How Long Will You Mourn?

Hello:

Welcome back from the weekend.  I was in Mississippi this past weekend with a group of ladies that were just so precious so if you’re tuning in today, I want to say hello.

Let’s continue our study of the monarchy.   We ended on last week with Samuel having to tell Saul that God had rejected him from being Israel’s king.  

The text says that Samuel never went to visit Saul again from that time forward.  Here is our text for today.

I Samuel 16: 1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” 2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me.” The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.” 4 Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?” 5 Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

As you can see in our text, Samuel has been in mourning for Saul and we do not know how long the mourning has taken place.   What we do now is that God is asking the question to Samuel as to: “how long will you mourn over Saul, since I have rejected him.”  As I told you earlier, even though Samuel gave out harsh rebukes and punishments to Saul from God, Samuel really loved Saul and his loosing the kingship really hurt him. 

Sometimes it does take a minute to adjust to the idea that something is lost or will never be but we can not stay in mourning.   Saul was over, God was doing something new and Samuel was still hurting about what did not take place with Saul.   So many of us are stuck in places where we’re mourning over things that will just never be.   It’s over.   It’s not meant to be a part of our lives.   Their season is up.  We’re trying to hold on to relationships and circumstances and things that just aren’t working out or things we know that the Lord has told us to abandoned and we are mourning or depressed because we feel like we just have to have it in our lives.  

It’s over.  Let’s move on.  I know it is easier said than done but it still needs to be done.   

God allows Samuel his mourning period but then God says okay; how long……… are you going to mourn for something that I have rejected.  Listen to the text.   How long are you going to be depressed about something that God says is no longer good for your life.   God Says; it’s no longer good.   Wow!!!!!!!!  When you really think about it, it’s seems silly.  God knows what’s best and we cry about and want to hold on to things that God says it’s time to let go.  

Okay, enough……   I think we get the picture.  God then instructs Samuel to “get up”   because God has a blessing for Israel in the appointment of the new king and Samuel is too busy being depressed about the old to embrace the new and bring the new into fruition.

God tells Samuel to go to the house of Jesse and the new king will be found there.   Samuel is fearful and says if Saul finds out that I am out anointing a new king he will be mad and will kill him.   God gives Samuel a plan.  HE tells him to take a heifer with him and tell the people that he has come to sacrifice to the Lord.

Samuel does as the Lord instructs and when the elders of the city see him, they tremble and ask:  Do you come peacefully; for they knew that Samuel being a prophet of God could come with either judgments or blessing.    Samuel responds that he comes peacefully and tells them to consecrate themselves and come to the sacrifice with him and he also invites Jesse and his sons.  

Tomorrow, we will study what happens as Samuel tries to discover who God intends for the next king of Israel to be. 

Stay encouraged and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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