#527 Rebuild

Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2 And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. 3 The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was wounded by the archers. 4 Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. 5 And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died. 6 Thus Saul died; he and his three sons and all his house died together. 7 And when all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that the army[a]had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled, and the Philistines came and lived in them.

8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 And they stripped him and took his head and his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to their idols and to the people.10 And they put his armor in the temple of their gods and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon. 11 But when all Jabesh-gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the valiant men arose and took away the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh. And they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh and fasted seven days.

13 So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance. 14 He did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse. 1 Chronicles 10 ESV

We move from the lineage that would set up the government and priesthood, to the history that would show them who they were, why they are here, and how they should move forward. The children of our day are given so little of such history, and when it is brought to their attention they deny that it could hold any value. They think it is better to "spring forward then look back", and that there is a movement makes it worth while or valid. They ride the wave not knowing that it has already passed through these waters before. They are not sure what they are on, and know one knows that it may very well be a tsunami. It does not matter, they are engaged and that is all that matters.

Saul was the first king of Israel, for they must have a king, and no matter what God said, they somehow knew better. Their eyes told him he was right, of look and height, he was head and shoulders above the rest. Saul looked like a king to them, their ideal, the perfection of imperfection. The choice of the malfunctioning calculator, the weight from the broken scale, what could go wrong? All this written about Saul, his sad death and that he being king by the anointing of Samuel, even so, he did not seek the voice of God, but rather disobeyed in the voice of a medium. It was a breach of faith, his own sword against his life and crown. God turned the kingdom over to another, but one thing was great in Saul's death, and that was his son, Jonathan. He served his king, his father, all the way to death, but he did not reject God's anointing of David either. Jonathan was in such a position that we see most men unable to relinquish. Power is a strong elixir, hard to shake off, yet, and this is only my opinion, but I think he was able to die with a clear conscience to both king and God. You may disagree, thinking him not a patriot for helping David, but I see that as all the more, for Israel belongs to God. 

When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20: 24-28

It was also sad at their death for they represented the armies of the Lord, and God will not have His is name taken in vane. It was known to all the kingdoms around that the God of Israel was different, that He led the people out of Egypt, performing great signs and wonders, but His honor is not blind to justice. Though the enemies of God may taunt, He has remained true to His Holiness. Does it not say that whom the Lord loves, He also chastens? Israel never faced a greater God in their encounters, but they were often given over to the service of idols, and the kings that worshiped them. This should be our tears, our shame, that someone looks at our unfaithfulness and somehow thinks it God's. We have broken faith. If we had remained faithful, and then found our bodies in the temple of Dagon or in the open square, it would be considered a sacrifice, it would have been an honor, that for the love of God we were not shaken to the point of quitting. Your head may hang like a trophy on the wall, but only for a time, such a short time. The valiant rose and took them down. 

Saul towards the beginning

Towards Saul's last

For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the spirit, 19in which He also went and preached to the spirits in prison… 1 Peter 3: 17-19