Middletown transcript., 1915-04-03

Jonathan's victory (ch. 14) brought
with 1t shining on the part Of the
hungry, harassed Israelites in that
they ate of the spoils with the blood"
(14:31, go; Lev. 3:17, 1890. In the
emergency Saul erected the first al
tar that he built unto the Lord" (ch
14:35), rather dilatory act on the
part Of God-anointed king. Saul had
resOrted to the subterfuge OF CON-
manding the people ITO roll a great
stone" Le., cut the throats of the AMI
mails of which they had eaten that
they might bleed, and thus be an evi.
dence that the animals had died be-
fore being eaten. This the people did,
tearing Saul, but having no scruples
In transgressing Gods commands.
These same people rescued Jonathan
from the foolish vow Of Saul, for It
was his faith and valor that had chief.
ly brought about the victory.
.. Gods Sorrow, w. 1912. Samuel
had first revealed Gods purpose in
making Saul king, and likewise first
declared Gods purpose to dispose Of
Saul ". 1O). Saul's actions wv. 1-9)
had stamped him as being no longer
worthy of Gods confidence. The
word. "repenteth," meaning ito sigh"
". III, denotes a change Of feeling
due to Saul's actions and not to any
change in the character, purpose or
desires Of Good. God was sorry that
Saul had proved himself unworthy.
A halfway obedience Of Gods com.
mand only heightened his guilt.
Whatever moral difficulties seem tn
lie, for a later age, in Saul's commits
sion against Amalek, there were none
such for him. (Vaughn). Mans re.
pentance involves a change Of mind
and purpose. In Sauls case God re-
pented, changed the instrument Of his
execution, because of the change Of
circumstances and relation. God is
ever the same; it is man alone who
changes. Saul had given Samuel
cause for anger ". II r. W, but he
did the wise thing in taking it to God
In prayer. Arising early the next
morning Samuel fastened to acquaint
Saul with Jehovah's message. 1t is
remarkable Of how many Of the great
men Of the Bible it is said that they
rose early, Abraham, Gideon, Joshua,
Job, Jacob, Moses, etc, not to forget
our Lord Jesus.
u. Samuel's Rebuke, w. 1919. II
must have been a striking scene when
the aged Nazarite prophet faced the
proud but recreant king. A guilty
conscience is often covered by a great
show Of pfety ". 13), but such acts
cannot stitle the conviction of the
heart nor deceive the righteous judge.
Sin proclaims itself even as Samuel's
sharp question brought conviction
from the lips of Saul ". IA; Prov.
28:13). Saul thought to deceive Sam.
uel by using falsehood ". 15). The
only safe course is to confess our
sins FPS. S2:15; l. John 1:9). There
Is an interesting suggestion In the
way Saul uses the imCersonal they"
and I'VE" in verse 15. as IL to lay
the guilt Of his acts upon others. Il
is easy for the sinner to blame others
and seek to minimize his own guilt
from. 14:12). Verse 8 clearly In,
dicates why Saul and the people had
spared the best of the cattle. To use
part only for God and the rest for
self In direct disobedience to Gods
rights or the rights of others is TO
incur his righteous wrath wv. az, 23).
Samuel did not tell Saul what he
thought of him but simply and direct,
y delivered words ". 16 /. c.). Re-
sailing Saul's beginnings as king of
Israel, emphasizing Gods mercy and
grace, Samuel recounts Gods COM
Inand regarding the Amalekites.
These are a type of the flesh and for
such God has no mercy except that
of Calvary (Gal. 5:24). Samuel ef-
fectually swept aside Saul's sophistry
by his direct question ". 1877 which
demand Straightforward answer.
~. SauIs SeIf-RejectIon, w. 2c-23.
God set Saul aside because he had
rejected the right and chose the
wrong. Face to face with his sin
Saul could not dodge the issue. Sam
uel's wherefore" ". 19) must have
aroused Saul's guilty conscience II
is a question which should reach every
tempted soul. Samuel characterized
Sauls sin as being due to stubborn
ness, rebellion, disobedience and re
lection of God ". 19). Again Saul
seeks to evade his responsibility (vv
20, 21). Then Samuel speaks plainly
". 22) comparing his sin of disobedi
ence with witchcraft, stubbornness
iniquity and idolatry. Plainly he tells
Saul, Because thou hast rejected the
word of the Lord, he hath also reject
ed thee from being king" ". 23).
Driven thus to a cOrner Saul made
q confession of his guilt ". 24) but
spoiled 1t all by acknowledging that
he had greater fear of the people thar
of God. His sorrow was that of the
man who was caught In an act oi
transgression and not because of thC
sinfulness of his deed. God had for
saken Saul and therefore Samue
parts company with him also wv. 25
26). SauPs rending of Samuel's gar
ment wv. 81, 28) is used as a parabls
of the forthcoming rent kingdom
Samuel takes occasion to suggest tha
God, the Strength CT Israel" haC
won the recent victory and that Coo
was not guilty Of lying nor had HI
changed. Saul makes one more ples
in which he acknowledge his de2ar
ture from God by the words, that
may worship the Lord thy God
There was a continuance Cf the OFT
ward form OF worship before the cid