“The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” 1 Samuel 16:1
Could’ve
Should’ve
Would’ve
Thats the story with Saul and his time as king of Israel. He was chosen by God to reign and remained king until the day he died, but he thwarted what God’s plan was through his disobedience. His blessing turned into a great burden because he selfishly refused to honor what God instructed him to do. His choices and his rebellion led to a new door to be opened – enter little David!
God gave Saul his chances, but after continual rejection, He moved on. He searched out a willing heart and found it in David. God was ready to move on, and He needed Samuel’s help.
I can imagine how awkward this must have been for young Samuel. He had been involved in the anointing of Saul as king and he had watched his downfall. Now it was time to go find a new king. But Saul was still alive. Samuel was frightened.
“Fill your horn with oil, and GO.”
God was clear. Time to move on.
When God signals to us that it’s time to move forward, how do we respond? It’s easy to dig our heels in and refuse to go. Sometimes we have no idea where He is headed. God asks us “How long are you going to mourn for Saul?” In other words, “How long are you going to hang on to the past? I’m doing something new! Get on board!”
When the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, God had a cloud sit over the tabernacle. When the cloud moved, they followed. It meant it was time to pack it up and go (Exodus 40). He is always moving us onward and upward. We may camp awhile in a certain place, but there will always be a time to move on. If we don’t, we become like a stagnant pond. We have to move on from the good as well as the negative. Our work is never done. Our learning is never done!
God is looking for Davids. Willing hearts to follow where He leads. Saul was a master of excuses and half-truths. He obeyed to a point, but not fully.
When the cloud moves, we need to be ready! If He tells us it’s time to fill our horns with oil and move on, we must be ready to do it! God has bigger plans for us than we can ever imagine, but we must be willing to join Him. Saul could have been a powerful and successful king. His refusal to obey negated those plans. The beautiful thing is that God wants His will to be done here on earth and He can and will use the very least of us to do it!
Into the Foolishness of God 
I’m right smack dab in the middle of Beth Moore’s study on David. This was post was very timely for me. 🙂
Thats fantastic, thank you! what a great study that is! So much to learn… Could study David forever!
I agree. This is actually my third time to do it. I did it many years ago when the original first came out…then I lead it for a group. I’m about to lead it again. New version this time. I think this third time I’m loving it more than ever. Even repeated, so many things pop out that didn’t grab the other times. So good !
Thats the best! Always something new to learn, no matter how many times we’ve read the story!
This is exactly what we have learned in BSF this year studying Moses – yes when God moves we need to be ready and move with Him – where He directs us!
I love it! Thank you!