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Saul, Dark, and Handsome
Though
Israel as a people and nation already had a king, as in God – who they rejected
so that they could have a king like the other nations – they became the Kingdom
of Israel when God gave them their first human king.
As
per usual, the unfaithful bride of Christ is thinking in terms of the worldly,
fallen flesh, the sensual. Thus, her evil suitor has convinced her that she
needs a king. Here she rejects the advances of Christ for those of Satan.
However, this is simply the guard (Christ) cutting the guard dog (Satan) some
slack to bring His bride back into line. Remember what God said of this people?
“They have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them” (1 Sam. 8:7b). God
knew what would appeal to the unfaithful bride:
“There was a Benjaminite
man named Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of
Aphiah of Benjamin. Kish was a prominent person. He had a son named Saul, a
handsome young man. There was no one among the Israelites more handsome than he
was; he stood head and shoulders above all the people” (1 Sam. 9:1-2).
Let’s
take a quote from another publication:
“What comes to mind
whenever you think of Jesus? Some longhaired bearded guy all robes and sandals?
Would it surprise you to learn that nowhere does the Bible tell us what Jesus
looked like? Yet most movies and books picture Him as if He were a blue-eyed hippy
left over from the 60s cultural revolution! The Bible says of Him, “He has no
beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we
should desire Him.” (Isa. 53:2). But Jesus is usually depicted as a handsome
man in the movies.
One is left wondering
where the contemporary picture of Jesus comes from, as most people see Him
depicted in pictures … I don’t know about you, but I suppose I would like Jesus
to be tall, dark and handsome with movie-star looks. Why? Because isn’t that
the way a hero, the star of the Bible, is supposed to look? Well, maybe not.
The Bible is full of paradoxes, “the last shall be first”, “the meek shall
inherit the earth”, “you must lose your life to find it” etc. Jesus is the
Bible’s biggest paradox!
Let me repeat that verse:
“He has no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance
that we should desire Him.” This is not exactly the Hollywood version of a
hero!”[1]
The
long list of kings that began somewhere around 1020 BC with Saul ends with
Christ, the King of kings and Lord of Lords (Rev. 19:16). The people of God,
like the builders of the city of Cain, are thinking in fleshly terms. Even at
the time of Christ they were waiting for God to send them a saviour to subdue
the occupying Romans and establish an earthly kingdom. In all of this, one is
reminded of what Jesus said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense
to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men”
(Matt. 16:23).
Yes,
Christ’s kingdom will reign on earth, but it is the everlasting Kingdom of
Heaven that Christ is building, not something that will rise and perish like
that of the other nations. Notice also the covenantal reminder here, harking
back to the giving of His Ten Commandments (Exod. 20):
“Then Samuel called the
people together before the Lord at Mizpah. He said to the Israelites, “This is
what the Lord God of Israel has said, ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt and I
delivered you from the power of the Egyptians and from the power of all the
kingdoms that oppressed you. But today you have rejected your God who saves you
from all your trouble and distress. You have said, “No! Appoint a king over
us.” Now take your positions before the Lord by your tribes and by your
clans.’”
Then Samuel brought all
the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot. Then he
brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the family of Matri was
chosen by lot. At last Saul son of Kish was chosen by lot. But when they looked
for him, he was nowhere to be found. So they inquired again of the Lord, “Has
the man arrived here yet?” The Lord said, “He has hidden himself among the
equipment.”
So they ran and brought
him from there. When he took his position among the people, he stood head and
shoulders above them all. Then Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the
one whom the Lord has chosen? Indeed, there is no one like him among all the
people.” All the people shouted out, “Long live the king!” (1 Sam. 17:17-24).
Here
we see the truth of the proverb, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every
decision is from the LORD” (Prov. 16:33). The unfaithful bride gets the foolish
desire of her eyes, as the faithful Groom sovereignly guides it all in wisdom.
Where was the first and temporary king? “He has hidden himself.” The last and
eternal King? “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see
him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because
of him.” So shall it be! Amen” (Rev. 1:7).
Saul,
when contrasted with Christ, epitomizes the theme of this book, viz., the
unfaithful bride and the faithful Groom.
“So Saul died for his
unfaithfulness which he had committed against the LORD, because he did not keep
the word of the LORD, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance. But
he did not inquire of the LORD; therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom
over to David the son of Jesse” (1 Chron. 10:13-14).
God
sees the end from the beginning. The long list of kings was simply God working
out His purposes. Indeed, it was immediately upon the fall of man in Adam that
God the Son entered His creation as Mediator between God and man. William
Symington provides us with a helpful bit of a summary of what we already know:
“The administration of
mediatorial rule existed from the time of the entrance of sin into our world.
The Son of God then entered on the administration of all his mediatorial functions;
on this, as well as others. The voice of the Lord God, walking in the garden in
the cool of the day, announced him as a prophet: the institution of sacrifices,
which there is reason to think was coeval with the fall of man, exhibited him
as a priest: and the warfare betwixt the seed of the woman and the seed of the
serpent, which then commenced, unfolded his regal character. In this latter
capacity, he never ceased afterwards to act. The formation of the church in
Eden; the translation of Abel’s righteous soul to glory; the re-organisation of
the church with Noah; the covenant made with Abraham, and renewed with Isaac
and Jacob; the establishment of the Jewish Economy under Moses; the many
interpositions made on behalf of the armies of Israel, by which they were
rendered victorious over their enemies; the appointment of judges; and the
raising up of kings in the line of David, to dispense the benefits of civil
government to God’s ancient people—are all so many regal acts of Prince
Messiah. Accordingly, when he came in the flesh, he was recognised, not as
entering upon, but as in the full possession of, royal prerogatives: ‘Where is
he that is BORN KING of the Jews?’ (Matt. 2:2).[2]
The
preincarnate Christ was the Mediator even before the Word became flesh. Since
the fall He has held the threefold office of prophet, priest, and king. The Old
Testament prophets, priests, and kings, therefore, typified the Christ to come.
Yes, some of the types were clearer than others. However, God the Son was
working behind the scenes, using and guiding these three offices towards their
climactic fulfilment in Jesus, THE Prophet, Priest, and King in the new
covenant. We are, of course, focused mainly on His kingly role at the moment.
The
list of kings under the old covenant is lengthy, and became two long lists
when, under Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, somewhere around 930 BC, the country
separated into two kingdoms: the Kingdom of Israel (with the ten northern
tribes) in the north and the Kingdom of Judah (with the tribes of Judah and
Benjamin) in the south, whose seat was Jerusalem.
This
list begins with Saul, then David, and then Solomon. Then the split between the
north and the south came with Rehoboam. The following epitaph could be
inscribed on Saul’s tombstone:
“So Saul died for his
unfaithfulness which he had committed against the LORD, because he did not keep
the word of the LORD, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance. But
he did not inquire of the LORD; therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom
over to David the son of Jesse” (1 Chron. 10-13-14).
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