Tag: king saul

I Samuel 28:5-7 ” When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart. He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets. Saul then said to his attendants, ‘Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.”

Saul had rejected the Word of God…so the Lord had rejected him as king over Israel. (I Samuel 15:26)  And so when Saul sought help from the Lord…there was only silence.  So enter the witch of Endor, a sorceress and medium for the occult that Saul knew was absolutely wrong to consult.  When we become impatient with the Lord in what we see as a delay…that’s when we often take matters into our own hands and do things that are completely contrary to God’s Word…simply wanting something to happen…even if it’s wrong.

II Samuel 16:1 ” When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, there was Ziba, the steward of Mephibosheth, waiting for him…”

Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan and grandson of Saul.  And after their deaths,  in an act of kindness, King David had restored their property to the handicapped Mephibosheth.  This deal included Ziba, who had once been a servant in Saul’s household.  Within verses 1-4, Ziba cleverly manages to protect his own interests and accuse Mephibosheth of treachery and disloyalty  against King David…all the while spreading malice gossip and lies.  Sadly, King David took Ziba at his word and did not check it out first for authenticity before hastily responding.  He reacted rather than acting in a responsible way…and thus was easily swayed by deception and drama.

I Samuel 15:22 ” But Samuel replied: ‘Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is better than the fat of rams.’ “

The Old Testament Prophet Samuel had told King Saul that God wanted the Israelites to go to battle against the Amalekites and completely destroy and annihilate them and everything they owned…but Saul and his men disobeyed and brought back the best livestock, which Saul tried to justify, by saying they were going to “sacrifice them to the Lord”. God’s reasoning behind the total destruction of a people group and everything they owned was, first… obedience, and secondly, to remove the lure towards idolatry by decimating the source. What the Lord wants more than anything from us is a relationship with Him…not a religious act.