Building Up Or Tearing Down?

            King Saul’s paranoia was quite evident as he sat under the tamarisk tree, spear in hand, ranting about David, as he rallied his men.  King Saul’s tirade is recorded in I Samuel 22:7, “Hear now, you Bejamites!  Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds?”  To a leader who idolizes the public’s opinion, coercive tactics seem natural in order to reach their desired goal.  Matthew Henry expresses a cure for this, “Prayer is a salve for every sore, a remedy for every malady. . .” (Henry, CCOTWB, 1131).  Subsequently. King Saul orders his guards to slay the priests because they harbored David and his men.  These guards wisely would not carry out this evil order.  King Saul then orders Doeg, the Edomite to carry out the order and Doeg acquiesces.  The scripture records the carnage, “. . . So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck the priests, and killed on that day eighty-five men who wore a linen ephod” (I Sam. 22:18).  Doeg also struck Nob, the city of the priests and lay waste every living thing therein.  How ironic it is that when God ordered King Saul to utterly destroy the Amalekites he would not; although, he has no problem ordering Doeg to destroy the priests and their city.  One may see Doeg as a particularly evil individual, and rightly so; but, the truth is that King Saul is liable for the slayings, as he commands them and stands by as Doeg destroys Nob.  Leaders are responsible for what they request and allow to transpire within their circle of authority.

            Paul addresses the Corinthian Church due to immorality in its confines.  Corinth is, “located one mile south of the narrow isthmus connecting mainland Greece with the Peloponnesian peninsula” (Myers, TEBD, 235).  With this location, Corinth was well situated for trade; and consequently. many diverse people passed through the city making it a breeding ground for hedonism.  Corinth contained the temple of Aphrodite which housed the shorn temple priestesses who would roam the streets of Corinth at night to solicit prostitution from any willing party.  It is believed that Paul wrote the Corinthian correspondence from Ephesus during his third missionary journey (Myers, TEBD, 236).  Paul writes in I Corinthians 5:1, “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife!”  Paul goes on to say that a believer should not fellowship with a brother who relentlessly continues in unrepented sin (I Cor.5:11).  Paul's intent is to build the church by scriptural instruction and modeling of righteous behavior.  King Saul had the priesthood murdered for his own egotistical reasons.  What a contrast between these two leaders!

  

Henry, Matthew. Concise Commentary On The Whole Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson       

 Publishers, 1997.

Myers, Allen C. The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary. Grand Rapids:  William B. Eerdmans

             Publishing Company, 1987.

Friend or Foe?

            As David returned after the slaughter of the Philistines, “. . . the women had come out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul with tambourines, with joy, and with musical instruments.  So the women sang and danced, and said: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands’” (I Sam. 18:6).  Proverbs 14:20 teaches, “A sound heart is life to the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones.”  King Saul’s seemingly bi-polar personality of narcissism and inferiority was not submitted to God and it drove his negative behavior toward David.  I Samuel 18:29 relates, “And Saul was still more afraid of David.  So Saul became David’s enemy continually.”  Saul had at his disposal a great warrior and leader in David and instead of valuing him for his abilities, he hated him out of envy.

            Paul was a master of apprenticeship; he lovingly sowed into the lives of his students and counted their victories as his own toward God.  Within Paul’s announcement of Timothy, his son in Christ, Paul writes to the Corinthian Church, “For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.”  Paul understood well the law of duplication in the people that God entrusted to his care.  The name Timothy or Timotheus, means “honored of God, worshipping of God or valued of God” this gifted young evangelist was loved immensely by Paul (Lockyer, ATMOTB, Page 329).  Paul strengthened the body of believers by discipling and trusting young Timothy to function in the position God called him to.  Leaders must hold lightly the things of God; as, all things are His and are given for the health of the church and not for personal gain. 

Lockyer, Herbert.  All the Men of the Bible.  Grand Rapids:  Zondervan Publishing House, 1958.

Mediums and Maxims

            After the death of Samuel and his burial in Ramah, King Saul made a decree to put out the spiritualists from the land (I Samuel 28:3).  Ramah is, “a town in the tribal territory of Benjamin near Saul’s home” (Myers, TEBD, Page 871).  At the threat of a Philistine attack, King Saul attempted to query the Lord and was met with silence.   I Samuel 28:6 records, “And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets.”  The Urim and the Thummim were, “Objects used by the priests for determining the will of God” (Myers, TEBD, Page 1032).  There is no definite description of the objects given in scripture; although, due to the fact that they fit in the priest’s ephod, it is thought that they were small.  It is possible that they were pebbles or sticks made from precious metals (Myers, TEBD, Page 1032).  The Urim and Thrummin were cast similarly to dice to inquire of God's will.  At God’s silence, King Saul chose to consult a medium.  His foolish vacillation is made even more preposterous as he disguises himself to consult the medium at En Dor.  King Saul asks the woman, “. . . Please conduct a séance for me, and bring up for me the one I shall name to you” (I Sam.28:8).  The woman answers in fear, as she knows that the king has decreed that sorceries be abated in the land.  King Saul, in disguise, swears by the Lord that no harm would come to her.  This is a grand example of leadership deceit ad cowardice.  The medium calls up the spirit of Samuel.  Whether or not this was indeed the spirit of Samuel is open to debate.  Surely, it is within God’s power to allow this occurrence, if He so wills.  Peter would attest that he saw the spirits of Moses and Elijah at the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-8).  The scripture records Samuel’s reply in I Samuel 28:15, “. . . Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”  King Saul relates his fears regarding the Philistine garrison that threatened him.  Samuel’s reply is grim and definite, “Because you did not obey the voice of the LORD nor execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek . . . Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines.  And tomorrow you and your sons will be with me” (I Sam.28:19).  King Saul’s repentance is obviously ego-driven; as, he sprawls on the ground and refuses to eat. This is yet another example of weak leadership and the devastating effects it has on those being led.

Myers, Allen C. The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary. Grand Rapids:  William B. Eerdmans

             Publishing Company, 1987.