Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.”
NL Daily Devotion for Saturday, October 22, 2022
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
This is a close echo of yesterday’s text. Not six chapters after anointing Saul king in a private ceremony, Samuel is now anointing David king in front of his brothers. The same afternoon Saul is overcome with a prophetic frenzy, and now Samuel has the spirit of God coming mightily upon him (which sounds similar).
Already we are seeing the cracks in the monarchic system the Israelites have chosen for themselves. Saul had so much promise—he was tall and handsome and won some battles for Israel. But he was unstable—made rash decisions, and eventually went a little nuts. In other words, he was human and flawed. God decides Saul isn’t the right king for Israel after all and sends Samuel out to find the next king.
David has so much promise—he is also handsome, though not tall (he is still a boy), and will go on to kill the Philistine giant, Goliath, with a sling. He will become the most celebrated king in all of Israel’s history, and yet he will rape a woman and call for the assassination of her husband rather than admit he got her pregnant. He will be constantly at war, be nearly usurped by his son, and thanks to his countless wives and sexual slaves kick off a succession nightmare.
“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” And while this quote wouldn’t be penned by Lord Acton until 1886, it was already true in Saul and David’s time. The only being this does not apply to is God.
Do I believe God is present in the decisions of governments? Why or why not?
