Observation: The significance - and relationship between - the two referenced places (* added) is interesting. Gibeah is the site of the most horrific act in Judges, the rape and murder of the concubine that triggered the war between Benjamin and the other tribes. However, the connection between Gibeah and Gilgal is this: Saul was from Gibeah, and was publicly anointed king at Gilgal.
"All their wickedness began at Gilgal; there I began to hate them." This is the Lord's sentiment about earthly leadership. Saul was the king chosen to show the people that their perception of leadership - a tall, strong man of action - was flawed. Israel didn't learn the lesson. After David and Solomon, kings truly chosen by the Lord, they reverted to simply handing the monarchy to anyone strong enough to take it. They didn't ask God who should lead them, and therefore God did not act through their kings for their guidance and protection.
As God told Samuel, Israel asking for a king was a rejection of the Lord himself as their sovereign. However, at first they at least allowed the Lord to appoint the king. He showed them why that was important by first showing them that the kind of king they wanted would never work ... he never could defeat the Philistines, created a bad government, consumed resources for his own comfort, then went mad to protect his power. The Lord then showed them the kind of king that would work ... a leader who, despite still being a sinful human, put the Lord first in his heart and in all his decisions. The result was a nation of prosperity and total peace. Within one generation, Israel reverted to the former model.
God's charge against Israel surrounds their worship of other gods. However, he ties this fateful path to their choice of leadership. A nation that chooses to be led by God - and thus by leaders who are especially selected and anointed by God - may thrive. I nation that choose to be led by power-hungry, egotistical people full of pride and arrogance, whose motivation is to retain their positions of leadership ... is doomed to be led down a terrible path.
Application: Is there any possible doubt that the United States has chosen this path of doom?
Even the best "political leaders" in our country fit the very model of people who are clearly not selected by God, and whose primary motivation is their own re-election. Our nation - by the tone of our debates, the challenges of our populations, the ideals we promote and celebrate, and the direction of our laws - is receiving the logical outcomes of this fact. These outcomes are ... conflicts, riots, animosity, and rampant fear.
How can we find a way to rediscover 'anointed' leadership?
Prayer: Lord, please save our nation. Please help us find a way back to you. Amen.
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