The LORD Looks at the Heart

The Israelites have entered the era of kings, and this is a scene when the kingship is being replaced. Changing a king is a big deal – it is not an easy matter. We have to look at why the former king is being replaced. King Saul, once a great king who received the guidance of God, has become full of his own success and became arrogant.

From 1 Sam. 13 and 15, we see the fall of King Saul where he failed to obey the commands of God. He gave the sacrifice on his own against the instruction from prophet Samuel who told King Saul to wait until his arrival (1 Sam. 13) and he kept some of Amalekites’ possession against the word of God who told Saul to demolish everything (1 Sam. 15). As the result of his self-reliance and self-glorification, God has rejected the king (1 Sam. 16:1) and decided to choose a new King for Israel. If Saul had continued his obedience to God and thought of his glorification instead of his self glory, this would not have happened. In fact, if our focus is in the glory of God, then we would be able to do many works. As one famous evangelical said, “you can get a lot of work done for the Kingdom of God if you do not care about who gets the credit.” Man has fallen and cannot rely on the fallen self. It became difficult to trust his own. Thus it is wiser to trust and rely on God rather than relying on his own. But the tragedy is when Saul started to rely on his own method and his own ability rather than relying on God. The movement of Jesus in Jerusalem, one of many small Roman-colonized cities, had a small and humble beginning, not even near the glory and splendor of Roman Caesars, generals, or leaders around the world. But while no one remembers the past glory, the work of Jesus endured the history and lasted so long. How was it that the glory of others disappeared but the glory of Jesus is being reveled more? It is because Jesus connected everything about his life and his ministry to God. There is also another story of a unique Israelite leader, Moses. He, too, at once tried to do things in his own method, which was through violence – he killed an Egyptian when he was trying to save his people. But the history of God does not happen through violence; rather, it is a humble way of depending on God. As the ones who wish to write a history that is not forgotten or rejected, we should be the ones who obey God’s command rather than relying on our own ability and our own glorification.