1 Samuel 15:9

“But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.”

In many ways, the Old Testament serves as a picture book to illustrate New Testament principles. That is not to say  the events recorded are not factual, but that they were designed to put bring out Biblical principles in living color. The story of Saul and his battle to defeat the Amalekites unfolds like a motion picture, illustrating the battle we face with our own flesh. It does not take long for every Christian to realize we struggle to resist some of the things that God has forbidden. Overcoming the ungodly desires within us is the daily struggle of the believer, and the story before us helps…

1 Samuel 14:1
“Now it happened one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, ‘Come, let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.’”

There is no doubt, while all of the Bible is inspire by God and “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (Titus 3:16), there are certain passages that stand out to us. They seem to strike a chord in our lives, or present a truth that is so profound, it will transform our living. This is one of those passages. The scene is set in the previous chapter. The Philistines had been oppressing Israel for years. The weak, scattered tribes of Israel were no match for the immense army of the Philistines. They had been defeated time and time again by the Philistine raiders. All weapons had been…

Psalms 12:1

“Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases!

For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.”

Have you ever been in a situation where you were forced to cry for help? A good friend of mine told me a story of a time when he was cutting tree branches to make some extra cash. He leaned his extension ladder against the tree, climbed to the top, reached up and cut a large branch. As soon as the branch was cut the tree shifted and the ladder fell. Reacting quickly, he was able to grab another limb to keep himself from falling. However he found himself hanging twenty five feet above the earth’s surface. Knowing that he would not be able to remain there for long, he began to cry out for help. Sadly, no one could hear him and after his arm strength gave in he was…

1 Samuel 13:12

“…Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”

As the second year of king Saul’s reign began to unfold, the nation of Israel was in trouble. The Philistines who occupied the southwest portion of the land were seeking to expand their territories by defeating Israel. When Saul’s army saw the Philistines approaching, they began to hide in caves, and many deserted. It did not take long before his three thousand soldiers were reduced to six hundred men. Understandably, Saul was overcome by emotion. Unfortunately, he let his emotions make his decisions for him, and these decisions would prove to be very costly. 

Saul decided that what he and the people needed to do was to offer a sacrifice to God. While this might sound like a good and even noble idea, it was actually a form of disobedience, since sacrifices could only be offered by…

1 Samuel 12:7
“Now therefore, stand still, that I may reason with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord which He did to you and your fathers . . .”

After a great battle in which the men of Jabesh Gilead were rescued from certain destruction, the nation of Israel gathered in Gilgal to inaugurate Saul as their king. As part of the process, Samuel the prophet, now an aged man, stood before the people to persuade them to continue to follow the Lord. To influence their decision, he did not seek to stir their emotions, but to incite their reason. He suggests that it is reasonable to believe in, follow after, and serve the Lord.

Webster defines reasonable as, “not extreme or excessive”, or as the use of “sound judgment.” Some words synonymous with reasonable are – rational, logical and sensible. Essentially, Samuel is…

Psalms 9:10

“And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.”

A few years back I was teaching in a Bible school in Ghana on the subject of trust. I invited one of the students to come forward and asked him to put his arms at his side, close his eyes, and face the class. He had no difficulty doing what I asked until I added, “now remain stiff as a board and fall backwards.” He immediately opened his eyes, turned around, and looked at me as if to say, “No way!” I assured him that I would catch him, and asked him to face the class again. I counted to three and told him to fall back. To his credit, he tried, but once he began to lean, he stepped back to catch himself. The…

1 Samuel 10:6
“Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.”

Saul was first chosen by God, then equipped for service. This seems to be a pattern. Saul, along with Moses, Jeremiah, and Peter, all resisted the idea of being selected for service by God. Their objections stemmed from a realization of their own shortcomings. What they failed to realize, was God would equip them for whatever He called them to do.

We often have the same objections. We size ourselves up, and limit the ways God can use us. Then we sense a stirring from the Lord to serve in a capacity in which we have no gifting or experience. Right away we begin to come up with the excuses. “I can’t do that, I am not a …”

It is so important…

1 Samuel 9:23

”And Samuel said to the cook, ‘Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, “Set it apart.”‘”

The intersection where Samuel and Saul meet is a crossroad between two fascinating story lines. Saul, the son of a wealthy and loving father, was commissioned to search out three stray donkeys. As they wandered through the land, they were divinely directed to the land of Zuph where they encountered Samuel. Meanwhile, the day before, while Saul was seeking donkeys, Samuel’s day was interrupted by the voice of God. We read, 

1 Samuel 9:15-16

“Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came, saying, ‘Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him commander over My people Israel…'”

It is worth noting how Samuel responded to the word he…