God’s word is living and active
I suppose that if asked you could name several reasons you read scripture. Your reasons might include:
To hear from God
To connect with God
To receive instruction or wisdom
To deepen your spiritual roots
To repent
You might read God’s word because you are a history buff, one who appreciates literature, or maybe just because someone told you that you should.
Whatever you reason for reading God’s word, I am sure you have learned what the writer of Hebrews said about scripture:
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
Because God’s word is living and active, I suspect you have noticed things with each reading that you never really noticed before. Today I read the first five verses of 1 Samuel 16, and it hit me a in whole different way than the other 40 or 50 times I have read these verses.
1 Samuel 16 tells the familiar story of Samuel anointing the young shepherd boy David as the next king of Israel. Most of you could probably tell me the whole story of God sending Samuel to Bethlehem to Jesse’s house where God would reveal to him who he was to anoint. In chapter 15, Samuel learned that God was ready to move on due to Saul’s lack of obedience. Our familiarity with certain passages tends to draw us to skip details because our minds have already rushed to the finish line of the story. When we read this way, we are likely to miss the many ways the Holy Spirit might want to grab our attention to teach us something new.
Today, as I read the text, I noticed two things I had not given much thought to before. The first is the Lord’s opening question to Samuel: “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel?” Samuel doesn’t answer the question and God moves on with details of where he will find the new king in Bethlehem.
Samuel does argue a bit with the Lord because of his concerns that Saul might find out and kill him. Samuel’s concerns are legitimate, based on what we know of Saul’s erratic temperament.
If you look back to chapter 8, we find that Samuel first talked to God because he thought having a king was a bad idea. But God told Samuel to give the people what they wanted. Samuel then tried to convince the people that a king would be a costly choice, bringing up increasing taxes and the servitude that would be required. But God again told Samuel to give Israel a king.
Back to the question that Samuel didn’t answer: “How long will you grieve over Saul…” It makes me wonder how long Samuel had been holding on to never wanting to anoint a king in the first place. And once he did what God told him, he was then frustrated that the whole thing clearly was a failure. Was Samuel holding on to the idea that the people had made a mistake? That he had made a mistake? That God had made a mistake?
We have all been there, haven’t we? We get frustrated over things not working out the way we planned. We get frustrated over being asked to do things we never thought should be done a certain way or at all. Our response might be to lash out at someone, or it might be to just let it simmer, which soon turns to resentment or some disappointment we have with self, with others, and even with God.
The truth is that sometimes things don’t work out the way we planned. Sometimes people disappoint us. Sometimes we disappoint ourselves. And sometimes we are disobedient. Sooner or later the Holy Spirit’s prompting through scripture might just nudge you that it is time to move on, to let go, to forgive and to obey God’s next assignment.
The other line that jumped out at me today was when God told Samuel this: “For I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” Maybe it’s semantics or maybe it means something different. God didn’t say: I have provided Israel with a king among Jesse’s sons. He said he had provided a king for himself.
It seems that God is indicating complete ownership of not only his people but also of his grand plan. God was revealing a glimpse of his bigger narrative of a world that was broken since Adam and Eve’s sin and needed not just a king, but a savior. God chose to fulfill his plan by choosing a king for himself who would one day, through his lineage, bring forth the savior of the world, Jesus. This shepherd, servant king would take the sins of the world onto himself so that not just Israel but all of humanity might be reconciled to God.
God owns the whole story, and he is actively working his grand plan through the smaller stories that you and I are involved in each day. So maybe today it’s time to let go of something we are holding onto, and accept that, just as God provided a king for himself centuries ago, he might be providing something for himself today, and it might involve you and me be willing to simply say yes to God’s call.
Father, thank you for the freshness of your word. Help us to daily seek to see you and hear from you in scripture and through your Holy Spirit, that we might embrace the things you are doing to fulfill your plan. Use us however you want to write your grand story. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
1 Samuel 16:1-5; Hebrews 4:12-13; 1 Samuel 8:6-12, 14-22 ESV
Photo by Stormseeker on Unsplash
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