rahab, and Ruth as especially notable examples, given their role in the tribe of Judah.
Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head? Saul has a few troubling patterns, but among them is his fear of the people. He reacts to their desires and finds a way to look like the leader in the midst of doing so, but he is not a strong leader. He hides among the baggage, goes on plowing his fields instead of carrying himself as the king, does not deal with those who divide the people by speaking against his leadership, consistently blames the will of the people for what he allows to happen, and allows the people to make his decisions for him. That may look like humility, but God appears to see it as a breach of his responsibilities to lead: "Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. And the LORD sent you on a mission... Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD?" (1 Samuel 15:17-19). In fact, what appeared to the people to be a gentle and humble way of ruling was actually the pride of a man who wanted to be lifted up and celebrated by others. In doing so, Saul put his own glory before God's.
The LORD sees not as man sees. The introduction of David in 1 Samuel 16 could not be more different from the introduction of Saul. Saul looked like a leader, the tallest member of a wealthy family, but he was laying around in the house rather than looking after the flocks. David did not look like a leader. He was short, the youngest member of a poor family, and was too busy out among the flocks to be first noticed by Samuel. But he was a man of incredible ingenuity and productivity--as we see in his introduction to Saul at the end of this chapter (which, chronologically, likely takes place after 1 Samuel 17). We are prone to look at the surface to decide whether someone "looks like" a leader. Are they tall? Are the handsome? Are they poised? Do they speak evenly? Can they convey strength, warmth, and calmness all at once? Saul could check off all these boxes--and yet, spiritually, was a disaster of a king. David was none of these things, and he was God's man for the job. A more recent parallel for us might be Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill--Chamberlain was the more polished politician, but his policy of appeasement showed that he was not the right man to lead Britain through the second World War. He maintained the moderation and class of how a leader should look but was a failure. Churchill, the rougher, wilder, more uneven, more wild-eyed bulldog of a man (in appearance as well as disposition) turned out to be the far superior Prime Minister. In the same way the outward appearance of Saul does nothing for God, who sees deeper into David's heart. It would be better for us to have the character that God expects rather than the kind of appearance and mannerisms that endear us to other people.
DO | HOW DO WE RESPOND?
How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? IN OUR ACTIONS we can begin to act more in light of what God says is important, rather than just trying to keep the peace and make other people think favorably of us. Many of us may confuse professionalism or good manners with godliness--yet Saul had more of these things than David, and God chose David over him. We could all use more of the characteristics that recommend people like David and Peter to the heart of God: enthusiasm, a willingness to jump into the action, an expectation for God to move, passionate worship, a desire for God to be glorified--these are things that God loved in these men, even when they also had significant ups and downs. God looks at the heart and loves it when he sees these things; but for God, the outward appearance of a man (or woman) does nothing for him.
PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US TO GOD?
Whether in response to anything pointed out here, or to something else in your Bible reading time, take a few moments before you close up your Bible to pray in response to God. If you need a format for prayer, both the ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication), CALL (Confess, Ask, Love, Listen), and PRAY (Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield) methods are helpful ways to stay consistent.
-Sean
-Sean
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