1 Samuel 13: Foolishness

"Samuel said to Saul, 'You have been foolish.  You have not kept the command which the Lord your God gave you.'"

1 Samuel 13:13a

What a thing to say to a king!

Samuel makes an interesting distinction here.  Foolishness is not keeping the command which the Lord has given you.  He then goes on to say that this foolishness is why the Lord will be replacing Saul with another man He has chosen.  We will find in later chapters that this replacement is David, who we all know for his defeat of the giant Goliath.

Allow me to contrast these two individuals: Saul and David.  Saul is large - head and shoulders taller than even the tallest other Israelites.  David is small, young, and generally a pretty-boy - the bible specifically notes his beautiful eyes.  Saul is headstrong, while David is meek.  Saul rejects the command of the Lord, but David faithfully obeys.  Saul is foolish.  David is wise.

Question of the Day:

In what way(s) have you been foolish lately?  What has the Lord commanded you to do that you neglected to follow through with?  What has the Lord commanded you not to do that you did anyway?

Prayer of the Day:

Lord, forgive my foolishness.  I repent of my foolishness and humbly ask that You would help me by giving me the wisdom to follow Your commands faithfully.  As You replaced Saul with David, so should You replace me with Your Spirit.  Amen.