The Signs of the Times, vol. 11

June 25, 1885

“Inheritance of the Saints. Continued. Rejection of Saul as King of Israel” The Signs of the Times, 11, 25.

E. J. Waggoner

THE SABBATH-SCHOOL.

LESSON FOR THE PACIFIC COAST—JULY 25

No Authorcode

REJECTION OF SAUL AS KING OF ISRAEL

1. Who was the first king of Israel? SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.1

“And afterward they desired a king; and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.” Acts 13:21. SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.2

2. By whom was he chosen? Ib. SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.3

3. How long did he reign? Ib. SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.4

4. On one occasion what message came from the Lord to Saul from Samuel? SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.5

“Samuel also said unto Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel; now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now 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.” 1 Samuel 15:7-9. SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.6

5. How did Saul carry out his instructions? SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.7

“And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.” 1 Samuel 15:7-9. SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.8

6. What excuse did Saul make for thus disobeying the command the Lord? SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.9

“And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.” 1 Samuel 15:20, 21. SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.10

7. What did Samuel say the Lord values more than sacrifices? SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.11

“And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” 1 Samuel 15:22. SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.12

8. To what was Saul’s stubbornness equivalent? SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.13

9. What had he rejected? SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.15

He had rejected the word of the Lord. SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.16

10. Since rebellion is equal to idolatry, had not Saul, in rejecting the word of the Lord, rejected the Lord himself? SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.17

Certainly the record shows that Saul was virtually an idolater, and thus as wicked as the Amalekites, whom he had been sent to destroy. SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.18

11. Because Saul had thus rejected the Lord, what had the Lord done? SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.19

“For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.” “And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.” 1 Samuel 15:23, 26. SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.20

12. What had he rent from Saul? SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.21

“And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.” 1 Samuel 15:28. SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.22

13. To whom did Samuel say the kingdom was given? Ib. SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.23

14. What important lesson may we learn from the narrative in this chapter? SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.24

From the narrative recorded in 1 Samuel 15, we may learn how particular God is in his requirements, and how dangerous it is for us to presume to deviate from the plain letter of his commandments. Saul flattered himself that God would overlook his disobedience in preserving the best of the flocks of the Amalekites because, they were preserved for sacrifice. But God would not accept such a service. Had he accepted Saul’s excuse, it would have been the equivalent to admitting that Saul knew what would honor the Lord better than the Lord himself knew, and that was not true. When God tells us to do a thing in a certain way, we are to understand that to do just as he says, will honor him more than anything else. We are not at liberty to presume that we can honor him by different course; that would be setting ourselves above God, and consequently we would be idolaters. From this narrative we can see an illustration of Proverbs 28:9: “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.” E. J. W. SITI June 25, 1885, page 390.25

“Upper Columbia Camp-Meeting” The Signs of the Times, 11, 25.

E. J. Waggoner

This meeting was held on the old camp-ground at Milton, Or., and was preceded by a ten days’ session of Bible study. The attendance at the meeting was much smaller than last year; the excessively cold weather and dry spring had put crops back so much that many felt unable to come. Much-needed rains fell a few weeks before the meeting, which caused some to take courage and reverse their decision to stay away. If our brethren allow the fear of hard times to hinder them from obtaining the spiritual blessings God places within their reach, they will lose much. If the Lord is indeed soon coming, we cannot look for long-continued seasons of temporal prosperity, yet our spiritual needs are greater than ever. We need the blessings to be received at our annual gatherings more than ever before, and sacrifices must be made to obtain them. SITI June 25, 1885, page 393.1

Sometimes the Lord tries us, and we find that the sacrifice does not prove so great as we thought it would be. One brother who hesitated long about attending, finally left his work and attended a portion of the Institute and the camp-meeting. On his return home, he found that his business had prospered in his absence more than when he was present. SITI June 25, 1885, page 393.2

Two class exercises of the Institute were held each day before the meeting, and one every day after the meeting began. The intervals between classes during the Institute were devoted to study and to work on the ground. Morning and evening prayer-meetings were held each day, and these, together with the influence of the Bible study, gave those present a good preparation for the meeting. As people came onto the ground just before or at the beginning of the regular camp-meeting, they found the Spirit of the Lord already present, and a deep interest manifested. Indeed, it was not possible, as one brother said, to tell when the camp-beating really began. SITI June 25, 1885, page 393.3

The business sessions were marked by a spirit of union, and a desire to see the cause advance. The ten days’ session of Bible study allowed the workers present to mature plans and to arrange business so that it could be attended to with dispatch. The Lord helped in the preaching of the word, to a marked degree, and the social meetings were seasons of blessing. Many said that it was the best camp-meeting that they had ever attended; this was not because of the smoothness of the preaching, but because there was a willingness on their part to carry out the instructions given. SITI June 25, 1885, page 393.4

In closing, we wish to mention two benefits resulting from the holding of a Biblical Institute before and during a camp-meeting: 1. The people have something to think and talk about. We never attended a camp-meeting where there was so little visiting and idle talk. Wherever a little group was gathered, they were engaged in her study, preparing for the next recitation. 2. As a natural consequence, the spiritual interests of the meeting was quickened. The Holy Spirit came into hearts as they meditated on the word. If no permanent increase of knowledge had been gained by those present, these results alone would amply repay for the effort. We trust, however, that lasting impressions have been made, and that all have received a new impetus in Bible study. SITI June 25, 1885, page 393.5

We are now on the pleasant camp-ground in Portland, ready to begin the work to-morrow morning. E. J. W. Portland, Or., June 13, 1885. SITI June 25, 1885, page 393.6