Contrasting Saul and Jonathan

Returning again to 1 Samuel, chapter 13 finds Saul preparing to attack the Philistines. Samuel, who at that time served as Israel's chief priest, had commanded Saul to wait for Samuel's arrival, so that Samuel could present a sacrificial offering to God before battle.

With the Philistine army mobilizing, and with his own troops' grumblings, Saul became impatient with waiting for Samuel's arrival and proceeded to offer his own sacrifice. (Israelite law separated the duties of kings and priests, so Saul's actions were illegal.)

Needless to say, Samuel wasn't pleased when he finally arrived, (1 Samuel 13:13, ESV),

You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you.

Now compare Saul's actions to those of his son, Jonathan. In chapter 14, Jonathan leads Israel to military victory, and he does so by placing his faith and trust in God, (1 Samuel 14:6, ESV),

It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.

So on one hand, Saul lost trust in God and took matters into his own hands, which started his long downward spiral in fortunes. On the other hand, Jonathan placed his full faith and trust in God, and came out victorious.

Unfortunately, I think we more often resemble Saul than Jonathan. We grow impatient with situations in life, and we craft schemes -- including schemes that run counter to God's will -- in order to achieve our goals.

Today, let us pray that our faith can more closely resemble Jonathan's.

Gideon Refuses Credit

Judges chapters 6-8 tell the story of Gideon, who, with an army of only 300 men, leads the Israelites to a military victory over the feared Mideonites. Of course, in ancient times victorious military leaders, especially those who overcame seemingly insurmountable odds, were praised with near god-like adoration. The Israelites evidently felt similarly toward Gideon, (Judges 8:22, ESV),

Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”

It would have been very tempting to accept such accolades! Yet, Gideon correctly recognized that the victory came not from his own cleverness; rather, it came from God's infinite power. Accordingly, Gideon responded (Judges 8:23, ESV),

I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.

What an amazing example of humility! In our prayers, let us follow Gideon's example. Whatever comforts, luxuries, possessions, accomplishments, or enjoyments we might have, let us recognize those as coming from God, and praise him accordingly.

Persistence in Prayer

Chapter 18 of Luke begins (ESV),

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

Jesus then proceeds to tell the parable of the "Persistent Widow." The parable involves a widow who continually requests justice from a local public official. For a while, the official refuses her requests, but finally he says to himself (verse 5, ESV)

Because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.

Jesus summarizes the parable by saying (verses 7 and 8, ESV),

Will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily.

So Jesus, himself, is telling us to stay persistent in prayer. Don't give up. God certainly hears us, and we will answer our prayers according to his will.

The Rotting of Earthly Treasure

Let's turn to Exodus 16, which finds the Israelites grumbling in the desert for food. Hearing their grumbles, God rains down a bread-like substance, known as "manna."

God announces that manna will appear on the ground each morning. But there is a specific instruction (Exodus 16:19, NIV),

No one is to keep any of it until morning.

That is, the Israelites are to collect whatever they need for that day, and nothing more. God then will provide more manna the following morning. However, (Exodus 16:20, NIV),

Some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.

In the same way the Israelites were forbidden from taking manna into the following day, we cannot bring earthly treasure with us into the next life. So, a question to reflect upon: Do we, in our day-to-day actions, emphasize earthly treasures more than heavenly spiritual treasures? If so, let's use our prayers today to refocus on God.

Being Content

Proverbs 30:8 (ESV) says,

Give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me.

The point is, we should not place our focus on earthly possessions, successes, and social standings. Rather we just need enough to stay alive, in order to accomplish our one daily job: Exalt God.

Paul says something similar in his first letter to Timothy (6:6,8, ESV),

Godliness with contentment is great gain ... If we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

So today, as we pray, let us thank God for sending us the basic necessities to stay alive: food, clothing, and shelter. Anything we have above and beyond that, we must recognize those as rich blessings from God, and give him due praise.

Pray a Random Psalm

I've posted previously about the Psalms. Today, pick a random Psalm, sit down and read it, and then reflect on its message.

But how do we choose a "random" Psalm? If you have an iPhone, try the following:

1) Open the default calculator app, and turn the phone sideways to access the calculator's scientific functions.
2) Press "Rand," which draws a random numbers between 0 and 1.
3) Multiply that number by 150.
4) Add 1 to that number.
5) Now round down. (So if the number on the screen is 75.67, round down to 75.)

You've just randomly selected a number between 1-150. So that's your random Psalm! Read that Psalm two or three times throughout the day, each time reflecting on its message. Then repeat the process the next day. I believe the Psalms are a gift to us, and this is one way to enjoy them.

(If you don't have an iPhone, the website https://www.random.org/ allows one to choose random numbers between 1-150.)

God's States his Will to Cain

Genesis 4 tells the story of Cain and Abel. Although much can be learned from that famous account, I am particularly struck by God's simple statement of his will to Cain.

First, some background. At the beginning of the story, Cain and Abel both bring offerings to God. For reasons not explicitly stated, God accepts Abel's offering, but rejects Cain's. Perhaps Cain's offering was of low quality. Or perhaps Cain gave his offering grudgingly, rather than through joyful praise of God. Whatever the reason, the situation greatly angered Cain.

God then says to Cain (Genesis 4:6-7, ESV),

Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.

This same message applies to every one of us, every day of our lives. We must "do well," which means keeping his commandments and defeating sin.