Matt Hagee - God's Plan Always Prevails

TOPICS: God's Plan

Hello and welcome to this week’s Sunday conversation. This week we’re looking at 1 Samuel chapter 16. Now we’re still covering the life and ministry of Samuel, but this is at the later end of the work that the Lord had him do between where we left off in 1 Samuel chapter 3. Samuel had just come into the office of the prophet, and the Lord had reappeared in the tabernacle in Shiloh. For many years, the children of Israel were blessed by Samuel’s leadership. But then, between that time and now, they came to him and said they wanted a king like all of the other nations. In 1 Samuel chapter 8, you read about this moment in Israel’s history, and it is a time of conflict and frustration for Samuel.

Samuel warns the people what a king will do, and then Samuel goes and inquires of the Lord. He tells Samuel, «Give them what they want. They haven’t rejected you; they’ve rejected me.» And Samuel does obediently what God asks. But he tells the children of Israel something very profound. He said that he would not stop praying for them because God had commissioned him to do so. They basically told him, «Samuel, you’re fired. We don’t want a prophet anymore; we just want a king. We want to be like all the other nations of the world. We don’t want to be God’s special people; we just want to be a nation that has a kingdom and a monarchy like all of the others.» And Samuel tells them that he would not sin against God by ceasing to pray for the people that God had given him spiritual charge over.

That tells you about the courage and conviction of Samuel. Soon after that moment, Samuel goes and anoints Saul, a Benjamite from the tribe of Benjamin. And the Bible tells us how Saul begins well, but soon Saul starts to turn his ear away from Samuel the prophet and towards the voice of the people. And this costs him everything. It’s when God sends word through the prophet Samuel that Saul should attack the Amalekites, and God gives very specific instructions: destroy them all; kill all their cattle, kill all of their sheep, and destroy every descendant.

Now that sounds harsh in a modern world, but what you have to understand is that the Amalekites were demonic, pagan-worshiping people. And God knew that they were going to have an influence in their idol worship over the children of Israel and pull the children of Israel away from the Word of God and from His commandments. And therefore, to eliminate this problem, God commissioned Saul with a task that wasn’t easy. And when the battle is over and the time has come for them to do exactly as the Lord has commanded-to destroy all that is in Amalek- the voice of the people turns the ear of Saul away from the command of the Lord. They look at all of the sheep and the cattle that the Amalekites have, and they say, «Why should we kill these sheep? They’re good sheep. We should keep them. Why should we destroy these oxen? They’re good oxen. We can use them.» And soon what God had intended is no longer going to be instituted. They’re ignoring the command, and they start to throw a feast. They celebrate, take some of the sheep, and have a party. They take the king of Amalek, Agag, and begin to parade him around as a trophy of their victory when all the while it was God who had given victory. And it’s in this moment that Samuel the prophet comes to confront King Saul.

And understand that this confrontation is a risk for Samuel; Saul’s a king. If Saul commands Samuel’s death, it will be done because the word of the king is the spoken law. Yet Samuel had been in these intense confrontations most of his life. Remember, he’s the child who confronted the priest Eli and told him a very hard thing to hear: «God’s done with you.» And here he stands before a king who has the authority to take his life if he chooses to. And what does he say to him? He says that God’s done with you. He lets him know that the kingdom was going to be torn away. And here in chapter 16, the verse that we just read, then the Lord said to Samuel, «How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing that I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I’m sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided myself a king among his sons.» Very interesting language. Saul was the people’s choice. Here in 1 Samuel 16, David is God’s choice. He said, «I’ve provided myself a king.»

There are three people in this story of David and Saul. First, you have Saul, man’s wish. Second, David, God’s will. And third, Samuel, a brokenhearted person who wants what’s best for everyone but needs to remember God is the one who’s in sovereign control. Every individual who’s listening to this conversation will find yourself in this chapter at some point or another in your life. Maybe you’ve played the role of Samuel. You’re disappointed by how things went. You might be brokenhearted about the outcome. Maybe it’s a financial situation where your business didn’t do what you hoped it would, or it’s a family situation, a relational issue-somebody betrays you; you’re going through a difficult time. You hoped for the best, and you got the worst. Regardless of what it is, you need to realize that God is still in control.

Whenever you don’t know what to do, God does. Whenever you can’t, He can. Samuel felt loss because Israel is now in the hands of an unrighteous leader. He knew what that led to. Samuel felt failure because he had personally anointed Saul. He felt responsible for the success of this king. Samuel had counseled Saul on what was right, and was ignored. He was frustrated by the fact that no one was listening to what he was saying. So, listen to the question that God asks Samuel at this very bleak moment. He doesn’t come to him and comfort him and tell him, «Samuel, I know how you feel. I know you’re disappointed. I know that you wished it would have gone better.» He gets right to the point. He says, «How long are you going to cry for that guy?» That doesn’t sound very sensitive and tender. He says it clearly: «Get over it. We’ve got work to do. Get up. Fill your horn with oil. Remember, you’re the prophet. You’re the one who does the anointing. And I need you to go to Bethlehem because I’ve got a king down there who can fix this problem.»

He reminds Samuel of something that we should remember and be reminded of from time to time. It was never about Samuel. Saul’s failure wasn’t on Samuel. Saul becoming king wasn’t on Samuel. And God picking a new leader wasn’t on Samuel. Whenever Saul was anointed king, remember what the Lord told Samuel? «They rejected me.» The leader has failed; it’s time to move on. Why was God so abrupt with Samuel? Why not let Samuel go through this grieving process? Because God knew that the only way for Samuel’s heart to heal was to move forward. And I believe that there are some of you watching that need to hear that today. The only way you’re going to heal over the circumstances of your past that have created bitterness and failure and disappointment is to move forward. Don’t weep about what was. Start looking forward to what will be. Don’t allow the failure of yesterday to become the forecast of your future. God’s answer: get up and go anoint David. Get up and get back to work. Get up; get your horn. There is an answer, and I know where the answer is. Remember, what you don’t know, He does. And when you give Him the opportunity to show you that answer, it brings joy. It brings comfort. It brings an opportunity for you to recognize what a mighty God we serve.

Consider the sovereign plan of God. David was born 10 years after Saul had been king. Saul was on the throne for 10 years before David ever drew a breath. And then David works in the shepherd’s field for a full 13 years outside of Bethlehem. And now Samuel has been with Saul for 23 years. He spent a lot of time investing himself in Saul’s reign, and God just that fast says, «We’re done with Saul. Let’s go get David.» So for 13 of Saul’s 23 years, God has been growing the next king. God knew right where he was. He knew how long it would take, and He knew exactly when He was going to begin declaring that this was His new leader. In this, we see the sovereign, providential plan of God. We call it a crisis; God is just continuing with what He started. So don’t let what takes you by surprise cause you to believe that God is shocked at all. Don’t let the crisis of your day become an indictment against God.

Samuel’s weeping because he didn’t see this failure coming. God is planning way in advance of the failure because He knew exactly what He would need. Samuel is looking back at what might have been; God is looking forward to what will be. And He even looked beyond David. He didn’t choose David just because of David. He chose David because through the lineage of David, we get to Jesus. And when we get to Jesus, God gets to put a king not over an area in the Middle East; He gets to put a king on the throne over the whole world. What you should see in this is that long before you ever drew a breath, God had a plan, and His plan will come to pass. He told the prophet Isaiah, «I am the Lord, and there is none other, and my will will come to pass.» Just as God was preparing for David, God has been preparing for you. But in order for you to find out what you have been promised in the providence of God, you need to quit weeping over yesterday and get up and go find out what God has for your future.

Israel needed a humble leader. Saul had allowed pride and arrogance to infect his soul. David lived his entire life doing the work that no one else wanted to do. The other sons of Jesse were already in the house when Samuel got there, but they actually had to go send for David out in the field and bring him to his father’s home. Saul wanted to look like a king. Saul wanted to have a feast and a celebration like all of the other nations when they won a battle. David was a humble shepherd. Not only was he humble before Samuel anointed him, but as soon as Samuel anointed him, he went right back out to the shepherd’s field. Everything that Israel needed, God had provided. And God knew exactly where it was. Whatever it is that you need, God knows exactly where it is.

In this chapter, we meet David. But David is always considered an individual in whom we find a type and shadow of Christ: a mighty king, a bold ruler, a deliverer, a priest, a prophet. David is like Christ-the one that God chose for us to deliver us, to bring us into the fullness of His promises. And long before we ever drew a breath, God knew exactly when and where He would bring Christ into the world. He had chosen the place, as it’s told by the prophets throughout the Old Testament. He had chosen for Himself exactly who, when, and how He would institute the reign and the authority of His Son as king over all the earth, raised Him in a carpenter’s home, allowed Him to grow in grace and truth, and then, through the fulfillment of His ministry, gave Him all power and authority in heaven and on earth. That’s who God has provided for you today. I want you to know that all you have to do to see God’s power and His promise in your life is to take a little advice that the Lord gave to Samuel: Get up and move forward. The answer is not in your past; it’s in your future. God bless you, and thank you for joining us for this Sunday conversation.