Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Wisdom

I. The Wisdom of Godly Counsel

Exodus 10:3 NKJV

So Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me.

Numbers 14:27 NKJV

“How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me.

There are ten verses (see passage list dated Sept 10, 2021) in the Bible where God uses this phrase “How long,” each time it is an expression of frustration about people’s continued obstinance to God’s directions. Here are a couple of the most relevant.

God is definitely rebuking Samuel, but it is not a harsh tone here, but a gentle rebuke. Godly counsel is appropriate to the person. Sometimes it is gentle and welcoming, sometimes sharp. Here it is midway between the two.

God has provided himself a King this time. It’s not from the people, but from God. So the King will be the one God wants, not the one people want.

II. The Wisdom of Selective Information

Saul is already degenerating into madness. He would even kill the most respected prophet in the land to retain his power. But God has a solution. Take a heifer and hold a sacrifice. It’s not a lie - he really is going to hold a sacrifice. And he personally oversees consecrating Jesse and his sons for the sacrifice. All seven of them. But it is also not all the information. Samuel is, of course, really going to anoint a new King. Something that is not apparent to the elders at first, which is why they are afraid. Does Samuel come to punish? Why this odd appearance to do a sacrifice, outside of his normal circuit? But they quickly discover the real reason, though no one says anything because they are afraid of Saul, too.

The servant of God, of course must tell the truth. And it is not enough to technically tell the truth but to so selectively tell it as to give the wrong impression. Samuel isn’t doing that, for he really is holding a sacrifice, and it is a real sacrifice, not a show for one. But it also isn’t saying everything. It is wisdom to know how much information to reveal, for the good of all concerned without lying.

III. The Wisdom of a Heart Focus

Recognizing that the Lord looks on the heart produces humility - We cannot do this, so we must be prepared to reevaluate what we think of people based on new information. We may not have come to the right conclusion about them, since we cannot see the heart.

It leads us to desire to focus more on character than appearance.

IV. The Wisdom of Conflicting Revelation

Samuel had gone to Jesse’s house and invited his sons.

God told Samuel that he would anoint one of Jesse’s sons to be King.

God had also dismissed all the sons who were there.

Samuel doesn’t have revelation about the solution. He can only draw conclusions, and concludes, not that God must be wrong, but that there must be more sons.

V. The Wisdom of Following the Spirit

The Spirit of the Lord came on David, just as on judges before. The Spirit is the reason for David’s rise to become King. David doesn’t get any special powers, but suddenly everything goes well for him, and he finds himself very capable.

But it leaves Saul, because God had made it clear that Saul was no longer a legitimate king. Had Saul abdicated, he would have still lost the Spirit, since the Spirit was here not just helping him live, but helping him to be King. But had he done that, he would have not suffered as he does here. The harmful spirit is likely demonic - God can command demons to do his bidding too. He sent Satan to afflict Job Job 1:12; 2:3 Here God sends a demon to afflict Saul. But why? Because he is trying to get through to Saul - You are no longer in God’s will, you must give up your power. Now it’s Saul’s servants that are really in charge. He no longer commands, but only takes advice. So he actually has only figurative power. He is officially in charge, but has already lost the kingdom.

Job 1:12 NKJV

And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Job 2:3 NKJV

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.”

VI. The Wisdom of Recognizing God’s Hand

Why was it important that Samuel anoint David? (1) the oil isn’t magic. If you had been there and grabbed it and dumped it on your head, you wouldn’t have become king/queen. (2) Samuel avoided alerting Saul, so there was no official coordination yet David was welcomed into Saul’s court for other reasons. It was because of God’s bringing David to Saul’s attention that he was in a position to become King later. (3) So even without a ceremony, David would still have been elevated. The answer is clearly so that David himself and those around him would know that the reason for all of these fortuitous events was due to God’s appointing David to be King. It wasn’t luck and it meant that David would know the events were things that would lead to his coronation legitimately. In other words, it was so that David would have an unusual insight into the hand of God over his life.