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Eventually, God did lead the Israelites into the Promised Land just as He had promised Abraham (see Genesis 15). He also provided judges to govern the people and lead them in military pursuits, but the Israelites eventually decided they wanted a human king like every other nation. God had already established Himself as their King when He entered into the Mosaic covenant with them, but they wanted a human king.
God loved the Israelites and warned them that a human king would mistreat them, but the Israelites were stubborn and insisted. Thankfully, God had already provided the guidelines for a king in the law He had given Moses (see Deuteronomy 17:14-20).
God chose Saul to be the first king of Israel. Saul was brave and really did want to do a good job as king, but he didn’t follow God’s instructions. Saul thought that he could do religious things his own way and still please God, but the only way to please God is to follow His instructions so He can get the glory He deserves. Saul was more worried about getting God’s help than he was about worshipping God properly. Because Saul proved he wasn’t fully committed to God’s glory, God chose a new king (see 1 Samuel 13-15).
Samuel knew God better than anyone, but he still didn’t predict Saul’s replacement accurately. Only God can see into our hearts. God knew that David was devoted to His glory, so He told Samuel to anoint David quietly and gave David the power to fulfill the role.
While David waited to take the throne, he served in King Saul’s court, where he suffered abuse from King Saul. David also defeated Goliath, a giant Philistine who had been humiliating Israel, with only a slingshot. Jealous, King Saul began to hate David, but David became best friends with Jonathan, King Saul’s son. Jonathan saved David from being killed by Saul, but Saul continued to pursue David. Time after time, God used people to protect David. Through it all, David never grew bitter. He could have killed Saul, but he didn’t. He let God deal with Saul for him (see 1 Samuel 16:14-31:13), proving that he fully trusted God and wanted to please Him. It’s no wonder God had chosen David.
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Human relationships are almost always messy because people are involved, but God isn’t people. God is God. He is completely, TOTALLY different. If our relationship to/with Him is ever messy, it's only because we made it that way. We invite you to put aside any assumptions you've made about God and let Him speak for Himself. We think you’ll find that He is much easier to trust than people.
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