The Man Who Forgot the Plan (Part 1)

 King Saul has always puzzled me. I don't understand why he got in so much trouble. Why was God so angry with him that, not only did he take the throne from him, but His spirit as well? How can I write about something I don't understand? I don't know, but, maybe, together we can learn a little something about this famous man. Here goes...

Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin.

Birth order meant a lot back then.  Benjamin was the youngest son of Israel. So, when God heard Israel begging for a king, (so they could be like everyone else around them), he sent Samuel to the tribe of Benjamin to anoint a king. 

On the one hand, Saul was from the least of the tribes, but, within the tribe of Benjamin, Saul was the best! His dad, Kish, was a leader, a great man, quite famous in that part of the world at the time. Saul was tall, dark and handsome! The best of the best, that little Benjamin had to offer. 

Still, Saul was humble. He knew that he wasn't all that. He knew it is one thing to be the top of your class in a little small-town school, but quite another to be king of an entire nation.

He was out wandering around looking for his father's lost asses when Samuel found him. It was very unexpected. He started out seeking God and enjoying the presence of the Lord. Before long he found himself anointed as the King of Israel!

Most of Israel didn't know he was anointed king yet. 

This is how he got his title: 

The Ammonites surrounded Jabesh-Gilead, a town in Israel. The townspeople sent a message to King Nahash asking if they could make a peace treaty with him. What did he want? They were willing to become his slaves, pay him, whatever he asked.

"A peace treaty?! Sure! Absolutely!" the Ammonite King answered. "Let me cut out the right eye of everyone in your town and then we can have peace!" The blood-thirsty king was hungry for a fight.

The people of Gilead weren't too fond of that idea, so they asked for a week to think about the matter and see if anyone could fight for them. If they couldn't get an army together by then to fight, then they would let him. What other choice did they have?

Saul was out working in the field when he heard the news. He was so angry! This was not a fair fight at all! What kind of a king attacks peaceful, unarmed people? He sent a call out throughout the region asking for soldiers. He sent another message to the residents of Jabesh that by the time the sun got hot the next day, they would have help. The townspeople were so glad. They weren't alone. Help was on the way.

The residents of Jabesh sent a message to Nahash, king of the Ammonites: "We will come out tomorrow, and you can do what you want with us." That night, the people of Jabesh-Gilead slept. King Nahash and his army also slept. There would be bloodshed tomorrow. It would be a good day for these fierce warriors.

Early in the morning, Saul arrived with an army. He divided the soldiers into three groups. They attacked the middle of the enemy camp, fighting as soon as the Ammonites woke up. They fought all morning. By the time the sun got hot the enemy was so scattered that there weren't two of them next to each other. King Nahash had received the bloodshed he asked for.  Gilead was safe and Israel realized that they had a king! 

The people's response was interesting. I almost didn't include it here, but, as I am learning more about the significance of the story, I am thinking it might be more important than I thought. It tells a bit about human nature.

"Who was it that said Saul shouldn't be king?" the people demanded "Let's kill them!" 

Saul still had a good head on his shoulders though. And, he said, "No. No one is going to die today. God gave us victory and delivered us out of the hand of our enemies. God is our Savior. He saved us." 

Then Samuel invited the whole mob to Gilead. They offered sacrifices to God, appointed Saul as king, and had a great party!

It was a wonderful day!

We will leave Saul for now. Let's remember this moment. When God, Samuel and Saul were all on the same team. And, when Israel had victory over their enemies. I'm hoping to write more of the story in a few days. Maybe by this time next month I will understand a little bit more about Saul. 

Thank you for coming with me on this journey.

The Little I Can Do

   

Today I learned it is the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht.

"Crystal night?" It must have been a beautiful, crisp, star-filled night...

No!

Broken glass is what was shimmering that night, and it wasn't above, but underfoot.

If you also don't know about Kristallnacht, it might be a good time to look it up. You see, October 7th, 2023 was eerily similar to November 9, 1938. Was the silent majority feeling sick and shocked that human beings were capable of such evil? Were people oddly confused about which side was in the right? Were there people, in their homes, who quietly pulled their children in close and explained to them that the war is between good and evil, darkness and light? Was it easy to see that this level of terror is NEVER appropriate? If so, they were probably like me and realized there was nothing they could do. Nothing, except lay in our warm, quiet beds and stare at the cold, dark ceiling and cry.

Why is our world so cruel?

I know why. I understand the war between good and evil didn't begin on October 7, 2023, or September 11, 2001, or even November 9, 1938.

The war began in a beautiful garden on a warm day full of light. Birds were singing. Fruit was hanging from beautiful trees. Crystal, clean water flowed all around. Everything was good, very good. But, the thing about good and the thing about light is, it is kind of boring. It is normal. So much so, that we easily forget it is even there. 

 Eve had never known pain. She didn't know what death was. Day after day of peace and harmony was boring. So, when an evil snake appeared and whispered in her ear that there was more to life than this, she listened. He suggested to her that God's Word might not be trustworthy. -not a BIG sin, nothing terrible or shocking. -just a little bit of doubt. -just a little bit of discontent, of discord. 

Where was Adam? Oh, he was right there with her! Did he help? Did he tell her the snake was wrong? Did he grab a rock and crush the snake's head? Did he rescue his wife from the enemy? No. Adam said NOTHING! He listened quietly. He watched passively as Eve reached out and plucked fruit off of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They already knew GOOD!!! Why, oh why, did they desire to also know EVIL? And then, when she sat down to enjoy her snack, Adam sat down too and they ate the fruit together. I wonder if it tasted good. Maybe it didn't, maybe it was bitter, but they wanted it so bad they ate it, even if it was hard to swallow. They wanted so much to try something different.

Adam and Eve got what they wanted. They began to experience what we refer to as ..."life".

To be alive is to feel pain. How often do we fear some beautiful creature may be dead and then we hear them cry out in pain? What a wonderful sound to our ears! "It lives!" we shout!

We are all slowly dying. Suffering and hard things are all around us. But, this is what we call: LIFE!

We have learned, living in this fallen world, that we need darkness in order to see the light. We need to feel cold, in order to appreciate heat. We need to be in pain, to experience relief.

It is in the night that we long for the day. 

Are we done yet? Have we had enough of all of this knowledge? Or, do we still want to experience more?

Are we ready yet for the garden, or if given the chance, will we still look with longing at the tree that promises us so much more?

One thing the Holocaust, 9/11 and even 10/8, taught us is that it only takes a few evil men to corrupt good manners. It doesn't take a big crowd. The majority of the people will be confused and keep quiet and stay out of the way. The majority are easily controlled with fear tactics and propaganda.

But, we said, "never again". Remember when we said that? We grew up reading stories of ancient civilizations who slaughtered other humans for piddly reasons. We read about "Great Men", who did horrific things to their fellow humans. Remember what we said when we read those stories? Remember when we were so sure we would be on the side of GOOD? That we would never be tricked by that old trickster?

On October 10, 2023, my mind was accusing me, louder and louder, until it engulfed all of my thoughts: NEVER AGAIN!!!

But, I can't really keep it from happening again. I am not Esther, Grandma Moses, or Corrie ten Boom. Besides, even those brave women couldn't keep it from happening.

Then I heard a sad announcement. Jews across the world are hiding things that might give away the fact that they are Jews. They are taking the mezuzahs off of their doorposts. They are rolling up their Israeli flags and putting away their star of David jewelry. I felt like crying. This time it came out of my mouth: "Never Again!!! I promised you that you wouldn't ever have to run, or hide because of who you are!" I wasn't sure who I was talking to. Maybe it was to the Jews, or anyone, in my neighborhood who might feel that they need to hide.

Suddenly I didn't feel afraid, or sick anymore.

I opened my door to see if the mezuzahs that my mother-in-law had brought back from Israel were still there. The tiny boxes were still there, but they were empty. I ordered 2 mezuzah scrolls online. They were less than $5. They came in a few days. As I rolled them up and added them to my doorposts I spoke out loud. "I am not doing this because I believe these somehow protect me. Judaism is not my religion. I am not a Jew. I have never been to Israel. My understanding of scripture does not teach me to literally tape Bible verses, written in Hebrew to my doorposts. I am putting these on my doorposts, because, somewhere, someone is taking them off."

             

I also bought candles. On, Friday, October 13th, I sat down (a little after sundown... I always seem to be a bit late- besides, I'm not Jewish.) and I lit two candles. I covered my head and eyes and listened to a recording of a Jewish Mama reciting the Sabbath blessing. 

"This isn't for me that I am doing this. I have always felt a bit creeped out when people 'light a candle' for someone who died. What does that even mean?!" I explained to no on in particular. "I am doing this because, somewhere, there are two candlesticks that will not be lit tonight. Maybe they are half-broken in a pile of ashes. Maybe they are still sitting on a shelf, or table, surrounded by rotting flesh and blood stains. Maybe the Jewish Mama who would normally light them is in a tunnel in Hamas, not even sure what day it is. It is for them I light these Shabbat candles, and I will continue to do so every Friday night until ... "

...until what? 

I don't know.

Maybe until the hostages are released.

Maybe until peace comes to the middle east and to people all over the world.

Maybe until Jesus comes back.

Maybe... forever.

I can't turn back time and choose life and peace instead of death and evil. But, I can, in my little home, way up in these hills, make the world one candle brighter. It isn't much, I know. But, if a few evil people can change the world for bad, maybe a few good people can change the world for good.

I really don't want to believe that there are evil people. I really believe, deep within my soul, that everyone wants life and peace. Maybe their version of life and peace looks different from ours, but doesn't everyone want that? 

On October 7, 2023, I realized I was wrong.