365 Reflections

There is a space between actual leadership and perceived leadership. Saul demonstrates that a leader’s position can be empty when his heart is not full of God-ordained purpose. And I believe this applies to leaders in the church, the marketplace and government. God uses leadership (even secular leaders) for His purpose. Saul is a case study of bad leadership. He leads with fear and intimidation. And people will follow fear and intimidation to an extent. But without substance and conviction, it’s just white-washing. Take for instance what happens in 1 Samuel 14. As Israel pursues the Philistines, Saul institutes a rash and even dangerous vow. 1 Samuel 14:24 (ESV)  And the men of Israel had been hard pressed that day, so Saul had laid an oath on the people, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies.” So none of the people had tasted food. Saul uses the national conflict to pursue personal vendettas. Instead of carrying for the army,

It is one of cinema’s great quotes. From William Wallace played by Mel Gibson to the rightful albeit hesitant king Robert the Bruce of Scotland. While contemplating his next move for strategic political maneuvers, Robert is challenged by William with the following words, “Men do not follow titles, they follow courage.” The quote proves to be a game changer for Robert the Bruce and Scotland after the death of William Wallace according to the fictional recounting of the movie Braveheart. It is nonetheless true in the scriptures and true today. We are meant to be courageous but everything within and without us seeks to stop it. In 1 Samuel 14, while Saul is watching his army dwindle down to next to nothing, Jonathan poses a question to his armor bearer that brings about a sea-change for the nation of Israel. Instead of hiding and whimpering in the caves with the rest of the nation, Jonathan does what we all need to learn how to do. He challenges the status quo, he steps out from the s

1 Samuel 13:15 (ESV) And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, about six hundred men. Saul's army has completely shrunk. If you remember at the beginning of his reign he gathered them to his side through intimidation and fear (1 Samuel 11:7). Now through his own fear of losing their respect and rashly offering the sacrifice, the army has dwindled from 300,000 to 600. On top of that, the Philistines have confiscated all weapon making and forging abilities keeping Israel bereft of any real hope of superior armament. 1 Samuel 13:19 (ESV)  Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.” On top of THAT, the Philistines are charging exorbitant prices for the Israelites to sharpen their agricultural tools: 1 Samuel 13:20–21 (ESV) But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle, 21 and

1 Samuel 13:1–4 (ESV) Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel, 2 Saul chose three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent home, every man to his tent. 3 Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.” 4 And all Israel heard it said that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines. And the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal. Saul's character slowly unfolds in the narrative of 1 Samuel. We are not told upfront that Saul is really not the king of the Lord's choosing. We are to discover this over the course of the narrative, seeing Saul's faults and taking no

We don't pay attention to warnings very well. Caution signs, road signs alerting us to danger, even the "floor slippery" sign is often ignored. Why is it? What is it about the human condition that we trend toward self-destruction? Israel shows us ourselves repeatedly in this manner. 1 Samuel 12:21  (ESV)  And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. Samuel tells Israel something interesting in this passage. Notice his words of caution: "Do not turn aside to empty things." Why would they turn aside to these things? He hints at in the rest of the sentence, "that cannot profit or deliver."  The two things we seek: profit and deliverance. We want to gain and we want relief from our pain. We want to see our lives both abundant and free from hindrance. Why do we want this so badly? Because we were made to live in abundance and freedom. That was the garden. The garden was abundantly fruitful where mankind w

Samuel is stepping out of the picture in Israel. They have a king and he's about to retire. In his farewell speech he minces no words: 1 Samuel 12:12–13 (ESV)   And when you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the Lord your God was your king. 13 And now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, the Lord has set a king over you.  I'm thankful for the Israelite journey with the Lord through the Old Testament narrative. They show us our own faults and declare to us the greater mercy of the Lord in every stage of our growth. Here in 1 Samuel 12, it is made abundantly clear by Samuel that Israel's request of a king was the wrong move. Yet they now have a king and it is done.  Sometimes we too will make a poor choice in disobedience to God's Word. Sometimes, like Israel, we will look at the world/culture around us and adopt their values and strategies al

Saul's anger doesn't take long to expose itself on the pages of scripture. He's made king in 1 Samuel 10 and the text notes that worthless fellows derided him but he kept silent. Evidently, Saul was waiting to channel that anger in the right direction. So when Nahash comes against Israel and embarrasses them with humiliating terms of peace Saul finds his outlet: 1 Samuel 11:6–7 (ESV) And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled. 7 He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the LORD fell upon the people, and they came out as one man. There are a few things to note about this action in comparison to the king who will follow Saul. It would appear that Saul relies on fear to motivate the nation. He cuts up oxen and sends th

1 Samuel 10:25–27 (ESV)   Then Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord . Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home. 26 Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched. 27 But some worthless fellows said, “How can this man save us?” And they despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace. The problems with Saul's kingship begin early. Here we have what looks like a noble moment. The nation is provided a copy of the rights and duties of the kingship by Samuel. But the moment fails to live up to the Lord's Word concerning the kings of Israel. We have to go back to Deuteronomy to see how God stipulated the king's relationship to the book of the Lord. Deuteronomy 17:18–20 (ESV) “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical