April 18
1 Samuel 26:1-27:7; 1 Chronicles 12:1-7; 1 Samuel 27:8-29:11; 1 Chronicles 12:19; Psalm 56
Everyone has a longing for the transcendent—the pursuit of what they deem as meaningful and lasting. In today's reading we come across a bizarre story in Saul's pursuit of God. God has rejected Saul as king and refuses to communicate with him through the means which God had provided for Israel (sacrifices, priesthood, prayer, etc.). Saul feels left to pursue God on his own terms. He finds a medium so that he can communicate with Samuel from the grave and find out what God is doing. There is no attempt at repentance, no desire to wait, and no willingness to sit in the silence. Saul wanted answers and he wanted them now. The medium shockingly calls Samuel out of the grave, who then announces Saul's rejection as king and his imminent death. Mediums are either shams or Satanic, but here it seems God speaks through this woman much in the same way he spoke through Balaam, a donkey, and other strange figures.
God can speak through anything, but his normal ways of communication are through prayer, the Scriptures, and his Spirit. We should seek God through his ways rather than making up our own ways of finding God. He is the only one who is truly transcendent and the one we are to seek above all else.
Father God, thank you for the gift of your Scriptures, for the gift of your Spirit, and your Son who is my priest. Thank you for always being found when I look for you. Amen.
What are some common ways that our culture (or you) looks for God where he will not be found?
Everyone has a longing for the transcendent—the pursuit of what they deem as meaningful and lasting. In today's reading we come across a bizarre story in Saul's pursuit of God. God has rejected Saul as king and refuses to communicate with him through the means which God had provided for Israel (sacrifices, priesthood, prayer, etc.). Saul feels left to pursue God on his own terms. He finds a medium so that he can communicate with Samuel from the grave and find out what God is doing. There is no attempt at repentance, no desire to wait, and no willingness to sit in the silence. Saul wanted answers and he wanted them now. The medium shockingly calls Samuel out of the grave, who then announces Saul's rejection as king and his imminent death. Mediums are either shams or Satanic, but here it seems God speaks through this woman much in the same way he spoke through Balaam, a donkey, and other strange figures.
God can speak through anything, but his normal ways of communication are through prayer, the Scriptures, and his Spirit. We should seek God through his ways rather than making up our own ways of finding God. He is the only one who is truly transcendent and the one we are to seek above all else.
Father God, thank you for the gift of your Scriptures, for the gift of your Spirit, and your Son who is my priest. Thank you for always being found when I look for you. Amen.
What are some common ways that our culture (or you) looks for God where he will not be found?
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