Organizing Pastor at Good Shepherd OPC
Rev. Mark Wheat
We have been studying 1 Samuel on Sunday nights for some time now. Recently we looked at Saul’s first contact with Samuel, the prophet of God. As I consider these two men, we could call one the “The Big Guy” (for Saul was head and shoulders above the rest), and the other, “The Not So Big Guy.” Saul was young, inexperienced in the things of God, and promising while Samuel was old, mature, and experienced in the things of God. So much more could be said. When Samuel meets Saul, he is meeting a man who does not know him, although he had been itinerating all over Israel, especially in Benjamite territory. Saul’s father Kish had not raised his son to know the Prophet, or to know the things of God. So, when the Lord revealed to Samuel, that he was to anoint Saul to be the King, he had his work cut out for him. He would teach Saul all that he could. He would give to him a crash course on the need for a sacrifice for the forgiveness of his sins, he would take him to a feast and speak tenderly to him. He would take him to his home, speak to him at night and in the morning, proclaiming to him the Word of the LORD. Finally, he would anoint him to be the King.
The Big Test for Saul would eventually come. The Big Test for the Big Guy would be, Will this Big Guy submit to the Word of the LORD that was spoken through the Not So Big Guy? This is the question, this is the Big Test! From the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 17, we are told that the King of Israel was not to live by his own authority, he was not to be like the Kings and the Rulers in other nations, but that he was to operate under the Word of God. Deuteronomy 17 even says that the king was to make his own copy of the Scriptures. This had not even crossed Saul’s mind. But, he did hear from Samuel, that he was to do what he told him to do. He was to obey the word of God as it came through the prophet. The question is, Will this Big Guy submit to the Word of the LORD spoken through the Not So Big Guy? This is explicit, of this, there is no doubt.
Now, in 1 Samuel 10, after the three signs came to pass that the Not So Big Guy prophesied would happen to the Big Guy, what is not explicit, what is of debate is this; when the Spirit of God came upon Saul, he was to do what the occasion requires, for God is with you. Some believe that the occasion required that Saul attack the Philistine outpost that was then on Israelite soil. Again, this is debatable. Once all the signs did occur, Saul did not attack the Philistine outpost. If this is what he was to do, and he did not do it, then, this is just a precursor of Saul eventually not passing The Big Test. Saul will have a melt-down in chapters 13, 14, and 15, he will not pass The Big Test that is before all of us, which is to obey the revealed will of the Lord. Saul will take matters into his own hands, he will not do the will of God from a heart of love.
And this is The Big Test for all of us? Will I submit to the Will of God? What a big difference this is from all the nations around Saul? All the champions of the people, all the rulers of the nations, operated by their own authority, and this man, this Big Guy, head and shoulders above the rest, he must operate under the voice, under the word of the Lord that came through this Not So Big Guy, this old guy! It would take great humility to do this! No doubt this is The Big Test for our Big Guy.
But the exact same thing is true for us all! The world operates according to its own reason, according to how it feels. The world is spinning its narratives and its stories. The world is doing whatever it wants, the world is redefining marriage, gender, truth, salvation, sin, and Christ. But, the great test for each person is this, Will I receive the Word of God as it truly is, the very Word of God. It will take humility to do this! It will mean giving up my autonomy! It will mean living under this Word, obedient to the God who spoke it. Will I obey the Word of God? Will I submit to this Word, this Word written by holy men, who were taught by the Holy Spirit? Will I believe what these men wrote, men who were with Jesus and saw Him, touched Him, and fellowshipped with Him? Will I kiss this Son, will I do homage to this Son, will I obey Him and keep His commandments?
This is The Big Test for each of us. This is the Big Test for each of us, every day. It is one thing to know these things and another thing to do them. Jesus tells us this, If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them (John 13:17).