We’re continuing on with our review of the key events that led the way to the Book of Kings.
So, picking up from where we last left off, the Lord next leads Samuel to the town of BEIT-LECHEM (the House of Bread).
In the English-speaking world, this town is otherwise known as “Bethlehem.”
It was located in the tribal territory of Judah.
If you know your Bible, a couple of prophetic bells should be ringing in your head right now.
Anyway, onward homies.
So, the whole purpose of God sending Samuel to Bethlehem was to choose a new king from Jesse’s family.
That person was Jesse’s youngest son, David, a young shepherd boy.
At the same time, while all this was happening, King Saul had completely abandoned all trust in the Lord.
The result?
The Lord had removed His Holy Spirit from Saul.
Or a much more terrifying way to express it is to say that God had now cursed Saul.
The Hebrew term used to express this abandonment by God is one you should all be familiar with by now: KARET.
The Lord had KARET or “cut off” Saul from His presence.
The consequences were indeed horrifying.
An “evil spirit” fell upon Saul, and he fell into a deep depression.
Things got so bad that the king’s royal court decided to hire David, who also happened to be a skilled musician, to come in and play the harp for Saul in the hopes of relieving his emotional distress.
The takeaway for today is clear.
When you abandon trust in the Lord as Saul did…
The dire consequence is that you lose your peace of mind.
You lose that sense of stability that all is well in the world.
You lose your SHALOM.
And shalom can only come from the Lord.
Not from your family.
Your relationships.
Money.
Sexual prowess.
Or whatever else the gentile world lusts after to bolster their well-being.
Ya feel me.
Done.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Therefore, take no thought, saying,
What shall we eat? or,
What shall we drink?
or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:
for your heavenly Father knoweth
that ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and his righteousness;
and all these things shall
be added unto you.”
-Matthew 6:31-33
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