Trust

December 20

“When the men of Israel saw that they were in danger (for the people were distressed), then the people hid in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in holes, and in pits. And some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.

“So Saul said, ‘Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.’ And he offered the burnt offering. Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him.

“And Samuel said, ‘What have you done?’

“Saul said, ‘When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, then I said, The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD. Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.’

“And Samuel said to Saul, ‘You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.’" 1 Samuel 13:6-14

Perhaps some of us must admit that we would have reacted as Saul did in a situation similar to the one in which he found himself. Perhaps we would have endeavored to take matters into our own hands even as he did when the plan of action established by the prophet didn’t seem to be working out.

What if Samuel had been delayed because of illness? What if he’d been ambushed by Philistines and killed? What if God expected Saul to take the initiative and perform the prophet’s duty in this extraordinary situation?

‘What if…’ has tripped up many an individual who professes to know the Lord and is endeavoring to serve Him. But in his confusion, Saul needed to look no further than to Father Abraham for clear insight into what was expected of him in his dilemma.

Remember that Abraham and Sarah were childless and after many years of awaiting the fulfillment of God’s promise that they would have a son, they took matters into their own hands:

Hagar was the servant of Sarah. God had promised Abraham many descendants, but, ten years after the promise, Sarah was still unable to have children, and they were both on the verge of becoming too old to have children at all. Sarah chose to give her servant Hagar to Abraham, in accordance with the custom of day, so that Sarah could have a child through her (see Genesis 16:2).

Hagar conceived, and Sarah despised her. Sarah began to deal harshly with her, and Hagar fled to the desert to escape the resentment of her mistress. The angel of the Lord met Hagar in the wilderness, commanding her to return to Abraham and Sarah. The angel relayed a promise from God: “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude” (see Genesis 16:10). The angel also predicted Ishmael’s name and character (see Genesis 16:11-12).

Later, God fulfilled His promise to Abraham and Sarah. Sarah gave birth to a son named Isaac (see Genesis 21). Ishmael would have been about 14 years old at the time of Isaac’s birth. Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away after Isaac was weaned at around age 2-3, making Ishmael approximately 16, according to God’s command.

At that time, God repeated His promise that Ishmael would father a great nation. Hagar was in the desert and near death when the angel of God called to her, saying, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Get up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation” (see Genesis 21:17-18).

Ishmael and his mother lived in the wilderness of Paran, where he became an expert with a bow and later took an Egyptian wife (see Genesis 21:20-21). He is seen once again in Scripture when he returned to help bury his father Abraham (see Genesis 25:7-10). Ishmael, the son of a bond servant, became the father of 12 sons who were called princes. He lived to 137 years of age.

And the strife between the children of Ishmael and the children of Abraham’s promised son Isaac has not ceased, even into our day. The on-going mid-east conflict springs from the root of the discord within Abraham’s family.

Saul knew the outcome of Abraham and Sarah taking matters into their own hands so he should have understood that under no circumstances should he have taken the matter of sacrifice into his hands. So should we, when our problems defy solution.

And how could Abraham, how could Saul, how can we, in the throes of our most perplexing dilemma, continue to wait rather than to take action? How can we negate the challenge, ‘Don’t just stand there, do something!’

We can wait; we can do nothing at the point of our great perplexity, if we truly trust God. At those times when we are confronted with the option of obeying the Holy One or acting on our own, let us remind ourselves of the great examples of Abraham and Saul that we are given in the Bible.

Let us resolve that we won’t fall into the error that they made; rather, we will trust the Lord with a full heart of expectation that, “what He has promised, He is able to perform,” Romans 4:21.