The Story: Week 6

Recap

The Biblical Story

YHWH created the heavens, the Earth, and all that inhabits them!

Humanity fell at the Garden of Eden and has gotten progressively worse.

But YHWH promised that He will bring forth a champion that will destroy the serpent from the Garden and rescue humanity.

God chooses the Israelite people to make this happen, and makes a promise with them, that if they are loyal and obedient to Him, He will be their God.

The Israelites break their promise, but God does not.

YHWH brings them to the promised land, and hands their enemies over to them.

Putting an end to the Canaanite worship practices that involved ritualistic sodomy and child sacrifice.

But still, the Israelites break loyalty to YHWH and disobey his commands, leading Gods people to ruin.

We see now that the people will not obey YHWH on their own accord. They need someone to guide them and hold them accountable.

Someone who is loyal to YHWH.

A leader.

A king.

And so our story continues...

Samuel

In order to establish a king, YHWH raises up a great prophet to make His will known amongst the people.

This man is named Samuel, and he is a great prophet indeed.

While all this is happening, Israel is involved in a back and forth war with the Philistines.

The Philistines are a particularly powerful tribe of Canaanites, that still have descendants from the Nephilim living among them.

Now, because the Israelite people have been hyper rebellious to YHWH, God lets the Israelites fail in several battles.

In one particular battle, the Philistines actually capture the Ark of the Covenant.

This part isn't super important to the whole story, but its really cool and I want to share it with you.

Remember that the Ark essentially represents Gods throne and presence?

It was standard practice in that time period to take the objects of worship from the people you had conquered and lay them before the massive idols of your high god.

This would demonstrate that your god had conquered these other gods.

And the Philistines did exactly that with the Ark.

The NET Bible (Second Edition) Chapter 5

5:1 Now the Philistines had captured the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.

2 The Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the temple of Dagon, where they positioned it beside Dagon.

3 When the residents of Ashdod got up early the next day, Dagon was lying on the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set him back in his place.

4 But when they got up early the following day, Dagon was again lying on the ground before the ark of the LORD. The head of Dagon and his two hands were sheared off and were lying at the threshold. Only Dagon’s body was left intact.

5 (For this reason, to this very day, neither Dagon’s priests nor anyone else who enters Dagon’s temple steps on Dagon’s threshold in Ashdod.)

6 The LORD attacked the residents of Ashdod severely, bringing devastation on them. He struck the people of both Ashdod and the surrounding area with sores.

The philistines panic because of this, and try to send the Ark to different towns.

Every Philistine town that the Ark is sent to becomes sickly and ill.

Eventually they just decide to give it back to the Israelites along with some gold and some caves for a guilt offering.

Essentially all of the Philistine leaders were like, “Yeah, this was probably a mistake. We are sorry, here is your Ark, and please make some sacrifices to your God for us so the plagues will stop.”

But during all of this, the Prophet Samuel is growing up and gathering the Israelites together, with one call.

Reject these pagan gods, and return to YHWH.

Israel begins to listen, but they still want a human king.

Now, remember, the whole point was that Israel would be ruled by YHWH.

Their God was supposed to be their King.

But they rejected YHWH as King over and over again.

Constantly worshiping other gods and disobeying YHWH commands.

Often in scripture, we find things that are king of ordered as fine, good, best.

The best option would be for the Israelites to turn to YHWH completely, and serve Him as their God-King.

But, instead, they reject that.

The NET Bible (Second Edition) Chapter 8

7 The LORD said to Samuel, “Do everything the people request of you. For it is not you that they have rejected, but it is me that they have rejected as their king.

8 Just as they have done from the day that I brought them up from Egypt until this very day, they have rejected me and have served other gods. This is what they are also doing to you.

9 So now do as they say. But you must warn them and make them aware of the policies of the king who will rule over them.”

10 So Samuel spoke all the LORD’s words to the people who were asking him for a king.

11 He said, “Here are the policies of the king who will rule over you: He will conscript your sons and put them in his chariot forces and in his cavalry; they will run in front of his chariot.

12 He will appoint for himself leaders of thousands and leaders of fifties, as well as those who plow his ground, reap his harvest, and make his weapons of war and his chariot equipment.

13 He will take your daughters to be ointment makers, cooks, and bakers.

14 He will take your best fields, vineyards, and olive groves, and give them to his own servants.

15 He will demand a tenth of your seed and of the produce of your vineyards and give it to his administrators and his servants.

16 He will take your male and female servants, as well as your best cattle and your donkeys, and assign them for his own use.

17 He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will be his servants.

18 In that day you will cry out because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD won’t answer you in that day.”

19 But the people refused to heed Samuel’s warning. Instead they said, “No! There will be a king over us!

20 We will be like all the other nations. Our king will judge us and lead us and fight our battles.”

21 So Samuel listened to everything the people said and then reported it to the LORD.

22 The LORD said to Samuel, “Do as they say and install a king over them.” Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Each of you go back to his own city.”

Its the fine option they take.

Samuel goes about the land looking for someone to be the king, and God leads Samuel to a young man who is taller and stronger than all the other Israelites.

This young man is named Saul, and God appoints Saul as the first king over the Israelites.

Now, at first Saul is a pretty good king.

He is passionate, wants to serve YHWH, and is successful at protecting the Israelite people.

But we start to see a downward trend right here:

The NET Bible (Second Edition) Chapter 13

Meanwhile the Philistines gathered to battle with Israel. Then they went up against Israel with 3,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and an army as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven.

6 The men of Israel realized they had a problem because their army was hard pressed. So the army hid in caves, thickets, cliffs, strongholds, and cisterns.

7 Some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan River to the land of Gad and Gilead. But Saul stayed at Gilgal; the entire army that was with him was terrified.

8 He waited for seven days, the time period indicated by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the army began to abandon Saul.

9 So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” Then he offered a burnt offering.

10 Just when he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel appeared on the scene. Saul went out to meet him and to greet him.

11 But Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul replied, “When I saw that the army had started to abandon me and that you didn’t come at the appointed time, and that the Philistines had assembled at Micmash,

12 I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down on me at Gilgal and I have not sought the LORD’s favor.’ So I felt obligated to offer the burnt offering.”

13 Then Samuel said to Saul, “You have made a foolish choice! You have not obeyed the commandment that the LORD your God gave you. Had you done that, the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.

14 But now your kingdom will not continue. The LORD has sought out for himself a man who is loyal to him, and the LORD has appointed him to be leader over his people, for you have not obeyed what the LORD commanded you.”

Earlier, Saul had been given direct instruction to wait for Samuel to arrive and preform the sacrifices.

Saul was descended from Benjamin, not Levi who was the priestly class.

Therefore, according to the Law of Moses, Saul did not have the authority to prepare and offer up sacrifices.

Sauls action, though well intended, was in direct opposition to Gods direct command to him, and to Gods law that was established with Moses.

In other words, Saul placed his own authority as king, above Gods command and Law.

Because of this, God announces that Sauls lineage will not remain as the royal line.

The kingship will be removed from his family, and given to someone elses.

Someone who will not place their authority above YHWH.

But Saul would still remain as king for his life, and YHWH would be with him.

Until another act of disobedience.

The NET Bible (Second Edition) Chapter 15

15:1 Then Samuel said to Saul, “I was the one the LORD sent to anoint you as king over his people Israel. Now listen to what the LORD says.

2 Here is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has said: ‘I carefully observed how the Amalekites opposed Israel along the way when Israel came up from Egypt.

3 So go now and strike down the Amalekites. Destroy everything they have. Don’t spare them. Put them to death—man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camel, and donkey alike.’ ”

4 So Saul assembled the army and mustered them at Telaim. There were 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah.

5 Saul proceeded to the city of Amalek, where he set an ambush in the wadi.

6 Saul said to the Kenites, “Go on and leave! Go down from among the Amalekites. Otherwise I will sweep you away with them. After all, you were kind to all the Israelites when they came up from Egypt.” So the Kenites withdrew from among the Amalekites.

7 Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, which is next to Egypt.

8 He captured King Agag of the Amalekites alive, but he executed all Agag’s people with the sword.

9 However, Saul and the army spared Agag, along with the best of the flock, the cattle, the fatlings, and the lambs, as well as everything else that was of value. They were not willing to slaughter them. But they did slaughter everything that was despised and worthless.

10 Then the LORD’s message came to Samuel:

11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from me and has not done what I told him to do.” Samuel became angry and he cried out to the LORD all that night.

12 Then Samuel got up early to meet Saul the next morning. But Samuel was informed, “Saul has gone to Carmel where he is setting up a monument for himself.” Then Samuel left and went down to Gilgal.”

13 When Samuel came to Saul, Saul said to him, “May the LORD bless you! I have fulfilled the LORD’s orders.”

14 Samuel replied, “If that is the case, then what is this sound of sheep in my ears and the sound of cattle that I hear?”

15 Saul said, “They were brought from the Amalekites; the army spared the best of the flocks and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD our God. But everything else we slaughtered.”

16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait a minute! Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night.” Saul said to him, “Tell me.”

17 Samuel said, “Is it not true that when you were insignificant in your own eyes, you became head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD chose you as king over Israel.

18 The LORD sent you on a campaign saying, ‘Go and exterminate those sinful Amalekites! Fight against them until you have destroyed them.’

19 Why haven’t you obeyed the LORD? Instead you have greedily rushed upon the plunder! You have done what is wrong in the LORD’s estimation.”

20 Then Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the LORD! I went on the campaign the LORD sent me on. I brought back King Agag of the Amalekites after exterminating the Amalekites.

21 But the army took from the plunder some of the sheep and cattle—the best of what was to be slaughtered—to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.”

22 Then Samuel said,

“Does the LORD take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices

as much as he does in obedience?

Certainly, obedience is better than sacrifice;

paying attention is better than the fat of rams.

23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,

and presumption is like the evil of idolatry.

Because you have rejected the LORD’s orders,

he has rejected you from being king.”

The kingship will now be removed from Saul himself.

Obedience to YHWH is better than sacrifice.

And Saul, even though his intentions were good, was acting out of what He thought best, instead of following the direct Commands of YHWH.

A new king needs to be established in place of Saul.

Someone with a heart after Gods own Heart.

Someone who will be obedient, submissive, and loyal to YHWH.

We will continue The Story, next week, where we will meet the great king of old, whose line would bring forth the promised champion. A king after Gods own heart.