Thursday, August 26

Don't Jump Ahead of God!

Not that anyone really CAN jump ahead of God. He knows the end from the beginning (Is. 46:10). And because God is timeless, He can never be late, or "miss" an appointment. These seem obvious to us. So it seems so until we're in the middle of a decision and have occasion as did Saul to upend God's clear command. He was to have waited seven days per Samuel's orders. But he didn't. The pressure was on, no doubt. The Philistines were gathered and ready to quell this rebellion and to put Israel back into rank servitude! Saul reasoned, "I have to act! I have to do something!" That's so American, isn't it? 

Disobedience = Rabbit's Foot 
So, Saul overstepped his boundaries and unlawfully offered the sacrifice in Samuel's absence. In so doing, Saul was viewing sacrifice to the God of heaven as, well, . . . a rabbit's foot! He needed divine help against these powerful and well-equipped Philistines. So, he "rubbed" the rabbit's foot to get a little magic. That's what men do when God is reduced to a formula for success instead of a God to be loved and obeyed! Since Samuel was taking so long to show up, he took matters into his own hands (a good leader?), and sought out God's favor by offering sacrifice himself.

But that's not the way God works! We've seen this before. It never works! Sarah couldn't wait for God to fulfill his promise so she had Abraham father a child by Hagar, her handmaiden. Wrong! You shoulda waited on the Lord. ALWAYS!

Samuel's question resounds down through the centuries, "What have you done?" That's always the question, isn't it? When we've usurped God's authority, taken matters into our own hands, and created destruction single-handedly, then we need to hear, "What have you done?" 

Faith waits on God no matter how long He takes. Faith assumes God is always right, always on time, and always wise. And they are wise who give God space to accomplish his perfect designs in His own time! So, because Saul refused to believe God, Samuel spoke: “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart . . .
(1 Sam. 13:13-14). Wait on the Lord.  

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