1 Samuel - Odessa, Missouri Community of Christ

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54 Dr. Constable's Notes on 1 Samuel 2007 Editionanswer him because Saul was disloyal to Yahweh. The king boldly vowed that anyonewho had sinned, which was only breaking his rule, even Jonathan, would die (v. 39). Godidentified Jonathan rather than Saul as the guilty party. Jonathan had violated the king'scommand though he had not violated God's command. Actually, Jonathan was executingGod's will.Jonathan would have had to die if he had broken Yahweh's command, as Achan did.However, Saul's oath was not on that high a level of authority, though Saul thought it wasas is clear from his insistence that Jonathan die. The soldiers who had gone along withSaul's requests thus far (vv. 36, 40) refused to follow his orders when he called forJonathan's execution (v. 45). They recognized that Saul's rule about abstaining fromeating (v. 24) was not divine law. They correctly saw that even though Jonathan hadviolated Saul's rule he had obeyed God's order to drive Israel's enemies out of the land.Saul's failure to see his role under God and the difference between the Word of God andhis own commands resulted in confusion and disunity. Saul's preoccupation withJonathan's eating against his wishes cost him a great victory over the Philistines.The writer pointed out the reason for Saul's ultimate failure as Israel's king and the reasonfor his own personal destruction in this section (13:1—14:46). Essentially Saul refused toput the will of God above his own personal desires. Careful attention to the text showsthat Saul showed great concern about the observance of religious rituals, but he failed toappreciate the indispensable importance of submitting his will to Yahweh. He sought touse God rather than allowing God to use him. He thought he was above the Mosaic Lawrather than under it. He put himself in the position that God alone rightfully occupied.To illustrate the seriousness of Saul's sin, suppose two parents have two children. Thefirst child has a real heart for what pleases his parents. Whenever this child rarelydisobeys his parents, his conscience bothers him, he confesses his offense to his parents,and he tries to be obedient from then on. This was how David responded to God. Eventhough David sinned greatly by committing adultery and murder, these sins broke hisheart, he confessed them to God, and he returned to following God faithfully. His heartwas one with God's. He wanted to please God and honor God even though he failedmiserably occasionally.The second child in the family in this illustration really wants to run his own life. Hesubmits to parental authority when it seems to him to be to his advantage to do so, but hisheart is really not with his parents. He wants to control his own life and believes he cando a better job of it on his own than by following his parents' instructions. This was Saul'sattitude. Saul never submitted to divine authority unless he felt it was to his advantage todo so. He always wanted to maintain control over his own life.Which of these two children has the more serious problem of disobedience? The secondchild does. Saul's sin was worse than David's. Even though David committed a few greatsins, God did not cut off his dynasty or his rule prematurely since he really wanted toglorify God. However, David suffered severe consequences for his sins even though Godforgave him. God did cut off Saul's dynasty and his rule prematurely because Saul would
2007 Edition Dr. Constable's Notes on 1 Samuel 55not yield to Yahweh's control, which was crucial for Israel's king. Failure to yield controlto God is extremely important, even more important than individual acts of disobedience.Saul's pride led him to make foolish decisions that limited his effectiveness. Manybelievers experience unnecessary confusion and complications in their lives because theywill not relinquish control to God (cf. Rom. 6:13; 12:1-2).4. Saul's limited effectiveness in battle 14:47-52Saul was an active warrior and was effective to an extent due to his native abilities andGod's limited blessing. He punished the enemies of Israel (vv. 47-48), which was God'swill. Yet he did not subdue and defeat them all as David did.The information concerning Saul's family members that the writer recorded herecorresponds to other similar ancient Near Eastern texts. It was common to give thisinformation as part of a summary of a king's accomplishments (cf. 2 Sam. 8). Ishvi isprobably an alternative name for Ishbosheth.God brought valiant warriors to David and previously to Saul (10:26), but Saul now hadto recruit these as he observed them. This is another indication of God's limited blessingon Saul. In contrast, hundreds of soldiers volunteered to serve with David. Saulestablished a standing army in Israel for the first time (cf. 8:11).5. Yahweh's final rejection of Saul ch. 15"In the short pericope 13:7b-15a obedience was the stone on which Saulstumbled; here it is the rock that crushes him." 160Chapter 15 records one of the battles Saul fought with the Amalekites, Israel's enemy tothe south (cf. 14:48). This battle evidently happened about 25 years after Saul beganreigning, which was 23 years after God rejected Saul's dynasty following Saul'sdisobedience at Gilgal (13:1-15). 161 Thus Saul served as king about 23 years betweenGod's rejection of his dynasty (ch. 13) and God's rejection of Saul personally (ch. 15).Most scholars are sure Saul attacked the Amalekites who lived in southern Judah, thoughsome feel he attacked an enclave of them in western Samaria. 162 Saul did not destroy allthe Amalekites at this time (27:8; 30:1; 2 Sam. 8:12). King Hezekiah completelyannihilated them years later (1 Chron. 4:43).God directed Saul through Samuel (vv. 1-3). Consequently for Saul to disobey whatSamuel said was tantamount to disobeying God. Samuel reminded Saul that Yahweh wasthe Lord of hosts (v. 2), his commander-in-chief. Saul's mission was to annihilate the160 Ibid., p. 142.161 Wood, Israel's United . . ., p. 138.162 E.g., Diane Edelmann, "Saul's Battle Against Amaleq (1 Sam. 15)," Journal for the Study of the OldTestament 35 (June 1986):74-81.
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1 Samuel - Odessa, Missouri Community of Christ

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