Read: 1 Samuel 10:1-11:15; John 6:43-71; Psalm 107:1-43; Proverb 14:1-3
Samuel had taken Saul aside to talk to him alone. He had already told him that him and his family were the focus of all of Israel’s hopes. Then he took a flask of olive oil and poured it over Saul’s head and appointed him ruler over Israel.
He then gave him a snapshot of his day. He would meet two men besides Rachel’s tomb that would tell him his donkeys had been found and now his father is worried about him.
Next he would come to the oak of Tabor and see three men on their way to worship God at Bethel. They would be carrying three goats, three loaves of bread and three wineskins of wine. They will offer you two of the loaves of bread and he was suppose to receive them.
Next, he would come to Gibeah where the Philistines’ army was stationed. There he would meet a band of prophets coming down from the place of worship. They would be playing a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre and be prophesying. The Spirit of the Lord would come on him and he would prophecy with them. At that point, Saul would be turned into a new person. In seven days, he was to meet Samuel at Gilgal and receive further instructions.
As he turned to leave Samuel, God gave Saul another heart. It all happened just as Samuel had said. Samuel called a meeting in Mizpah and introduced Saul as the king.
Nahash, the king of the Ammonites had been oppressing the people east of the Jordan by gouging out the right eye of all the men. He had offered a treaty with the town of Jabesh-gilead. He would allow them to live, but all the men there would have their right eye gouged out. The men of the city cried out for help and Saul called on all of Israel to come and fight for them. He raised an army of 330,000 men and led an attack on the Ammonites. They saved them and everyone recognized Saul as their king. He then went to Gilgal to meet with Samuel where he had a ceremony and made Saul their king officially. All of this happened in a week!
In John, Jesus was teaching things they had never heard before and it was hard for them to grasp. Jesus wasn’t just teaching them, he was teaching everyone who would live for ages after that. He was the bread sent from heaven and he would return to heaven though none of them understood this. How could they? This was such a new concept. But, Jesus had chosen 12 disciples, knowing one of them was a devil, and eleven of them would stay even though they didn’t understand what he taught.
Following Jesus is all by faith. We keep believing because everything we do is by faith and sometimes it is easier to live by faith than by sight.
Lord, help us to live by both faith and sight. May our faith be of heaven and our walk here on earth reflect that. May we live as new creatures with another heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment