June 1924
371
T H E
K I N G ’ S
B U S I N E S S
Introduction: In th e tw elfth ch ap ter we have an account of Samuel’s challenge to Israel, concerning his own stewardship and th eir acknow ledgment of his loyalty to them and to God. Samuel a t th is tim e commands the thunder a n d ' rain to prove th a t God answers prayer, and to LESSON set His seal upon Israel’s sin in asking for EXPOSITION a king. He answers th e ir plea for his T. C. H orton prayers by a promise to be faith fu l to them (v. 23). (1) SAUL’S SIN “ I have sinned” 15:24. The fourteenth chapter opens w ith a wonderful story of faith and courage unequalled in th e history of Israel. Saul was out of fellowship w ith the Lord, th rough unbelief and disobedience. His arm y had dwindled from 330,000 to 600 men. Saul’s son, Jonath an , evidently knew th a t Saul was no longer in favor w ith God and so determ ined upon an exploit for God, on his own account. It was a breach of discipline for a soldier to act inde pendently-—a violation of m ilitary rules— but th ere was a cause. Israel was helpless. They had no weapons of w ar fare. Their condition was like th a t which faced the two lepers (2 Ki. 7:4, 5). The same condition confronted David, when hungry (Mark 2:25, 26). The histo ry of the church is resplendent w ith deeds of valor, springing from a h e a rt of fa,ith (Neh. 6 :11 ; Dan. 3 :16-18). It takes moral courage to stand for the tru th . To th e men and women of undaunted courage, fearless faith and persistent perseverance we owe, under God, the pos session of the Bible and the privileges of the church. While Saul sulked under a tree, Jon athan sallied fo rth to tr i umph. In the fifteenth chapter we have the account of the logical development of Saul’s sp irit of wilfulness and disobedience, which began to m anifest itself in the incident recorded in the th irte en th chapter when he intruded upon the office of p riest (13:8-15) a t which tim e God, through Samuel, told Saul th a t He had rejected him as king, though he occupied the th ron e for seventeen years longer. Saul’s ;impatience and ungovernable will cost him the title to th e throne. ,Saul had taken up a vigorous campaign against Moab and Ammon, Edom and the Philistines, and had vexed them. God gave him a* definite command, “ Go, sm ite Amalek” (1 Sam. 15:3) th rough Samuel, God’s messenger. God is the Ruler of the earth and reserves to H imself the rig h t ac corded to ru lers to punish and remove offenders. To ques tion the wisdom of it is to question the righteousness of God. The offense of Amalek was in blocking the way of Israel when they came out of Egypt (Deut. 25:17-19; Num. 24:20; Ex. 17:14-16; Num. 21:23, 24). Israel was God’s chosen people, under His special care. Their request was a proper one; th e y promised to go by the highway and pay for the w ater. They were refused. Their purpose was to deny Israel th e necessities of life w ith which God had supplied them (th e Am alekites), and the refusal was an insult to God, in punishm ent of which He decreed th e ir destruction. He had given them ample opportunity to repent, bu t now th e ir iniquity was full. They were. God’s enemies. Israel was to be God’s executioner. The spoil, therefore, was not theirs, b u t God’s, and Saul’s failure to obey God’s command was a direct denial of God’s rig h t to command. Israel could never prosper while these enemies were there to spoil them . Their destruction would serve as a warning to other nations. In all n ational visitations, th e innocent must suffer w ith th e guilty.
felt badly over th is and prayed to God about it. The lesson for us is, when any th ing wor ries us to tak e it to the Lord in prayer. Children can do this as well as grown up people. God had been b etter th a n any king they could have, bu t they wanted to be like the nations about them , and so were not willing th a t God should be King. Samuel felt very sad, for he knew trouble would come of it. No one who really loves and serves God will be like the unsaved world about them . God told Samuel to let them have th e ir way. Make it clear th a t God will al ways let His people have th eir way, if they insist, bu t they will have to take th e consequences w ith it. Israel was w illing to take th e consequences, and so God sent Samuel to anoint Saul as King. When he was to be shown to th e people as King, be could not be found. God said th a t he was hiding in the stuff. Sure enough he was. One cannot hide from God no m a tte r where one goes, for God sees us all the time, no m atter how well we may be hidden from others. Saul was found, and was seen to be much ta lle r th a n any man in Israel. He must have been a fine looking man. They ac cepted him as King, and cried, “ God save th e King! “When Saul became King, he saved Israel from th e ir enemies, and they rejoiced in having such a splendid King. Samuel called the people together at Gilgal, and th e re led them in worship. They came gladly and were very happy in th eir worship. One is always happy when one is doing right. Samuel then asked the people if he had wronged them in any way, at any time. They answered him “No.” He then rem inded them how God had fought for them , and helped them in th e past, when they obeyed, and punished their disobedience. He told them , if King and people- obeyed God in th e future, they would continue to prosper, and be safe from enemies; bu t if not, God would again punish them. To prove th e tru th of w hat he said, he asked God to send a g reat thund er storm . God sent the storm and the people were very much frightened, for th is was th e time of th e 1 year when they never had thunder storms. They begged Samuel to pray to God for them , and promised to obey God in the future. Samuel loved them and said he would always pray for them . (Read these chapters care fully to get d etails.) Memory verse: “ I will teach you the good way: only fear the Lord, and serve Him in tru th w ith all your h ea rt; for consider how g reat things He h ath done for you.” 1 Sam. 23, 24. a » JUNE 22, 1924 SAUL’S DOWNFALL 1 Samuel, Chapters 13-15 Golden T ext: “And Samuel said, H ath the Lord as g reat delight in bu rn t offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold to obey is b etter th an sacrifice, and to hearken th an the fat of ram s.” 1 Samuel 15:22. O atline: (1) Saul’s Sin.
(2) Samuel’s Rebuke. (3) Saul’s Rejection.
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