Friday 19 December 2014
- Bible Book:
- 1 Samuel
“The LORD said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.’” (v. 1)
Psalm: Psalm 67
Background
It's difficult for us to appreciate the standing of a prophet,or seer, in societies like Israel at the time of Samuel. We don'thave an equivalent. The nearest we get is when a personality seemsto gain such iconic status that the media almost awards theminfallible powers. For them just to walk into a room is to set offgasps and a battery of mobile phone cameras.
To read 1 Samuel is to pick up hints that the prophet's arrivalanywhere would draw a crowd. People would hang on his every word,waiting to see what he would do; what God would do and say throughhim. There were rituals he and the people followed when he was intown (1 Samuel 9:11-14) and his arrival was not acomforting thing.
In today's passage we find that the elders in Bethlehem come tomeet him trembling, hoping that he comes in peace and not bringinga word of condemnation from God. His arrival was not necessarily awelcome sight.
Actually he is in search of a new king to replace the failedSaul because the time is right, but he tells the elders he is inBethlehem to sacrifice to God. The search for a king is still justbetween God and the prophet.
The story here is in what the ancient Celts would haveunderstood as a 'time between times'. To most eyes Saul was stillking, but to God he wasn't. Samuel was on the lookout for a kingwho would be, but was not yet. There's a reminder for us that evenwhen things appear silent, God is always on the move towards whatwill be.
To Ponder
- Who are the prophets for today: preachers, song-writers,columnists?
- Is there a place in contemporary society for people who speakGod's uncomfortable word: to the powerful and to the Church? Whatdo they say?