Bible In One Year-Day 109 (Saturday, April 19, 2014)

Commentary: 1Sam16-18. The lives of Samson and Saul were pointers to the fact that one can misbehave under anointing. It also points to the fact that mismanagement of anointing or grace could be very disastrous; Romans 6:15 “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.” We must be more conscious of grace to flee every appearance of evil. In reading 1Sam16-18, there are lessons to learn from King Saul who started with God but ended in witchcraft, seeking the life of an innocent boy. Jealousy, envy, evil conspiracies and manipulations are practices of witchcraft. The first lesson is impatience, 1 Samuel 13:10 “And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; …” Saul couldn’t wait less than 3 hours longer. What we call grace in our time is anointing and whoever has it must be patient in all his or her doings. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit, i.e. the nature of the Holy Spirit. Any child of God under grace who does not exhibit this attribute will hinder the Holy Spirit from manifesting His acts and this is foolishness in the highest order. Where is your PATIENCE? Another lesson is that Saul wanted to help God instead of yielding to the Spirit of God or, better put, walking in the Spirit. Know one thing, beloved, the flesh could do good, and be wicked as well. However, both the good of the flesh and its wickedness, none is acceptable to God, John 6:63 “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: …” Apostle Paul says that the flesh serves the law of sin, even what the ‘good’ of the flesh does is to serve sinful ulterior motive; only the Spirit profits. In chapter13, Saul wanted to help God out of impatience and in chapter15, he wanted to help God with what he was to destroy. The Bible put it in this way 1 Samuel 15:9 “…, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them: …” This is DISOBEDIENCE. Instead of Saul to be a ‘praise’ unto God, he became a regret before the Lord. As far as heaven was concerned, his chapter was closed, though he was still king (but with another spirit). Whosoever would walk with God must learn to be PATIENT and OBEDIENT. Any unrighteous proceed cannot be used to serve God in any capacity.

1 John 5:17 “All unrighteousness is sin: …”

Romans 9:14 “What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.”

David was ceremoniously inaugurated in chapter16 before men and heaven approved him with the Spirit of God. There is great contrast between Saul and David. The behavior of Saul was accounted as foolishness, but three times in chapter18 it was recorded “David behaved himself more wisely”. He was not even impressed when Saul’s servants told him Saul wanted to make him his son-in-law; meaning he had no hidden pride looking for a position to manifest, he just feared God. And because God was with him, his name was not in the death register of Saul and the philistines. The more King Saul set a snare for David the more he got his promotion before man and God. Victory is in battles and promotion is in tests and trials. David recognized fear as the problem of the Israelites before Goliath and he advised them to do away with that. In 1Sam17:37, David remembered the goodness of the Lord when he fought a lion and a bear, and considered Goliath a forgotten issue. Has the Lord been good to you before? Then you need to regard your present predicament as a page about to be flipped over. As far as David was concerned, Goliath was a dog just as Goliath himself confessed. What will terminate your problem is in that problem, you only need to prayerfully move closer, probe further. Goliath carried what eventually cut off his own head. The most powerful statement of David is 1 Samuel 17:47 “And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.” Do you believe in this? That statement impressed God. That God is still alive today; Ephesians 3:20 “Now to him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,” Trust in Him for victory in your battles. Our next reading is 1Sam19-21. Keep the fire burning and alive

Psalms 147:10-11 “He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.”