A Subjugated People
I Samuel 13
13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.
14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.
15 And Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men.
16 And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, abode in Gibeah of Benjamin: but the Philistines encamped in Michmash.
17 And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned unto the way that leadeth to Ophrah, unto the land of Shual:
18 And another company turned the way to Bethhoron: and another company turned to the way of the border that looketh to the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.
19 Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears:
20 But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock.
21 Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads.
22 So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.
23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the passage of Michmash.
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In my blogs, and in my preaching, it’s always my hope and intention that folks will see the Bible as being relevant in every time period and for every generation. It’s not just something written a long time ago that was good for then and fun to read now. God gave His Word because it teaches His creation truths that are to be put into use, not just read for the sake of knowledge.
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In my devotional time this morning I read more in 1 Samuel. I give to you now part of what impacted me. —
God wants His creation to serve Him in obedience to His instructions as found in His Word . When they do, His directives bring individuality and freedom. When His creation chooses to do things their way, and therefore against Him, individuality and freedom are minimized, marginalized, and eventually placed into the hands of those that rise to supremacy.
Therein is the predicament the Israelites find themselves. They had wanted a king just like those around them. God warned them that once they got their king they would lose their lives into his service. That didn’t matter to them and so they got what they wanted. The fallout of their personal disobedience to God would eventually cost them almost everything.
Now in this chapter, Samuel informs Saul that his disobedience will negatively affect his kingdom and that troubled times would come. And so it happens. The Philistines show up and take what little freedom, individuality, and self-protection Saul and his people had left.
We’re told that at this time the spoilers had come out of the camp of the Philistines. Prior to that, the Philistines had already been working on demilitarizing the Israelites by taking away their means to make weapons to defend themselves.
The Israelites became easy pickings … so the “spoilers” thought anyway. We find out later that some miraculous things happen and the day is saved. Thankfully Saul had a son (Jonathan) that acted wisely and in accordance with the need of the moment as he saw it. Ofttimes, it takes just one man to stand up and do right.
My take on all this —
When God, His Word, and His ways are put to the side eventually society falls in on itself and despotic anarchy arises. Slowly at first … even over many years. But, it finally takes over.
What happens?
Society becomes “faceless” (masked); individuality gets suppressed; freedoms get reduced; and, choice is no longer a viable option. And then lastly: No “smiths” will be found in the land. The right to defend oneself against foreign and/or DOMESTIC enemies will be denied. No Smiths = no armed citizenry.
Freedom that is based upon God’s directives and authority cannot been comprehended, understood, appreciated as the great blessing that it is until — it is placed in jeopardy and ultimately taken away.
God wants His creation to be free and prosperous. But that can only happen when He is “allowed” to be in charge and things are done His Way — as He knows is best for us.
America has been blessed under God. The Church and His people have been blessed within the constructs of this Country for many years. But we are witnessing an upheaval the likes of which we did not anticipate and are becoming increasingly powerless to withstand. Like the Israelites, we have gotten just what we wanted — a nonintrusive God. And it is going to be our destruction.
My concern isn’t so much for the Country. My concern is more for God’s people that are too blind to recognize their own needy condition before God. Since we spend so little time in His Word very little of it permeates our lives. And because not much of it is inside us, very little comes out of us that can, or will, make any difference in the foreseeable days ahead.
I don’t have any fancy Christian publicized answers to any of this. I’m pretty much a small cog in the wheels of it all.
But, if I can just reach one person. If I can touch a “Jonathan” that will see clearly his need to put God and His Word first — that will “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” — then all this blogging won’t be in vain.
Our only hope for the body of Yeshua (and our Country) is to get back to His Word and let its two-edged blade do its thing in our lives.
But …
Based upon what I’ve surmised thus far …
I’m not too sure we want the Blade to poke too deeply, if at all. It just might hurt.
And the end?
We, God’s people, will not have any Bible “smiths” in our midst and we too will become —
A Subjugated People