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Choosing A King.
--1 SAM. 10:17-27.--JULY
12.--
Golden Text:--"The Lord is our king;
he will save us."--Isa. 33:22.
ALTHOUGH
the people of Israel
were self-willed in the matter of desiring a king like the nations about them,
it is to their credit that they desired the Lord, through his prophet Samuel,
to make the selection of the one who should fill the office. Undoubtedly,
however, men of the various tribes were ambitious for the office. To suppose
otherwise would be to disregard our knowledge of and experience with human
nature. If the petty offices of ward and town politics are eagerly sought and
almost fought for at the primaries and polls today, what wire pulling might we
not expect if it were determined that a king should be chosen? We fear that a
contrast between the people of Christendom and the Israelites on this subject
would result unfavorably to the former. In all the countries constituting
"Christendom" how few there are who, when choosing their officers,
give any consideration whatever to the Lord's choice for the position! Even
when we think of the choice of ministers in the denominations of the Church
nominal, we find the contrast rather unfavorable; for the choice of a bishop or
minister is indeed, apparently, very rarely referred to the Lord exclusively,
with the desire to have his will and his choice, and none other, selected.
Guided
by the Lord, Saul, a young man from an influential family, of the tribe of
Benjamin, was anointed to be king. He was brought to the prophet for the
anointing by a peculiar train of circumstances. His father owned a valuable
herd of asses which strayed away, and Saul, after seeking them in vain,
appealed to the prophet for assistance in locating them, and thus he showed his
confidence in God, and in Samuel as his prophet. Nothing is recorded respecting
the young man's interest in religious matters up to this time; but he is
mentioned favorably as a "goodly" young man. After his anointing he
kept the matter secret with becoming modesty, waiting for the Lord's plan to
develop more fully and to bring him ultimately into prominence before the
nation. It is quite probable that this secretiveness was at the instigation of
Samuel.
In
due time Samuel sent word to the Elders of Israel to meet him at Mizpeh
(watch-tower), and upon their arrival the matters of this lesson followed. Samuel
rehearsed to them the Lord's favor as it had been [R3218
: page 205] with them during the previous centuries, beginning with
their miraculous deliverance from Egypt. He impressed upon them the
fact that all of the Lord's care over them had been for their good; that no
king could have done them better service than their great King; and that no
government could have been more to their happiness than that they had enjoyed
and which they were now rejecting in their request for a king, which petition
the Lord had determined to grant. In harmony with this they had assembled--not
all the people, but representatives from all the tribes and from the various
families of each tribe. Ignoring the anointing of Saul already accomplished,
Samuel proceeded to cast lots, that the people might thus know that the choice
to be made was the Lord's choice and not Samuel's. It was the custom at that
time to have the High Priest's ephod in use on such occasions, and a pocket in
the ephod was made the receptacle for slips of paper, or sometimes for the
precious stones representing the different tribes and families. First, a choice
was made amongst the tribes to determine in which one would be found the man
whom the Lord had chosen to become their king. Doubtless the princes of the
tribe of Ephraim remembered the good promises prophetically given by Jacob
respecting them, and probably thought that the Lord's choice would fall upon
their tribe. The princes of Manasseh may also have remembered the good promises
respecting their tribe, and may not have been without hope respecting the lot. The
men of Judah,
unquestionably, would call to mind the promise that a lawgiver should come from
Judah,
and would have strong hopes respecting the result of the lot. But when the lot
was cast, when the hand pulled forth from the ephod pocket the stone
representing the tribe of Benjamin, the matter was decided, and in general the
people bowed to the Lord's decision. Next, the leading families, or clans, of
the tribe of Benjamin were representatively placed in the ephod, and the hand
drew forth as the Lord's choice the name representing the family of Matri; and
again, the various members of the family of Matri were representatively placed
in the ephod bag, and the hand drew forth the name of Saul, the son of Kish. Thus
was publicly demonstrated the Lord's choice, which the prophet and Saul himself
already knew. We can imagine the stir and commotion to find the man thus chosen
to be the king, respecting whom but few of the people seemed to have the
slightest knowledge. They sought him everywhere, but could not find him, and
again the inspired oracle was sought to indicate whether he would be found, and
where. The Lord's answer was that he had hidden himself amongst the stuff-- the
baggage which, as was the custom, was probably piled up, surrounding the camp
as a barricade. Saul evidently had full confidence in the Lord's foreknowledge
and that the lots drawn would confirm the prophet's declaration to him and his
anointing. The modesty which led him to hide and, to some extent, to shrink
from the honor to be conferred, is very gratifying to all right-minded people. Would
that we could see more of this modesty amongst the chief ones of this world and
also amongst the chief ones of nominal spiritual Israel! We should each mark the
beauty of such humble-mindedness, and seek to cultivate the same quality in our
own hearts and lives--however different this may make us from the majority of
the world.
When
Saul stood amongst the people he was head and shoulders above them, probably
seven feet tall. His natural qualities would thus appeal strongly to the people
of his time, who even in picturing their rulers represented them as many times
larger than the average man. Then Samuel introduced him, saying, "See ye
him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the
people?" and the responsive shout of the people was, "God save the
king!" or literally, Lord, let the king live--the usual greeting to their
kings.
We
are reminded of the fact that God is now about to establish a Kingdom in the
world and is choosing a King. The Millennial kingdom might not be necessary in
the form in which it will be introduced, were the people in the right attitude
of heart to desire and to obey the divine will; but they prefer to have the
laws of righteousness enforced rather than voluntarily to submit
themselves to the Lord. In due time they shall have a king, Immanuel--like Saul
in some respects, but very unlike him in others. The Lord is now selecting this
King Immanuel. He is passing by the great tribes, the prominent people, and
choosing the little and the humble--not many great, not many wise, not many
learned has God chosen, but the poor of this world, rich in faith, to be heirs
of the Kingdom. (1
Cor. 1:26-28.) The selection is going on in the sight of all the
people. They will be witnesses, when all the steps of the election of God have
been taken, that the choice is the Lord's without peradventure; and yet the
Lord foreknew his choice in advance of this public selection. He foreknew Jesus
as the Head of the Church, the Head of the great King; he anointed him in
advance "with the oil of gladness above his fellows," to be King;
yet, so far as the people in general are concerned, they know not the Lord's
anointed--the matter is kept secret for a time. The members of the body of
Christ must all be like the Head. As the Apostle declares, God has
predestinated that every one who shall become a member of that body shall be
"conformed to the image of his Son." (Rom. 8:29.) By and by, when the
outward election is complete, when [R3218 : page
206] the world shall come properly to feel its need for a great King,
search will be made to find the Lord's Anointed, and he will be found at his
second advent. "The desire of all nations shall come"; the Christ of
God will be the desired one of all nations. (The name Saul, singularly enough,
signifies Desired.) As the men of Israel gave a shout when they recognized
Saul's stateliness, so the world of mankind will shout for joy when they shall
realize the presence of the Christ of God, the great King, their deliverer from
Satan, from misrule, from every enemy--the Lord who "must reign till he
hath put all enemies under his feet--the last enemy that shall be destroyed is
death." Not only shall it be true that the Lord's Anointed One shall be
head and shoulders above all others, "the chiefest amongst ten thousand,
the one altogether lovely," but it should also be true to a considerable
extent that all those who are intimately associated with the members of the
body of Christ in the present life--before he is proclaimed King of the whole
world--should be able to recognize the largeness and grandeur of character in
those whom the Lord is choosing for this place of honor in the affairs of men. They
should be able to take knowledge of them that they have been with Jesus, should
see their largeness of heart, their moral heights--should discern in them the
spirit of a sound mind.
The
record is that a band of Israelites, a bodyguard, at once attached themselves
to Saul--men "whose hearts God had touched." They were touched with
the realization that the Lord had made this choice, and with the desire to be
in accord with the Lord and to support the divine will as it concerned the
chosen one, and to cooperate therewith. This is a proper lesson to all of the
Lord's people now. It is because we see Jesus to be the Father's choice that we
unite ourselves to him; because we see the Father's character manifested in him
that we leave all to follow him. Similarly, if we lend our aid, our support to
any human being in connection with the divine plan and service, it should be
simply upon [R3219 : page 206] this
ground--not merely a personal magnetism or favoritism, but because our hearts
are touched by the Lord with a realization of the leader being of his
appointment. Thus our loyalty will always be to God and not to men. Nevertheless,
we shall find ourselves co-laboring in a manner most useful and most helpful in
the Lord's service; coworkers with God and coworkers with all who are his
servants under his appointments. So, doubtless, it will be in the future when
the great King complete has taken the reins of government; the best of mankind
will flock to him, anxious to know and to do his will and to be in full accord
with him as the representative of the heavenly Father and his Kingdom.
The
expression "Sons of Belial" signifies children of the Devil, or
wicked persons--persons out of harmony with God and not submissive to his
arrangements and selections. There are also such in the present time, who are
speaking evil directly or indirectly of such members of the body of Christ as
they have contact with; being out of sympathy with the Lord they are out of
sympathy with all of his arrangements. Their influence either in the nominal
church or out of it is, therefore, against the true interests of the Lord's
cause. There will be such in the Millennial age when the Kingdom shall have
been established, and of these the Lord speaks in the parable, "Those who
would not have me to reign over them." Again they are mentioned by the
Apostle (Acts
3:23) saying, "It shall come to pass that the soul who will not
obey that prophet shall be cut off from amongst the people." However, we
may be sure that they will not be cut off until they have had a full exhibition
of the divine power and mercy;--only such as resist after all these
opportunities and privileges will be counted worthy of the Second Death.
Very
shortly after Saul's appointment to the kingdom he had opportunity to show his
ability in delivering the people, for a neighboring king advanced upon Israel with a
considerable army. Saul gathered his troops from the various tribes, to the
number of 330,000 men, and totally routed Nahash and his army of the Ammonites.
This victory cemented the hearts of the people of Israel to their king, and
they in their loyalty demanded the execution of the sons of Belial who had
spoken against him; but the nobility of King Saul is shown in his refusal to
accede to this suggestion, and his saying, "There shall not a man be put
to death today." So when the power of the glorious King of the Millennial
age shall be manifested in the routing of the enemies of righteousness, the
general sentiment of the world toward him will be loyalty, and then he will
have an opportunity of showing his mercy and forbearance toward those who
during the darkness of the present time have spoken evil of him and sought to
oppose his Kingdom. The declaration shall then go forth that none shall die the
Second Death on account of Adamic weaknesses, blindness and insubordination;
--that none shall die the Second Death except as the result of personal and
wilful sin after having been brought to a knowledge of the truth.
Our
Golden Text is one the sentiments of which should be deeply impressed upon the
hearts of all the Lord's people. The world may cry out, saying, "We have
no king but Caesar," but the Lord's people, the Israelites indeed, will
feel the reverse of this,--that "the Lord is our king." In harmony
with his command, we will honor earthly kings and obey earthly [R3219 : page 207] laws in every particular in
which they do not conflict with the divine law; but, nevertheless, above
earthly kings, our esteem, homage and obedience must be to him whom the Lord
hath appointed, King Immanuel. If he be enthroned in our hearts it will be
comparatively easy for us to be loyal to him in our conduct and in our words,
wherever we may be. If we deny him, he will also deny us; but if we confess him
he will also confess us before the Father and the holy angels--he will save us and ultimately through us as his Church, his body, he will, according to
the original promise, bless all the families of the earth which we, with him,
will then inherit.-- Gal. 3:29.
W.T. R-3218
a : page 204 -1903 r