Christological Reflection on 1 Samuel 13:6-14

This past Lord's Day while Abby and I were visiting family, we attended New Canaan Baptist Church: the church at which she and I met years ago.

The first text in the Sunday School lesson was from 1 Samuel 13:6-14. The focus of the lesson was on making godly decisions: on patiently waiting for the LORD in making decisions and on making decisions based on God's Word. Much attention was given to the consequences of bad decisions. I thought the lesson was very good, but reflecting again on the passage I also think that specific application can be made from this text concerning the Bible's presentation of the Person of the Lord Jesus.

1 Samuel 13:6-14 records the beginning of the LORD's rejection of King Saul, which leads to David becoming king. One reason these events are significant is because King Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin, whereas from at least Genesis 49:10 forward the Bible trains the reader to expect a ruler from the tribe of Judah. David, the replacement for Saul , is an initial fulfillment of Genesis 49:10 and other early prophecies concerning a king, and David becomes a standard by which other kings from Judah are measured (see, for example, 1 Kings 14:8; 15:3, 11; 2 Kings 14:3, etc.).

From the first verse of the New Testament, Jesus is called the "son of David," and from the first post-Pentecost sermon delivered by Peter [in Acts 2], Jesus is presented as the descendant of David who sits upon David's throne fulfilling God's promises to David.

So whereas King Saul made a bad decision in 1 Samuel 13:6-14- a decision born out of panic, which caused him to act in unfaithful disloyalty to God- and he was fully accountable before God for his bad decision, yet God had a purpose in this decision from Saul- to exalt David and eventually to bring about His Messiah- Jesus our Lord.