Daily Devotion, July 20, 2022

 

Devotion:

Read 1 Samuel 13:7-14.

The verses from Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” are favorite verses for many throughout the centuries. Even though written after the days of King Saul, these verses help us understand what King Saul did not do. King Saul did not trust in the Lord. He wasn’t patient enough to wait and he decided to lean on his own understanding.

From a little research on the Hebrew understanding of the word “trust”, I learned that the English word "trust" is an abstract (cannot be sensed by the five senses), but the Hebrew is a concrete oriented language where each word is associated with something that can be sensed by one or more of the five senses. Two of several Hebrew words for “trust” are defined as “to lean on someone or something" or “to cling". These more concrete picture words help me realize that God is the only one truly strong enough to lean on, to cling to and loves us enough to see us through the storms of life.

King Saul had stopped trusting in the Lord and had begun trusting in himself. His distrust in the Lord was also a reflection of the people’s distrust in the Lord. Chapters 8-15 tell the story of how the people wanted a King like the other nations around them already had. Samuel’s speech in 10:18-19 reminds the people that their desire for a king is a rejection of God’s rule.

By offering sacrifices, King Saul makes it appear that he is trusting in God, but Samuel knows the truth of the story. King Saul, in his fear, with the peoples’ fears, in his impatience, and belief in his own strength, went ahead of Samuel’s instructions to him. Samuel tells him that a new leader will be appointed because he did not keep the Lord’s command.

Personal Worship Option:

We can probably relate to Saul and the people, their fears and their impatience, more than we like to admit. We too, get impatient when things don’t go as planned, and go our own way, trusting in ourselves, rather than trusting in God. These scriptures call us back to “clinging” and “leaning” on God’s care and directions. With God’s help, we can be patient, trust, and follow God’s lead.