The Marvelous Message

The downfall of King Saul is marked with pride, presumption, and foolish hastiness. Rather than trusting the will of God, he became reliant in himself and in others. He also treated the commands of God with flippancy and irreverence. Because of this, Saul was tormented with nightmares and faced an onslaught of depression. It is stated in 1 Samuel 16:14, “ Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the LORD tormented him  (ESV).” This has been the point of much contention because some wonder over how God could do this. The Bible reveals that God is not the author of temptations (James 1:13) nor is there any darkness in Him (1 John 1:5), so how do we make sense of such a statement? We must realize the implications of the first part of verse fourteen which said that God's spirit left Saul. The departure of God's favor and presence meant that Saul would undoubtedly experience anxiety and fear. Due to the hardness of his own heart, God's hand of ...

There are times when we try to complicate the simple call of following Christ. Rather than faithfully heeding to His Word in humble obedience, we are like Naaman who just couldn't believe that to be healed from his leprosy meant only to exercise trust in God's command and wash in the Jordan river seven times. He sought to question why it was such a little demand and he wanted to be the object of some grand spectacle. It is so imperative as believers in Christ to remember that it is not about us! Oh how often we either try to add “how-to-get-spiritual-quick formulas” to our faith, or we attempt to throw in sneaky loopholes to whole heart commitment, so we can appear to be chest deep in the fruits of the Spirit, when all the while we're just grazing the surface of the Christian walk. This is what Saul did in 1 Samuel 15. Rather than stay focused on carrying out God's command to entirely wipe out the Amalekites, he started to come up with his own assumptions of what seeme...

 In 1 Samuel 14, when everyone else was waiting in fear over what the Philistine army would do, Saul's son, Jonathan courageously fought against another enemy garrison, killing over twenty men. Soon after, an earthquake caused the Philistines to fall into mass confusion and they started fighting each other! As the chaos ensued, Saul slowly realized that the battle had shifted in Israel's favor and ended up leading his army once more to battle.  How many people are like this as well? Conditions must be right before they will step out in boldness . We may demean the apostle Peter's faith for losing sight of the Savior and sinking in the sea, but at least he was willing to get out of the boat even while there was a storm brewing!  If we only move ahead when we see see clear skies and a beautiful path, we will not go very far. I am not advocating foolhardiness in the Christian walk, but I am encouraging trust in the midst of hardships and bold faith when everything may...

Saul was not always that jealously vicious king children often hear about in Sunday school. At one time, he was humble, perceptive, and bold. Yet, because he made a foolish and hasty decision to offer an unlawful sacrifice to the Lord, Samuel prophesied that Saul would ultimately lose his throne to another (1 Samuel 13). Many conjectures may be made over what went on in Saul's mind once he realized the gravity of his brash decision, but the fact is that instead of fully repenting over his sin, he let the wound fester by allowing doubt and bitterness lodge in his heart. After Samuel's rebuke, Saul camped out in Gibeah with only six hundred men. They were a ragtag team with little weapons and dampened spirits. It is not known whether Saul was planning an attack, standing his ground, or simply hiding from the Philistines. What is certain is that his son, Jonathan, would manifest heroic bravery and unflinching faith. In 1 Samuel 14, Jonathan chooses to fight instead of sit idl...

It was too late for the Israelites to retreat. The Philistines had quickly amassed a massive army that wanted only one thing: revenge over Saul's son destroying one of their garrisons in Geba. (1 Samuel 13). At the time, Saul's plan seemed to go off without a hitch. Because of the Philistines defeat in Geba, many Israelites were thrilled and appeared eager to join the cause. Saul rallied troops in Gilgal, reminding them that they had no other choice but to fight for their lives. Emotions were high. It was an exiting time indeed, until word spread over how strong, swift, and merciless the retribution of the Philistines would be. Fear cut through the Israelites passionate hearts like butter and instead of fighting with dignity, many hid in cowardice among caves and thick brush. Some even weaseled their ways into tombs and wells! King Saul remained in Gilgal with a terrified and dwindling army. He remembered that the prophet Samuel told him to wait for him for seven days and ...

It most certainly seemed surreal to Saul, when he was anointed to be king of Israel. He was just a young, common man who only stuck out because of his height. Yet, one day he's sent to look for his father's stubborn donkeys and the next he's commissioned to become Israel's first king. Just a month after he was crowned, he found himself leading an army against the Ammonites to rescue a nearly defenseless city called Jabesh-Gilead. Hardly anyone expected Saul to come to their aid, but that is just what he did. In heroic boldness, he stood up for the little guys and made their bullies flee in terror (1 Samuel 11)! After the victory, Saul humbly declared,  “...today the LORD has worked salvation in Israel!”  (Vs. 13) He knew that their triumph truly came from the mighty hand of God. Before this battle, there were many who were reluctant to claim Saul as their king, but afterwards, they proudly and publicly acknowledged him as the ruler of Israel. In time, ...