I Don’t Dance, Week 11 Day 5, 2 Samuel 6

I Don’t Dance, Week 11 Day 5, 2 Samuel 6

I don’t dance.  Very few people have seen me dance.  They are probably all still in counseling.  My apologies to those poor souls.

But I guess that doesn’t matter.  David, now David could dance.  When they were bringing the Ark from the house of Obed-Edom to Jerusalem, they offered a sacrifice.  Then David danced.  He danced before the Lord.  He danced with all his might. He danced with all of Israel amid shouts and trumpets.  And everyone loved his dancing.  Well, except…

David’s wife, Saul’s daughter, Michal did not appreciate David’s dancing.  It says “when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.”  And  while she’s not into dancing, she is apparently pretty up on sarcasm.  “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”

David’s reply, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel-I will celebrate before the Lord.  I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.  But by these salve girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”

So, what’s a guy who can’t dance supposed to do?  Some would take this to mean that everyone should be willing to dance before the Lord.  But I’m not sure that’s what it means.

A while back a group from our church went on a short term mission trip to Latin America.  When they were giving a report on their trip they all said how they wished they, and the rest of us, could be more emotionally demonstrative like they were.  And I have to confess that I really struggled with that.

And while I much prefer our contemporary worship service with the drums and guitar and modern songs, I’m not really a raise your hands, dance in the aisle kind of guy.  I’ve got nothing against people who do those things.  Or who are more outward in displaying their emotions.  That’s just not who I am.

So, dance or don’t dance?  So raise your hands or don’t raise your hands?  Wear your emotions on your sleeve or keep them under the surface?

Well, I don’t think any of those questions are the right ones.  It’s easy to focus on others.  It’s easy to focus on specific actions.  It easy to say, “You should be more like them.”  It’s easy to say we should be more expressive in showing our faith.  But expression shouldn’t follow a set of rules or regulations.  Just because David danced doesn’t mean we have to.

We’ve been sharing videos in our church, the stories of our people and their ministries.  One story was Victor Wong, retired professor and dean of a major university.  Now he volunteers in our Free Dining Program.  He and his wife help each week, plating desserts, setting tables, washing dishes, greeting those who come to eat and buttering bread.  Not exactly “dean” stuff.  But they serve as humble servants, unseen by most, doing the details that care for the people who come to our Free Dining program twice a week.

The point isn’t that David danced so we have to dance.  When bringing the Ark home, a dance is an appropriate celebration.  When the call is to feed the hungry, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and butter some bread.  When it’s time to dance, if God calls you to dance, then it’s time to dance, even if you’re the king.  When it’s time to feed the hungry, if God calls you to feed the hungry, then it’s time to butter some bread, even if you’re a professor or a dean.

The point isn’t to be like anyone else.  I don’t have to display the emotions that come from a different culture.  I don’t have to bust a move like someone who actually has a sense of rhythm.  I don’t have to speak with the eloquence of a trained speaker.  I don’t have to cook like a master chef or someone who regularly feeds hundreds.

The point is to do what God calls you to do.  If God calls you to dance, you dance, even if you don’t dance.  If God calls you to feed the hungry and you feed the hungry, even if you’re not a cook.  If God calls you to share your faith, you share your faith, even if you’re not a public speaker.  It isn’t about “what” you are.  It’s about doing what God calls you to do, regardless of who you are.  And regardless of how it may look to others.

You don’t need to be like others.  You just need to be who you are.  And if God calls you to, then that’s the time to step out of your comfort zone and dance or cook or speak.  But not because someone else tells you to, but because God has called you to.

God, there’s a lot of things I’m comfortable doing.  Most of those were “new” when You first asked me to do them.  Now, they come pretty naturally.  But there’s still a lot I’ve never done, there’s a lot I’m not comfortable with.  I suppose that You’ll be asking me to do some of those things sometime, someday.  You might even ask me to dance.  Ah, okay.  You’ll need to work with me on that one.  But You are the God of miracles.  So who knows, certainly not me.  Amen

Leonard

Warning Labels, Week 11 Day 4, 1 Samuel 31, 2 Samuel 6, 22

Warning Labels, Week 11 Day 4, 1 Samuel 31, 2 Samuel 6, 22

Afters years as king, after years of chasing David, King Saul dies.  First his son’s, Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shur killed.  Then Saul is critically wounded by archers.  Rather than being captured and killed by the Philistines Saul asks his armor-bearer to kill him.  When the armor bearer won’t do it, Saul kills himself by falling on his own sword.

The Philistines cut off the heads of Saul and his son’s, hang the bodies on a wall, take their armor and put it on display.  David is deeply grieved by what happened.  He recovers their bodies and buries them.  David grieves the king who had dedicated much of his time and resources trying to kill him. 

David begins the process of consolidating his position as king, a process that will take seven years.

Change is hard.  Change almost always involves some sort of lose. Even a good change normally means leaving something behind.  This change which leads to David becoming king was difficult.  David was committed to the ideal that one does not king God’s anointed.   Yet Saul is dead.

The time that we live in is so different from David’s time that it’s hard to put things in perspective. Back then life was so much more violent.  We just had some elections.  Many new leaders were elected.  The leaders they replaced will go back to there or lives or move on to something else.  But in David’s day, if you lost the election, or the war, you generally lost your life.  Change came at a significant price.

Years later, they were moving the Ark from Abinadab’s house to David’s city.  On the way, at Nacon, a guy by the name of Uzzah touches the Ark to steady it.  And because of that irreverent act, God strikes Uzzah dead.  Again, a different time, a different place with different rules.  Today, if we had the Ark it would be plastered with warning labels, “Caution: Touching May Invoke God’s Wrath and Result in Injury or Death.  DO NOT TOUCH!”

We live in a warning label society, in the day and age of the of the safety cap.  “Caution!”  “May Cause…”  “Side effects include…”  “Do not operate…”  “Hot!”

But we don’t put warning labels on the most important thing.  “Caution, Changes Ahead. May result in lose of something dear to your.  Side effects could include but not be limited to, anxiety, disorientation, confusion, discomfort, inability to get your bearings, facing new situations,  lose of old friends or habits, family arguments, heated discussions, uncertainty, even lose of life.”  Following God can be a dangerous business with some pretty extreme side effects.  Jesus gives some pretty significant warnings about the cost of following Him in the New Testament.  But the folks in the Old Testament are still kind of figuring that out.

You can’t listen to God and follow His call for your life without going through change.  It’s just not possible.  But much of the time we try to sugar coat the faith.  We make is sound more like a product commercial, “Things go better with God.”  Fidelity God – Eternal Insurance that you can depend on!”  God won’t really change you, He’ll just make your life better.

But that’s not true, because God can’t really make your life better unless He changes you.  If you truly give your life to God, He Will Change You.  And at times that change will hurt.  At times that change may be difficult.  At times that change will mean losing some parts of your life so that you can experience your new life in Him.

And while giving my life to God and becoming a follower of Christ is the best thing that has ever happened to me, in many ways it has also been that hardest.  Hardest because I had to change.  It wasn’t possible to really follow Christ and stay the same person that I use to be.  Yeah, the Christian faith should come with a warning label, “Caution!  Difficult Changes Ahead.  To Get a New Life in Christ You Must Give Up Your Old Life.” 

God, walking with You has been an adventure.  And when I look back at my life now, I can see I’m not the same guy that started this journey.  Along the way You’ve taken bits and pieces of my life, bits of me, and replaced them.  And as I look back I can see how great some of those changes have been.  But I also remember not being comfortable or happy with many of those changes while I was going through them.  Thank You for Your faithfulness as You’ve worked those changes in my life.  Thank You for having a better vision of me than I had for myself.  I’m pretty sure I’m going to like the final “me” when I get there, even if I’m not always happy about the process.  Amen

Leonard

Lost Wallet, Week 11 Day 3, 1 Samuel 24

Lost Wallet, Week 11 Day 3, 1 Samuel 24

Did you ever read one of those stories where someone finds a wallet or a pile of cash and returns it without taking anything?

That happened in our family once.  Not the pile of cash part, just the wallet.  One of our kids left their wallet sitting on top of the gas pump at that gas station.  They hadn’t even realized they had lost it until a little bit later.  They just realized that it was gone and was quickly moving or “Oh shoot!” to panic central.  They were getting ready to go on a trip and no wallet and no ID would make the trip difficult if not impossible.

Right then there was a knock on the front door.  There was middle aged couple with only minimal English skills and the missing wallet.  Everything was still inside.  They’d gotten the address from the drivers license and drove to our house to return it.  Why?

Well, due to the minimal English skills on their part and the very poor Spanish skills on my part, I’ll never know exactly why.  But there was some cash in the wallet, credit card, ATM card, etc.  They very easily could have taken that cash and dumped the rest.  But they didn’t.  They did the right thing, went out of their way and returned the wallet.  So my kid’s trip went from “Oh Shoot!” and panic central and made a quick detour to “Thank Goodness” and relief.

How hard is it to do the right thing, especially when you could profit from doing the wrong thing?  Especially when no one but you would know?

That’s the dilemma that David faces.  Pardon a bit of indelicacy on my part as I describe what happened.  So, back in Saul and David’s day there aren’t any porta-potties.  So, if you’re out in the wilderness and you need to relieve yourself you go behind a rock.  If you want some real privacy, and who doesn’t at a moment like that, you might even go into a cave.

So when Saul needs to take a natural break from his “let’s go find David and kill him” hunting expedition he decides to go relieve himself in a cave.  And talk about bad luck, he just so happens to pick the exact cave where the David that he is trying to kill is hiding.  Now Saul must have been REALLY intent on taking care of business, because he doesn’t even notice when David creeps up on him and cuts off a corner of his robe.  Either Saul is really focused on the business at hand or David has one really sharp knife and is a world champion creeper.

David’s men wanted him to take advantage of the delicate situation in which Saul has placed himself to kill Saul.  David could very easily have killed Saul.  But David didn’t.  Why?  And that is the question that we’ll answer in a moment.

A short time after Saul had finished his business, David confronts him with the corner of Saul’s robe as evidence that indeed, he could have killed Saul.  And with the evidence in hand that he meant no ill for Saul, David makes his case and prostrates himself before Saul.  What happens next is completely up to Saul.  Remember that’s spear throwing trying to hunt you down to kill you Saul.  Yeah, David certainly isn’t short in the courage department.

So what are the lessons to be learned from this indelicate moment of personal hygiene?

First, if you’re going to take care of your business in a cave then it would really be a good idea to make sure the cave is empty BEFORE you get down to business, especially if you’re trying to kill someone who might be hiding in that cave.  Yeah, I know, words to live by.

Second, and this is the real lesson, it’s not okay to do whatever takes to get what you want, even if God has promised it to you.  David has already been anointed by Samuel to be the next king.  Things like honor, honesty, integrity, patience, respect for others and respect for God are all important.  Saul got into trouble for trying to take short cuts to get what he wanted.  It appears that David, at least at this point in his life, does not suffer from the same fault.  David refuses to kill God’s anointed, even if it would make him king. 

David could have rationalized. “God wants me to be king, look, He just provided me with the opportunity to make that happen.  I’m just taking advantage of the opportunity that He provided me.  Thanks God!”  Nope.  David doesn’t fall into that trap. 

Coming back to the wallet, I bet you thought I’d forgotten about it.  The fact remains that when you find the wallet it isn’t yours.  And what’s in it isn’t yours ether.  Finder’s keeper’s losers weepers is most definitely NOT a Biblical principle.  “If you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t trying’.” is a popular sports adage.  That one isn’t Biblical either. 

Cheating means you’re not depending on God.  Doing something that isn’t right isn’t depending on God either.  And that’s true even if you can rationalize whatever “it” is.  Yeah, rationalizing isn’t depending on God.  Depending on God is doing what’s right no matter what.  It means doing what’s right even it could end up costing you dearly.

Sorry to be such a spoil sport.  But those aren’t my rules, those God’s rules.  David understood them.  David was even willing to put his life in jeopardy to follow God’s rules.  Heck, if Saul had lost his wallet and had David found it, I bet he would have even returned it to him, with everything still inside.

God’s version of that old sports adage would be something like this, “If you are cheatin’, you ain’t trustin.”  And God is pretty big on that whole trust thing.

God, it’s all too easy to see things that happen around us and try to find a way to rationalize it as Your will.  No matter what the circumstances Lord, I pray that You would create and mind and heart with in me to do Your will.  And I pray that I would always listen to the leading of Your Spirit.  God, You require obedience not to the letter of Your law, but to the Spirit of Your law.  May I always be lead by Your Spirit and not by circumstances.  Amen

Leonard

And You Thought Your Boss Was Bad, Week 11 Day 2, 2 Samuel 18, Psalm 59

And You Thought Your Boss Was Bad, Week 11 Day 2, 2 Samuel 18, Psalm 59

So David kills Goliath and moves from part time service to full time service of King Saul.  Talk about a promotion.  David becomes best friends forever with Jonathan, the king’s son.  And everything he does in the service of the king is successful.  So David gets a further promotion, a high rank in Saul’s army.  What can go wrong?

Well, everything.  It turns out that Saul is a bit of a difficult boss.  Ever had a tough boss?  I have.  I’ve been blessed with some really good bosses throughout my career.  I’ve had a couple of real stinkers.    The thing that’s bothered me the most about the bad ones what that they were more worried about trying to make themselves look good then they were about helping me to get my job done.  Maybe those former bosses of mine went to the Saul School of Management.

After returning home from battle the women are singing and dancing, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”  “And Saul was angry; this refrain galled them.”  Saul is jealous of David and his accomplishments.  How jealous?

David is playing his harp.  Saul has his spear.  Saul tries to kill David with his spear, twice.  Okay, that qualifies as jealous.  So Saul sends David away to command over a thousand men.  And David is still successful and safe, at least for the moment.

So what can we make of this.  We’ve got the current king who has fallen out of God’s favor.  We’ve David who has been anointed as the future king.   Not clear if current king Saul is aware of that anointing.  But mad or not, evil spirit or not, Saul can see the writing on the wall.  If David keeps up his successful ways, “What more can he get but the kingdom?”

We’ll see how David handles this in the next few days.  But what is clear is that David, anointed to be king David, David the most popular, David the obvious best candidate for king, he just continues to play his harp and serve the current king.  Oh, and dodge spears too.  Yeah, spear dodging is another one of David’s many talents. 

If it were me I’d be sorely tempted to take my rightful place as king.  I’d rationalize how I was the anointed one.  I’d be able to justify doing whatever I needed to do to become king.  I was anointed after all.  If I don’t take my rightful place as king and get rid of my spear chucking rival, well I might be a little too slow ducking next time.  Then what’s God going to do for a king?  And I am appointed to become king after all.  I’m sure that God wouldn’t mind me helping things along.

But not David.  He continues to serve his spear chucking leader, faithfully, successfully, continually, patiently.

And that is perhaps David’s greatest gift, his patience.  He doesn’t force God’s hand.  He doesn’t take what will be his rightful place.  Faced with his possible death, he still remains faithful to his God and his spear chucking king.  Patience and faithfulness, David had those in  abundance.

Now it’s not that he’s unaware.  He’s not even silent about his plight.  Read Psalm 59, read all the Psalms.  David is acutely aware of the danger that he faces.  But if he wasn’t in danger, if he wasn’t aware of that danger, we would not see his faithfulness and his patience. 

We tend to think we are doing what God wants when things go well.  But David’s situation is a very mixed bag.  Everything he does in service of the king is successful.  But it only brings him danger and grief. 

So, using my situation as a barometer of how well I’m serving God is not the best way to tell if I’m on track.  I could be doing exactly what God wants me to do and still face incredible hardship and danger. 

 Some of my best jobs have been doing difficult things that required great effort.  Some the of the things that have brought the most satisfaction in my life were not lauded by colleagues or others as success.  And in my Christian walk it’s not the worldly measures of success that indicate success in the eyes of God.

Success in God is simply relying on Him and doing what He has called me to do.  Regardless of what the world says.  Regardless of what my boss says.  And sometimes regardless of any actual outwared sign of success.  To the world I may look like a failure.  To the world it may look like I’m wasting my time.  But to God, it’s simply being faithful.  And that is the only measure of success in God.

God, once again I ask that You help me to keep my heart and mind focused on You and doing Your will.  That’s often difficult for me.  I want to plan.  I want to measure.  I want to see success.  You’ve not called me to fail.  But neither have You called me to succeed on my own.  “Unless the Lord builds the house they labor in vain who build it.”  Lord, may You build the house and not my own efforts.  Just tell me where to work Lord.  And keep me humble.  Oh, and if It’s not too much trouble, please help to me duck any spears chucked my way.  Amen

Leonard

Doing What You Do Best, Week 11 Day 2, 1 Samuel 16-17

Doing What You Do Best, Week 11 Day 2, 1 Samuel 16-17

I find the story of how became king David very interesting.  Perhaps it’s how I was first taught the story.  Maybe it’s some deep seated personal bias or issue.  But it seems to me that David is often portrayed as an unusual candidate for the position of king.  But I don’t see it that way.

First, he doesn’t just take over the position right from the start.  He goes through in incredibly long “internship” process.

He starts out by learning about “life in the castle” as it were.  Saul, suffering the effects of an evil spirit needs to have his spirit soothed.  So David gets his first exposure to the king, and it probably isn’t the best role model.  And while the position may be a tough one, he’s certainly qualified.  He knows how to play the harp.  But then there are his other qualifications: brave, a warrior, speaks well, a fine looking man and the Lord is with him.  Hum, sounds kind of over qualified to just play the harp.  But he gets the job.  Cue the harp music. He also had armor-bearer duties.  And hey, it’s a part time job to boot.  Still spends time back home watching sheep and such.

Then comes the whole Goliath thing, and David isn’t even on the radar of this one.  He’s off tending sheep while Saul and his troops spend 40 days quaking in their boots.  Then David shows up and gets the story of what’s going on.  And once David hears the score he volunteers to fight the giant.

Now this is that part that I don’t get.  Saul says that David is only a boy and Goliath has been fighting his whole life.  But wasn’t David described just a little while ago as a warrior?   Did they forget about that?  David didn’t forget.  He remembers the lion and bear he fought defending his sheep.  David gives the credit for those victories to God.  And he’s willing to trust God to give him victory over Goliath.  So he’s hired. 

One problem.  Maybe David’s ready, but Saul’s armor isn’t.  Turns out David is a size normal where Saul is a king size.  So David ditches the armor and the sword and goes with what he know, his sling.

And there’s I think the main point of the story.  Remember David’s initial qualifications:  plays the harp, brave, a warrior speaks well, a fine looking man and the Lord is with him.  He’s been playing the harp.  Now’s it’s time to use the brave warrior.  So maybe David’s never fought a giant, but he also isn’t really covering any new ground.  He fought the bear and won.  He fought that lion and won.  And he knows that he won them not on his own, but with God.  So this is new ground in that it’s Goliath.  But it’s familiar ground in that he’s fight a beast with a weapon that he knows how to use trusting the same God that he’s always trusted.

So, from everyone else’s point of view this is crazy.  A kid against a giant.  No armor.  No sword.  No experience.  No chance.

For David this is same thing, different day.  Facing a giant?  Okay that’s not normal.  But he does it in his normal clothes. Does it armed with just his faithful and well used sling.  Oh, and God.  Yeah he’s going into battle with God, just like he always has.

So, from a human point of view, David might not be all that qualified to fight Goliath.  The armor doesn’t fit.  Hasn’t been to giant facing school.  From God’s point of view he’s just the right man for the job.  David is brave and a warrior with a history of facing long odds while trusting in God.  Just what’s needed to face a giant, or even become king.  Although that part will be a long time coming.

Clearly God doesn’t look at our qualifications the same way that we do. “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” If we truly desire to follow God, He will use the gifts He’s given us, the qualifications that we do have, and our willingness to serve, to bring us to the place where He wants us, where He needs us.  He even use things that don’t look like qualifications to us, our issues, our problems, our short comings, as tools to be used in His service.

Play the harp?  Yeah God can use that.  Good with a sling shot?  He can use that too.  But the first question is this, where is your heart?  If it belongs to God then you have every skill, every tool, every trait that He needs for you to start your journey.  You can begin a walk of faithful service that will take your life today and use it for His will and His purpose.

God, I can look back on my life and see what look like some pretty strange starting points.  Small and seemingly inconsequential bits and pieces of me and my life that were a starting place, a stepping stone to things I certainly never would have thought of.  Lord, I thankful that You gave me a heart for You.  That heart has opened up the rest of my life to serving You.  And often in ways that I never would have dreamed of.  Thanks for not see me as the world sees me.  Thanks for see my heart.  And thanks for using me in ways I never would have thought of.  And most of all God, Thank You for being the center of my life.  Amen

Leonard

Good Beginnings - Questionable Endings, Week 10 Day 5, 1 Samuel 8-15

Good Beginnings - Questionable Endings, Week 10 Day 5, 1 Samuel 8-15

It’s good to have a good beginning.  Saul starts so well.  In chapter 9 he’s described as “an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites.”  Accompanied by a servant Saul is searching for his father’s lost donkeys.  Showing good judgment Saul decides to head back when the donkeys can’t be found rather than worry his father.  When they decide to visit the seer Samuel, Saul is concerned that won’t have the proper offing to give to Samuel.  When Samuel tells Saul that he will be king, Saul humbly replies that he is from the least of the clans from the smallest tribe.

Saul, unassuming, concerned with properly recognizing the position of others, concerned with his father’s feelings, is chosen to be king.  And he starts off pretty well.  When first announced as king Saul keeps silent when he’s not brought the proper gifts.  When crowned as king he shows mercy to those that opposed him.

But he starts to go astray.  At Gilgal, rather than waiting for Samuel to come and make the offering Saul takes it upon himself to make the offering.  Saul was not the right person to give the burnt offering. Samuel tell Saul that his “kingdom with not endure” because he did not keep the Lord’s command. 

Saul is sent to attack the Amalekites and completely destroy them, taking nothing and killing everyone.  Yeah, there is definitely a fair amount of violence in the Old Testament.  So Saul attacks the Amalekites but keeps their king, Agag, the best of the sheep, cattle, fat caves and lambs.  Basically they keep the king and all the good plunder.  And God’s response is hard.  God’s message, “I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from Me and has not carried out my instructions.”

When Saul reports to Samuel about the attack on the Amlaekites, he claims to have carried out the Lord’s instructions.  Samuel isn’t buying it.  And neither is God.  God’s final pronouncement, “You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel.”

How did Saul go from, “an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites” to “You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel.”?  Well, the first Saul, the young Saul sought to do what was right.  He thought of others before himself.  And he was concerned about what would please God.  The second Saul, the older Saul was concerned with getting done what he wanted to get done and short cuts were not only okay but encouraged.  No priest for the offering, do it yourself.  Not supposed to take anything or leave anyone alive, keep the best and keep the king alive.

And God’s message is clear.  If you’re going to follow God you really need to follow God.  Yes, we are forgiven by faith.  But God still requires obedience.  And it’s not okay to pick and choose what part of God’s Word you want to follow.  God chooses.  We are supposed to obey.  And if we don’t then there will be consequences.

Now some would say that the Old Testament is all about obedience and vengeance, and wrath while the New Testament is all about love, faith and forgiveness.  But God has not changed.  That same God of the Old Testament with His obedience and vengeance and wrath is the same God that welcomed Rahab and Ruth, that sent judges and prophets to lead Israel back to God when they strayed.  And that same New Testament God of love, faith and forgiveness is also said if you deny Me before man, I will deny you before God.

God is consistent.  And the God of the Old Testament that accepted Saul’s faith and obedience also accepts our faith and obedience.  But if we ignore God and what He requires, then it may not go well for us. 

Now I know, some of you are thinking, “but the same God who began a good work in you will be faithful and complete it.”  Yes, God is faithful.  But in this story it’s not God’s faithfulness that is in question.  It’s Saul’s.  

God, You have called each of us.  You call us to make a decision about who we will follow, You or?  What’s clear from Saul’s story is that following you requires obedience.  God, I pray that you will keep me on Your path.  I pray that You and Your Spirit will work in me so that I might understand what You want me to do and how You want me to live.  Lord, I pray that I would be both faithful and obedient.  May my beginning be good.  But may my finish also be strong because I finish with You.  Amen

Leonard

Be Careful What You Wish For… Week 10 – Day 4, 1 Samuel 8

Be Careful What You Wish For… Week 10 – Day 4, 1 Samuel 8

Samuel has become the judge over Israel for all the days of his life.  And when he grew old he appointed his sons as judges for Israel.  But his sons Joel and Abijah were dishonest, took bribes and perverted justice.  So guess that the first lesson is that the faith of the parents is not necessarily passed on to the children.  Pardon my language, but as a parent that kind of sucks.  But that’s something we see over and over in the Old Testament.  The faith of the parents doesn’t necessarily get passed on to the children.  I get it.  But if I had one thing I could ask God for, it would probably be to change that. 

The next thing that happens here is that Israel asks for a king.  The elders tell Samuel that he’s getting old and his sons don’t walk with the same faith so they now want a king just like all the other nations have a king.  And Samuel takes it personally.  But God tells Samuel that the people have not rejected him, they have rejected God.  Israel has history of fallowing God and then rejecting God.  And they are about to reject Him again.

What’s so bad about wanting a king?  Everyone else has a king.  What’s wrong with wanting be like everyone else?  It would be fine to be like everyone else.  But only if everyone else was following God.  But the other nations aren’t following God.  And to be like the other nations is to be without God, to leave God behind.

And God tells them what having a king will mean.  The king will take their sons and daughters to serve him.  The king will take their sons to serve his chariots and horses, and as troops in front of the chariots.  They will work the king’s fields and make weapons.  And their daughters the king will take to serve a perfumers, cooks and bakers.  The king will also take the best of their fields and olives.  And finally, the king will take a tenth of everything, a tenth.    

I’ve tried to not be political in this blog.  So I’ll hope you’ll forgive this one slip.  Considering our current federal and state tax rates, our sales taxes, the property taxes, social security taxes and the fees that we pay today, ten percent actually sounds like a pretty good deal.  End of my brief political commentary.  Please forgive the brief side trip.

So Samuel explains all of this to the people.  And the people refuse to listen to Samuel.  They still demand a king.  And so God let’s them have their king.

But what is wrong with having a king.  Well, for Israel having a king is a choice, a choice to not follow God.  And a choice to not follow God is a bad choice. 

Everything good that has happened to Israel has been because they followed God.  And they are turning their backs on God. 

Ruth chose to follow God and she became a part of God’s people.  Rehab choose to side with God and God’s people, and that saved her family. 

But bottom line is that we have a choice of who we will serve.  We can serve God.  Or we can serve someone else.  It’s pretty straight forward.  Just like Israel we make that same choice.  We make that choice at important points in our lives.  We make that choice every day in so many different ways.  And if we choose to not follow God, well then we just might get what we asked for.  And everything that comes with it.

But, be careful what you ask for, you just might get it.

God, help me to see and understand the choices that I make every day, to follow You or not follow You.  Help me to understand, to see what the consequences of turning from You will be.  Most of all, create in me a desire to follow You, a desire to always follow You.  God, may I always choose You.  Amen

Leonard