I think David was always
meant to be the first king of Israel Israel Israel Israel Judah
Genesis 49: 8 Judah, you are the one whom your brothers
shall praise; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s
sons shall bow down to you. 9 Judah Judah Shiloh [the
Messiah, the Peaceful One] comes to Whom it belongs, and to Him shall be the
obedience of the people.
And yet, there came a point
when the people demanded a king. They
knew the prophecy. They knew the word of
Moses to them, both in blessing and in curse.
They felt it was time for them to take their place among the nations as
a proper people with a proper king.
My belief is that God chose
Saul knowing that his weakness would disqualify him. He made the promises of the Kingly line to
Saul: “If . . . ., then . . .” But Saul
could not do the “If . . .”; it was not
in his character.
Saul was chosen by God from
the people of Benjamin. Why could they
not see that as a problem? I’m sure
there were those who knew the prophecy, who had a lot of questions, but the
nation wanted a king so badly that the questions muted in their feeling of
fulfillment.
It was not time for God’s
king to arise yet. I know that God was
not surprised. When Samuel came
apologizing and lamenting the people’s demands, God said “We’re going to give
them a king. They haven’t rejected you;
they have rejected me and my rule.” The
people rejected God’s leadership because they rejected his timing.
Through Moses, God told them
what a ‘worldly king’ would be like. It is
not a pretty picture. But they demanded
that rather than to wait for God’s king in God’s time. Their opinion was that it was time now and
God was not coming through with the promise.
They demanded of the prophet/judge that a king be chosen. They used the prophet’s failings as a
human for justification of their demands.
Man will always supply some weakness for impatient, self-willed people
to magnify and exploit.
You see, I don’t think that
God has this big selfish will that supersedes and he’s going to make what he
wants to happen because he can. But the
very character of God is truth and integrity.
His love and mercy join with righteousness and justice to produce a right result and there is only
God’s way for that to happen. The
problem is that even God’s people, who want God’s will, most often want it according to
their thinking and in their time. And
that completely takes the integrity out of it.
God’s promise will not be fulfilled outside of his timing -not in our lives, not in our world.
It is a lesson for us today.
Precisely!!
ReplyDeleteIsrael was promised a king, and was instructed to look forward to one. But there was a reason for the time of the judges, where every man did what was good in his own eyes. We look at that as a bad thing, but it wasn't so. The judges were not any more flawed than many Kings were.
Israel rejected Samuel and rejected God's leadership. God wanted them to be different than their neighbors, and they wanted to be just like them.
I look to another false "King" arising in Israel before Messiah comes, and he will also be popularly selected ...
I really try to wait on His timing but He knows my wish, my prayer and my desire. I think He takes that into consideration...and lets them meet some where. I have total faith in that
ReplyDeleteThe beauty of God is that he doesn't stomp off like a child when we get it wrong in some point. He still had his king for Israel and he still brought him out in his timing. But I wonder sometimes what might have been different had they had the faith and submission to "wait on the Lord trust his word and be patient."
ReplyDeleteAnd I wonder what would have been in my Life had I done the same at times. But God is good and righteous and full of grace and mercy in our weakness. He doesn't ever have to change his plan.