Worth Order
On Saturday, my brother was worried about getting sick and asked me to be prepared to preach for him on Sunday morning. The Lord was with him, though, and he was able to do the service himself, while I attended a special service at my home church.
I did prepare, however, what I would have shared. My brother has been doing a series on The Family of God, which I find interesting because the majority of my family attends Severn River Church. Both of my siblings, their spouses, and all of my nieces go to SRC, and since I’ve begun attending there, the “family” sense of the church has taken on a whole new meaning to me.
In my family, we make a lot of jokes about birth order. I have long maintained that some of my irritating traits (i.e. being bossy) are mostly a result of being the oldest and learning to take charge at a young age. We all watch my oldest niece do the exact same thing—bossing Livvy and Ellie around, directing them into playing games her way. My brother and sister have certain traits that psychologists attribute to birth order. I don’t put all my faith in that type of information, but I believe that some of it could be true. Scientists and educators have battled for years in the nature vs. nurture debate, that circumstances may affect our personalities more than just our pre-programmed DNA. Birth order would certainly be a circumstance that teaches by experience.
Recently I’ve been doing a study of I Samuel, and I’ve found a pattern in the comparison of David and Saul, that I’ve termed, “Worth Order.” Here is the basic version:
The people of Israel, tired of the leadership of the judges, demand a king. Samuel, the last judge (and one of the few righteous) counsels against it, but their insistence wears him down. God directs Samuel to Saul, a tall young man with a lot of insecurity. From the moment that Saul is introduced we see his insecurity: not telling his family that Samuel anointed him king (I Sam. 10:16), hiding in the baggage at his own inauguration (I Sam. 10:22), and when the soldiers were scattering away from his command, Saul can’t take their outward confirmation of his inward fear—that he is too weak to handle the job (I Sam. 13:8). He is so insecure about his ability to lead (or God’s ability to choose) that he eventually is driven literally insane by his jealousies of David, whom the villagers claim has slain ten times more enemies in battle.
The first lesson of Worth Order: God’s favor is worth more than man’s fear. Even though God had given Samuel specific direction to anoint Saul king, and even though Saul had witnessed the confirmation, been filled with the Spirit and began to prophesy, even though God gave Saul victories in early battles against their enemies, Saul still wasn’t convinced that God would come through in every situation. His fear of his own inability and of God’s unreliability leads to his downfall; God removes His favor and Saul learns that he will lose the kingdom.
In I Samuel 15, the story unfolds of another failure. Again facing a battle, Samuel gives Saul the words of the Lord: spare no one. But Saul and his men do spare the king, the best animals, and the plunder of the battle. Not even when Saul is caught red-handed by Samuel does he admit fault. Instead he claims that he was merely saving the plunder to dedicate to God, sacrificing the animals in acts of repentance and worship. This story always reminds me of the modern proverb, “It’s better to get forgiveness than permission.” People who know that they won’t get permission, act anyway, and then by their apology make restitution. Unfortunately, Samuel gives Saul the second lesson of Worth Order: obedience first is worth more than a sacrifice afterward (I Sam. 15:22). God gives Saul an object lesson, so there is no mistake; regardless of Saul's apology after, the kingdom has already been torn from him.
God gives the kingdom instead to His next chosen leader: David. Samuel is instructed to go to Jesse's home and anoint the next king, and a parade of Jesse's sons walk by as Samuel tries to figure out which one would be the best king. God reveals to Samuel the next lesson in Worth Order: a man's heart is worth more than the hype that surrounds him (I Sam. 16:7) .
There are a lot of leaders that have charisma, energy, brilliance, or a clever presentation; it doesn't mean that their hearts are pure. Like Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man, they can spin your mind--"Trouble! Right here in River City!"--but in the end, you will be deceived. God is the only one who can see and judge each person's heart, rather than his appearance. David had the heart to follow after God; even when he later sinned, his heart was broken before the Lord, and he expressed that brokeness to God in some of the most beautiful and poignant verses in the Bible.
When we see the chapters that contrast Saul and David, we see that Saul may have been taller in inches, but he was shorter in heart.
I did prepare, however, what I would have shared. My brother has been doing a series on The Family of God, which I find interesting because the majority of my family attends Severn River Church. Both of my siblings, their spouses, and all of my nieces go to SRC, and since I’ve begun attending there, the “family” sense of the church has taken on a whole new meaning to me.
In my family, we make a lot of jokes about birth order. I have long maintained that some of my irritating traits (i.e. being bossy) are mostly a result of being the oldest and learning to take charge at a young age. We all watch my oldest niece do the exact same thing—bossing Livvy and Ellie around, directing them into playing games her way. My brother and sister have certain traits that psychologists attribute to birth order. I don’t put all my faith in that type of information, but I believe that some of it could be true. Scientists and educators have battled for years in the nature vs. nurture debate, that circumstances may affect our personalities more than just our pre-programmed DNA. Birth order would certainly be a circumstance that teaches by experience.
Recently I’ve been doing a study of I Samuel, and I’ve found a pattern in the comparison of David and Saul, that I’ve termed, “Worth Order.” Here is the basic version:
The people of Israel, tired of the leadership of the judges, demand a king. Samuel, the last judge (and one of the few righteous) counsels against it, but their insistence wears him down. God directs Samuel to Saul, a tall young man with a lot of insecurity. From the moment that Saul is introduced we see his insecurity: not telling his family that Samuel anointed him king (I Sam. 10:16), hiding in the baggage at his own inauguration (I Sam. 10:22), and when the soldiers were scattering away from his command, Saul can’t take their outward confirmation of his inward fear—that he is too weak to handle the job (I Sam. 13:8). He is so insecure about his ability to lead (or God’s ability to choose) that he eventually is driven literally insane by his jealousies of David, whom the villagers claim has slain ten times more enemies in battle.
The first lesson of Worth Order: God’s favor is worth more than man’s fear. Even though God had given Samuel specific direction to anoint Saul king, and even though Saul had witnessed the confirmation, been filled with the Spirit and began to prophesy, even though God gave Saul victories in early battles against their enemies, Saul still wasn’t convinced that God would come through in every situation. His fear of his own inability and of God’s unreliability leads to his downfall; God removes His favor and Saul learns that he will lose the kingdom.
In I Samuel 15, the story unfolds of another failure. Again facing a battle, Samuel gives Saul the words of the Lord: spare no one. But Saul and his men do spare the king, the best animals, and the plunder of the battle. Not even when Saul is caught red-handed by Samuel does he admit fault. Instead he claims that he was merely saving the plunder to dedicate to God, sacrificing the animals in acts of repentance and worship. This story always reminds me of the modern proverb, “It’s better to get forgiveness than permission.” People who know that they won’t get permission, act anyway, and then by their apology make restitution. Unfortunately, Samuel gives Saul the second lesson of Worth Order: obedience first is worth more than a sacrifice afterward (I Sam. 15:22). God gives Saul an object lesson, so there is no mistake; regardless of Saul's apology after, the kingdom has already been torn from him.
God gives the kingdom instead to His next chosen leader: David. Samuel is instructed to go to Jesse's home and anoint the next king, and a parade of Jesse's sons walk by as Samuel tries to figure out which one would be the best king. God reveals to Samuel the next lesson in Worth Order: a man's heart is worth more than the hype that surrounds him (I Sam. 16:7) .
There are a lot of leaders that have charisma, energy, brilliance, or a clever presentation; it doesn't mean that their hearts are pure. Like Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man, they can spin your mind--"Trouble! Right here in River City!"--but in the end, you will be deceived. God is the only one who can see and judge each person's heart, rather than his appearance. David had the heart to follow after God; even when he later sinned, his heart was broken before the Lord, and he expressed that brokeness to God in some of the most beautiful and poignant verses in the Bible.
When we see the chapters that contrast Saul and David, we see that Saul may have been taller in inches, but he was shorter in heart.