WEBVTT 00:00:01.260 --> 00:00:05.299 Okay, we are back in Judges chapter 9 and 10 00:00:05.299 --> 00:00:08.939 tonight. I always say that. We spent a lot of 00:00:08.939 --> 00:00:17.140 time in Judges. 1 Samuel chapter 9 and 10. Now, 00:00:17.140 --> 00:00:21.879 I don't think that I have a ton of material here 00:00:21.879 --> 00:00:24.100 tonight, so if there's something on your mind 00:00:24.100 --> 00:00:27.179 or a discussion that you want to have or a clarification 00:00:27.179 --> 00:00:30.239 that you need, maybe that will help you feel 00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:35.850 free. To voice that. It's always welcome. Is 00:00:35.850 --> 00:00:37.890 there any question. That left over from last 00:00:37.890 --> 00:00:42.090 week. In our discussion of that. Of these same 00:00:42.090 --> 00:00:47.369 verses then. I do have a question. Okay good. 00:00:48.369 --> 00:00:53.070 I hope it. I hope it wasn't that I. Wasn't listening. 00:00:53.630 --> 00:01:00.270 So chapter 9. Verse 16. Where the Lord, I think, 00:01:00.270 --> 00:01:07.209 tells Samuel that he's going to send this man 00:01:07.209 --> 00:01:10.030 from the land of Benjamin and you shall anoint 00:01:10.030 --> 00:01:13.609 him to be captain over my people Israel. And 00:01:13.609 --> 00:01:16.250 then the other words I have in the margin are 00:01:16.250 --> 00:01:19.950 prince or ruler. I thought you were saying something, 00:01:19.989 --> 00:01:24.969 but I didn't. Like, is there significance in 00:01:24.969 --> 00:01:28.000 using that word and not king? Because God was 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:31.140 going to be their king and the leader would just 00:01:31.140 --> 00:01:35.019 be like a ruler or captain. Did you go into that 00:01:35.019 --> 00:01:37.939 much? Not too much. Okay. That's the main thing 00:01:37.939 --> 00:01:40.180 I want to talk about tonight. Okay, great. We 00:01:40.180 --> 00:01:43.640 will answer that question. Okay. Anything else? 00:01:49.560 --> 00:01:51.980 Okay, before we get to that one, because I want 00:01:51.980 --> 00:02:00.319 to end with that. Okay. Just some real practical, 00:02:00.459 --> 00:02:06.739 hopefully, common sense things that I want us 00:02:06.739 --> 00:02:12.819 to notice, especially about Saul's servant. Now, 00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:17.560 he's portrayed rather well in this passage. Because 00:02:17.560 --> 00:02:22.300 why? What are the two things that he does? Maybe 00:02:22.300 --> 00:02:26.000 even three. So, remember you were talking about 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:31.039 irony. Yeah. Afterwards, I was like, that's the 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:34.240 one. The irony is, this guy, he's about to be 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:37.599 king. He doesn't even have any money to pay to 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:42.240 the seer. He's totally broke. And his servant 00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:47.219 has to bail him out. And it was the servant that 00:02:47.219 --> 00:02:52.900 knew where the man of God was, right? So, and 00:02:52.900 --> 00:02:56.599 yes, that is, I mean, if we think about what 00:02:56.599 --> 00:03:03.310 a king's role is, in Israel, probably best you 00:03:03.310 --> 00:03:07.870 see it in David, is what? David was what? He 00:03:07.870 --> 00:03:10.990 was a war king, but what was he before he became 00:03:10.990 --> 00:03:15.169 a king? He was a shepherd. So he was the shepherd 00:03:15.169 --> 00:03:21.569 war king. Now, so what's a shepherd's job? Keep 00:03:21.569 --> 00:03:28.490 the sheep. And just in... in general, then, is 00:03:28.490 --> 00:03:31.229 to watch over the animals. Saul's job was to 00:03:31.229 --> 00:03:33.330 watch over some donkeys, and he couldn't even 00:03:33.330 --> 00:03:37.009 do that, and now he's going to be given the responsibility 00:03:37.009 --> 00:03:41.909 to shepherd, to watch over the entirety of Israel. 00:03:41.969 --> 00:03:46.490 So that's also the irony in that passage as well. 00:03:47.330 --> 00:03:51.610 So what do we say to that? What can we learn 00:03:51.610 --> 00:04:01.379 from the servant? Okay. And you never know when 00:04:01.379 --> 00:04:03.460 God is going to give you that opportunity, do 00:04:03.460 --> 00:04:07.419 you? You just don't. But he was prepared. And 00:04:07.419 --> 00:04:09.699 when the opportunity came, he was able to give 00:04:09.699 --> 00:04:12.539 Saul good counsel. Let's go to the man of God. 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:16.160 And I came prepared. I've got a quarter shekel 00:04:16.160 --> 00:04:18.279 of silver here in my pocket. We can give him 00:04:18.279 --> 00:04:23.600 that. So my dad used to... When he had his truck, 00:04:23.660 --> 00:04:26.139 he would drive around with gas, with a gas can 00:04:26.139 --> 00:04:30.360 all the time in his truck. Now, why did he do 00:04:30.360 --> 00:04:32.600 that? Was that just in case he ran out of gas? 00:04:35.399 --> 00:04:38.240 Nobody knows. Well, let me tell you something 00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:42.680 about my dad. Now, the reason he carried that 00:04:42.680 --> 00:04:45.120 around with him was because people do run out 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:49.889 of gas. And so if you have a can of gas... on 00:04:49.889 --> 00:04:51.829 your person, and you see someone who's run out 00:04:51.829 --> 00:04:54.089 of gas, what is that going to give you the opportunity 00:04:54.089 --> 00:04:58.069 to do? Okay, it's going to give you an opportunity 00:04:58.069 --> 00:05:00.509 to help that person, and in the course of doing 00:05:00.509 --> 00:05:06.889 that, what? You're going to give them the gospel. 00:05:08.069 --> 00:05:09.810 You're going to tell them that the reason you're 00:05:09.810 --> 00:05:12.990 doing this is not because you were born with 00:05:12.990 --> 00:05:15.550 this big heart that just is looking around for 00:05:15.550 --> 00:05:18.069 people to help, but you're going to be able to 00:05:18.069 --> 00:05:21.629 tell them, This five gallons or three gallons 00:05:21.629 --> 00:05:23.949 or whatever of gas that I'm giving you is nothing 00:05:23.949 --> 00:05:27.230 compared to what God has given me, which is what? 00:05:29.870 --> 00:05:34.050 Christ, his own son, right? He sent Jesus for 00:05:34.050 --> 00:05:36.769 me. I'm giving you, nowadays, I guess that would 00:05:36.769 --> 00:05:44.610 be $12 or $15 worth of gas. So, you know, and 00:05:44.610 --> 00:05:47.029 then there was a couple times in my life when... 00:05:47.720 --> 00:05:53.139 I didn't have any cash on me. Now, if you find 00:05:53.139 --> 00:05:55.360 somebody in trouble and need some help, it's 00:05:55.360 --> 00:05:57.819 hard, I mean, to use a credit card. I don't know 00:05:57.819 --> 00:06:00.360 if you understand that. Here's this person, they 00:06:00.360 --> 00:06:01.879 need a hand. Yeah, you could take them to the 00:06:01.879 --> 00:06:06.040 store, but, you know, I've always got, you know, 00:06:06.040 --> 00:06:08.360 some cash on me. And the reason that I carry 00:06:08.360 --> 00:06:10.180 that is because I'm looking for an opportunity. 00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:13.540 Now, when I lived in the city, I mean, the opportunity 00:06:13.540 --> 00:06:15.720 was there every day. You know, I could give away 00:06:15.720 --> 00:06:17.970 money down there all the time. It's a little 00:06:17.970 --> 00:06:21.269 bit harder in Hillsboro. But I've always got 00:06:21.269 --> 00:06:25.470 it. I'm always ready. Do you have tracks with 00:06:25.470 --> 00:06:29.529 you wherever you go? Are you prepared, in your 00:06:29.529 --> 00:06:32.870 mind at least, to when you get in a conversation 00:06:32.870 --> 00:06:34.949 with somebody, are you looking for an opportunity 00:06:34.949 --> 00:06:42.069 to declare to them who Jesus is? Now that's being 00:06:42.069 --> 00:06:45.050 prepared. We can learn that from this servant. 00:06:45.170 --> 00:06:48.490 He came prepared. He didn't know that they were 00:06:48.490 --> 00:06:52.610 going to have to go see the man of God. He didn't 00:06:52.610 --> 00:06:54.189 know that he was going to need the quarter shekel 00:06:54.189 --> 00:06:57.689 of silver. Maybe he bought it for his own personal 00:06:57.689 --> 00:06:59.970 reasons. Maybe it didn't have anything to do 00:06:59.970 --> 00:07:02.990 with kingdom work. But that was the person that 00:07:02.990 --> 00:07:06.910 God used in that situation to get Saul where 00:07:06.910 --> 00:07:14.870 he needed to be. So, you know. Yeah, go ahead. 00:07:41.990 --> 00:07:46.149 I think in the story, though, it lays the blame 00:07:46.149 --> 00:07:51.199 at Saul's feet. It would be odd if somebody else 00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:54.620 lost the donkeys and Saul went to bail them out. 00:07:57.100 --> 00:08:06.920 Well, I take it that Saul was, the reason he 00:08:06.920 --> 00:08:08.639 went to look for them was because he was either 00:08:08.639 --> 00:08:12.300 in charge of the entirety of the donkey operation 00:08:12.300 --> 00:08:16.699 there, or he had some even closer, more intimate. 00:08:17.490 --> 00:08:19.310 responsibilities regarding the donkeys. That's 00:08:19.310 --> 00:08:26.730 how I understand it. And if it's better in the 00:08:26.730 --> 00:08:31.550 story that way. Alright, so let's be prepared. 00:08:35.710 --> 00:08:43.570 Next. I forget which verse it is where God calls 00:08:43.570 --> 00:08:46.190 Israel his inheritance. I didn't write down the 00:08:48.360 --> 00:08:53.480 I didn't write down the number, but in verse 00:08:53.480 --> 00:08:59.139 16 there in chapter 9, I have looked upon my 00:08:59.139 --> 00:09:06.320 people because their cry is come unto me. And 00:09:06.320 --> 00:09:10.299 we're familiar with that type of language because 00:09:10.299 --> 00:09:12.539 it's all through Judges. And now here we are 00:09:12.539 --> 00:09:19.450 in Samuel and we're seeing it again. We might 00:09:19.450 --> 00:09:22.129 be tempted to just kind of read that and just 00:09:22.129 --> 00:09:25.370 kind of... But the truth of the matter is that 00:09:25.370 --> 00:09:29.370 our God is a faithful God. Is that my phone? 00:09:30.450 --> 00:09:33.450 The line is sitting there. I just realized I 00:09:33.450 --> 00:09:37.169 didn't turn it off either. Our God is a faithful 00:09:37.169 --> 00:09:40.309 God. He is faithful to his word and he is... 00:09:40.309 --> 00:09:44.529 What was the psalm we were reading on Sunday? 00:09:44.610 --> 00:09:47.580 Who had the opening? That was Chris. So what's 00:09:47.580 --> 00:09:58.679 the refrain there, Chris? His steadfast love. 00:09:58.820 --> 00:10:03.919 His faithful love endures forever. So Israel 00:10:03.919 --> 00:10:07.299 should have been far beyond mercy, right? They 00:10:07.299 --> 00:10:11.580 were way past any opportunity of forgiveness 00:10:11.580 --> 00:10:15.470 in human terms. They had gone their own way. 00:10:15.529 --> 00:10:19.649 They had rejected the Lord. They had left him, 00:10:19.710 --> 00:10:22.409 their redeemer, their rescuer, their captain, 00:10:22.509 --> 00:10:24.690 their hero, the one that brought them out of 00:10:24.690 --> 00:10:27.309 Egypt and gave them this land, gave them more. 00:10:27.350 --> 00:10:29.970 Remember, he didn't just give them like a piece 00:10:29.970 --> 00:10:33.909 of real estate. He gave them built cities, walled 00:10:33.909 --> 00:10:36.169 cities, homes that they didn't have to build. 00:10:36.370 --> 00:10:39.309 He gave them cattle that they didn't have to 00:10:39.309 --> 00:10:42.759 rear up. They came out of Egypt with... Jewels 00:10:42.759 --> 00:10:46.019 and gold that they didn't earn. Just given to 00:10:46.019 --> 00:10:49.960 them. And that was the God that they turned their 00:10:49.960 --> 00:10:53.519 back on. That was the one they left. And they 00:10:53.519 --> 00:10:55.580 didn't just leave him once and learn their lesson. 00:10:56.039 --> 00:10:58.440 They left him repeatedly at every opportunity. 00:10:59.220 --> 00:11:02.360 And yet God is faithful to his word. And he is 00:11:02.360 --> 00:11:05.240 faithful to the promises that he made to Israel 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:08.500 and to Abraham. And he continues on with them. 00:11:08.519 --> 00:11:10.860 And they're in trouble. They cry out. And he 00:11:10.860 --> 00:11:14.259 comes to their rescue again. Now, that should 00:11:14.259 --> 00:11:19.379 warm our hearts. And that should draw us to the 00:11:19.379 --> 00:11:23.179 God that loves us. There are no lost causes. 00:11:23.379 --> 00:11:27.159 There are no cases that are too far gone. There 00:11:27.159 --> 00:11:30.000 is never going to be a time in your life or in 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:33.460 my life. When we should not at first instinct 00:11:33.460 --> 00:11:36.259 and at the first sign of trouble and difficulty 00:11:36.259 --> 00:11:41.139 run to the Lord. He's full of mercy. He's long 00:11:41.139 --> 00:11:44.860 suffering. He wants what's good for us. He's 00:11:44.860 --> 00:11:51.539 on our side. Now that, we can't miss that ever 00:11:51.539 --> 00:11:55.600 when we go to our Bible. That is a comfort to 00:11:55.600 --> 00:11:59.279 you and it is a comfort to me. The next thing 00:11:59.279 --> 00:12:04.120 that I wanted to point out, and this is in chapter 00:12:04.120 --> 00:12:14.519 10, verses 6 through 8. The Spirit of the Lord 00:12:14.519 --> 00:12:16.820 will come upon thee. This is Samuel talking to 00:12:16.820 --> 00:12:19.820 Saul. The Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, 00:12:19.879 --> 00:12:22.419 and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt 00:12:22.419 --> 00:12:24.740 be turned into another man. Okay, so there we 00:12:24.740 --> 00:12:29.309 have the Spirit. And let it be, verse 7, when 00:12:29.309 --> 00:12:32.190 these things are come unto thee, that thou do 00:12:32.190 --> 00:12:35.210 as occasion serve thee, for God is with thee. 00:12:35.289 --> 00:12:38.129 Now, what does that mean, do as occasion serve 00:12:38.129 --> 00:12:40.990 thee? Anybody have something different in their 00:12:40.990 --> 00:12:44.710 translation? Who's got a guess as to what that 00:12:44.710 --> 00:12:49.730 means? What was Samuel telling them? It just 00:12:49.730 --> 00:12:53.009 says occasion required as the occasion requires. 00:12:53.669 --> 00:12:57.289 Okay. So act in that situation. When the Spirit 00:12:57.289 --> 00:12:59.750 comes upon you and you're there with the prophets, 00:12:59.970 --> 00:13:03.269 do what's appropriate. Do whatever the occasion 00:13:03.269 --> 00:13:06.049 calls for. That's what you should do. And then 00:13:06.049 --> 00:13:08.950 verse 8, he says, And thou shalt go down before 00:13:08.950 --> 00:13:12.950 me to Gilgal. And behold, I will come down unto 00:13:12.950 --> 00:13:15.429 thee to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice 00:13:15.429 --> 00:13:19.110 sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days shalt 00:13:19.110 --> 00:13:22.169 thou tarry till I come to thee and show thee 00:13:22.169 --> 00:13:33.519 what thou shalt do. So here's Saul. Now, try 00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:40.320 to be Saul here for just a minute. The Spirit 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:43.460 is going to come upon you. You're going to have 00:13:43.460 --> 00:13:45.379 all these signs that are going to happen to you. 00:13:45.559 --> 00:13:47.980 And when the Spirit comes upon you, you're going 00:13:47.980 --> 00:13:50.039 to do something you've never done in the entirety 00:13:50.039 --> 00:13:54.679 of your life. And Samuel says, just put it in 00:13:54.679 --> 00:13:57.700 our vernacular maybe, follow your gut instinct. 00:13:58.889 --> 00:14:02.409 Follow your spirit instinct and prophesy. And 00:14:02.409 --> 00:14:08.409 that's what Saul did. Now, somebody that was 00:14:08.409 --> 00:14:11.090 that full of the spirit, the spirit has rushed 00:14:11.090 --> 00:14:13.950 upon him. He's experiencing things he's never 00:14:13.950 --> 00:14:16.570 experienced before. Would you think that that 00:14:16.570 --> 00:14:24.870 person would need instruction? No, you wouldn't? 00:14:26.330 --> 00:14:30.700 Okay. And yet right there, that man who's going 00:14:30.700 --> 00:14:32.580 to be filled with the Spirit and is going to 00:14:32.580 --> 00:14:35.259 prophesy, that's the same man that Samuel gives 00:14:35.259 --> 00:14:40.179 very explicit instructions and expects perfect 00:14:40.179 --> 00:14:44.179 obedience to his instructions. Now, what do we 00:14:44.179 --> 00:14:47.360 call the Holy Spirit back in the Old Testament? 00:14:47.460 --> 00:14:49.179 In the New Testament, we call him the Holy Spirit 00:14:49.179 --> 00:14:52.100 or the Holy Ghost, the Spirit. What do we call 00:14:52.100 --> 00:15:00.379 this instruction that we get from God? It's a 00:15:00.379 --> 00:15:06.980 W. His Word. His Word. We have the Spirit and 00:15:06.980 --> 00:15:09.659 we have the Word involved in Saul in these three 00:15:09.659 --> 00:15:13.419 verses. The presence of the Spirit does not diminish 00:15:13.419 --> 00:15:17.500 the necessity of the Word. So if in your life 00:15:17.500 --> 00:15:20.299 you're hoping that you can have enough of the 00:15:20.299 --> 00:15:22.559 Holy Spirit that you don't need the Bible anymore, 00:15:22.740 --> 00:15:25.340 then you're hoping for something that's never 00:15:25.340 --> 00:15:28.690 going to happen. First of all, if you don't have 00:15:28.690 --> 00:15:30.269 the Word, you're not going to have the Spirit. 00:15:31.149 --> 00:15:32.809 So if you don't have Jesus, you're not going 00:15:32.809 --> 00:15:34.529 to have the Spirit. But if you don't have that 00:15:34.529 --> 00:15:37.929 Word inside of you, if you're not immersed in 00:15:37.929 --> 00:15:40.470 your Bible and in the Word of God, then you're 00:15:40.470 --> 00:15:42.970 not giving the Holy Spirit any ammunition to 00:15:42.970 --> 00:15:46.750 work on you. You want to try to figure out what's 00:15:46.750 --> 00:15:48.909 wrong with your life? You want to try to figure 00:15:48.909 --> 00:15:51.590 out how you got where you are right now? The 00:15:51.590 --> 00:15:53.870 first question that I would ask you is, how much 00:15:53.870 --> 00:15:57.179 time do you spend in the Word? Have you heeded 00:15:57.179 --> 00:16:01.080 the word? If you have and the Holy Spirit has 00:16:01.080 --> 00:16:05.659 that ammunition, then you can expect that he's 00:16:05.659 --> 00:16:08.460 going to wield that sword in your life. He's 00:16:08.460 --> 00:16:10.700 going to divide, what, your tendons from your 00:16:10.700 --> 00:16:14.460 marrow and other impossible things. In other 00:16:14.460 --> 00:16:16.919 words, he's going to get to the heart of the 00:16:16.919 --> 00:16:20.220 problem, whatever that is. And the sword that 00:16:20.220 --> 00:16:22.539 he's going to use, the scalpel that he's going 00:16:22.539 --> 00:16:25.840 to use, is the word of God. Now, that's the same 00:16:25.840 --> 00:16:27.700 way it was in the Old Testament. That's the same 00:16:27.700 --> 00:16:30.539 way it is in the New Testament. God works according 00:16:30.539 --> 00:16:33.100 to his instruction and according to the Spirit. 00:16:33.740 --> 00:16:37.879 Even in somebody like Saul, who's going to be 00:16:37.879 --> 00:16:41.139 in charge of what we're going to talk about next, 00:16:41.259 --> 00:16:46.929 which is this question that a man had. What is 00:16:46.929 --> 00:16:51.250 the word captain and rain? What was Saul's role? 00:16:51.429 --> 00:16:53.750 But before we get there, I'll pause here again 00:16:53.750 --> 00:16:56.309 if anybody has any comments or questions or wants 00:16:56.309 --> 00:17:13.170 to say anything else. Nobody? I guess I'll say 00:17:13.170 --> 00:17:15.660 what you found. What you pointed out about the 00:17:15.660 --> 00:17:20.079 servant is encouraging because it's just like 00:17:20.079 --> 00:17:23.980 he's far from the main character of the story. 00:17:24.140 --> 00:17:26.720 And I probably wouldn't have even noticed the 00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:30.000 details. And it's like that's most of us. It's 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:32.920 like we don't have big parts to play in history, 00:17:33.059 --> 00:17:36.599 but just being faithful and reliable in the things 00:17:36.599 --> 00:17:42.380 that he was is important to the Lord. those around 00:17:42.380 --> 00:17:49.039 us. We don't know his name. He's just this nameless 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:53.480 guy who's a servant who's serving Saul that the 00:17:53.480 --> 00:17:56.079 Lord uses in his providence to accomplish his 00:17:56.079 --> 00:18:03.819 purpose. Alright, now we have this question. 00:18:05.240 --> 00:18:08.900 We asked, I think we answered it last week, all 00:18:08.900 --> 00:18:13.220 this secrecy or It's kind of all through, even 00:18:13.220 --> 00:18:15.579 at the end, where Saul doesn't tell his uncle 00:18:15.579 --> 00:18:17.980 the whole story, he just tells him some of it. 00:18:18.660 --> 00:18:23.700 You have this question as to what was on Saul's 00:18:23.700 --> 00:18:28.119 mind, what's on it, in verse 19 of chapter 9, 00:18:28.279 --> 00:18:30.420 Tomorrow I will let thee go, and I will tell 00:18:30.420 --> 00:18:34.000 thee all that is in thine heart. And as for thine 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:37.829 asses that were lost three days ago, not thy 00:18:37.829 --> 00:18:41.130 mind on them. So what was it that Saul had on 00:18:41.130 --> 00:18:44.529 his mind? Did he have some inkling that something 00:18:44.529 --> 00:18:48.930 big was going to happen? Even before Samuel tells 00:18:48.930 --> 00:18:52.549 him that you are the answer to Israel's desire. 00:18:52.690 --> 00:18:54.390 They want a king and you're going to be that 00:18:54.390 --> 00:19:00.009 one. So this was interesting to me. I hope it 00:19:00.009 --> 00:19:08.590 is to you. In verse 16 there we have Captain, 00:19:08.590 --> 00:19:13.170 we have that he's going to reign. All those words 00:19:13.170 --> 00:19:21.410 in the Hebrew lean towards restraint. Okay, he's 00:19:21.410 --> 00:19:27.130 going to restrain Israel. Now, hopefully this 00:19:27.130 --> 00:19:32.420 will help us to understand the king's role. As 00:19:32.420 --> 00:19:35.539 it relates to the law and the law's role as it 00:19:35.539 --> 00:19:39.380 relates to Israel. Because these, what was the 00:19:39.380 --> 00:19:43.400 laws? Well, first of all, let's go back to Deuteronomy 00:19:43.400 --> 00:19:47.619 17. And I'll just read it if you don't want to 00:19:47.619 --> 00:19:53.539 turn there. Verses 19 and 20. Now this is the 00:19:53.539 --> 00:19:57.279 prophecy or the instruction or the chapter that's 00:19:57.279 --> 00:20:01.480 all about the king coming to Israel. Verse 19 00:20:01.480 --> 00:20:08.480 says and it sorry verse 18 and it shall be when 00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:10.940 he that is the king sitteth upon the throne of 00:20:10.940 --> 00:20:14.859 his kingdom that he shall write him a copy of 00:20:14.859 --> 00:20:18.099 this law in a book out of that which is before 00:20:18.099 --> 00:20:22.000 the priests and the Levites. Going to go to the 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:24.099 priests and the Levites he's going to get the 00:20:24.099 --> 00:20:28.440 book of this law and it shall be with him And 00:20:28.440 --> 00:20:31.200 he shall read therein all the days of his life, 00:20:31.299 --> 00:20:34.900 that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to 00:20:34.900 --> 00:20:37.640 keep all the words of this law and these statutes, 00:20:37.640 --> 00:20:41.759 to do them. That his heart be not lifted up above 00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:44.559 his brethren, and that he turn not aside from 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:50.220 the commandment, to the right hand or to the 00:20:50.220 --> 00:20:53.299 left, to the end, that he may prolong his days 00:20:53.299 --> 00:20:56.200 in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst 00:20:56.200 --> 00:21:01.220 of Israel. Now, so the king and the law go hand 00:21:01.220 --> 00:21:04.000 in hand. One doesn't go anywhere without the 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:10.119 other. So the Lord gave this law to Israel. We 00:21:10.119 --> 00:21:13.700 looked at it way back, and I'm sure you've read 00:21:13.700 --> 00:21:18.880 it lots of times in Exodus and Numbers and Deuteronomy, 00:21:19.059 --> 00:21:23.859 Leviticus. Everywhere the king went, he was going 00:21:23.859 --> 00:21:26.789 to go with that. Now, what was the... Why did 00:21:26.789 --> 00:21:29.349 the Lord give that law and what function did 00:21:29.349 --> 00:21:33.950 it play for Israel? Dad, you preached through 00:21:33.950 --> 00:21:37.890 Galatians chapter 4 at some point, right? Okay, 00:21:37.890 --> 00:21:40.990 so this is, I'm just reviewing here. You all 00:21:40.990 --> 00:21:47.049 know this answer. No? Okay, then turn to Galatians 00:21:47.049 --> 00:21:57.490 chapter 4. And I believe this is going to give 00:21:57.490 --> 00:22:02.930 us the answer why God didn't put the word king 00:22:02.930 --> 00:22:07.890 here in this chapter of Samuel. Because he wanted 00:22:07.890 --> 00:22:13.369 Saul and Samuel and all of Israel to understand 00:22:13.369 --> 00:22:17.089 that the king and the law were going to function 00:22:17.089 --> 00:22:21.210 in this way in Israel. That the king wasn't going 00:22:21.210 --> 00:22:25.470 to be like all the other nations' kings. That 00:22:25.470 --> 00:22:27.349 his word was not the thing that was going to 00:22:27.349 --> 00:22:31.009 rule the day. That he didn't get to follow his 00:22:31.009 --> 00:22:33.990 whim. He didn't get to build up wives and money 00:22:33.990 --> 00:22:36.369 and horses. And any of the rest of that stuff. 00:22:36.849 --> 00:22:39.410 He was to be a servant of the people. To guard 00:22:39.410 --> 00:22:41.650 the people. To watch the people. To restrain 00:22:41.650 --> 00:22:43.609 the people in the same way that the law does. 00:22:43.670 --> 00:22:45.690 Now that's the only way that King makes sense 00:22:45.690 --> 00:22:50.589 in Israel. Right? Do you see the connection there? 00:22:50.670 --> 00:22:53.410 Whatever the law is going to do. That king is 00:22:53.410 --> 00:22:55.470 going to do that as well because the king and 00:22:55.470 --> 00:22:59.970 the law cannot be separated. Do you guys see 00:22:59.970 --> 00:23:04.529 that? Does that make any sense? Okay, then verse 00:23:04.529 --> 00:23:09.349 22 of chapter 3 in Galatians. Sorry, I think, 00:23:09.369 --> 00:23:21.490 or 4, is it 4? No, 3. Sorry, chapter 3 and verse... 00:23:26.180 --> 00:23:29.440 But before faith came, we were kept under the 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:34.059 law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards 00:23:34.059 --> 00:23:42.039 be revealed. So you're kept under the law leading 00:23:42.039 --> 00:23:46.579 to what? Faith. Unto faith. Not until, but unto 00:23:46.579 --> 00:23:49.619 faith. In other words, the law was given to bring 00:23:49.619 --> 00:23:54.220 Christ. That's familiar. We all know that. Wherefore 00:23:54.220 --> 00:23:58.039 the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto 00:23:58.039 --> 00:24:01.680 Christ that we might be justified by faith. But 00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:04.339 after faith has come, we are no longer under 00:24:04.339 --> 00:24:09.579 a schoolmaster. So they were guarded in, they 00:24:09.579 --> 00:24:12.920 were fenced in, they were under the law, and 00:24:12.920 --> 00:24:15.380 the law acted like a schoolmaster. Now those 00:24:15.380 --> 00:24:17.279 are parallels. That's the same thing. He's giving 00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:21.230 you two different metaphors there. One is this 00:24:21.230 --> 00:24:25.630 fenced -in area that's the law, and Israel is 00:24:25.630 --> 00:24:28.009 inside of it. And the other one is a schoolmaster 00:24:28.009 --> 00:24:34.730 or a tutor, whichever you have is fine. And the 00:24:34.730 --> 00:24:39.269 schoolmaster is the law. That's what Saul was 00:24:39.269 --> 00:24:42.450 supposed to do. He was supposed to maintain these 00:24:42.450 --> 00:24:45.910 fences around Israel, restraining them from sin. 00:24:46.490 --> 00:24:50.079 Restraining them from what? we read at the end 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:52.220 of the book of Judges, which was what? What was 00:24:52.220 --> 00:24:54.599 going on in Israel in the time of the Judges? 00:24:55.740 --> 00:25:00.019 Chaos. Every man did what was right in his own 00:25:00.019 --> 00:25:04.420 eyes. Now here comes Saul. And Saul, the king, 00:25:04.579 --> 00:25:07.920 with the law in hand, in cooperation with the 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:11.680 prophet, with the priest, is supposed to reestablish 00:25:11.680 --> 00:25:15.039 that law of God and build those fences around 00:25:15.039 --> 00:25:20.039 Israel, not... Not walls around cities, but as 00:25:20.039 --> 00:25:24.700 in to restrain sin. To remove or to restrain 00:25:24.700 --> 00:25:28.700 the chaos that is inherent in Israel. He's supposed 00:25:28.700 --> 00:25:34.039 to be the schoolmaster. What? In Hebrew times, 00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:41.420 what did the schoolmaster do to the kids? He 00:25:41.420 --> 00:25:45.819 beat them. That hard discipline that is necessary 00:25:45.819 --> 00:25:49.400 for your kids, that's the schoolmaster. It's 00:25:49.400 --> 00:25:51.480 not that he was opening up the math book and 00:25:51.480 --> 00:25:53.220 teaching them reading, writing, and arithmetic, 00:25:53.279 --> 00:25:56.359 but he was sure making sure that those kids made 00:25:56.359 --> 00:25:58.740 it to wherever it was that they were going to 00:25:58.740 --> 00:26:01.579 learn reading, writing, and arithmetic. And when 00:26:01.579 --> 00:26:04.380 they messed up, then the schoolmaster or the 00:26:04.380 --> 00:26:08.440 tutor was to use the rod to discipline the children. 00:26:08.920 --> 00:26:10.900 to get them to where they needed to go, to get 00:26:10.900 --> 00:26:12.839 them to be respectful, to get them to do whatever 00:26:12.839 --> 00:26:16.619 it was that they were supposed to be doing. That 00:26:16.619 --> 00:26:21.019 was what was at his disposal. So, now, hopefully 00:26:21.019 --> 00:26:23.779 the two of those metaphors that Paul gives us 00:26:23.779 --> 00:26:26.420 in parallel there start to make some sense to 00:26:26.420 --> 00:26:29.259 us. We've established boundaries. You can't go 00:26:29.259 --> 00:26:32.079 beyond these boundaries. And while you're inside, 00:26:32.990 --> 00:26:34.789 There's going to be somebody there who's going 00:26:34.789 --> 00:26:38.210 to administer the rod of discipline to keep you 00:26:38.210 --> 00:26:40.509 from going into the chaos and doing whatever 00:26:40.509 --> 00:26:43.309 is right in your own eyes and start doing what 00:26:43.309 --> 00:26:47.369 is right in the Lord's eyes. Now that was the 00:26:47.369 --> 00:26:50.309 function of the law in Israel. That's all that 00:26:50.309 --> 00:26:52.130 Paul's talking about. He's not talking about 00:26:52.130 --> 00:26:54.250 any kind of function in the Christian life or 00:26:54.250 --> 00:26:56.009 anything else. He's telling you that's what it 00:26:56.009 --> 00:27:00.599 was for. And what? It was... given unto Christ. 00:27:00.740 --> 00:27:03.180 In other words, it was given unto the time of 00:27:03.180 --> 00:27:06.700 the gospel, not until, but with a clear vision 00:27:06.700 --> 00:27:09.940 that Messiah was coming. That's what the difference 00:27:09.940 --> 00:27:14.539 between unto or until. You don't know. So it's 00:27:14.539 --> 00:27:16.700 not a reference of time, but it's a question 00:27:16.700 --> 00:27:21.059 of perspective. The law was given to point to 00:27:21.059 --> 00:27:23.900 the time that was coming when the Son of God 00:27:23.900 --> 00:27:26.859 would come into the world. And for those people, 00:27:28.269 --> 00:27:34.069 It was a restraining medium in their life. It 00:27:34.069 --> 00:27:37.710 was what the Lord gave them to function. So, 00:27:37.710 --> 00:27:47.170 that really makes sense to me of why the word 00:27:47.170 --> 00:27:50.950 king is not used. Why it's like captain and reign 00:27:50.950 --> 00:27:54.750 and kingdom. We see similar things, but the root 00:27:54.750 --> 00:27:58.049 of all those things is restraint. And that was 00:27:58.049 --> 00:28:02.230 what the king was supposed to do. He was supposed 00:28:02.230 --> 00:28:05.670 to be that restraining influence in Israel to 00:28:05.670 --> 00:28:08.089 keep them on the right path, to keep them from 00:28:08.089 --> 00:28:11.470 doing what was right in their own eyes. Anybody 00:28:11.470 --> 00:28:20.430 got any questions there? Well, that's what he 00:28:20.430 --> 00:28:23.410 was supposed to do. That's why this chapter, 00:28:23.549 --> 00:28:27.359 I believe, is set up the way that it is. He was 00:28:27.359 --> 00:28:30.160 to be a restraint. He wasn't given carte blanche 00:28:30.160 --> 00:28:33.740 to do whatever he wanted to do. Now they're going 00:28:33.740 --> 00:28:36.519 to call him a king later. God save the king. 00:28:40.619 --> 00:28:49.019 Are you going to tell me that? I don't know. 00:28:49.099 --> 00:28:55.079 We'll have to wait until we find out. I mean, 00:28:55.099 --> 00:28:57.599 David was anointed years before he actually took 00:28:57.599 --> 00:29:00.299 the throne, right? He was God's anointed before 00:29:00.299 --> 00:29:04.359 he was crowned king. But is this term unique 00:29:04.359 --> 00:29:11.799 here? Yes. I mean, well, no. I mean, unique in 00:29:11.799 --> 00:29:18.680 what? In relation to the king? Yes. Not in relation 00:29:18.680 --> 00:29:20.779 to other places. You can look at it. You want 00:29:20.779 --> 00:29:23.160 to write these down, you can. 2 Chronicles 19 00:29:23.160 --> 00:29:32.660 .11. 1 Chronicles 13 .1 and 2 Chronicles 31 .12. 00:29:33.259 --> 00:29:35.440 I think those are the only, there might be one 00:29:35.440 --> 00:29:40.640 more I didn't write down. What was the 2 Chronicles? 00:29:42.200 --> 00:29:54.900 19 .11 and 31 .12. And then we noticed last week. 00:29:55.319 --> 00:29:58.059 We took note of the providence of God that's 00:29:58.059 --> 00:30:00.640 all through this chapter. So I'm just reminding 00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:18.119 us again of that. All right. Anybody got any 00:30:18.119 --> 00:30:23.059 questions? Anybody want to make any comments? 00:30:44.649 --> 00:30:47.650 No. You're saying that the term king is made 00:30:47.650 --> 00:30:49.930 up by the people, but God intended for it to 00:30:49.930 --> 00:30:56.819 be used? Is that your question? Otherwise, I'm 00:30:56.819 --> 00:30:59.819 not following your question. Yeah. That's your 00:30:59.819 --> 00:31:09.579 question? Yeah. No. God calls him a king. Just 00:31:09.579 --> 00:31:13.400 not now. Not at the beginning. Not at the very 00:31:13.400 --> 00:31:17.279 onset because I believe God is wanting to emphasize 00:31:17.279 --> 00:31:23.079 his role more than his title. And when king takes 00:31:23.079 --> 00:31:26.910 on and brings with it, everything that is known 00:31:26.910 --> 00:31:30.130 of a king in the surrounding nations and what 00:31:30.130 --> 00:31:32.710 was in the heart of Israel, then it's going to 00:31:32.710 --> 00:31:37.509 be all clouded and confused. Right? But if we 00:31:37.509 --> 00:31:39.730 eliminate the word king and we use these other 00:31:39.730 --> 00:31:43.029 descriptive terms, then God has an opportunity 00:31:43.029 --> 00:31:47.009 to define what he's going, or how the king is 00:31:47.009 --> 00:31:51.390 going to function. So when Israel takes on a 00:31:51.390 --> 00:31:56.509 king and crowns Saul king, Anoints him as king 00:31:56.509 --> 00:31:59.970 in Mizpah, where we'll read it next week. The 00:31:59.970 --> 00:32:02.470 definition of king has been given to them, and 00:32:02.470 --> 00:32:04.950 it doesn't have anything to do with what a king 00:32:04.950 --> 00:32:07.349 is outside of Israel. It only has to do with 00:32:07.349 --> 00:32:10.849 what God has defined kingship here at the beginning, 00:32:10.950 --> 00:32:13.450 and Samuel in the words that we read, what, two 00:32:13.450 --> 00:32:22.170 weeks ago. So it's important when you're... In 00:32:22.170 --> 00:32:25.009 discussions with somebody or just very practically 00:32:25.009 --> 00:32:27.230 speaking, you've got to make sure that when you 00:32:27.230 --> 00:32:29.509 use a term that the other person understands 00:32:29.509 --> 00:32:31.849 the definition of that term in the same way. 00:32:32.309 --> 00:32:34.490 Otherwise, you're just talking past each other. 00:32:36.349 --> 00:32:39.569 So God defines the term. And when God then later 00:32:39.569 --> 00:32:42.890 calls a king, it's according to this definition, 00:32:42.930 --> 00:32:45.089 not according to the definition that they found 00:32:45.089 --> 00:32:48.650 in Canaan or in Egypt or in Babylon or anywhere 00:32:48.650 --> 00:33:05.650 else. Okay. I listened to... Yeah, I listened 00:33:05.650 --> 00:33:08.089 to it because I wasn't here last week. But... 00:33:08.089 --> 00:33:12.509 Wait, did we say... Oh, I'm English. I guess 00:33:12.509 --> 00:33:18.650 that's why. But Saul's talking about being the 00:33:18.650 --> 00:33:22.609 humblest tribe or lowest tribe or whatever. It 00:33:22.609 --> 00:33:24.130 seemed kind of weird because he seemed like a 00:33:24.130 --> 00:33:25.970 really proud person. I figured he would have 00:33:25.970 --> 00:33:29.349 said something like, of course, I'm taller than 00:33:29.349 --> 00:33:32.390 any man in Israel. I'm the greatest clan in Israel. 00:33:32.430 --> 00:33:34.690 Of course I should be king. Well, somebody asked 00:33:34.690 --> 00:33:38.130 me something similar to that last week, but there's 00:33:38.130 --> 00:33:43.529 nothing in the text that would indicate that 00:33:43.529 --> 00:33:47.750 that was not an honest expression of his heart, 00:33:47.849 --> 00:33:52.599 of his mind. Yeah, it's contradictory to everything 00:33:52.599 --> 00:33:54.720 that goes after, and it's contradictory to his 00:33:54.720 --> 00:34:01.359 relationship with the king of Israel, but I can't 00:34:01.359 --> 00:34:05.799 tell you that it's, I can tell you it's inconsistent, 00:34:06.180 --> 00:34:09.960 but I can't tell you that he was lying. No, I 00:34:09.960 --> 00:34:19.519 don't know. Deep, significant thoughts. I just 00:34:19.519 --> 00:34:26.239 thought it was. It is interesting. Saul is a 00:34:26.239 --> 00:34:28.860 complicated figure and we won't figure him out. 00:34:29.559 --> 00:34:31.739 But we don't have to figure him out. All we have 00:34:31.739 --> 00:34:33.539 to do is understand what the Lord is telling 00:34:33.539 --> 00:34:36.559 us about him. The Lord has it all figured out. 00:34:40.179 --> 00:34:41.000 Anybody else?