Who is our God?

“Are all your sons here?”

            “There remains the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.”

            “Send, and bring him.”

            Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome.  The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.”  Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him.”

            Thus David, the ancestor of Jesus is anointed by God’s prophet Samuel to become King of Israel.  How did the story get here?

“Yes, I have sinned,” Saul replied. “I disobeyed the Lord's command and your instructions. I was afraid of my men and did what they wanted. But now I beg you, forgive my sin and go back with me, so that I can worship the Lord.”

“I will not go back with you,” Samuel answered.  “You rejected the Lord's command, and he has rejected you as king of Israel.”

Then Samuel went to Ramah, and King Saul went home to Gibeah. As long as Samuel lived, he never again saw the king; but he grieved over him. The Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king of Israel.

            Who is this God we worship?  He chooses a people to be his own special people in all the earth, the people through whom he will call all the earth to himself.  His chosen people sin and do not live the holy lives he commanded them to live.  They demand that God give them a king though he has said he would be their king.  Though their intentions are sinful, God stays with his people, communicating through Samuel the Prophet, and God gives the king they request. 

            That King, Saul, is not up to the task.  He falls short and is rejected completely.  What does God do next?  God leads Samuel to another king.  But first, Saul has to get the message that he’s out of God’s plan. 

What is it to discover that you’ve become so distant from God that you find yourself cut off from his work in the world?  God created humankind to be in relationship with Him.  The primary reason we exist is to worship God, know God, and delight in God.  The plan from early on, back to the days of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, was humankind would relate to God through his chosen people.  Saul was chosen to be king over that people.   But his reliance on his own strength was too great; his relationship with God too weak.  He was cut out of the plan.

            In this passage Samuel tells Saul God has cut him off.  No amount of pleading – imagine the king pleading – will alter things.  Samuel emphatically declares.  God will not relent or change God’s mind.  Yet, God is sorry he chose Saul. 

            God is sorry?  Does this mean God made a bad choice?  God messed up?  Or does it mean God knew all along that Saul would fail?  God knew Saul’s sins would eventually disqualify, but though it was Saul’s own fault, God stilled loved him and sorrowed over him. 

Remember Jesus riding into Jerusalem.  He knew his death was imminent.  He still went and wept as he did.  His tears were for the people in the city who had God in the flesh among them and couldn’t see it.  When we suffer pain, loss, disappointment, and rejection, and it all comes about because of our own sins and our failure to rely on God and our insistence on doing things our way and relying on our own strength, when that happens does God weep as Jesus did?  Does God sorrow over us even when our suffering is something we bring on ourselves?

Is that why God was sorry for Saul?  God’s sorry when sin wrecks our lives.  When we hurt, God hurts.

As long as Samuel lived, he never again saw the king; but he grieved over him. The Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king of Israel.

 The Lord said to Samuel, How long will you go on grieving over Saul? I have rejected him as king of Israel. But now get some olive oil and go to Bethlehem, to a man named Jesse, because I have chosen one of his sons to be king.

How can I do that? Samuel asked. If Saul hears about it, he will kill me!

Who is this God we worship?  He’s a God who keeps to the plan.  He’s sorry over sin and love people even when we reject him and hurt ourselves and others as we do, but he doesn’t change the plan to accommodate us.

Saul didn’t fulfill the role God had for him.  God would find someone else for that role.  Samuel’s role was to be God’s voice.  Go to Bethlehem.  When I tell you, announce the king.  And anoint him.

Obviously this was a problem for Samuel because the only ones who knew the change in the story at this point were Samuel, Saul, and God.  The people of Israel and the people of Judah knew Samuel was powerful and a prophet of God.  They also knew Saul still wore the crown and controlled the Israelite army.  And word spread and people knew that Saul and Samuel weren’t on the same page.

As faithful as Samuel was, he didn’t like the plan.  He did what he was told, but voiced his objections along the way.  The villagers in Bethlehem certainly didn’t want to be caught in a war between God and the army.  They were scared.  They trembled, Samuel went forward reluctantly, Saul ruled clumsily and sinfully, and we have this story that leaves us asking, “Who is this God?”

            A God with a plan.

            A God who is sorry.

            A God who sorrows over us and loves us and hurts as we hurt.  But he still sticks to His standard of holiness and His plan.

            A God who helps us be sneaky?

Now get some olive oil and go to Bethlehem, to a man named Jesse, because I have chosen one of his sons to be king.

How can I do that? Samuel asked. If Saul hears about it, he will kill me!

The Lord answered, Take a calf with you and say that you are there to offer a sacrifice to the Lord.³ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will tell you what to do. You will anoint as king the man I tell you to.

 Samuel did what the Lord told him to do and went to Bethlehem, where the city leaders came trembling to meet him and asked, Is this a peaceful visit, seer?

Yes, he answered. I have come to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come with me.He also told Jesse and his sons to purify themselves, and he invited them to the sacrifice.

            Since when is worship a covert method of avoiding the notice of the king who wants to kill you?  God could reach a divine hand down and flatten Saul.  God doesn’t act that way, at least not all the time.  God made the sun stand still in the sky for Joshua; open a path right through the Red Sea for Moses; raised Tabitha and others from the dead.  Sometimes God does things we cannot explain in any categories we possess.  Much of the time, God acts within history. 

            Within the history of painful racism, God worked through men like William Wilberforce and Martin Luther King JR and women like Rosa Parks to show all people are made in God’s image and all people have beauty, dignity, and worth.  Within the horrors of the Holocaust, God worked through Corrie Ten Boom and others to show the world what His compassion looks like.  Within the history of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Anointed Son of God there would be a protracted battle – war between David (Jesus’ ancestor) and Saul.  The beginnings of that conflict come when God honors Samuel’s fear and gives him a way of finding the next king even while the current king still reigned.

            Kingdoms and governments and armies and empires have no say in the ways of God.  God is all powerful.  But, God has opted, and God has the choice, to work through existing human systems to accomplish God’s purposes.  You’re a prophet, Samuel.  Go to Bethlehem and worship.  Speak the word of the Lord.  Do what you do.

            You’re a homemaker.  You’re a firefighter.  You’re a nurse.  You’re a student.  You wait tables.  You do research.  Do your work to the very best of your ability, with professionalism and commitment to excellence.  Do your work knowing that God created and sustains the world in which you work.  As you do your work, express the love of God by being patient, courteous, compassionate, and true with the people around you, and when the Holy Spirit prompts, point those around you to Jesus.

            Samuel, you’re a prophet do what you do.

Samuel did what the Lord told him to do and went to Bethlehem, where the city leaders came trembling to meet him and asked, Is this a peaceful visit, seer?

 
Yes, he answered. I have come to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come with me. He also told Jesse and his sons to purify themselves, and he invited them to the sacrifice.

When they arrived, Samuel saw Jesse's son Eliab and said to himself, This man standing here in the Lord's presence is surely the one he has chosen.

But the Lord said to him, Pay no attention to how tall and handsome he is. I have rejected him, because I do not judge as people judge. They look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart.

Then Jesse called his son Abinadab and brought him to Samuel. But Samuel said,
No, the Lord hasn't chosen him either.

Jesse then brought Shammah. No, the Lord hasn't chosen him either,
Samuel said.¹⁰ In this way Jesse brought seven of his sons to Samuel. And Samuel said to him, No, the Lord hasn't chosen any of these.

Then he asked him, Do you have any more sons?

            Who is this God, the one who receives the worship, when we sing our songs and raise our hands and lift our prayers and open our hearts to Heaven?  I do not judge as people judge.  They look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart.  When the God who works through human systems and sorrows over sin and sticks to the plan and watches over us and whose Holy Spirit resides in us when we put our faith in Jesus sees us doing what we do (fight fires, treat patients, examine data, serve food, etc), what does God see?  This God is a God who looks at the heart – the very essence of who the person truly is.  When God looks deep into you or deep into me, what does God see?

            David had all kinds of problems.  All his marriages were bad.  He routinely took women from other men.  He loved the Lord with all His heart, but he cared little for other people unless they could help him.  He was as far from perfect as Cameron Indoor is from the Dean dome.  But God looked past the sins and flaws and shortcomings, just as God looks past our sins and flaws and shortcomings, and God saw a man who loves God and God said that’s the next king. 

            What does God see when God sees our hearts? 

Jesse, do you have any more sons?

Jesse answered, There is still the youngest, but he is out taking care of the sheep.

Tell him to come here, Samuel said. We won't offer the sacrifice until he comes.¹² So Jesse sent for him. He was a handsome, healthy young man, and his eyes sparkled. The Lord said to Samuel, This is the one—anoint him!¹³ Samuel took the olive oil and anointed David in front of his brothers. Immediately the spirit of the Lord took control of David and was with him from that day on.

God is not looking for anyone here to become the King of Israel and forbearer of the Messiah.  That job has already been filled.

God is looking – this entire story is about a God who sees.  God already has a plan.  We know it will be carried out.  God is looking for people to be part of God’s story.  How do we qualify?  It’s all about what is in our hearts. 

Do we have a deep desire for God?  Do we yearn to know His purposes and plans?  Do we seek to live lives that are pleasing to Him?  When things are at their very worst in our lives, do we first think to turn to God before anything else?

David, son of Jesse, King of Israel, ancestor of Jesus was a man after God’s own heart.  God wants us to give Him our hearts.  This morning, as we enter into a time a prayer, and you are invited to give God your heart, your belief, your passion, and your love.  Give God your intellect, rationale, and reason. 

Identify where you are spiritually, emotionally, and mentally.  From that place – where your mind and heart are functioning right now – seek God.  Invite the Holy Spirit of God into you, into your mind, heart, and spirit.  Offer yourself to God completely.  Invite God to move to the center of your world – your work, your family, your play, your life. 

Ask God to give you a purified heart and ask God to help you live out the life He’s calling you to live.