Is that all?

Is that all?
Words of Faith 10-2-24
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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1 Samuel 14
[46] Then Saul stopped pursuing the Philistines, and they withdrew to their own land. [47] After Saul had assumed rule over Israel, he fought against their enemies on every side: Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment on them. [48] He fought valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, delivering Israel from the hands of those who had plundered them. [49] Saul's sons were Jonathan, Ishvi and Malki-Shua. The name of his older daughter was Merab, and that of the younger was Michal. [50] His wife's name was Ahinoam, daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of the commander of Saul's army was Abner, son of Ner, and Ner was Saul's uncle. [51] Saul's father Kish and Abner's father Ner were sons of Abiel. [52] All the days of Saul there was bitter war with the Philistines, and whenever Saul saw a mighty or brave man, he took him into his service.

There are those who sometimes joke that they read the obituaries just to be sure that they are not listed there. In a way, the passage here at the end of chapter 14 is a sort of obituary of Saul.
The LORD was just about done with Saul. But just before the account of the divine rejection of Saul in chapter 15, the end of his reign is marked by an editorial summary of his career. It is similar to other "royal summaries" found in the Bible. It includes a brief statement about his military victories over his enemies. The names of his family members are listed, and the specific relationships of those people.
Saul was many years away from dying physically, but the death of his proper reign as King of Israel was done. We will see the rejection by the LORD in the next chapter.
All this is really quite sad because Saul certainly possessed great potential to faithfully serve the LORD and people as king. But Saul had allowed his ego to get in the way. We will see that Saul has many more struggles with fear and paranoia ahead of him. But as for his leadership as king, it was over.
All the days of Saul were days of bitter war with the Philistines. He took mighty and brave men into his service. He fought valiantly in the battles of this life. But Saul never served the LORD faithfully. In some sense, Saul accomplished much according to the worldly standards of success. But Saul never reached the potential of what he might have been if only he had trusted the LORD.
We might reflect upon this sad passage to wonder what will be written in an obituary about us. Will there simply be a list of the people we were related to? Will the memories recorded about us consist primarily of a few worldly accomplishments and battles won? Or will there be a witness left of our character and that we were faithful to the LORD? Will we be remembered among a list of family members or as one who faithfully led those people closer to the LORD?

Father God, I know that my name will never appear in the Bible, but there will be a memory left in some way of my life. I pray that my life might be spent on the things that You have desired and planned. I pray that I might be remembered only as one who was faithful to You. I pray that the mark of my character would be far greater than the listing of earthly accomplishments. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2024 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.