371
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
June 1927
In ternational Lesson Comm entary
Heart of the Lesson—K.L.B. Devotional—David L. Cooper Little Folk—Mabel L. Merrill
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may be an influence of the Spirit that moves a man to many a good work on earth, yet it may not be that unction of the Holy One which guides into all truth and holiness,- and seals us unto thè day of eternal redemption. How much may a man get from heaven, how far may he be carried on, and yet break down !” Saul was met by a company of pro phets, the Spirit came upon him, and he prophesied with the others, greatly to their astonishment (10:12). Evidently he had not been known as a young man who had shown zeal for the glory and worship of God. Alas, men may utter prophecies and sing songs with great emotion, and still have no enduring spiritual life! The people were called together by Samuel at Mizpeh, the most conspicuous spot in the whole country round, com manding a view of Jerusalem itself. It was well named “Mizpeh, watch tower.” Drawn from his hiding place, Saul was presented by Samuel to the assembled na tion with words of generous commenda tion. Shouts of, “Long live the King” rent the air. . Samuel then told the people “the man ner of the kingdom” (10:25), and wrote out a royal charter or constitution - ac cording to which Saul was to administer the government under Jehovah, the su preme King. Long before, God had an ticipated Israel’s demand for a king, and provided for it in the civil code, given through Moses (Deut. 17:14-20). Per haps it was this very chapter of regula tions which Samuel rehearsed _on this occasion and placed in the national ar chives for Saul’s guidance. Thus the first prophet, standing before Israel’s first king, let him know that he was not an absolute monarch ruling for his own glory, but responsible at all times to God. •Soon the new monarch (who was con tent to abide his time for acquiring the admiration of the people) got his oppor tunity to give signal proof of his ability as a leader. The Ammonites, a fierce tribe of the north, and the Moabites, to the south, united by a tie of common de scent from Lot, began to oppress Israel. By a symbolical act, well fitted to im press an Eastern people, he rallied them. He slaughtered two of his oxen and cut them in pieces. Messengers carried the pieces throughout the land, proclaiming, “Thus it shall be done tò the oxen of every one who followeth not after Saul and Samuel." There was a ring of triumph , in his words and actions, and the people rallied to his standard (11:7). The raising of such an immense army—its march over difficult roads, and the complete victory in so short a time, far surpasses any thing in modern warfare. Thus the valiant Saul won the undying gratitude of the people who crowned him king, while they sacrificed peace offerings be fore the Lord and rejoiced. A more promising beginning could scarcely be imagined. Saul appears full
J u l y 3, 1927 Sau l Chosen K ing Lesson Text—1 Sam. 9 ta ll
home, and then He gets an invitation out to dinner with the prophet and many prominent guests. The young Benjamite accepts, little prepared for what is to en sue. Then there comes a private inter view upon the housetop at evening. The next morning the conference was renewed, and as they walked together Samuel opened to Saul the Word of God (9:27). Drawing out a vial of oil, the aged prophet crowned the event by an ointing the bent head of Saul and an nouncing that he was captain over the inheritance of Israel. The day’s incidents were foretold by the prophet, and as Saul saw them come to pass, one by one, all doubt must have been removed from his mind (ch. 10 ). True to Samuel’s word, the Spirit of God came upon Saul, transforming the simple countryman into the deliverer of Israel. “God gave him another heart” (v. 9)', in Old Testament language mean ing that he was, as to his feelings and purposes, turned into another man. New thoughts, aims and desires possessed him. It is important to grasp the point of this. He was not given a new heart in the New Testament sense of being born of the Holy Spirit and receiving the abiding presence and eternal seal of the Spirit. In the Old Testament ■we read of those who received an overpowering influence of the Spirit for the accomp lishment of some, work appointed of God, later being abandoned by the Spirit. Even though we see in Saul some apparent solicitude for God’s honor assumed on occasions, yet his whole history should make it clear that he knew nothing of being renewed in the spirit of his mind or of being thoroughly renovated by the Holy Ghost. As Dr. Hanna says :■ JThere
rT'HE people of Israel, desiring to be ■*- like the nations round about them, had demanded of their prophet Samuel a king who might go before them. It was God’s
purpose to give them a k i n g d o m upon which should rest His presence and fa vor, but the people insisted upon keep ing ahead of God’s clock. A l t h o u g h lyarned, t h r o u g h
Samuel, that if they were given a king at that time, they would rue the day (1 Sam. 8:18-22), they were loud in their demands. God granted their prayer in such a way as to teach them that a kingdom erected and maintained in a spirit of insubordi nation to His will could bring them no satisfaction in the end. He let them have a ruler possessed of all the natural at tractions and martial qualities which they admired in a king—a man who, at the time, reflected their religious standpoint and also represented their national fail ings. In Saul they had a strange combination of religious zeal with utter want of real heart submission to God. His history is a summary and a reflection of that of Israel. It is the old story of enterprises undertaken in rebellion against the direct will of God. There is at first remarkable success, and then, under the test, of trials, an utter collapse. Saul, the son of Kish, was a stately and commanding figure, just such a man as would be an ideal king to an Oriental people (9:2), His father’s asses had gotten loose. What has that to do with a kingdom? Saul is chosen to go with his Father’s servant to seek the asses: Samuel meets them in the search. Great issues often spring from small affairs. Two days they seek in vain, and when about to give up, finding themselves near Ramah, decide to consult Samuel, the prophet. How trivial, we might say, and what has it to do with filling up a throne ? Yet all was part of a divine plan and fit ted in with a communication made to Samuel, What was true of him is true of all. The seemingly trivial and apparently un important things conspire together in working out the purpose of God. The slightest incident may be its prime factor. There are no accidents in His plans. But there had to be a man who. knew the voice of God. Let us covet that nearness to God which Samuel had so that He may speak to our ears as a man speaks to his friends (9:15, 16). Saul is told that he need not worry about the asses, for they are safely at
One Good Reason fo r Soul Winning ■RVEN if I were utterly selfish, and had no care for anything but my own happiness, I would choose if I might, under God, to be a soul winner; for never did I know perfect, overflowing un utterable, happiness of the purest and most ennobling order till I first heard of one who had sought and found the Saviour through my means. No young mother ever rejoiced over her first-born child, no warrior was so exultant over a hard-won vic tory.— C. H. Spurgeon.
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