Automatic Transcript Generated:
Wendy:
So Mark asks, Why did God choose Saul to be the first King of Israel? And Jonathan the first Prince? If David’s line was always going to be the promised one?
Jay:
Yeah, I would say first, was it always going to be and maybe on one level, always was. But God still gives us a chance. God still gives people an opportunity to make decisions and suffer the consequences of it. Because if God doesn’t let it happen, doesn’t let us still make the choice and go through the exercise. We have no free will and life is meaningless.
Jay:
Everything’s predispent. What’s the point of it? But there’s also another interesting reason, I think, why God started with Saul first, because if we go back to first Samuel, the God’s people rejected God. They said, we don’t want you guys to be our leader anymore. We want a King like everybody else as a King. And Samuel and God were like, what are you doing, guys? That’s a terrible idea. King is totally going to take advantage of you. It’s going to be bad for you. Now you’re going to pay a ton of taxes.
Jay:
They’re going to draft your men. He’s going to take your women. No, we want a King. We know what we’re doing. So God starts him off with a man, and he gives them a man that they would like. And we see this in one Samuel ten. So first Samuel, chapter ten, starting at verse 23, it says, so they ran and brought him, referring to Saul, who became King Saul from there. And when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.
Jay:
And Samuel said to the people, do you see him? Who the Lord has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people. So all the people shouted said, Long live the King. So God started off by giving Israel the King that they would want this tall guy. I mean, he had the height to lead that stature, looked at him and just knew, yes, this guy is destined for greatness. So this is what God picked as the first King. But how did things turn out?
Jay:
We see Samuel. 1313 and 14. It says there’s a test. God was putting Saul to the test. He was supposed to wait for Samuel to offer an offering. And Saul is freaking out and goes and does it himself. And then Samuel shows up and says, Saul, you have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord, your God, which he commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your Kingdom forever over Israel. But now your Kingdom shall not continue. So it says. But now, because of what you have done.
Jay:
So God’s plan was to permanently establish Saul. But now, after he failed his test of faith, right? I never connected back to earlier talk. He did not show faith in God by his words. His works revealed he did not have faith. And so God strips him of his Kingdom. And the Lord has sought for himself a man after his own heart. Saul is saying, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over his people because you Saul have not kept what the Lord commanded you.
Jay:
So Saul did not have the faith. Saul did not have the works. He lost the Kingdom of that. And then God then goes for David, a man after his own heart. And if we follow the story of David, David, I mean, Samuel goes to David’s family and he goes through all the brothers. And Samuel is looking at each brother is like, oh, man, this one looks like a King. This guy looks like he really has stuff together. And then God’s like, no, that’s not him. I’m looking at the heart.
Jay:
I’m looking on the inside. And then they go from brother to brother to brother. And none of the brothers, they are the King. Where is it? Oh, it’s our little brother who’s over in the field. He’s the last one that’s not here. And that ends up being David right, the least of all the brothers. And not that David wasn’t good looking. Not that David wasn’t kingly material, but God was looking on the inside and doing still some things that were counter intuitive, unlike what he did with Saul.
Jay:
And because David was faithful, God was forever faithful with them. God sealed the Covenant with David. If you look at second Samuel chapter seven, we see there where God does come and promise to David forever. His house would stand. And we do see that that promise was eventually fulfilled with Jesus being up the line of David. And Jesus Kingdom will be a Kingdom forever and ever. And also this fulfills Deuteronomy 79, where Jesus says, therefore, know that the Lord your God, he is God, the faithful God who keeps Covenant and mercy for one0 generations with those who love him and keep his Commandments.
Jay:
And David did that. And God has fulfilled his promise. Saul was not faithful, not faithful demonstrated by his works, not keep God’s Commandments. And it was stripped from him. And that could have happened to David too.
Tina:
Yeah, that’s true. I always liked, though. There is a verse where David was worried about his relationship with God. And he said, I will not deal with you after how I dealt with Saul. But you’ll have the shore mercies of David. And I always loved that promise to David. And I know it wasn’t because God’s favorite David just because it was because David did have a gun, you know, heart after God. And he really loved God. And even when he messed up, he still had a heart that was tender and wanted to get right with God again.
Tina:
And I think that’s all God really wants.
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