“Sh’mu’el summoned the people to Adonai in Mitzpah. He said to the people of Isra’el, ‘Here is what Adonai the God of Isra’el says: ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt. I rescued you from the power of the Egyptians and from the power of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’ But today you have rejected your God, who himself saves you from all your disasters and distress. You have said to him, ‘No! Put a king over us!’ So now, present yourselves before Adonai by your tribes and families.”-1 Samuel 10:17-19
I wanna introduce a Hebrew word to you today.
It is YASHA or ישע.
And it means to be “saved” or “delivered”.
More literally, it means to be “wide” or “spacious”.
The opposite word is SARAR or צרר which means “to be narrow”, “to bind”, or “to be in distress”.
The idea is that when God rescues you, He takes you from a place of stressful and depressing confinement to a place of wide-open freedom and safety.
So why am I bringing this up?
Because this is the very word Samuel uses in his opening statement for Saul’s inauguration ceremony.
He is reminding Israel that they are a redeemed people and that Yehovah is the one who saved them.
But then notice verse 19.
He says, “Today you have rejected your God”.
Oh man, I’m sure you could’ve heard a pin drop once he laid that statement on them.
Samuel is making it clear to the people that by their demand for a worldly ruler…
They have outright rejected the one who has YASHA or saved them up until now.
This is important because one of the main duties of a king is to “rescue”, “deliver” or “save” His people.
But now, Samuel is making it clear to Israel that they are abandoning the One who has delivered them from all their disasters up to this point in favor of an earthly king who they think is gonna do a better job.
This leads me to your takeaway for today.
Have you abandoned your divine Savior and replaced Him with an inferior earthly version?
I think we are all tempted to do so many times in our lives.
Instead of relying solely on Scripture to guide our lives…
We are tempted to buy that New Agey self-help book that promises to give us the power to “manifest” whatever our greedy little heart desires…
Or we hoard away money in our bank accounts because deep down inside we really don’t believe God is gonna be there for us in our time of need.
We may pay lip service to the Lord during our superficial schmoozing sessions at whatever congregation we attend…
But our daily behavior betrays the true intention of our hearts.
It is this same impulse…
The impulse of acting out of FEAR instead of FAITH…
That caused the people to reject God and in His place install Saul over them.
Ya, feel me here?
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO NEW TESTAMENT
“No one can serve two masters.
Either you will hate the one
and love the other,
or you will be devoted
to the one and
despise the other.
You cannot serve
both God and money.”
-Matthew 6:24
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