MODELING GOD

Can I pray for you in any way?

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The people then said to Samuel, "Who was it that asked, 'Shall Saul reign over us?' Bring these men to us and we will put them to death."

But Saul said, "No one shall be put to death today, for this day the Lord has rescued Israel."

Then Samuel said to the people, "Come, let us go to Gilgal and there reaffirm the kingship."

So all the people went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king in the presence of the Lord. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before the Lord, and Saul and all the Israelites held a great celebration.

1 Samuel 11:12-15

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

When Saul was selected king of Israel by casting lots in the presence of the twelve tribes, we saw where his appointment was met with mixed reactions.

Some of the people traveled with him to his home, labeled as “valiant men whose hearts God had touched”. Others however were against Saul and were considered troublemakers for asking how Saul could ever save Israel, no doubt looking down on him because he came from Benjamin, the least of the tribes of Israel, and if that wasn’t enough, he also came from the least clan within that tribe. The scriptures tell us that these men who spoke out against Israel’s first king “despised him and brought him no gifts”.

Well, in the first part of 1 Samuel, chapter 11, we saw where Saul succeeded in saving the people of Jabesh Gilead who were besieged by the dangerous Ammonite, Nahash. You’ll recall that he (Nahash) wanted to gouge out the right eye of every person in Jabesh Gilead but allowed the people there a week’s worth of time at their request to try and seek help before falling into suffering.

And so desperate for someone to come to their rescue, the people of Jabesh Gilead sent messengers to Gibeah and found a deliverer in the person of their newly appointed king who rallied all of Israel and soundly defeated the Ammonites. Early on, Saul indeed showed the Israelites that he could save them, doing so by using the power of the Lord that was upon him.

Well, following the victory over the Ammonites, those who supported Saul all along took action against his detractors, bringing a demand to Samuel that they be brought forward and be put to death. But note here the mercy of Saul who used his authority to have the final say on the matter, announcing this:

“No one shall be put to death today, for this day the Lord has rescued Israel."

His words were followed by another gathering at Gilgal to reaffirm his kingship and then cap it off with a grand celebration. And this time, we get the sense that all of the Israelites were firmly behind the chosen king because we don’t read about anyone speaking out against him or questioning his ability to lead the nation.

Overall in this chapter, we see how Saul used his positional power first to rescue and save the people of Jabesh Gilead from the Ammonites and then to pardon those who had opposed him prior to the battle. In doing so, we see him modeling two important qualities of God…qualities that believers should model as well.

First, Saul was victorious because he was open to receiving God’s power...a power that allowed him and his men to conquer the Ammonites and rescue the people of Jabesh Gilead. Saul acknowledged as much himself when he addressed the Israelite people, refusing to take credit for the win himself but instead giving all the honor and glory to the Lord.

Today, God is ready to anyone who places their trust in Him to also accomplish great things in His name. We live in a world where three-fourths of the population are non-Christian and that tells us that seventy-five percent need rescued from the penalty of Hell, lost because they either don’t know Jesus or have rejected Him in the past and need to pivot from that posture.

Into this scene comes Satan, the great opposer of our Lord, the true King of the world. So as believers work to fulfill the Great Commission calling to make disciples of all nations, the devil is trying to counter that effort and keep people on the path of destruction and ruin. He is ever working to destroy every good and perfect thing God is trying to accomplish.

The good news is that Christians aren’t in the fight alone. Like Saul, the Lord provides His power to help gain the victory over the enemy. Ultimately, He brings the triumph, using us as instruments of His will and way who are empowered to carry out His purposes. Therefore, He deserves all the credit, glory, and praise.

Going back to Saul, the second thing he did that modeled a quality of God was when we find him showing mercy, grace and pardon to those who had wronged him. We should keep in mind that he didn’t need to do that. He was the king and he could have easily just agreed with the people who wanted to execute his opposition. No one would have questioned him doing so. But when one is in the Spirit of the Lord, they don’t act or reason as people of the world do. Rather, they think with the same mind of God because they allow Him to shape all that they do…which will always run counter with the ways of the world.

There’s one important point I want to touch on here because the Israelites who were calling for the death of Saul’s adversaries did so while conveniently forgetting that they weren’t perfect either. The truth be told, they were just as much sinners as those who first despised Saul…and were just as much in need of the Lord’s mercy, grace and pardon.

You know, we behave like this sometimes as well, losing sight of how we’re as sinful as anyone else while we too easily pass judgment on others. What we find is that it’s a lot easier to criticize someone else than it is to look in the mirror, be totally honest with ourselves, and see just how flawed we are. And the Lord sees it, no matter how well we try and hide it from others or deny it ourselves. He fully knows spiritually wicked we are at times and how we choose to rebel against His will and way for our lives.

We do this despite the fact that God holds the power and authority to strike any of us dead at any moment, executing us for not remaining loyal to Him, the King of all Kings and Lord of all lords. But God typically spares us, doesn’t He? Like a Father will discipline His children out of love while trying to teach them the right way to behave, so too does our Heavenly Father correct us while showing what true compassion and forgiveness look like.

My brothers and sister, thanks be to God for His Word today for in and through it we’ve learned the way to be victorious in whatever the Lord calls us to do. For as we go forth to carry out His will, we do so with His power and strength as well as the need to carry out His work with the same measure of mercy, grace, and love that He showed when saving us through His Son Jesus…the Son who rescued us from death and the penalty of Hell so to bring salvation and the sure hope and promise of Heaven.

What a privilege we have to model our God to others!

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.