OR,
THE RESPONSIBLE MAN, AND THE MAN OF
GOD'S CHOICE.
In the Book of Deuteronomy (chapter 17:15-20) God made provision for the day when Israel should desire a king. From whence he was to be taken, what he was not to do, as well as what he was to do—these were set forth by the Lawgiver in that book, and in that portion of it (chapters 12-29.) which treats of laws to be observed by the people when in the enjoyment of their land. Israel entered Canaan; Joshua, and the elders who survived him, passed away; judges were raised up as needed; but as yet no king was appointed over Israel, the only attempt to set one up, which was made previous to the days of Samuel, having proved a miserable failure. (Judg. 9) A king, however, was clearly contemplated by God; and His purposes could not, and cannot, be accomplished without one. Hannah spoke of the king (1 Sam. 2:1010The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed. (1 Samuel 2:10)), but she never saw him. Her first-born, Samuel, however, was commissioned to anoint David in the house of his father Jesse, and in the presence of his brethren, to be the first king on that throne (1 Chron. 29:2828And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honor: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead. (1 Chronicles 29:28)) which is yet to be filled publicly by the Lord Jesus Christ. But ere God marked out David for this office, there was one reigning, by divine permission, over the twelve tribes of Israel. Saul had been anointed by Samuel to be captain over God's people Israel, to save them out of the hand of the Philistines, for God had looked upon His people, because their cry had come unto Him. (1 Sam. 9:1616To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me. (1 Samuel 9:16).)
Saul was given to Israel in answer to their request. But was this request unforeseen by God? A skeptic may affirm that the portion of Deuteronomy above referred to could not have been extant, or known, to the prophet, else why did he seek to turn the people from their purpose? The fact was that they asked for a king through unbelief. The motive first put forward,. that Samuel was old, and his sons walked not in his ways, was not the real reason which made them anxious to have a king. Samuel was, it is true, displeased at their request. It seemed like a personal slight in his eyes. In measure that was true; but God showed him that Israel's conduct on this occasion was only in harmony with their ways since they came out of Egypt. (1 Sam. 8:6-86But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. 7And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. 8According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. (1 Samuel 8:6‑8).) And far worse than the personal slight put on Samuel was the rejection of the Lord as their King, for the proximate cause of their request was the invasion of Israel's territory east of Jordan, by Nahash, king of the children of Ammon. (Chap. xii. 12.) In wilfulness and unbelief they clamored for a king: “We will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.” (Chap. viii. 19,20.) Their words, then, clearly intimated distrust of the Lord's care of them, and interest in them. Unbelief really lay at the bottom of that popular movement—for popular movement it was; and the conditions under which they asked for a king were certainly not such as God could approve of.
That they wore to have one was plain. This was no after-thought in God's mind. But their motives for desiring one were wrong. Scripture details all this to us (1 Sam. 8-12), giving the clue to Israel's actions, and furnishing us with a key, the key by which, if any difficulty arises in the mind about Deut. 17, it can be satisfactorily explained; whereas the skeptic would settle the question, as he thinks, by the denial that Deut. 17:14-2014When thou art come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; 15Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. 16But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the Lord hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. 17Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. 18And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: 19And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: 20That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel. (Deuteronomy 17:14‑20) is God's revelation by Moses. The law gave directions about the king, and guidance also for his conduct; but though foretelling the establishment of the kingdom, it did not prescribe the conditions under which they should prefer their request. Did, then, the existence of the law in Deuteronomy diminish their guilt in the matter? Assuredly not. They were wrong in asking for their king when and how they did, and, as the history shows, he became a hindrance to them. But to any true-hearted person among them, how comforting such a portion of the law must have been, as it showed that, whatever in their wilfulness and unbelief, they might do, God had given directions which, if carried out, would be for the welfare of all concerned when a king should be set over them. A saint of Samuel's day would surely have valued that law as a proof of Jehovah's forethought for His people. A critic of this day would deny its authenticity as part of the law given by Moses. The people's wish was for a king to fight their battles with the Ammonites; the Lord's thought was that the king should save them out of the hand of the Philistines. (1 Sam. 9:1616To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me. (1 Samuel 9:16).) Saul answered to the desire of Israel, but fell miserably short of the thoughts of God. Had God, in the days of Samuel, ceased to care for His people? Israel evidently seemed to think this. They considered only the pressing evil of the moment, that of Nahash, the Ammonite, acting against them from without. The Lord thought of a worse evil, the power of the uncircumcised within the land. Nothing less than deliverance from that would meet His desires on their behalf. And David, in whose choice the people had no part, and for whom they had expressed—no wish, carried out the mind of God as to the Philistines, by first slaying their champion, and subsequently subduing them, and taking Metheg-Ammah, or Gath, out of their hands (2 Sam. 8:11And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them: and David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines. (2 Samuel 8:1); 1 Chron. 18:11Now after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them, and took Gath and her towns out of the hand of the Philistines. (1 Chronicles 18:1)); and finally destroying, with his captains, the remnant of the giants that remained. (2 Sam. 21:15-2215Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint. 16And Ishbi-benob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David. 17But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succored him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel. 18And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which was of the sons of the giant. 19And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. 20And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant. 21And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David slew him. 22These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants. (2 Samuel 21:15‑22).) But this introduces us to the kingdom in connection with David. To the histories of Saul and of David—both anointed of God, and on earth together—let us now turn.
Between these two—both kings by divine appointment—there are great and important differences. Saul was not a converted man, though, after his anointing by Samuel, God gave him another heart, so that the aim of his life was changed, and his thoughts ran so far in another channel. (1 Sam. 10:99And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day. (1 Samuel 10:9).) David was a saint of God, a man after His own heart. (Chap. 13: 14.) Saul too, until he met Samuel, at the instigation of his servant, seems not to have known him. The servant, judging from his language, knew something of the man of God, whereas his master was in ignorance about him (chap. 9: 6); yet the prophet lived within the limits of the tribe of Benjamin, to which Saul and his family belonged. And the yearly circuit of Samuel to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpeh was all within the territory of little Benjamin. Kish was a mighty man of power, and the character of his son was evidently, in his native city, well known (chap. 10: 12); but to Saul, the man of God, the judge, the prophet was, it would appear, a stranger. Could that have been the case had grace previously worked on Saul's heart, and brought him to know God? With David, how different! Tending his father's flock by night, his thoughts turned to God (Psa. 8); and before he entered the lists against Goliath, he had experienced what the power of God could effect, and had known deliverance in the hour of peril. (1 Sam. 17:34-3634And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 35And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 36Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. (1 Samuel 17:34‑36).) Again, Saul comes before us as the responsible man, but David as the man of God's purpose, these two illustrating in some degree the first man and the second Man—Adam and the Lord Jesus Christ. As the responsible man, the continuance of Saul's dynasty depended on his obedience. (1 Sam. 13:1313And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. (1 Samuel 13:13).) David received the kingdom unconditionally. One command only was given to Saul, namely, to wait seven days at Gilgal for Samuel, but that one command he failed to keep. (1 Sam. 10:8; 13:188And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and show thee what thou shalt do. (1 Samuel 10:8)
18And another company turned the way to Beth-horon: and another company turned to the way of the border that looketh to the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness. (1 Samuel 13:18).) In this he resembled Adam. If he had been entrusted with a number of commands from the prophet, and had kept all but one; or if he had been commissioned to do some great thing, which had overtasked his powers to accomplish, his weakness would have been manifested certainly, and we might have regarded him as an unfortunate person; but no such lenient judgment can be passed upon him. All he had to do was to wait fol. Samuel, and it was just in this that he failed. The Philistines pressing upon kraal, Saul could not trust God; so he offered a burnt-offering, and forfeited, for himself and his posterity, the kingdom over Israel. How closely did he resemble Adam, first, in distrusting God, and next, in throwing the blame of his disobedience on the one who had given him the command! “I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; therefore said I, the Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord; I forced myself, therefore, and offered a burnt offering.” (Chap. 13: 11, 12.) Adam charged his sin upon God— “The woman whom thou gavest me to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” (Gen. 3:1212And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. (Genesis 3:12).) Saul held Samuel accountable for his failure: “Thou earnest not within the days appointed.”
But we must not anticipate. Saul, after his anointing by Samuel, was given three signs, by which he would know that God was with him. (1 Sam. 11:1313And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for to day the Lord hath wrought salvation in Israel. (1 Samuel 11:13).) Two men would meet him by Rachel's sepulcher, at Zelzah, in the border of Benjamin, to tell him of the finding of the asses, and of his father's sorrow for his son. Three men would meet him by the oak, àìåï (not plain), of Tabor, on their way to God to Bethel, from whom he was to receive two out of the three loaves that one of them was carrying with him. Further on, at the hill, or Gibeah, of God, where he lived—for he did not go beyond it—(vers. 18, 14), a company of prophets would meet him coming down from the high place, with psaltery, tabret, pipe, and harp, and prophesying; and the Spirit of God would come upon him, and he would prophesy, and be turned into another man. Now these three signs, as they came to pass, might be regarded in two ways, either as simple proofs of the prophetic gift of Samuel, and so would tend to confirm Saul in the thought that he who had foreseen them could not have been mistaken as to God's mind about him; or they might be read, and surely, by one taught of God, would be read, in connection with the associations that such places as Rachel's tomb and Bethel could not fail to recall. Rachel had died just after the birth of Benjamin, who, first called the son of sorrow, was named by Jacob the son of his right hand. To this tribe Saul belonged, and the nation, in the depths of its humiliation, was now to look to him for deliverance from the yoke which pressed so heavily upon it. By the oak of Tabor he received two loaves of bread from the men on their way to Bethel, where God had revealed Himself to Jacob, when the fortunes of Israel's progenitor had been at their lowest point, himself a wanderer from his father's house, because of his sin. The remembrance of God in connection with Bethel might well stimulate any true-hearted person to encourage himself in God, who could act in grace, whatever might be the condition of His people in consequence of their sins; and the homage paid to Saul, by the offer of the two loaves, might strengthen him in the understanding that to him Israel was to look. Then the Spirit of God coming on him at Gibeah of God, where was a garrison of the Philistines, was calculated to teach him that God's power could be put forth in the very presence of the enemy.
Saul was now to be an object of desire, homage was rendered to him, and in the company of the prophets, who could rejoice in God, though Israel had been brought low, the Spirit of God came upon him. (Chap. 10: 10.) At first modest and retiring, he hid himself among the stuff, that is, the baggage of the company gathered together to Mizpeh to learn who was to be their king; but his hiding-place discovered by the Lord, he was brought forth, and welcomed with acclamation. Judged by his stature, there was none like him among all the people. To outward eyes he must have appeared as born to be a king. Hailed as king, he is seen to the greatest advantage at the commencement of his reign; for when the children of Belial brought him no presents, and despised him, he held his peace; and when the opportunity first arose for him to lead Israel in battle, he availed himself of it at once, and planned the attack by which the Ammonites were routed. As the king, the Spirit of God having come upon him, he led Israel to victory; and as king he restrained the popular feeling which would have consigned the children of Belial to death. “The Lord,” he said, “hath wrought salvation in Israel:” not a man, therefore, was to be put to death. (Chap. 11: 18.) To God he ascribes the glory of the victory. So far all appeared promising. Modesty, energy, moderation, these characterized the king.
After this, at Samuel's suggestion, the people assemble at Gilgal to renew the kingdom there. Clearing the prophet of any abuse of power among them, and confessing that they had sinned in asking for a king, they learned that on their obedience, and on that of their king likewise, would depend their preservation from visitations of divine judgment. (Chap. xii. 14, 25.) And this took place at Gilgal, so rich in associations for Israel; for there, on their first entrance into the land, all the uncircumcised among them submitted to that rite, which speaks to us of the putting off of the body of the flesh by the circumcision, of Christ (Col. ii. 11), and might well have reminded them of their uncircumcised state of heart, which moved them to ask for a king. How suggestive, then, to them was Samuel's selection of Gilgal, rather than of Bethel or of Mizpeh!
The king acknowledged by all, the prophet receded from that, place in the foreground which he had occupied up to that time, though he did not disappear off the stage of Israel's history; for whilst it appertained to Saul to lead the army, he could not act aright unless the mind of God was made known to him. This the Lord would communicate by Samuel. (Chap. x. 8; xv. 8.) And with the setting up of the kingdom, we read, for the first time since the days of Joshua, of the formation of a standing army. Hitherto, as occasion required, armies had been raised for special purposes, and were disbanded when the object for which they were gathered was accomplished. Henceforth the nucleus of an army Saul kept around him, reserving for himself on this occasion two thousand, to be with him at Michmash, and one thousand, to be with Jonathan at Gibeah of Benjamin. With the one thousand Jonathan gained the first victory over the Philistines during his father's reign. This was at Geba. The Philistines heard of it, and Saul blew the trumpet through all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.” (Chap. 13: 8.) Jonathan's victory effectually roused the enemy, and people, as the sand which is on the sea-shore for multitude, accompanied by chariots and horses, confronted, at Michmash, the little army of Israel. Truly Israel seemed in a worse plight than ever. Disheartened, distressed, they followed Saul with trembling, who was now in Gilgal, awaiting Samuel's promised visit, according to his word, in chapter 10: 8. The seventh day arrived, but Samuel had not appeared, and the people were scattered from Saul. Forgotten, as he thought, by the prophet, deserted by the people, who clearly had not confidence in him, Saul, waiting no longer, offered the burnt-offering. Samuel then appeared, for the seventh day, though come, had not gone. Now the king failed on this the first time that his obedience was put to the proof. His burnt offering was productive of no divine interposition. The armies of Israel gained no victory that day, for the king stood convicted of disobedience to the Lord his God. He had done foolishly. But the consequences of his sin were not to be confined to himself. His posterity would share in them, for God had sought Him a man after His own heart to be captain over His people, and that man was not of the house of Saul. In this again does Saul resemble Adam, all of whose posterity are involved in the consequences of his act, and another, the second Man, is the One to whom God has turned to accomplish all His will.
Saul had disobeyed, yet he seemed to honor God, for he would not engage in battle till he had offered his burnt-offering. In this there is instruction for us. If God has acted in any remarkable way in the past, there is the tendency in those who have not really the divine mind, for their present circumstances, to resort to the imitation of something, which formerly done, whether in obedience to a divine command, or resulting from spiritual guidance, was fruitful in happy results. Thus Israel, on the first occasion that they met the Philistines at Ebenezer, sought to make use of the ark as a charm, and so brought it, unauthorized by God, into the camp. In the days of Joshua the ark had been in the camp, and had preceded the armed men round the walls of Jericho, till they fell. But we never read of Joshua making use of the ark in a similar manner again. The Israelitish warriors, however, in the days of Eli, evidently recalling to mind that striking passage in their history, commanded its presence among them (1 Sam. 4:8, 48Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. (1 Samuel 4:8)
4So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. (1 Samuel 4:4)), but only to suffer the most humiliating defeat they had ever known. “Israel was smitten, and they fled every man to his tent, and there was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen: and the ark was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.” Was it from lack of power that God did not give them the victory? No, for twenty years after, on the same battle-field, at Ebenezer, God gave to Israel a remarkable and decisive victory. Assembled at Mizpeh, not for war, but for confession before God, the Philistines came up in force against them. Alarmed at the advance of the foe, they entreated Samuel to pray for them. The prophet, however, having the mind of God, first offered a burnt-offering, and then cried to God. By his action as we know, he brought the death of Christ in remembrance before God, and the Lord answered his cry by thundering upon the Philistines, and discomfiting them, so that they were smitten before Israel, and then, for the first time, was the Philistine yoke of servitude removed from the neck of the people. (1 Sam. 7:13, 1413So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath; and the coasts thereof did Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. (1 Samuel 7:13‑14).) The Philistines were subdued, åÇéÄÌëÈÌðÀòåÌ, a term not used of Israel's enemies since the gis of Jephthah, and never again met with in connection with the Philistines till David was reigning in power at Jerusalem. (2 Sam. 8:11And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them: and David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines. (2 Samuel 8:1); 1 Chron. 18:11Now after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them, and took Gath and her towns out of the hand of the Philistines. (1 Chronicles 18:1).) The haughty uncircumcised people of Philistia never bowed down their necks in token of submission whilst Saul, the son of Kish, wielded the scepter in Israel.
Now, in a similar way to that in which Israel acted on the first occasion at Ebenezer, Saul acted at Gilgal. Jonathan had smitten a garrison of the Philistines which was in Gabe, thus bringing, as a consequence, the enemy in full force against Saul and his little army. Dispirited, demoralized, forgetful of God's former intervention on their behalf, and having no confidence in God, their king, or themselves, they “hid themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits. And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.” (1 Sam. 13:1-71Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, 2Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Beth-el, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent. 3And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear. 4And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal. 5And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Beth-aven. 6When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits. 7And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. (1 Samuel 13:1‑7).) In this state of matters it was that the king offered the burnt-offering, and, doubtless, remembering the effect of Samuel's burnt sacrifice at Mizpeh, he expected a similar result. But he had acted in direct opposition to the prophet's command. Hence, as Israel learned that the mere presence of the ark in the camp could not ensure them the victory, Saul discovered that his sacrifice produced not the results which probably he anticipated. Imitation will not avail in the work of God. We cannot command God's presence or power as men resort to a charm.
Saul's disobedience patent, his want of faith was afterward rebuked, and that by the faith of his son, who, with his armor-bearer, climbed up a rock on his hands and feet, and routed a garrison of the uncircumcised. Now the host of the Philistines in the field trembled, the garrison trembled, and the spoilers likewise, and the earth quaked, when Jonathan and his armor-bearer had smitten just twenty men. Hearts and the earth are both in God's hands, and where faith is in exercise, He can make the stout heart to quail, and the earth under them to shake. But the enemy, be it remarked, was as vaunting as ever, till Jonathan and his armor-bearer assumed the offensive. They had first to strike; then God acted, and a trembling seized the host of Philistia. But where did this take place? Just where Saul had been afraid of his opponents. At Michmash; eastward of Bethaven, the Philistines, by their presence, had utterly cowed Saul and Israel. From Michmash the battle, on the day of Jonathan's victory, passed over unto Bethaven, and Israel smote them from Michmash unto Aijalon. (Chap. 13:5; 14: 23, 31.) As on the battle-field of Ebenezer, where Israel had lost the ark, the Philistines were subsequently subdued; so, where Saul had been afraid of them, Jonathan, by his faith in God, procured for the people a victory. For it was not under better auspices, as men would say, that he engaged his opponents. The position remained unchanged; but faith in God, which sees things as He sees them, made Jonathan view the Philistines in their true light as uncircumcised ones (chap. 14:6); and, counting on the power of God, he went forward to victory, of the full fruits of which, however, Israel were deprived by the foolish behavior of Saul. Now, for a time the Philistines were checked, and Saul could turn his attention and his arms against his enemies on every side, “against Moab, against the children of Ammon, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines.”
But whilst gaining victories, and whithersoever he turned vexing his enemies, it was left for David to subdue each one of these. Nothing permanent could Saul effect. He was a warrior, that was true; he delivered Israel out of the hand of them that spoiled them; but for decisive results in battle with these different enemies, Israel had to wait till David reigned in Jerusalem. In the catalog of Saul's wars one other enemy is briefly mentioned in chapter xiv. 48 “He gathered an host, and smote the Amalekites.” But this expedition ended most disastrously for Saul; so it is related at length in the following chapter.
“Amalek,” said Balaam, “was the first of the nations, but his latter end shall be that he perish forever.” (Num. 24:2020And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever. (Numbers 24:20).) God had not forgotten what he did to Israel, narrated in Ex. 17:8-168Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. 10So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. 14And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. 15And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi: 16For he said, Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. (Exodus 17:8‑16). Now the time had come for the execution of divine vengeance, and to Saul was entrusted the duty of carrying out God's before-announced purpose. (Ex. 17:1414And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. (Exodus 17:14).) Generations had come and gone since the Lord had sworn that He would utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. Had He forgotten His oath? No. The lapse of time made no change in His mind, and the hour having arrived, Saul is commissioned to carry it out. But in that he failed, sparing Agag, and the best of the flocks and of the herds. His disobedience was immediately dealt with. “Because,” said Samuel, “thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, He hath also rejected thee from being king.” (Chap. 15: 28.) He lost the kingdom for his family when he disobeyed the word of the prophet, which was the command of the Lord. He was himself rejected from being king, when he spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites, and the best of the flocks, and of the herds. Agag was slain by Samuel, Saul was rejected, and now a new person comes on the scene—a man after God's own heart. The kingdom was rent that day from Saul, and given, in God's counsels, to David, though he was not yet manifested as the man of God's choice. From that time, too, Samuel came no more to see Saul till the day of his death. They did meet, however, once in the interval when Saul was made to feel that the power of the Spirit of God was stronger than that of a demon. (Chap. 19:24.)
In the midst of this sorrowful history, it is a refreshment to read of one heart which entered into it all in real sorrow. “It grieved Samuel” when the Lord told him of Saul's disobedience, “and he cried unto the Lord all night.” And again, “Samuel mourned for Saul.” He had felt his own rejection by Israel, but he did not, as nature might have dictated, exult over the fall of the one who in some degree occupied the place he had filled. Nor was he indifferent to the king's sinfulness. How should the servant of God be unconcerned at the open disobedience of the man whom, by God's command, he had anointed to be king over His people? Samuel mourned for Saul. He felt it all deeply. In Saul there seemed no conscience work. “I have sinned, yet honor me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God.” Such was Saul's utterance, which evinced how little a sense he had of the gravity of his offense. Amalek was God's enemy. Saul had not taken God's part in the matter, as he had been commanded, and all his anxiety seemed to be not to lose his place in the estimation of men, but there was no indication that he humbled himself before God. Samuel mourned for Saul, who did not mourn for himself. Now the probation of the responsible man has ended. He has been tried, and found wanting. But his life is prolonged for a season, and, still wielding the scepter in the place which God had set him, he demonstrates his opposition to God, and his enmity to the man of God's choice.
Here we enter on a new chapter of Israel's history, and we might say a new book of the world's history; for the introduction of David upon the scene was an event of world-wide and of political importance. It is true the theater of the events about which we read, in connection with the son of Jesse, was but a small one, since the land of Canaan, and even the extent of David's kingdom, occupies but a small space on the map of this earth. Mightier kingdoms than David's have existed, more extended sovereignties have been known than he over possessed; but he sat on a throne, and, as its first occupant, on which no Caesar, no emperor, will ever be seated—the throne of the Lord. (1 Chron. 29:2323Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him. (1 Chronicles 29:23).) The kingdom given to him was the first public step taken by God in connection with the establishment of the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ over Israel. God's purposes must be accomplished; so, when the responsible man fails in carrying them oat, another one, the man of God's purpose, is raised up to fulfill them. Saul was not the king of God's choice. The Lord had indeed hearkened to the wish of the people; He had given them a king, and victories they had gained under his banner. Were they satisfied with things as they were? God was not. So now, unasked by the people, He provided for himself a king. But where was he to be found? No one knew—not even Samuel—till guided of God, He anointed David to be king in the midst of all his brethren. The people, by asking for a king, virtually said that the Lord had not made their interests His object and concern. His selecting a king, without any request from them, after Saul's disobedience, effectually refuted any such imputation. “The Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people” (chap. 13: 14), was a clear intimation from God that the true interests of Israel were then, as much as they had ever been, of real concern to Him. But David was not brought forward till Saul had openly failed. So the Lord Jesus Christ, God's appointed King, was not spoken of till the first man had demonstrated what he was.
The hour had come for the appearance of David, in connection with Israel's history and God's purposes. So Samuel was commissioned to go to Jesse, the Bethlehemite, and, directed by God how to proceed in the matter, the prophet departed on his mission. How far must Saul have got from God, when Samuel feared for his life, if he executed the command entrusted to him. (Chap. xvi. 2.) Seven of Jesse's sons passed before Samuel, but the king was not among them. At length, the least thought of by men, the youngest, who was with the sheep, was sent for, and the prophet, directed by the Lord, poured the anointing oil upon him. Two things characterized him—his beauty, and his outward appearance. Saul was remarkable for the latter (chap. 9: 2), but his heart was not right with God. Eliab, David's elder brother, had personal appearance to commend him, but “the Lord,” Samuel was told, “seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh at the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh upon the heart.” (Chap. 16: 7.) Saul had another heart given to him after he had been anointed. We read nothing of this kind as regards David. The Lord saw his heart, which man could not. Besides this, he “was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to.” (Chap. 16: 12.) So, whilst there was that in him which God alone could fully discern, he was not deficient in that which man could admire. In nothing suited for a king was he to be deficient. His heart, that God saw. His personal appearance all could admire. Thus far as to his person. Here, however, another thing should be noticed. David was anointed king without any conditions as to the continuance of his kingdom and dynasty being expressed or implied, for he was the man of God's purpose, the type of the Lord's Anointed, Christ Jesus our Lord.