376
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
June 1927
little boy, and all his life had been true and faithful to God. He asked the people to show where' he had ever been false, but all said he. was a faithful prophet. He had judged the Israelites for many years until they wanted a king to rule over them, and then the prophet asked the Lord for a king, and God directed him to Saul. Now that Samuel was to give over the people to the new king, he could truly say he had been faithful. Gray-haired people have gone through many trials and hardships; and are able to give good advice. Jesus listened to his parents and obeyed them, even though He was the ■Son of God. President Washington, when a boy, gave up going to sea to please his mother. Our parents know what is. best, so let us ever listen to. their advice and honor, and obey them. God gives us the older people to lead and guide us through places where we have never been. Samuel, in our story today, asked God to send thunder and rain, and the Lord sent thunder and rain. Samuel wanted the people to remember God’s mighty power. The people were afraid., Samuel reminded them ;again of their great sin in rejecting God and asking for an.earthly king to rule over them. God was power ful and mighty, and could bring, down rain and make it thunder even at the .harvest
time when they did not have rain at that time: of the year. The people called upon Samuel to pray for them. Samuel promised them' he would pray for them and show them the right way, and told them even though they had sinned, if they would obey the Lord He would forgive them and take care of them. But, if instead of obeying him they still should do wickedly, they would be destroyed, both they and their king. God asked them to do just what He wants you and me to do. Our memory verse tells tis what that is. Serve the.'Lord with all your heart If we do that we will be at Sunday School every Sunday unless we are sick, or some thing happens so that we can not possibly go,' If we truly love Jesus, we will just love to serve Him with all'our hearts, and then we, too, .will be faithful like 'the dear old prophet, Samuel; Prayer. ...-—o— , Fred S. Shepard’s Blackboard Outline
hem trembled at his presence in their midst, for sacrifice suggested sin. Per haps his visit betokened some judgment hanging over their quiet village. Samuel’s ■ explanation removed their apprehension, and the citizens' were in vited to attend the sacrifice. Jesse and his family were especially invited. As Samuel set his eyes upon Jesse’s son Eliab, he was impressed with his stately carriage and hastily judged him to be the Lord’s . man: God then had to instruct the prophet in the grand principle of di vine judgment, which is His only basis of dealing with men. Many a sincere Christian worker has seriously blundered at this same point. We place too *much value upon personal grâce and mental gifts. Pergonal attrac tiveness is of value only when it is linked to a genuine fneart life, which God only can discern. “Thej+Lord seeth not as man seeth. Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on . the heart” (v. 7 ).' The people had been given a taste of one man chosen for their nation—Saul, a man of commanding presence. The Lord would teach Samuel how to select a man whose chief qualities were that he loved the Lord and had a true heart. ; Seven'sons of Jesse passed before Sam uel who felt no impulse to make a selec tion. “Are here all thy children?" he asked. “Well, no—there is one more out in the sheep pasture, the youngest” (v. 11).. "Send and fetch him,” said the pro phet. And this yduth with his even tem per and. noble qualities of character, least thought of because of his immature âge, proved to be the choice of God. “The Lord said, Arise, anoint him; for this is he” (v. 12). How often, through the ages, has God’s choice fallen upon the younger, the feebler, the least notice able ;of men ! He delights to take the humble to confound the mighty. So, the young David was anointed by Samuel to be king, and the Spirit of God from that day hegan to use him. . The anointing, it should be noticed, was done “in the midst of his brethren” (v. 13). It was not yet to be known and was not a public, ceremony. David, the ancestral root Of Christ, henceforth stands out as the most signal character of the Old Testament. None is so typical of Christ. No other name is so much associated with that of Christ. The Messiah was characterized as the “son of David.” To this signal character, and these sublime relations, David was now solemnly set apart in the anointing act of Samuel. The outstanding lesson of the chapter is that thè supreme qualification of the service of God is genuine character. Dr. Holden says : “A good minister must first of all be a good man.” • It is equally necessary in any one who would be of use to God. Let us also remember that Christ does not expect to find perfection in any one,, but He is ready to enter the life and pro duce perfection, just to the extent to which we will let Him. The ahointing of the Spirit is the first essential if we are to be like David, “a man after God’s heart." Since this is true, no one is ex cluded from service whose heart is right with God. The dignity of eternal ser vice may be given even to tenders of the sheep.
ORTHY ÀRNING
AONDUCT I QUNSEL
I S E C onsideration If ye love me—keep. John 14:15.
^¿e.' ate ate ate
J uly 17, 1927 ■ Samuel Ano ints Sau l Lesson Text—1 Sam. 16:4-13
W E„ do not pause to study the ac count of Saul’s miserable failure, but take up the life of David, who is the primary character of the book from this point onward. Saul, although usurping
While we should not be morbid over the evil that is in the world, the real dif ference between spiritual men and evil men is that sinful men do not mourn for their own sins, while good men realize what a hateful thing sin is. However, such conditions summon us to double duty, and melancholy is the enemy of service, “1 have provided me a king,” said the Lord., “I will send thee to Jesse, the Bethlehemite.” Samuel is directed to “fill his horn with oil" for the anointing. Horns were used for holding liquids. But Saul had become a subject of frenzy from the control of “an evil spirit” of ' which we read much later in the account. “How can I go?" Samuel objected. “I f Saul hear of it, he will kill me” (v. 2). He was stating some thing he had good reason to believe. But when God calls, He equips, and He had an answer for Samuel’s “how.” “Take a heifer and say, I am come to sacrifice" (v. 2). There is no duplicity or falsehood in this. It was Samuel’s office to sacrifice when and where God directed, and it was proper that he should sacrifice when his errand was to select and anoint a king. We should tell the exact truth, even to our enemies, if we tell anything at all, but there may be times when it would be most unwise to tell all the truth we' know. Jesse, the head of a distinguished fam ily, was to be called to the sacrifice (v. 3). The further particulars would be re vealed to Samuel as he walked in the light he already had. “He did that which the Lord spake.” The elders of Bethle
power for some time, is only secondary, and whatever further is said of him is only because of its rela tion to David. Suffice it to Gsay
that Saul failed to honor God, the Spirit of God left him, and when charged by Samuel with disobedience, he showed no shame or sorrow. He at once put him self in a defensive attitude, stooped to subterfuge, laid the blame on others, and had no feeling other than to escape the consequences of his acts. ■The closing verse of chapter IS tells us that Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. He was no longer regarded an ambassador of ,God. Still Samuel mourned over him, as one cut off in the midst of the fairest oppor tunities, a man who was dead while alive, a king rejected of God and therefore doomed. If Saul did not have grace, enough to mourn over his own sins, Samuel, the man of God, mourned for him. It is human to be depressed by the dismal fail ures of those upon whom we have set our hopes, but when we get “down in the dumps,” it is time to arouse ourselves. “The Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him?’’ (v. 1 ).
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