The Island-Fish

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  “O ye passengers, whom may God preserve! come up quickly in to the ship, hasten to embark, and leave your merchandise, and flee with your lives, and save yourselves from destruction; for this apparent island, upon which ye are, is not really an island, but it is a great fish that hath become stationary in the midst of the sea, and the sand hath accumulated upon it, so that it hath become like an island, and trees have grown upon it since times of old; and when ye lighted the fire upon it, the fish felt the heat, and put itself in motion, and now it will descend with you into the sea, and ye will all be drowned: then seek for yourselves escape before destruction, and leave the merchandise.—The passengers, therefore, hearing the words of the master of the ship, hastened to go up into the vessel, leaving the merchandise, and their other goods, and their copper cooking-pots, and their fire-pots; and some reached the ship, and others reached it not. The island had moved, and descended...

Saul and David

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Saul came from a privileged background. If his life could be summed up in a word, one might choose the word “entitled.” This mindset would drive his heart away from God and would become his downfall. David, on the other hand, came from a very unassuming background. If his life could be summed up in a word, “responsible” comes to mind. While David committed sins of his own, he also took responsibility and discipline for his actions. This stands as an example to the people. An entitled man does not do this. Throughout his life, David demonstrated a pursuit of God’s heart, acting as lead-worshipper in the kingdom.

David’s commendation as a leader is seen in his accomplishing everything God wanted of the nation of Israel since the Exodus, including the conquest of the land, to establish a nation who observes God’s commands (2 Samuel 7:8-11). In this sense, David meets the criteria for being the “man after God’s heart” (1 Sam 13:14), who “shares God’s heart for leading the people to obey the covenant will view the kingship as a steward of the Lord’s people who are his inheritance (9:16; 10:1) (Howell 2003, 73).

Though David’s experience with Saul was a threat to his existence, David could watch and learn from this troubled man. Both were called but Saul was prideful which stood as a reminder for David to remain humble. Saul was impatient, disobedient while David fell back into this desire for pleasing the LORD. God said that He would build David a house (2 Samuel 7:11) and David confesses his position before God as His servant (2 Samuel 7:19-21). Saul would not do this.

Clearly, God used David despite his failures but this was due to David’s pliable heart. Saul was clearly removed by the LORD due to his high-handed and prideful sin (2 Samuel 7:15).

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