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Patriarchs and Prophets
of character, who possessed the love and fear of God. They had not
sought counsel from God as to the qualities a ruler should possess, in
order to preserve their distinctive, holy character as His chosen people.
They were not seeking God’s way, but their own way. Therefore God
gave them such a king as they desired—one whose character was a
reflection of their own. Their hearts were not in submission to God,
and their king also was unsubdued by divine grace. Under the rule of
this king they would obtain the experience necessary in order that they
might see their error, and return to their allegiance to God.
Yet the Lord, having placed on Saul the responsibility of the king-
dom, did not leave him to himself. He caused the Holy Spirit to rest
upon Saul to reveal to him his own weakness and his need of divine
grace; and had Saul relied upon God, God would have been with him.
So long as his will was controlled by the will of God, so long as he
yielded to the discipline of His Spirit, God could crown his efforts
with success. But when Saul chose to act independently of God, the
Lord could no longer be his guide, and was forced to set him aside.
Then He called to the throne “a man after His own heart” (
1 Samuel
13:14
)—not one who was faultless in character, but who, instead of
trusting to himself, would rely upon God, and be guided by His Spirit;
who, when he sinned, would submit to reproof and correction.
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