信仰の手引き（英語・English）
David’s Way, Saul’s Way
投稿者
goodnews2
投稿日
2023-08-25 01:33
閲覧数
93
Destroy Amalek
Saul became the king of Israel by the grace of God. He became the first king in the history of Israel. Shortly after Saul became king, God spoke to him through the prophet Samuel.
“God said to the king, ‘Go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass’.”
Saul gathered over two hundred thousand soldiers and attacked Amalek. He captured Agag, the king of the Amalekites, and killed all the people. However, he spared Agag, along with the best of the sheep, the oxen, and all that was good, and did not completely destroy them. Seeing that, God spoke to the prophet Samuel.
“It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments.”
King Saul Followed His Own Thoughts
The most important way for us to have faith in God is to abandon our own thoughts. God said in Isaiah chapter 55 in the Bible, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Since God’s thoughts are completely different from ours, if we want to believe in God, we must abandon our thoughts and follow God’s will.
Saul did not do that. God commanded him to destroy all of Amalek, but Saul saved what seemed good to him. He abandoned God’s will and followed his own thoughts.
David Looked Up to God
One day, the Philistine giant, Goliath, showed up at the battlefield. Goliath’s height was six cubits and a span, which was about 3 meters. When Saul and all Israel saw him, they were terrified. But David bravely marched towards Goliath. From a young age, David had relied on God and he overcame difficulties by the strength of God when he was keeping his father’s sheep. He believed that no matter how tall and strong Goliath was, he could not defeat God. People were afraid of the giant they saw, but David did not look only at Goliath, he looked up to God and that is how he was able to strike Goliath down.
The Consequences of Following Your Own Thoughts
Eventually, God said He would abolish King Saul and anoint David as the new king. Despite knowing God’s will, Saul continued to try to kill David to keep the throne. David left Israel to escape Saul and fled to the land of the Philistines. That’s when problems arose.
Before, the Philistine soldiers had attacked Israel several times. But every time, David, the man of God, had been there to defeat and chase them away. However, as soon as David left Israel, the Philistines recruited an army and attacked Israel. Israel was not able to defeat the Philistine army. Saul and his three sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, were all killed. Why did Saul die? If David had been present, no matter how many times the Philistines invaded, they could never have defeated Israel. But David was forced to flee out of Israel because of Saul, and as a result, Israel lost the war and Saul was killed in battle. That was the consequence of Saul abandoning God’s will and following his own thoughts.
One Whose Heart is Like-minded to God
In 1962, by the grace of God, I was forgiven of my sins. As I read the Bible, I realized that my thoughts are different from God’s thoughts. Therefore, in order for me to be like-minded to God, I had to throw away my thoughts. Although I am a lacking person, I was able to know that God blessed me when I abandoned my thoughts and followed His will.
It's not that we have to be good at something or work hard to be successful. First, you must read the Bible and find out what the will of God is. Then, when you abandon your own thoughts and live according to God’s will, whatever you do will work out and you will receive grace. A person who rejects his own thoughts, understands God’s will and has the same heart as God, will succeed and be blessed with whatever he does. We call such a person a man of God. However, some people, not knowing exactly what the will of God is, follow their own thoughts and often go wrong.
Like David
David lived his life according to God’s will, not his own thoughts. On the contrary, Saul lived according to his own thoughts rather than the will of God. If we do like David, and not Saul, by throwing away our thoughts and putting our hearts to the Word of God, we, too, can live a bright and blessed life.
