This week, we continued on our series by starting in 1
Samuel 14:29. This is the section where
Jonathan had eaten honey and unknowingly violated a fast declared by Saul. When Jonathan speaks, the words see and
tasted in Hebrew have only one other verse that uses them in the Bible,
Psalm34:8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the man who takes
refuge in Him.” This verse speaks of
using our 5 senses to see God’s goodness and to rely on God instead of
ourselves, exactly what Saul was not doing.
The phrase “freely eaten” was the same used in Genesis 2:16 regarding
Adam and Eve and the garden. Law had
told the Israelites they could not eat the milk and honey God had promised as
part of the Promised Land, so they were unable to obtain God’s full blessing. In verse 39, “must die” or “must surely die”
is the same word used in Genesis about eating of the tree of good and evil.
We continued to 1
Samuel 16:1 and following. Saul is told
to destroy the Amalekites and destroy everything. The army spared Agog, and all the best flocks
and other good things that were there.
They destroyed only the weak things.
When we don’t do what God says, we don’t get His results. It is what the sinful act produces that is
offensive to God. Saul also set up a
monument to himself. Samuel comes to
him, and Saul declares that he has done everything he was supposed to and
declares he was saving them as a sacrifice to the Lord. When Saul describes what he did, it was for “your
God.” So it wasn’t his God any more in
his mind. Samuel goes on to tell Saul
his kingship is no longer approved by God.
He goes on and kills Agog. Samuel
never saw Saul again. Jesus doesn’t
revisit law. He grieves for those who
live under law, but He doesn’t go there.
To listen to the entire sermon go to http://ahwatukeechurch.com/media.php. To learn more about Living Word Ahwatukee,
visit http://ahwatukeechurch.com/.
