[NIV] 13 "You have done a foolish thing," Samuel said.
"You have not kept the command the LORD your Godgave you; if you had, he would have established yourkingdom over Israel for all time.
14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORDhas sought out a man after his own heart and appointedhim ruler of his people, because you have not kept theLORD‘s command."
14 Put - P90
22 So on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul andJonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Sauland his son Jonathan had them. - P91
Samuel rebukes Saul for not keeping the Lord‘s command. He says that Saul‘skingdom will not endure; God has appointed a man after His own heart torule over Israel. - P91
Saul has six hundred men with him in Gibeah, but there areno blacksmiths in the whole land. On the day of battle, not one soldier has asword or spear in his hand. - P91
Saul will pay a heavy price for his disobedience: God has chosen another person
to be Israel‘s king instead. - P90
Saul‘s fundamental problem is con-trasted with the character of the person God chooses to replace him-aman after God‘s own heart. Saul was not committed to honoring God;his heart was far away from Him. - P90
Our purpose for living should beto please our Lord in every way. This is perhaps the most importantrequirement for serving Him. - P90
This does not mean that those who arecommitted to serving God will never fail; we all fail in our faith walk inone way or another. But it makes all the difference when our hearts aresteadfastly pursuing after Him. - P90
Saul and his dwindling army find themselves in a precarious situation.
The Philistines who have been controlling the territory make it difficultfor the Israelite army to either acquire weapons or sharpen the ones theyalready have. - P92
As a result, only Saul and his son Jonathan have swords,leaving the rest of the army
virtually defenseless. - P92
Whenever we ignorethe reality of the spiritual warfare we are involved in, it is easy to neglectour spiritual armor. - P92
When that happens, we become vulnerable to theattacks of Satan. - P92
As believers we need to be always conscious of the nature of the battle
we are engaged in. - P92
We also need to engage in regularspiritual disciplines that keep us ready for spiritual battles. - P92
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