Trying to "Read" God

Trying to “Read” God

1 Samuel 16:1-13

            Saul started well.  He was God’s choice to be king.  Samuel didn’t choose him.  The people didn’t choose him.  God chose him, and told Samuel that Saul, son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, would be king of Israel.

            And a fine specimen he was.  The sacred writer of 1 Samuel tells us when Saul stood among the people he was at least a head taller than any of them.  We tend to look at tall men as leaders.  It’s not always the wisest decision (Isaiah says, “a little child shall lead them”), but that’s humanity for you.  We equate physical qualities with leadership skills.

            At first Saul was a good king.  He cared for his people.  He led them in battle.  He won great victories over their enemies, the Philistines.  But eventually one of the great curses of leadership affected Saul.  He began to believe his own press releases. 

England’s Lord Acton said that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, and that often is the way of kings.  They begin to believe that they know more than anyone else,  that they are able to make all decisions wisely, without reference to advisors who may know more about some subjects than they do. 

Worse, Saul began to act without seeking God’s guidance.  For the king of God’s people to behave that way was a fatal flaw.  Saul’s leadership began to crumble.  His greatest mistake occurred when he took it upon himself to offer sacrifices to God, a task which belonged to the spiritual leader of Israel, Samuel. 

From that moment, Saul’s kingship was doomed.  1 Samuel 15:35 says, “And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death….  And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.”  It’s a terrible thing for a leader to be rejected by his people, but so much more terrible for the leader of God’s people to be rejected by God.

God sent Samuel to the house of Jesse to anoint the next king.  Samuel asked for Jesse’s sons to appear before him.  Eliab came first, and he was such a fine looking man that Samuel was sure he must be the one.  God told Samuel that their viewpoints were miles apart.  Samuel was looking at Eliab’s physical characteristics, while God was looking at the inward person.

God rejected all seven of Jesse’s older sons.  We know the outcome.  God chose David, a boy among men, to be the next king.  David grew to be “a man after God’s own heart,” and the greatest of Israel’s kings.

We can forgive Samuel for making the wrong choice.  After all, Saul was tall, presumably well-proportioned and probably at least somewhat good-looking.  If God chose size and strength the first time around, wouldn’t God do the same thing again?

This is the problem we cause for ourselves when we try to read God, when we try to figure out which direction God will move in.  Not only are God’s ways far above our ways (Isaiah again), but God sees much more than we can. 

There have been times when I was sure I knew God’s will for my life.  I moved off in what I thought was the correct direction only to find myself on my own—not a comfortable place to be.  Turned out I was trying to make my will be God’s will, and it didn’t work out well. 

God sees much deeper and further and clearer than we can, and God knows what’s best for us.  Better to use God’s long-range sight to set our course than to live in our own short-sighted way.