In response to yesterday's thoughts, I received an email from a dear friend pointing out that Saul's choice in 1 Samuel 13 should not be the focus because in Genesis 49:10, Jacob foretells of Judah (David) as the tribe that would reign and from which would come the Messiah. There are those who would say that God's sovereignty does not allow for an alternative to Saul's unrepentance. He was doomed to fail. He had no real "free will" choice. This is where we must discuss the concept of "Foreknowledge vs. Fatalism" in context of what we see happening in 1 Samuel 13.
Looking back at Genesis 49, we see Jacob, approaching death, proclaiming blessings to his son's. (I wonder why we commonly refer to them as "blessings" since some comments were pretty negative about a few of the brothers.) But anyway, Jacob was clearly given a brief look into the future (foreknowledge) as he prophecied concering, among others, Judah. While I agree that Jacob is clearly seeing the eternal kingdom of David (from the tribe of Judah) producing the promised Messiah, I disagree that Saul's choice was not the central reason for this prophecy coming to pass. Jacob was simply seeing what had transpired after Saul's decision to remain unrepentant as we discussed yesterday. When Saul was faced with his sin, at that moment in time, he had the free will opportunity to repent. (1 Samuel 13)
I think that many who minimize the importance of man's free will(and in this case, Saul's choice to disobey and not repent) fail to understand the essence of prophecy. Prophecy is not the instrument by which events are then set in motion to bring them to pass. Rather, prophecy is a snapshot, video, or window into the future unaffecting the outcome being reported. The actual picture being relayed by Jacob is a product of Saul's free will choice and God's response to still accomplish His purpose - establishing an eternal kingdom from which will come Shilo, our Savior Jesus Christ!
When all else fails, just read the plain language of the text. That's what I learned in law school. Start with the plain language of the statute, and then, if necessary, move to alternative sources. In conclusion, we will restate the text: 1 Samuel 13:13-14: "And Samuel said to Saul, 'You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom will not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you." (emphasis added)
Can it be any clearer the cause and effect in these two verses? These verses are a beautiful demonstration of both God's sovereign creation of a free will creature and God's sovereign ability to still accomplish His purpose in the face of His sovereign decision to relinquish control over man's decisions.
Sovereignty does not equal fatalistic control. Yet, in man's sinful nature to desire complete control, we tend to want God to exercise that desire of ours for Him to be sovereign...and this is simply not how I believe God is portrayed as He interacts with man.
See? I told you we would be looking at the tough stuff as we move through God's Word.
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