SABBATICAL

I am going to take a sabbatical for awhile, probably until early June. Keep up with me on the weekends and with the Bible readings, which will probably take us into Psalms!  I was reading about Saul and Jonathan and enjoying the drama nd feeling so bad for Jonathan . . . look at it with me!

After lingering in the Torah for three months, these books of history speed by like Japan's bullet train. Definitely faster than a speeding bullet . . .

Saul jumps to center stage this week.  He is a conflicting character.  He is offered everything he needed for kingship, but throws it all away. Every time he does something wonderfully courageous, he does something equally stupid.

hmm. Sounds like I'm describing myself, perhaps.

God tells Saul, "You'll be a new person." He offered Saul the same clean slate David wrote about, create in me a clean heart, o God, and renew a right spirit within me. 

Saul went among the prophets. The reaction of his friends shows Saul wasn't the kind of man one would associate with prophesy. 

Samuel gave Saul a heads up that God had chosen him to be the king. When his name came up in the lottery, God gave his hidey-hole among the bags.

Not kingly at all.

Enemies threaten to gouge out the right eyes of an entire town in Israel. Saul flew into a rage and God brought great victory.

Later that kingly rage turned on David. 

He couldn't move forward without falling back.

Thankfully for Saul, God moved "true and brave" men to join him. They kept the cogs of the kingdom going. 

Of course God knew David would be king, and the line of the Messiah would be the line of the king. But I believe Saul had a real chance. 

Donkey Hunting (1 Samuel 7-9)

Today's post comes from Connie Peters.


When they reached the district of Zuph, Saul said to the servant who was with him, “Come, let’s go back, or my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and start worrying about us.” But the servant replied, “Look, in this town there is a man of God; he is highly respected, and everything he says comes true. Let’s go there now. Perhaps he will tell us what way to take.” I Samuel 9:5-6

The Israelites enjoyed a great revival under the priesthood of Samuel. For a time they served the Lord and enjoyed the blessings of prosperity and victory over their enemies, but once again became rebellious.

Compounding the problem, Samuel was up in years and his sons were dishonest. The Israelites

became fed up with the priesthood and demanded to have a king like other nations. They had a legitimate problem, but they wanted to solve it their way.

When Samuel became upset at their decision, God told him they had not rejected Samuel but they had rejected God. Samuel warned the people what life with a king would be like. Their land, their children, their freedom would not be their own. Yet the Israelites persisted.

God gave them what they wanted. He chose a tall, handsome, young man named Saul to be their king. One day God’s pick, unaware of the divine calling on his life, lost some donkeys. After wandering the

countryside he told his companions that his father would forget about donkeys and worry about them. His servant advised him to stop and ask the man of God. Not only did Samuel reassure Saul that the donkeys had been found, he anointed him as king. (I Samuel 10:1).

I can relate to Saul wandering around after his donkeys, his focus on the mundane, disconnected from God’s bigger plans. It’s kind of like Martha in Jesus’ time. Martha was very busy preparing the meal while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet. Jesus commended Mary for choosing the better pursuit (Luke 10:38-42).

In the cases of the Israelites’ problem of desiring a king and Saul’s problem of

the lost donkeys, I’m reminded of the same truth. It’s important to seek and obey God. Seek his direction. Seek his solutions—before life gets overwhelming. And like the mother of Jesus once said, “Do whatever He tells you.” (John 2:5)

Determine to seek God’s will and do things His way. He knows the answers to your problems. And
He knows how the seemingly little stuff of your daily routine fits into His big picture.

Verses to meditate on:

Matthew 6:25-34, Matthew 7:7-12, Isaiah 55, Ephesians 3:14-21

Connie L. Peters has 30 years of experience in writing poetry, adult and children’s fiction and inspirational non-fiction. Currently she writes devotions for The Presidential Prayer Team and The Pagosa Sun. She also writes a poem a day on enthusiaticsoul.blogspot.com. Connie’s work has appeared in numerous publications including Focus on the Family, Bible Advocate and The Quiet Hour. She has served on the board of Southwest Christian Writers Association for the past 20 years. Connie lives in Cortez, CO where she and her husband host two adults with developmental disabilities. The Peterses have two grown children who live in Arizona.