6 important things you should know about God (2)
(From the novel: WHAT CHANGED YOU? – BY Pastor Taiwo Iredele Odubiyi
Samuel raised his right index finger up and pointed it at David. “You must never forget that God is a merciful God. Even if you commit a sin or you are in trouble, don’t hesitate to ask God for mercy and help, and turn back to him fully. Okay?”
David nodded and said, “I have heard.” He already knew all these things but now, he felt God was using the wise man to talk to him, to give him guiding principles that would help him succeed in life.Samuel continued. “But Saul did not turn from his foolish ways. At another time, God told him to go to Amalek and kill all the people, both men and women, young and old, and utterly destroy all that they had because of what the people had done to the children of Israel. God’s instruction to Saul was clear – do not spare anyone or anything! Saul went there as God had instructed him but he spared Agag the king, and the best of their sheep, cattle, and all that was good. And when I saw him, he told me that he had fully obeyed God. Let me ask you my son, did he fully obey?”
David shook his head. “No, he did not.”
“Of course he did not. And when I pointed it out to him, he could have asked for forgiveness but he did not. He said he spared those things to sacrifice to God, justifying himself.” Samuel shook his head slowly, “This is what I told him that day, ‘Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination or witchcraft, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.’”
Samuel sat back. “When I pointed out to him all these things, he could still have asked God for forgiveness but he did not. Instead, he asked me to pardon him, save his face before the people and go with him to sacrifice to God.”
Samuel snorted as he continued, “What sacrifice could change his error? Such a sacrifice would be useless because God was not pleased with him. I told him I would not go with him. As I turned to leave, he took hold of my garment and it tore. And the word of God came that the Lord had torn the kingdom of Israel from him and given it to another man.”
David adjusted his position and continued to listen.
“Agag was killed and I left. Since that day, I have not been to see Saul. I have stayed away from him.” Samuel said.
“Why?”
“I stayed away because he might try to kill me for those pronouncements against him. When God told me to go to Bethlehem and anoint one of the sons of Jesse, I hesitated because if Saul got to know, he would kill me, and I told God so. God then said to me to take a goat and tell the elders of the city that I had come to sacrifice to the Lord, and to invite Jesse your father and all his sons to the sacrifice, and there He would tell me who the right man was.” Samuel revealed.
He paused.
David continued looking at Samuel as he waited for him to continue. He noticed that Samuel had a faraway look in his eyes as he remembered the past.
Samuel went on. “I did as the Lord told me to. I invited your father and his sons to the sacrifice. But when God said none of Jesse’s sons who were present was the right one, I had to ask Jesse, ‘Are all these your sons?’ He told me that it remained one person, the youngest but he was with the sheep. I asked him to send for you quickly as we would not sit until you came. Immediately you entered, God told me, ‘Rise up and anoint him, for this is he’. That was how you were anointed.”
David asked, “May I know why God chose me?”To be continued.
This #Novel #WhatChangedYou is available in bookstores.
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