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.

Names And Hearts Change

            Saul repents to Samuel, entreating him, “. . . I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice” (I Sam. 15:24).  At Samuel’s refusal to return with Saul in I Samuel 15:27, 28, to worship he turned, “around to go away, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. So Samuel said to him, ‘The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today. . .’”  Interestingly, Saul refers to God to Samuel, as your God, rather than my God in two instances (I Samuel 15:21, I Samuel 15:30).  In I Samuel 10:9 the scripture says, “So it was, was he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart . . .”   Ezekiel 11:19 prophetically promises, “And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh. . .” (KJV)  God promises to give us a new name in Revelation 2:17, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it” (KJV).  Saul of Tarsus became Paul the Apostle; the name Paul means, “little”(Lockyer, ATMOTB, Page 269).  How ironic it is that King Saul sought an earthly kingdom and lost everything while egomaniacally trying to please the people; while, Pharisee of the Pharisees, Saul of Tarsus gained the Spiritual Kingdom and lost every worldly thing, while preserving his integrity, and not pandering to the status quo.

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



Disobedience and Integrity



            Through the prophet Samuel, God directed King Saul to “utterly destroy” the Amalekites (I Sam. 15:3).  In disobedience, Saul, “. . .and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them . . .” (I Sam. 15:9).  Subsequently, Saul goes to Carmel and erects a monument to himself.  At his proclamation of “performing” the commandment of the Lord (I Sam. 15:13) Samuel’s sardonic reply is, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?”  King Saul answered with self justification and passing the buck, in I Samuel 15:21, “But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”  So, the king of the nation of Israel is led by the people’s desire, and will not take responsibility for his own direct disobedience.  Any action a leader willingly and with knowledge allows in his/her realm of authority is counted to their discredit.  This rings of Adam’s excuse, “. . . The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate” (Gen. 3:12).  I wonder how different the world would be now if Adam had turned to Eve at her offering of the fruit and said, “No thanks, I will obey God.”  Again, the people are unable and unequipped to lead themselves.  Leaders must hearken only to God and forge straight ahead in His command.

Where are we going?

More now than ever, the strength and integrity of leadership in Christianity has come under an onslaught of attack both from within and without the Church.  Secularization of ideals and motives; as well as, the methods by which Christianity is driven and implemented has caused large segments of the Church to become rife with carnality.  Attempting to fight a spiritual battle with carnality is a recipe for failure.  Ephesians 6:10-19 reminds us who are enemy is.  The weight of responsibility for this observable fact falls squarely on the shoulders of leadership.  The Maxwell Leadership Bible concisely summarizes this truth, “Leadership ability is the lid on the success of a nation or organization . . . The heart and skill of a leader will always tremendously affect the life of the people under his direction” (Maxwell, TMLB, Page 428).  While Christian leadership can only model and suggest proper behavior, total laissez faire government in the Church is neither desirable nor productive.  From time immemorial, God has had to deal with His stubborn people who would not be obedient.  Leaders must follow God and in turn lead the people.  If leaders are chasing fame, fortune or anything other than God; consequently, the people will be led in the wrong direction. 

Maxwell, John.  The Maxwell Leadership Bible.  Nashville:  Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2002.