God's Way not Optional

 1 Samuel 15-16     Psalm 142     Matthew 19

Once again, we watch as God gives Saul directions as he goes into battle to avenge the way Israel was treated as the entered the promised land. The command was to utterly destroy everyone and everything and to keep nothing for themselves. Saul fails to follow the Lord’s commands and not only spares the king but keeps the best of the animals they owned and only destroyed what was worthless. Saul not only disregards the directions but when confronted by the prophet, Samuel, lies as if he can get away with it. When challenged by the evidence he claims he did it for God then tries to blame the people. God tells Samuel he regrets making Saul king and it is time to anoint the next king.

Saul then confesses and wants Samuel to return with him and worship the Lord. While at first Samuel refuses because of Saul’s rejection of the Lord he ends up going back while Saul worships. Then he does what Saul should have done before, he destroys the king of the Amalekites. That is the last time Saul will see Samuel.

While Samuel is grieving Saul’s rejection of the Lord God tells him it is time to anoint a new king over Israel. Samuel is worried about the danger of Saul but follows God’s command and goes to Bethlehem, offers a sacrifice and goes to the home of Jesse where God has sent him to anoint one of his sons the new and future king. Even Samuel looks at the outward appearance and thinks the older sons look like kings, but God tells Samuel that he doesn’t look at what they look like on the outside but on the inside because that is what matters.

After all the older sons have come before Samuel and been rejected, they send for David and this young good-looking boy that God selects to become the next king of Israel. One of the most interesting stories in the Bible is what happens next. Saul has experienced the leaving of the Lord’s spirit and been filled with an evil spirit and David is sent for to minister to him. His service to Saul is a powerful story of waiting on the Lord to act.

David’s song is a prayer when he was in the cave hiding but trusting God as he takes refuge in him knowing he is not powerful enough to deliver himself. He trusts God not only to recue him but treat him with abundance.

The crowds continue to follow Jesus and he continues to heal and teach them. The Pharisees continue challenge him and today the topic is divorce and Jesus tells them that God’s design is for a man and wife to be married until death. When they tell him, Moses commanded them to give her a certificate of divorce and Jesus explains that is because of their hardness of heart. The conversation goes on about the difficulty of marriage.

This is followed by children being brought to him and the disciples wanting to turn them away but again Jesus tells them to let the children come because it is with a faith like theirs that leads to the Kingdom of heaven. Interesting this is followed by asking what is required to obtain eternal life. Keep the commandment and then make sure your possession is not in the way. It is hard for a rich person to get into heaven because they are often bound to their possessions. With us it is impossible but with God all things are possible. The key is to put God/Jesus first and then Jesus reminds them the first will be last and the last will be first in the kingdom of heaven.

The balance between living a righteous life, striving after the ways of God, and our desire for our own wants is hard to find as we see repeated here is numerous ways. God is worthy of our praise and the gift of eternity is for the taking when we commit to striving to follow Jesus.