Sadly, the picture of Saul that is emerging is pretty much identical to the modern-day politicians we have in office in our day.
What do I mean exactly?
Well, Saul was good at sweet talk, but when it came time for action, he wouldn’t make a move unless there was a clear benefit to him.
Although, he was the leader of Israel, ironically, he didn’t do a lot of leading.
He was more like the follow-the-crowd type.
His decisions were based on the level of support he had.
If there was too much opposition, he quickly backed down.
His hypocrisy towards the Mosaic Law was also quite apparent.
At times, Saul ordered the people to be diligent in obeying God’s commands while breaking them himself.
It was as if he considered himself to be above the Law.
Remember, this will be the chief characteristic of the anti-Christ.
The bottom line is that everything that God demanded from a king, Saul failed to deliver.
His outward behavior may have seemed confident and filled with bravado, but deep down inside he was an insecure man who lacked strong character.
Of course, the Lord knew beforehand that Saul would end up becoming a total disaster.
That’s why He chose him in the first place.
What’s interesting is that Saul not only resembles the spineless politicians in our day, but he’s also stereotypical of the Middle Eastern rulers in his era.
That’s why the tribal leaders of Israel chose him in the first place.
They wanted a ruler patterned after the gentiles thinking that would solve all their problems, and that’s just what they got.
Saul’s son Jonathan was well aware of his father’s character deficits.
That’s why he knew he had to take bold action against the Philistines, or this arch-enemy of Israel would continue to set up one outpost after another on Israelite territory.
This is the reason why Jonathan took his armor bearer with him and challenged the Philistines to come out and fight without getting permission from Papa first.
And that’s your takeaway for today.
If you ever find yourself dealing with a hemming and hawing leadership…
And God’s Will is clear…
Be brave, and take some BOLD action.
If you are indeed in God’s Will, you will be rewarded for your action…even if the rewards aren’t immediately forthcoming.
Ya feel me?
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