Samuel and the Anointing of Saul

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Samuel, the last Judge of Israel, got to anoint the first two kings of Israel.  The anointing of Saul, son of Kish, is told in 1 Samuel 9 & 10, while the anointing of David is in Chapter 16.  Samuel had lead Israel since his youth and had been a prophet (seer) as well as the judge/leader of the nation.  God revealed Himself to Samuel by visitation and His written Word and had used him in mighty ways.

Even with these credentials, the anointing of Saul and David was a faith act for Samuel.  He got the “word of knowledge” about the tribe of Saul and his mission; he was even given the knowledge about the donkeys, but no name.  Samuel had even made dinner plans (9:23), especially for Saul.

In 1 Samuel 10, the actual applying of the oil occurs with a very intriguing set of “signs” that had to be fulfilled.  These were Saul’s faith builders; I will have more on them in another post.

There are some differences and similarities in the anointings that Samuel performed. Both Saul and David were anointed a second time in front of the nation.  Saul’s first anointing was a very private affair; while David’s first one was done in front of his family and the other guest (possibly) at the sacrifice.  Saul received the list of signs that were to be done and it seems that he took his office fairly soon.  David, on the other hand, waited many years for the second anointing and him receiving his kingdom.  It seems to me that Samuel spent quality time with Saul after the meal (9:25, 26) and again when they met in Gilgal (10: 8), but David only had the time when they were hiding from King Saul (19:18).

Right Writing

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The Rite to Write Does Not Seem Right

Life has changed; my normal rite would be to write.

Writing is a ritual that helps to right my mind.

Feelings are mixed and lines are not straight, so no right angle is clear.

Writing tonight is not right, but I am glad I wrote this.

The angle tomorrow I may know, then it will be right to write.

Samuel and the Anointing of David

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The Anointing of David by Paolo Veronese c1564 -Samuel, the Judge, and the Prophet of Israel has just been told by God to go anoint a new king (1 Samuel 16). Father God told him who to go to – Jesse of Bethlehem.  He told him how to maneuver around King Saul, and which sons were NOT to be anointed.

Why not just tell Samuel the name “David.”  This is the second king Samuel has anointed in just a few years, why add drama to something that Samuel was nervous about.  Can you imagine how Samuel felt after going through seven sons and having to wait for the eighth one to come in from the fields?  Was God testing Samuel?

In Hebrews 11 Samuel is noted as one who had faith and did great things.  He was an important person, having led Israel since he was a youth, and is mention in several other books for notable things he did.  He heard God’s voice and actually talked with Him.

Test or act of faith; that is really hard for me to say but it seems that is how God worked with him.  Samuel did not falter in carrying out his mission of anointing one of Jesse’s sons.  When Samuel anointed Saul there were not a lot of “complete sentences” then either.  In my limited view of these things I often think that Samuel was being tested so he had to move and do these things by faith.  But this needs to be tempered because he was following God’s directive and their long history has grounded him in God and His ways.  The example/lesson for us is that even veteran “generals” still have to hear and be sensitive to God’s leading.

The Bible and Science – Bernoulli’s Principle

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We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed – 2 Corinthians 4:8 (NIV)

They will soar on wings like eagles – Isaiah 40: 31(NIV)

A fluid (gas or liquid) that has high pressure with low velocity can change to have low Bernoulli_principlepressure with high velocity; that basically is Bernoulli’s Principle.  This principle is seen in many different ways in our world, from wings and vortex circles to fluids moving through pipes and hoses.

In the workings of this principle I see a connection with our lives as Christians.  When there is high pressure and low movement this resembles the times when we are in test and trials of our faith.  When we are having problems it is seems like everything around us slows down or even stops.  Though the pressure on us is great it just seems that the test and trials take so long.  The bright spot here is that they do come to an end.  When the pressure on us decreases we go faster making up for lost time.  God moves us quickly to our next assignment in life and we have accelerated growth in the Spirit of God.  These “low pressure periods” will “LIFT” as though we are on wings of eagles.

∞There is always pressure either high or low and we are always moving fast or slow; so Father thanks for the leading and that You are always surrounding us.

Pic By Unknown – Popular Science Monthly Volume 83, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20747798

Joshua and Caleb – A Thought on Leaders

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Joshua, Moses’ aide, the chosen leader to take Israel into the Promised Land is truly an outstanding person.  He does not have many negative things written about him, and the incident with the Gibeonites is the only major problem he has.  He is only one of the two “fighting men” who left Egypt that crossed the Jordan.

Caleb, the other faithful witness, is the other “fighting man” who made it into the Land.  He was a leader in the Tribe of Judah and probably had a great influence on Othniel, the first judge (Judges 3: 7).

Leaders who are called of God are really hard to find.  Many people do hold offices and fill a need but “Generals” are really rare.  We read about these two men but we don’t think about the numbers and percentages associated with them crossing into the Promised Land.  Exodus 12: 37 says there were 600,000 fighting men who left Egypt; that makes Joshua 0.00016% of that number and Joshua and Caleb 0.0003% of the total number of men who walked through the Red Sea.  Moses had picked other leaders to help him judge the tribes so there were people who helped, but the “Generals” really are hard to find.