1 Samuel #16: an exposition of 1 Samuel 16:1-23. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, March 25, 2012.
Intro:
Fairy tales are great because they are simple. Characters are clearly defined. There is good and evil and you know which is which. The same was true for classic westerns. Good guys wore white hats while bad guys wore black. There was right and there was wrong. The hero saved the town, kissed the girl and rode off into the sunset on his trusty mount. Life was simple then. Oh and 1950 sitcoms, there was no problem that could not be solved within 30 minutes! Sure there were crisis but Eddie Haskell never got away with it and the Beaver learned his lesson and all was well. No wonder we want to go back to those simpler days. The problem is life is not a fairy tale, a classic western or a 50’s sitcom. Life has never been that simple. Neither has faith. There is a fondness in the church for formulas. We like to think things fit into neat categories and truth is always black and white but the reality is, the life of faith is more complicated than that. The God who thunders from Sinai, who sets the stars in place, who controls all things by the power of His might just won’t fit into a box. No matter what the color, shape or size. Often when we read the Scriptures we are left scratching our heads and wondering, “Why did God do it that way?” “How does that advance the kingdom?” “Boy, I never saw that coming.” That seems especially true to me when reading 1 Samuel. Regularly I’m met with unexpected twists and turns. I’m forced to acknowledge, “His ways are not my ways neither are His thoughts my thoughts.” “Samuel they are not rejecting you, in their demand for a king, they are rejecting me. So give them a king.” What? The enemy has an overwhelming force. They are advancing. Your army is deserting. Samuel hasn’t shown up. Everything is going to be lost. The nation will be destroyed. I must act – so Saul makes sacrifice to God and seeks His intervention. God’s response? “I reject you as king.” Why? What he did seemed reasonable, given the circumstances. He obeyed, within reason. Rejected? Really? His ways are not our ways neither are His thoughts our thoughts. This evening we continue our walk through 1 Samuel as we come to chapter 16.
Text: 1 Samuel 16:1-23
God decisively rejected Saul as king:
1 Samuel 13:14 – But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.
1 Samuel 15:28 – And Samuel said to him, The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.
God’s choice of a a replacement was decisive – yet it would be a dozen years or more before he would be king. In the meantime the story is filled with twists and turns and joys and heartaches not to mention a few troubling scenes. Here in chapter 16 we learn who that replacement will be. Along the way we discover some important truths about God, his ways and the life we are called to live.
This chapter serves to remind us that…
Thesis: The life of faith is not a “cut and dried,” black and white existence. It is a full color, adventure filled journey guided by His loving, righteous and sovereign hand.
There are three things I want to point out.
- God has not, and will not abandon His people. (16:1-5)
- God delights in choosing the weak and simple to confound the strong and wise. (16:6-13)
- Both God’s wrath and His grace are worked out in the colorful mess of our lives. (16:14-23)