Good Morning 06-06-2011

[Scott]

Reading from the NKJV

1 Sam 9
1 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power.
2 And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.

1 Sam 10
23 So they ran and brought him from there; and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.
24 And Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?"  So all the people shouted and said, "Long live the king!"

Saul was selected as King for many reasons one of them was that he was a good looking guy while another was that he was a big bad dude.

He was selected to lead the people of God and to fight their battles. He was selected for a reason.

Esther was a woman who became a Queen for a reason, it was not seen right away; yet when the time came she did what God wanted her to do

Esther 4:
13
Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, "Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews.
14
For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"

Saul's time came and the reason he was selected was made obvious...

1 Sam 17 (The Message)

4-7 A giant nearly ten feet tall stepped out from the Philistine line into the open, Goliath from Gath. He had a bronze helmet on his head and was dressed in armor—126 pounds of it! He wore bronze shin guards and carried a bronze sword. His spear was like a fence rail—the spear tip alone weighed over fifteen pounds. His shield bearer walked ahead of him.

This was Saul's battle to win, this is why he was chosen. Saul was the biggest baddest dude in the kingdom and God selected him to fight this battle. If not? Why pick the biggest baddest dude as King?

But Saul was scared!

11 When Saul and his troops heard the Philistine's challenge, they were terrified and lost all hope.

He was the Biggest Baddest dude in the Kingdom and it was his job to put a whooping on that turkey; but instead, he wimped out.

I like how the Message words this next part...

12-15 Enter David. He was the son of Jesse the Ephrathite from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse, the father of eight sons, was himself too old to join Saul's army. Jesse's three oldest sons had followed Saul to war. The names of the three sons who had joined up with Saul were Eliab, the firstborn; next, Abinadab; and third, Shammah. David was the youngest son. While his three oldest brothers went to war with Saul, David went back and forth from attending to Saul to tending his father's sheep in Bethlehem.

Enter David!  That brings to mind Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon!"

David was a boy, some suggest he was anywhere from 13 to 21 years old and by all accounts definately not the biggest baddest dude in town.

Saul was selected for such a time as this and when he failed, God selected someone else.

Each of us are called for Such a time as this, will you take on the challenge like Esther or will you hide from you call like Saul?

[mini]

Great thought.  Great!

[Lynx]

The problem in Saul's case originated long before Goliath.  The people had been under a theocracy, with God ruling, but they wanted a king.  Specifically they wanted a king to fight their battles, to be a general in time of war.  Although God permitted them to have a king He did not *approve* of it, and He told Samuel to explain to the people all the things the king would take from them.  But they still wanted a king.  God told Samuel this, that they had not rejected Samuel, they had rejected God.  So according to what they wanted, God selected a king, a big, bad dude.  God didn't deliberately choose Saul to prove "see, this is what happens when you do things your way" but because this is what they specifically wanted. 

The problem with having a big, bad dude as king is there will always be someone bigger and badder.  Saul got it in his head that he was the king, he was a big, bad dude, so he was the top dog, but being a king of Israel never did work that way.  The best kings of Israel did not see themselves as lord of a whole kingdom, but as a caretaker who was entrusted with leading and protecting a whole kingdom.  And the king of Israel must keep in mind that his strength comes from God, not from himself.  Saul was so accustomed to being a big, bad dude that when he met someone bigger and badder he forgot to turn to his real source of strength.  Little wonder he hid with his army.  If I were out in the world, all alone, facing life with just me and what I could do, I'd run and hide too. 

Short version:  The best kings always kept in mind who the real ruler was.   Saul couldn't get the job done because he forgot that.

[Melody]

good thoughts!

[Scott]

The problem in Saul's case originated long before Goliath.  The people had been under a theocracy, with God ruling, but they wanted a king.  Specifically they wanted a king to fight their battles, to be a general in time of war.  Although God permitted them to have a king He did not *approve* of it, and He told Samuel to explain to the people all the things the king would take from them.  But they still wanted a king.  God told Samuel this, that they had not rejected Samuel, they had rejected God.  So according to what they wanted, God selected a king, a big, bad dude.  God didn't deliberately choose Saul to prove "see, this is what happens when you do things your way" but because this is what they specifically wanted. 

The problem with having a big, bad dude as king is there will always be someone bigger and badder.  Saul got it in his head that he was the king, he was a big, bad dude, so he was the top dog, but being a king of Israel never did work that way.  The best kings of Israel did not see themselves as lord of a whole kingdom, but as a caretaker who was entrusted with leading and protecting a whole kingdom.  And the king of Israel must keep in mind that his strength comes from God, not from himself.  Saul was so accustomed to being a big, bad dude that when he met someone bigger and badder he forgot to turn to his real source of strength.  Little wonder he hid with his army.  If I were out in the world, all alone, facing life with just me and what I could do, I'd run and hide too. 

Short version:  The best kings always kept in mind who the real ruler was.   Saul couldn't get the job done because he forgot that.

Not arguing your point. The fact is that Saul was selected as King and when the time for him to stand up as the big dude and fight that battle, he backed out. 

Saul made a lot of mistakes in his life, but the fact remains that God Selected him as a King and he did not step up to the plate when it was 9th inning, 2 outs and bases loaded.  God had to send in a pinch hitter.