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Meditative Reflection
Rebellion is Divination

“For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.” (1 Sam. 15:23)

I think you are most likely alarmed both at the blatant disobedience of the word of the Lord by Saul in not completely destroying the Amalekites and his subsequent pious excuse of wanting to save the best for the Lord as sacrifice. To disobey the command of the Lord is bad enough; to trump up godly excuses is sheer hypocrisy! However, the focus of God’s rebuke was not on his hypocrisy, but on the very essence of his disobedience as a king.

To disobey the command of the Lord by Saul amounted to usurping the position of the Lord as “the” king of Israel. The Lord reminded him of his humble beginning (v. 17) and the fact that He was the one who anointed him king. In other word, he was the king appointed by the King. As a result, his disobedience was an act of rebellion, seeking to displace the Lord as the King of Israel. While the NIV translates v. 23 with the words, “is like”, the Hebrew original simply says, “is”. Rebellion is divination. In other words, Saul had not only usurped the kingship of the Lord, he had sided with the evil one.

The same was true with his act of arrogance: He thought God should be satisfied with his partial obedience, after all, while killing every Amalekite was understandable, killing every sheep and cattle did not make sense. In fact, it was such a waste. In other words, he thought his sensible and practical reasoning should trump the command of the Lord. His arrogance became even more obvious, when he still insisted that he was right after Samuel confronted him. To think that the command of the Lord was not practical and thus could be changed, to think that we could make our own law as we wish — this is sheer arrogance, and thus, “arrogance (is) like the evil of idolatry”; we have replaced God as the one we worship!

This rebuke by Samuel reminds us that behind every sin we commit is our siding with Satan, is usurping the kingship and lordship of God in our lives and thus is idol-worshipping — making ourselves the idol we worship!

Meditative Reflection
Insincere Repentance

“I have sinned. But please, honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.” (1 Sam. 15:30)

One would hope that Saul would truly and sincerely repent of his sin. It is true that in his conversation with Samuel, he did acknowledge that he sinned twice. However, given the severity of his sin now revealed to him, the Lord declared (for a second time) that He had rejected him as king and had appointed someone else to take his place (the first time was in 13:13-14). If his repentance were sincere, he would at least...

- Feel so sinful that he could not worship the Lord, or ask Samuel to offer a guilt offering on his behalf; and

- Ask Samuel what he should do, now that his fate was sealed by the tearing of Samuel’s robe. He should humbly accept his own fault and do his best to hand over his reign to the next God-appointed king, “a man after His own heart” (13:14).

Unfortunately, he had no desire to relinquish his reign over Israel, even though he was now rejected by God, and he would reign without His blessings and His presence. Frankly, what good it is to be the leader of God’s people without God’s blessings and presence. Yet, Saul’s only concern at this point was that Samuel would continue to honor him “before the elders and before Israel” (15:30).

In recent decades, we have seen too many ministers fall from grace. Some expressed sincere remorse and repentance by accepting their guilt and left their position of leadership quietly, taking full responsibility of their sin. However, there were those, like Saul, who still tried to hold on to their ministry. The result was the creation of division within the church, and worse, the bringing of disrepute on God’s name and His church.

Meditative Reflection
God Raises the Humble

“There is still the youngest…but he is tending the sheep.” (1 Sam. 16:11)

The choosing of David among his seven older brothers reminds me of the song of Hannah in the beginning of 1 Samuel: “He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor.” (2:8) This was what happened exactly to David.

Perhaps, this was not the first occasion where the family of Jesse was invited and David was left out. However, this was not just any occasion; this was the invitation by the prophet Samuel to join him in sharing a sacrificial meal before the Lord. To deprive David of his participation amounted to depriving him of a blessing from the Lord. That was how unimportant David was in the eyes of his father.

Later on, we learn that his other sons were probably rugged fighting men. As war took on an increasing importance under a king with a more organized army, being a warrior appeared to be an admirable occupation, while a shepherd, as usual, was considered less than respectable. So compared to his brothers, the handsome, smaller-built David who was famous for his harp-playing skill (16:18), did not meet the expectation of his father.

Indeed, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (16:7). But the “appearance” which parents look at differs from generation to generation. I have met parents who are secretly or openly disappointed at their children for a great variety of reasons:

- Not having an athletic body build

- Excelling more in art than science

- Not being able to get into the profession the parents desire

- Simply not doing well in school

To be concerned with the future of our children is one thing, but to value them based on our expectation and to openly put them down is quite another. Thankfully, our Heavenly Father values us just as we are, and He looks at our hearts, not our performance!

Meditative Reflection
The Music of the Spirit

“Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better and the evil spirit would leave him.” (1 Sam. 16:23)

We know that music has a therapeutic effect and music therapy has become a recognized profession in the field of health science. However, in the old days, its function was viewed more as a charming effect, especially when it came to dealing with evil spirits.

The Bible makes it clear that Saul’s torment was not a case of psychological or physical illness, but was the effect of God sending an evil spirit to torment him (16:14). Therefore, we believe that it was not the simple playing of the harp that drove the evil spirit away, but that it, in fact, was the playing by David who was filled with the Spirit and was thus used by God that sent relief to Saul.

I think we may be able to draw some lessons from this scenario:

- We have to admit that music is one of the great gifts from God. It is even good for the soul. I was led to repentance upon the playing of a hymn on my piano — of course, the lyrics moved me to repentance, but the music did quite a bit of heart-softening.

- Music itself has its limitations, even in therapy. I was sick as a dog just 24 hours ago, and I was greatly calmed by continuously listening to my favorite classical music station (KDFC — try it) for the first four hours. But as my condition got worse, even those beloved pieces of music of mine became unbearable and I had to turn the radio off.

- Of course, sacred music has been an important part of worship in the church. However, I believe that for it to be used greatly to enhance our worship and to direct our hearts towards heaven, ultimately it has to be played by those who are filled with the Spirit of God, people like David.

I know of a young man who left his church for another, because in his words, “the music is dead”. However, after some time, I had the chance to meet up with him. As much as he enjoyed the music of his church, I could see no change in his life. His peers too, saw him as a phony! In his case, the problem may not be the “performers”, but the listener. It was obvious that such great, good church music had become entertainment — nothing more than entertainment to him!

Meditative Reflection
Threats are Threats Only

“He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry.” (1 Sam. 17:20)

At first glance, we wonder if the description about Goliath might be an over-exaggeration in the Bible — a 9-foot tall Philistine, wearing 125 lbs. of armor, and carrying a spearhead of 15 lbs.

According to the 1^st century Roman historian Pliny, the giant Pusto and the giantess Secundilla who lived in the time of Augustus Caesar were taller than 10 feet each (h.n. vii. 16); and the Jewish historian Josephus mentioned a man who was also at least 9 ½ feet in height (Ant. xviii, 4, 5).

In the Museum of Dresden has been preserved the cuirass of Augustus the Strong (whose height was 5’9”) and it weighs 55 lbs. Since the armor of Goliath appeared to be a full-length armor, and with his height of 9’, his armor could easily weigh over 100 lbs. (source: K&D, 480, 1)

Of course, a battle could not be decided simply based on which champion killed the other, but the morale and momentum of a battle was often a result of the duel between the champions. The same was true of the shouting of a war cry (17:20); it was nothing more than shouting, but they served to deflate the morale of the enemy. In the case of this battle between Saul’s army and the Philistines’ troops, the morale and momentum were obviously on the side of Israel’s enemies, as “Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified” (17:11).

However, we all know the end result of this battle, but we should not laugh at Saul and the Israelites. We are all like them.

As we face trials and difficulties in life, and as we focus on the impossibility of the task, the numerous hurdles we need to overcome and our own inadequacies, the problems suddenly become a Goliath and we ourselves, a David. Frankly, even if David lost to Goliath, it was the duel that was lost, not the battle. The real battle had yet to begin! And “If the Lord is with us, who can be against us!” (Rom. 8:31)

Meditative Reflection
Innocent Faith

“You come against me with the sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty....” (1 Sam. 17:45)

I have no idea how young David was when he slew Goliath, but he reminded me of Joseph in many ways.

Both were despised by their brothers because of jealousy: While the brothers of Joseph were jealous of how he was the apple of their father’s eye, the brothers of David were jealous of him because God chose him over them.

Both were oblivious to their brothers’ jealousy: Joseph continued to inform his father of his brothers’ misdeeds, and David ignored the unkind and evil accusation of his brother and continued to pursue the opportunity to slay the champion of Israel’s enemies.

However, the comparison of David with Joseph must end here, because David was given the opportunity to be told his destiny, while Joseph had to wait patiently for years for God’s great purpose in him to unfold. Perhaps, this too, is worth comparing in that, as much as David was anointed king and knew full well his destiny, what happened next in the duel with Goliath was only the beginning of a long journey to kingship, probably 13 years (2 Sam. 5:4), if he was as young as Joseph was at this time (Gen. 37:2).

But what David did to Goliath defines faith for generations to come:

1. Following the dictate of God: Although not once does the Bible say that God told David to fight against Goliath, his actions indicated that they were the outcome of the prompting of the Spirit within him (16:13, 18).

2. Discerning God’s given opportunities: His sending back by Saul to his father could have prevented him from any opportunity to get involved in the battle; and even the sending by his father to bring provisions to his brothers would not have enabled him to be enlisted in the army — his brothers would have objected to it. However, it did open up the most unlikely door to represent Israel as the champion.

3. Persistence: Knowing that it was a God-given opportunity, he ignored the rebuke of his brother and persisted in asking questions so that his desire to engage Goliath was made known to Saul.

4. Fully prepared: You might be laughing at this point, because David did not come fully prepared — no sword, no armor, and no helmet; he had only a shepherd’s staff, a sling and a bag of stones. This is the part that really speaks to me. As much as he was anointed king, yet he was “sidelined” back to be with the sheep; he prepared himself well for battle the best he could, fighting with bears and lions, perfecting the skill he knew best — the using of a sling! Had he distrusted God of His plan and used his time simply to play the harp, he could not have been used by God to slay the giant.

5. Total trust in God: I do not care how well-prepared one can be, if one is to face an enemy like Goliath, fear has to grip you somehow. But David, in his speech to Goliath, clearly understood and believed what was meant by “the battle is the Lord’s”: the enemy is God’s enemy. We do not fight in our name but God’s; the weapons to victory are not human weapons; God will do the handing over, we do the slaying; God will get His honor and recognition, not us! So, Goliath, you defy the name of God, you are dead meat!

For “a boy” to have such faith (17:42) — it is so precious. Perhaps, only “a boy” can have such innocent and genuine faith!

Meditative Reflection
Enslaved by Sin

“Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had left Saul.” (1 Sam. 18:12)

I believe ever since Saul was rejected by the Lord and was told that He would raise another man after His own heart to lead Israel, he would have kept an eye on Samuel to see whom he might or might have anointed. That was the reason why Samuel hesitated to go to Bethlehem in the first place to visit the household of Jesse. No matter how Samuel camouflaged his trip, there was no way that somehow the news of the anointing of one of the sons of Jesse would not leak back to Saul. That, perhaps, explains why Saul kept asking whose son David was after he slayed Goliath (17:55-58).

Now with David residing in his court daily, Saul had clearly recognized not only that the Spirit of the Lord had left him, but also that it resided in David. In other words, his greatest fear was confirmed and twice the Bible says, Saul was afraid of David (18:12, 15). As much as the fate of losing his kingdom was not the greatest feeling, the worse thing for a person who once experienced and tasted God’s presence is the loss of His presence. This horrible feeling was worsened by the coming upon him by an evil spirit. The rest of Saul’s story is a tragic picture of one living in the slavery of sin, knowingly and intentionally!

Having to be replaced as king is not a good feeling of course, and to a macho man like Saul, it was humiliating too. But how could you have a day of peace leading God’s people without God? How could you have a day without fear, not knowing when God will choose to act to eliminate you? How could you have a day with joy grabbing onto a role that you know is no longer given by God? That is the tragic picture of one living in the slavery of sin, knowingly and intentionally!

I am pretty sure that even if Saul now genuinely repented, it would not have changed God’s mind not to depose him (15:29), but it does not mean that God would not forgive him. In fact, if he now went to Samuel, asked for forgiveness from God, and was willing to pass over the reign to David, the chances might be that David would not even take over his throne until his death!

Sadly with Saul, it was not a case of what could have been, but a case of what could never be!