The King-Trap

1 Samuel 13
      Saul fell into the 'king-trap' almost immediately.  Israel's kings were supposed to rely on the Lord for their military victories.  Saul had raised an army of 3000 men, saw it dwindle to 600, and panicked.  He seems to have forgotten Gideon who faced a much larger force with only 300 men.  His reaction is understandable; he was at a distinct technological and numerical disadvantage.  His army had no iron weapons, and the Philistines had as many chariots as Saul had total soldiers.  Seeing things deteriorate, Saul was decisive and made the sacrifice.  In contemporary leadership literature, he would be hailed for his boldness and initiative.  In Samuel, it's just the kind of thing he ought not have done.
     So, the Lord planned a change of regime.  He would find someone after His own heart.  Eventually, we'll learn that that meant David, one of who's defining moments was his confrontation with Goliath, during which David trusted the Lord for victory, not man's armor of war.
      Lessons abound.  There's this constant theme just under the surface of a lot of the Old Testament that God doesn't things in unexpected ways, and the crucifixion of Jesus is the center around which all that radiates.  I mean, who would have ever suspected that God would win His greatest victory by having His Son die?  By every measure of the world, that seems a great deal like losing.  The cross was a victory, though, is demonstrated when Jesus was vindicated in His resurrection.
      And frankly, I've wondered different times how caught up I am in the 'king-trap.'  I love to measure things in ministry.  Was this year's attendance higher or lower than last years?  Is the budget growing?  When things are going the wrong direction, am I willing to take bold action to try and reverse it?  I'm not fully willing to say those things are wrong; sometimes I think the church ought to look a little more closely at their metrics. and ask what they ought to do differently.  Yet, there is this nagging doubt, "Am I relying on myself or on the Lord?"  I don't think we'll ever be free of that struggle, because we live in a world fallen from God's design.  But I do think the struggle itself is good, because it means that we're thinking through our assumptions with humility.