I Samuel 9:1-2 - Saul, Son of Kish

I Samuel 9:1-2

1 Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, son of a Benjaminite, a valiant mighty man. 2 He had a son whose name was Saul, a young and handsome man, and there was not a more handsome man than he among the sons of Israel; from his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people.

Message: Saul, Son of Kish

Time: This book is a biography of Samuel's life and career up to his death. It took place over a period of about 110 years, stretching from the closing days of the judges, when Samuel was born (ca. 1120 BC) through the death of Saul (1011 BC).

What the Lord is Saying: My Overview of I Samuel 1-8 -- Elkanah comes to Shiloh to offer sacrifices and provides a double portion to his wife Hannah who is without children. Samuel is then born to Hannah and Elkanah and taken to Shiloh to be dedicated to the Lord. Hannah praises God. In contrast, Eli (the priest) has 2 worthless sons that do not follow the Lord compared to Samuel that is dedicated to the Lord for service. Eli trains Samuel and he is growing with the Lord God, as a prophet, and bringing God’s word to Israel. Eli, after 40 years as judge, dies after hearing his sons have died, Israel has been defeated and the ark is taken by Philistines. One of Eli's sons - Phinehas wife has a son, Ichabad meaning, "The Glory Departs from Israel." The Philistines take the ark to Dagon, their god as a sort of victory but Yahweh conquers Dagon and other cities for possessing the ark of God. With all of the judgment taking place by possessing the ark, the Philistines turn over the ark and make a guilt offering of tumors and mice. Offerings received from the people as well. Samuel leads the people to restoration from the hand of the Philistines. The people respond by putting away their foreign Gods and Samuel removes the evil, restores the good and God responds and makes a way for victory against the Philistines. At the end of Samuel's life, the people want a new king of their own doing. God provides a king through Samuel, not giving them what they need, but what they want. 

Verse 1 introduces this son from the tribe of Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob (Israel). Verse 1 mentions Aphiah as being in the line of Benjamin, but there is no other mention of Aphiah and he was not a son of Benjamin, nor Becorath or Zeror, but Abiel is the great grand-father of Saul. Interesting these names listed and yet not clearly connected and yet the author it important to show this lineage of Saul.  Kish was a "valiant mighty man."

Kish had a son name Saul. 

- a young and handsome man

- not more of a handsome man among sons of Israel (Jacob) and that is over 700 years, so I suppose he is quite handsome

- taller than any of the other people

I suppose it is of note that the most interesting information to share about Saul is he is handsome and tall. His father was a valiant mighty man. Saul, however is handsome and tall. Saul looks the part and this seems to be what the people want. God gives the people what they want. Elections are set up as popular vote. The people choose their leader. But God ultimately is in charge so whoever is at the head is who the people want. Yet God is involved. 

Summary: God gives the people what they want in a leader - Saul - tall and handsome. 

Promise: Am I more focused on my looks and appearance or my spiritual growth and who I am as a person. 

Prayer: Lord, perhaps from this verse I am to learn that while being handsome and tall and good looks is what matters to people so very often and also to me most of the time, what I need to be more focused on is what i son the inside. O God, I am like these people, that want the good looking king - wife. Lord, help me in this. I need this lesson today. I need to be about You. And what is important to You. Redefine me God. 

Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.

Proverbs 11:2 - Understand Your Limits

Proverbs 11:2

When pride comes, then comes dishonor

But with the humble is wisdom. 

Message: Understand your limits

Time: Proverbs records multiple individuals as its author with Solomon as the principal author. Solomon died in 931 BC though most think the book was likely in its final form sometime before the end of Hezekiah’s reign in 686 BC. It is a book that instructs people on the path of wisdom. It speaks to all of life and living our lives under the authority and direction of God.

What the Lord is Saying: This is the first time that pride is mentioned. This verse compares pride and humility. 

Pride seems to be a problem as this verse mentions, for with it comes dishonor. There is a connotation of pride in our world today that doesn't seem to be wrong, such as me saying "I am proud of my children" which seems to be an admission that I am glad that my children are mine. It is a word which shows that I am extremely glad with a deep level of satisfaction for having an association with a person or cause. 

But traditionally, pride is a vice. And more specifically in religious traditions, it is competing with reliance and dependence on God. With God as creator, we serve Him and surrender to Him and His ways. We are guided by His principles and in life, he is the one to receive glory for anything that is accomplished including my work. Without God in the picture, it seems like life shifts to personal achievement as well as societal achievement. Its focus is more on community being served and guiding our principles. 

I have been reading a book on life and more specifically life in my later years. I am 58 and so with the kids gone from the home and myself past my prime of productivity, I am looking at these later years and figuring out my purpose. Chapter 3 of this book is "Kick your success addiction" and primarily is focusing attention on workaholism. The book mentions that "work, which is a source of meaning and purpose, becomes workaholism, which hurts our relationships." Saint Augustine observed that "pride lurks even in good works in order to destroy them." Success is fine and part of excellence but somewhere along the way it becomes an addiction in our life. 

I know I struggle with pride. I have gifts that I think the Lord has given me and it seems it is important to not be tempted to think too highly of myself and in the process get my focus off of God. As years have gone by and as I have done things, often driven to do those things, I start seeing myself as the one that needs to do things. This mostly occurs at work, in the work I do and work assignments. 

In this verse, the writer states that pride produces dishonor. NIV says disgrace, shame (KJV). From the internet, "Luke 14:11 says, "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted". This verse emphasizes a principle of spiritual humility, suggesting that those who seek honor for themselves through pride will be brought low, while those who are humble will ultimately be lifted up by God." Thus, God will humble every person. 

Thus, this verse is framing the unhealthy version of pride or the kind of pride that inflates the view of oneself. The dishonor or shame is the result of this unhealthy or inflated view of oneself. The problem seems to be when the scale is tipped and a person moves from confidence to overconfidence. The overconfident person takes unnecessary risks because they think they cannot fail. A student thinks they can't fail, so in turn, they don't study. A person who has great confidence in their driving might cause themselves to take risks on the road and result in getting a ticket which is showing them at fault. The person starts out thinking they can't fail, but this could produce failure. The failure is the dishonor or shame of now being seen as a foolish person.

I get this way at times, thinking I can do things that sometime are beyond my ability. That time I worked on Pamela's car and changing a tire and then forgot to tighten the lug nuts once the car was on the ground. And the wheel came off and I looked foolish. I felt like a bad person, a failure. And it all started with "I can do this" even though I am not a mechanic. 

The contrast here is the humble person. This is the person with a quiet confidence. It is a person that understands their limits. This is the person knows when they can handle something and knows when they need to shift the responsibility to another person. The humble person still acts but acts within reason and this is the person then which is seen as wise. This person knows when to give where credit where credit is due. 

Prayer: O God, help me to be that person that understands my limits. You have gifted everyone differently and often it is better when the right person does the task at hand. Help my overconfidence. I suppose I have that tendency to think, "I got this" but I can be a strong person that trusts in others and ultimately trusts in You. Help me understand me. And live within my constraints. 

Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.