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34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. 35 Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel. 1 The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons." 2 Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me." And the Lord said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, "I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.' 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you." 4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, "Do you come peaceably?" 5 He said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is now before the Lord." 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." 10 Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen any of these." 11 Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here." 12 He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, "Rise and anoint him; for this is the one." 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah. (1 Samuel 15:34 - 16:13 NRSV Bible)
Please welcome Tuesday to your lives and hearts, dear ConCafe Family; and this day and your life, Friend. be renewed by the presence and peace of the Lord Jesus in your hearts during this day. May our decisions be guided by the Holy Spirit, and may our actions reflect the love placed in our hearts by God Himself. I ask again for your prayers for the family of Mr. Jim Dorff, former bishop of our conference; he was the bishop who selected me to be a district superintendent and who shared a lot of wisdom and calm during my years of knowing and working with him on the Cabinet with him. He had a wonderful sense of humor, and a tenderness when it came to sharing God's word with us in the intimate setting that is the cabinet. Tears would flow when he broke the break and shared the cup; he was truly invested in those sacred moments. Please continue to pray for those for whom we have been praying and may God be glorified in our lives each moment. Pray for one another. Pray for yourselves.
Last week the spoiled kids of Israel demanded a king. They were warned and strongly advised about the shortcomings of a king, but they screamed and hollered and they got their way. In what is a long story, we skip forward to today's OT reading where Saul has been removed from his office as king. Saul had his own ideas about ruling and worshiping and this overlap caused God to be sorry that He had made Saul king to begin with (See verse 35 above). It also made Samuel grieve over this, for he anointed him as king, worked with him, and died around the time Saul started pursuing David to try and kill him. The transitiion between these acts of God removing Saul and David being anointed and actually installed as king was a long process. Saul continued to reign as king but knew he was on the outs and dies in battle. An interesting note is that the day before he dies, he violated one of his own laws that prophibited witches and goes to the witch at Endor and makes her conjure up the prophet Samuel's spirit to ask what was coming his way. "1 Samuel 28:18 Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord, and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you today. 19 Moreover the Lord will give Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines; and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me; the Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines." Another interesting note; there was a television series where one of the witches was named Endora. Hmm, where do you suppose the writers ever found that name? (What was the name of that series?).
The second part of the passage deals with Samuel having to go anoint a new king. Saddened by the loss of Saul, he was fearful of the reception and reaction he could expect from the people from that area, and especially if Saul got wind of this divine decision, but God comforts and guides him. Most of us are familiar with the story; Samuel knows the new king will be the son of Jesse of Bethlehem and as he struggles to decipher who it may be, God gives some key words that should bless us. Verse 7 says, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." It is interesting to note that Saul's election was in part based on the fact that he was handsome and tall. This quote sums up Saul's appearance: “he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.” Saul's physical appearance was accentuated when he stood. ... That is the Bible's language concerning King Saul. He was so tall that his head and shoulders could be seen towering above the crowd of Jews of average height! That's tall. And even today, people tend to elect kings and other officials based on their stature; which many times showed that height really doesn't make up for integrity, compassion, wisdom, and conviction. And this certainly is true when a 15 year-old is made king over Israel. The Bible says, "he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome." It doesn't mention he was tall. But, he was only 15 and more than likely was not yet finished stretching out!
It is a blessing to know that God knows each of us intimately. The Bible says that God knew us even when we were being formed in the womb; and so when it comes to the outside, like the mustard seed, it is the inside that counts. It is also based on the faith one holds and uses; and how one makes God real or not in their daily lives. So, if we use a mirror to decide for us whether we are good enough to serve God, most of us would vote NO. But, if we use the eyes of faith, with the mind of Christ, and the heart's desires; God would vote YES. Part of my personal struggle with saying yes to God when He first called me into ministry rested on what I could see in the mirror and what the tapes in my mind quoting people that thought they knew had said; usually negative. And had I listened to those voices, there's no telling the path my life would have taken. But I praise God that I listened to His voice and His guidance. It led me into ministry, into the love that my wife had for me even before saying , "I do," and the family that we were able to shape to contribute to society. The popular song of recent years said, "Oh what I would do to have The kind of faith it takes To climb out of this boat I'm in Onto the crashing waves To step out of my comfort zone Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is And He's holding out His hand
But the waves are calling out my name And they laugh at me Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed The waves they keep on telling me Time and time again. "Boy, you'll never win!" "You'll never win!"
But the voice of truth tells me a different story The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!" The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory" Out of all the voices calling out to me I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth
Dear one, it matters not where you've been or what you have done; you're right at the point of asking, again if necessary, for God to guide you over obstacles and setbacks, negativity and fear, and onto the road that leads to blessings and victory. And it will happen only when we listen to His voice!
PRAYER: Awesome God, how far many of us have come, thanks to You; but we know there are still others lagging a bit behind where they should be; we lift those people up, along with ourselves, to rise above the waves of past marred histories and terrible memories, and into the smooth waters of faith and trust in you. Grant us victory and blessings as we seek to serve You and Yours; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Shine like never before the conviction in your heart and mind that you belong to God and with God, all things are possible. There are many who are still in darkness that await your light!
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
