The Story of the Bible
- Автор: Hurlbut Jesse Lyman
- Год: 1904
- Язык: английский
- Год: Heritage History
- Жанр: Культурология
Электронная книга - «The Story of the Bible». Краткое содержание книги:
But a great mistake was made by King Saul on the day of the victory. He feared that his men would turn aside from following the Philistines to seize the spoil in their camp, and when the battle began King Saul said, "Let the curse of God light on any man who takes food until the evening. Whoever takes any food before the sun goes down shall die, so that there may be no delay in destroying our enemies."
So on that day no man ate any food until it was evening, and they were faint and feeble from hunger. They were so worn out that they could not chase the Philistines further, and many of the Philistines escaped. That afternoon, as they were driving the Philistines through a forest, they found honey on the trees; but no man tasted it, because of Saul's oath before the Lord, that whoever took a mouthful of food should be put to death."
But Jonathan had not heard of his father's command. He took some honey and was made stronger by it. They said to Jonathan, "Your father commanded all the people not to take any food until the sun goes down, saying 'May the curse of God come upon any one who eats anything until the evening.'" When Jonathan heard of his father's word, he said, "My father has given us all great trouble; for if the men could have taken some food they would have been stronger to fight and to kill their enemies."
On that night Saul found that Jonathan had broken his command, though he knew it not at the time. He said, "I have taken an oath before the Lord, and now, Jonathan, you must die, though you are my own son."
But the people would not allow Jonathan to be put to death, even to keep Saul's oath. They said, "Shall Jonathan die, after he had done such a great deed, and won the victory, and saved the people? Not a hair of his head shall fall, for he has done God's work this day!"
And they rescued Jonathan from the hand of the king and set him free. A great victory had been won, but Saul had already shown that he was not fit to rule, because he was too hasty in his acts and his words, and because he was note careful to obey God's command.
The Philistines after this battle stayed for a time in their own land beside the Great Sea, and did not trouble the Israelites upon the mountains.
Saul's Great Sin and His Great Loss
I Samuel xv: 1 to 35.
After the great victory over the Philistines, Saul led his men against the enemies of Israel on every side of the land. He drove back the Moabites to their country east of the Dead Sea, and the Ammonites to the desert regions across the Jordan. He fought the Edomites on the south and the kings of Zobah in the far north. For a time the land of Israel was free from its oppressors.
On the south of the land, in the desert where the Israelites had journeyed for forty years, were living the wild and wandering Amalekites, a people who had sought to harm the Israelites soon after they came out of Egypt, and had killed many of their people when they were helpless on their journey. (See Part First, Story Twenty-Five.) For this God had said that Israel should have war against the Amalekites until they were destroyed.
The time had now come for God's word against the Amalekites to be fulfilled, and Samuel said to Saul, "Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, go down and make war against the Amalekites, and destroy them utterly."
Then Saul called out the men of war in all the tribes, and they marched southward into the desert where many years before their fathers had lived for forty years. There Saul made war on the Amalekites, and took their city and destroyed it. But he did not do what God commanded him. He brought Agag, the king of the Amalekites, and many of his people as prisoners, and a great train of their sheep and oxen, intending to keep them.
Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, "It would have been better never to have chosen Saul as king, for he does not obey my commands."
All that night Samuel prayed to the Lord, and the next day he went to meet Saul. When Saul saw him, he said, "May the blessing of the Lord be upon you. I have done what the Lord commanded me to do."
Then said Samuel, "If you have obeyed God's commands and destroyed all the Amalekites and all that they possessed, what is the meaning of this bleating of the sheep and the bellowing of the oxen which I hear?"
"They have bought them from the Amalekites," answered Saul, "for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to offer in sacrifice to the Lord your God. All the rest we have utterly destroyed." This he said to excuse his wrong-doing and to put the blame for his disobedience to God's command on the people.
Then Samuel said, "I will tell you what God said to me last night. When you were humble in your own sight, God chose you to be king over Israel. He sent you on a long journey to the southward into the desert and said to you, 'Go and utterly destroy the Amalekites and leave nothing of them.' Why did you not obey God's word but did seize their oxen and sheep and save many of their people alive, disobeying God's voice?"
And Saul said, "I have done as God commanded, and have destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took some things that should have been destroyed, to offer in sacrifice to the Lord."
And Samuel said, "Is the Lord as well pleased with offerings as he is with obeying his words? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen to God's word is more precious than to place offerings on his altar. To disobey God's word is as evil as to worship idols. You have refused to obey the voice of the Lord, and the Lord will take away your kingdom from you."
Saul saw now how great was the harm that he had done, and he said, "I have sinned in not obeying God's word; but I was afraid of the people, and yielded to them. Now forgive my sin. Come with me, and I will worship the Lord."
"No," said Samuel, "I will not go with you, for God will refuse you as king."
As Samuel turned away, Saul took hold of his garment, and it tore in his hand. And Samuel said, "Even so has God torn the kingdom away from you; and he will give it to a man that is better than you are. And God is not like a man, to say one thing and do another. What God has said shall surely come to pass."
Saul begged Samuel so hard not to leave him, but to give him honor in presence of the people, that Samuel went with Saul, and Saul worshipped the Lord with Samuel.
After this Samuel went to his house at Ramah, and he never again met Saul as long as he lived; but he mourned and wept for Saul, because he had disobeyed the Lord, and the Lord had rejected him as king.
SAMUEL TURNS AWAY FROM SAUL
The Shepherd Boy of Bethlehem
I Samuel xvi: 1 to 23.
When Samuel told Saul that the Lord would take away the kingdom from him, he did not mean that Saul should lose the kingdom at once. He was no longer God's king; and as soon as the right man in God's sight should be found, and should be trained for his duty as king, then God would take away Saul's power, and would give it to the man whom God had chosen. But it was many years before all this came to pass.
Samuel, who had helped in choosing Saul as king, still loved him, and he felt very sorry to find Saul disobeying God's commands. He wept much, and mourned for Saul. But the Lord said to Samueclass="underline"
"Do not weep and mourn any longer over Saul, for I have refused him as king. Fill the horn with oil, and go to Bethlehem in Judah. There find a man named Jesse, for I have chosen a king among his sons."
But Samuel knew that Saul would be very angry, if he should learn that Samuel had named any other man as king in his place. He said to the Lord, "How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me."
Then the Lord said to Samuel, "Take a young cow with you; and tell the people that you have come to make an offering to the Lord. And call Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice. I will tell you what to do; and you shall anoint the one whom I name to you."