Observation: With Saul dead and David having been anointed the successor by Samuel, the historian writing Chronicles documents ... all the military power that rallies around David to "make" him king. This is fascinating in the overall context of Israel.
-- Israel was without a king for ~500 years.
-- When God relented to give them a king, whom it would be was decided by the prayers of a holy prophet, who then anointed the Lord's choice and everyone agreed.
-- When God declared that man unfit, the same prophet anointed his future successor.
HOWEVER, Israel is now reacting as if the turnover of kingly authority from Saul to David is actually a military coup, to be accomplished through their own might and their own selection process, rather than an act of God. Yes, this is how kings worked in the ancient world, with the throne passed down a lineage and requiring a rebellion to change that, but that was not how Israel was supposed to be doing it. However, within one - ONE - king's reign, Israel has turned their model for selecting kings into the worldly model.
Effectively, God had said 'fine, I'll give you a king, and here is how I'll select that king', and as quickly as was humanly possible, people abandoned God's decision process for their own. Yes, in this case that process produced the same result as the Lord's model did, but that would not last.
Application: Once again, we see a teaching about how we - humans in general, and certainly myself explicitly - make mistakes because we make decisions for ourselves. In many cases, we follow this same progression. First, we place our faith in God to guide us, and it goes well. Second, we simultaneously ask for the Lord's guidance but also make a decision for ourselves, and behold they align so that goes well too, and we think we 'figured it out.' So third, we just make our own decisions.
Every direction the Lord has ever given me about my life has been perfect, while every decision I've ever made has been hit-and-miss, including some MAJOR misses. So why would I ever trust myself to make decisions about my life? Why would I want to? Of course, the answer is 'original sin' and the desire for humans to self-direct instead of trusting the Lord.
Prayer: Abba, my daddy, may I be reminded today that I am your child, and in fact my life is best when I surrender to you just like a child, take your hand, and simply allow myself in full trust to be led by you. May my mind no longer consider my future, but instead may I pray into your will and direction about my future, and in full faith and trust just follow your instructions. Amen.
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