151 Then Samuel said to Saul , " The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over His people , over Israel ; now therefore, listen to the words of the Lord . 2 "Thus says the Lord of hosts , 'I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel , how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt . 3 'Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman , child and infant , ox and sheep , camel and donkey .' " 4 Then Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim , 200,000 e foot soldiers and 10,000 e men of Judah . 5 Saul came to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the valley . 6 Saul said to the Kenites , "Go , depart , go down from among the Amalekites , so that I do not destroy you with them; for you showed kindness to all the sons of Israel when they came up from Egypt ." So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites . 7 So Saul defeated the Amalekites , from Havilah as you go to Shur , which is east e of Egypt . 8 He captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive , and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword . 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep , the oxen , the fatlings , the lambs , and all that was good , and were not willing to destroy them utterly ; but everything e despised and worthless , that they utterly destroyed .
10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel , saying , 11 " I regret that I have made Saul king , for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands ." And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the Lord all night . 12 Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul ; and it was told Samuel , saying , "Saul came to Carmel , and behold , he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on down to Gilgal ." 13 Samuel came to Saul , and Saul said to him, " Blessed are you of the Lord ! I have carried out the command of the Lord ." 14 But Samuel said , " What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears , and the lowing of the oxen which I hear ?" 15 Saul said , "They have brought them from the Amalekites , for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen , to sacrifice to the Lord your God ; but the rest we have utterly destroyed ." 16 Then Samuel said to Saul , "Wait , and let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night ." And he said to him, "Speak !" 17 Samuel said , "Is it not true, though you were little in your own eyes , you were made the head of the tribes of Israel ? And the Lord anointed you king over Israel , 18 and the Lord sent you on a mission , and said , ' Go and utterly destroy the sinners , the Amalekites , and fight against them until they are exterminated .' 19 "Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord , but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord ?" 20 Then Saul said to Samuel , " I did obey the voice of the Lord , and went on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek , and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites . 21 "But the people took some of the spoil , sheep and oxen , the choicest of the things devoted to destruction , to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal ." 22 Samuel said , " Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the Lord ? Behold , to obey is better than sacrifice , And to heed than the fat of rams . 23 "For rebellion is as the sin of divination , And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry . Because you have rejected the word of the Lord , He has also rejected you from being king ."
24 Then Saul said to Samuel , " I have sinned ; I have indeed transgressed the command of the Lord and your words , because I feared the people and listened to their voice . 25 "Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the Lord ." 26 But Samuel said to Saul , "I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the Lord , and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel ." 27 As Samuel turned to go , Saul seized the edge of his robe , and it tore . 28 So Samuel said to him, " The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor , who is better than you. 29 "Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind ; for He is not a man that He should change His mind ." 30 Then he said , "I have sinned ; but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel , and go back with me, that I may worship the Lord your God ." 31 So Samuel went back following Saul , and Saul worshiped the Lord .
32 Then Samuel said , "Bring me Agag , the king of the Amalekites ." And Agag came to him cheerfully . And Agag said , "Surely the bitterness of death is past ." 33 But Samuel said , " As your sword has made women childless , so shall your mother be childless among women ." And Samuel hewed Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal . 34 Then Samuel went to Ramah , but Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul . 35 Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death ; for Samuel grieved over Saul . And the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel .
161 Now the Lord said to Samuel , " How long will you grieve over Saul , since I have rejected him from being king over Israel ? Fill your horn with oil and go ; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite , for I have selected a king for Myself among his sons ." 2 But Samuel said , "How can I go ? When Saul hears of it, he will kill me." And the Lord said , " Take a heifer with you and say , 'I have come to sacrifice to the Lord .' 3 "You shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice , and I will show you what you shall do ; and you shall anoint for Me the one whom I designate to you." 4 So Samuel did what the Lord said , and came to Bethlehem . And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said , " Do you come in peace ?" 5 He said , "In peace ; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord . Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice ." He also consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice .
6 When they entered , he looked at Eliab and thought , "Surely the Lord'S anointed is before Him." 7 But the Lord said to Samuel , "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature , because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees , for man looks at the outward appearance , but the Lord looks at the heart ." 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel . And he said , "The Lord has not chosen this one either ." 9 Next Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said , "The Lord has not chosen this one either ." 10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel . But Samuel said to Jesse , "The Lord has not chosen these ." 11 And Samuel said to Jesse , "Are these all the children ?" And he said , " There remains yet the youngest , and behold , he is tending the sheep ." Then Samuel said to Jesse , "Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here ." 12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy , with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance . And the Lord said , " Arise , anoint him; for this is he." 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers ; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward . And Samuel arose and went to Ramah .
14 Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul , and an evil spirit from the Lord terrorized him. 15 Saul's servants then said to him, "Behold now , an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you. 16 "Let our lord now command your servants who are before you. Let them seek a man who is a skillful player on the harp ; and it shall come about when the evil spirit from God is on you, that he shall play the harp with his hand , and you will be well ." 17 So Saul said to his servants , "Provide for me now a man who can play well and bring him to me." 18 Then one of the young men said , "Behold , I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician , a mighty man of valor , a warrior , one prudent in speech , and a handsome man ; and the Lord is with him." 19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said , "Send me your son David who is with the flock ." 20 Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread and a jug of wine and a young goat , and sent them to Saul by David his son . 21 Then David came to Saul and attended him; and Saul loved him greatly , and he became his armor bearer . 22 Saul sent to Jesse , saying , "Let David now stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight ." 23 So it came about whenever the evil spirit from God came to Saul , David would take the harp and play it with his hand ; and Saul would be refreshed and be well , and the evil spirit would depart from him.
25 And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test , saying , "Teacher , what shall I do to inherit eternal life ?" 26 And He said to him, "What is written in the Law ? How does it read to you?" 27 And he answered , " YOU SHALL LOVE THE Lord YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART , AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL , AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH , AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND ; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF ." 28 And He said to him, "You have answered correctly ; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE ." 29 But wishing to justify himself , he said to Jesus , "And who is my neighbor ?" 30 Jesus replied and said , "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho , and fell among robbers , and they stripped him and beat e him, and went away leaving him half dead . 31 "And by chance a priest was going down on that road , and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side . 32 "Likewise a Levite also , when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side . 33 "But a Samaritan , who was on a journey , came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion , 34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds , pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast , and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 "On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said , 'Take care of him; and whatever e e more you spend , when I return I will repay you.' 36 "Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?" 37 And he said , "The one who showed mercy toward him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same ."
38 Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village ; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home . 39 She had a sister called Mary , who was seated at the Lord's feet , listening to His word . 40 But Martha was distracted with all her preparations ; and she came up to Him and said , "Lord , do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone ? Then tell her to help me." 41 But the Lord answered and said to her, " Martha , Martha , you are worried and bothered about so many things ; 42 but only one thing is necessary , for Mary has chosen the good part , which shall not be taken away from her."
(Read Luke 10:25-37)
If we speak of eternal life, and the way to it, in a careless manner, we take the name of God in vain. No one will ever love God and his neighbour with any measure of pure, spiritual love, who is not made a partaker of converting grace. But the proud heart of man strives hard against these convictions. Christ gave an instance of a poor Jew in distress, relieved by a good Samaritan. This poor man fell among thieves, who left him about to die of his wounds. He was slighted by those who should have been his friends, and was cared for by a stranger, a Samaritan, of the nation which the Jews most despised and detested, and would have no dealings with. It is lamentable to observe how selfishness governs all ranks; how many excuses men will make to avoid trouble or expense in relieving others. But the true Christian has the law of love written in his heart. The Spirit of Christ dwells in him; Christ's image is renewed in his soul. The parable is a beautiful explanation of the law of loving our neighbour as ourselves, without regard to nation, party, or any other distinction. It also sets forth the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward sinful, miserable men. We were like this poor, distressed traveller. Satan, our enemy, has robbed us, and wounded us: such is the mischief sin has done us. The blessed Jesus had compassion on us. The believer considers that Jesus loved him, and gave his life for him, when an enemy and a rebel; and having shown him mercy, he bids him go and do likewise. It is the duty of us all , in our places, and according to our ability, to succour, help, and relieve all that are in distress and necessity.
(Read Luke 10:38-42)
A good sermon is not the worse for being preached in a house; and the visits of our friends should be so managed, as to make them turn to the good of their souls. Sitting at Christ's feet, signifies readiness to receive his word, and submission to the guidance of it. Martha was providing for the entertainment of Christ, and those that came with him. Here were respect to our Lord Jesus and right care of her household affairs. But there was something to be blamed. She was for much serving; plenty, variety, and exactness. Worldly business is a snare to us, when it hinders us from serving God, and getting good to our souls. What needless time is wasted, and expense often laid out, even in entertaining professors of the gospel! Though Martha was on this occasion faulty, yet she was a true believer, and in her general conduct did not neglect the one thing needful. The favour of God is needful to our happiness; the salvation of Christ is needful to our safety. Where this is attended to, all other things will be rightly pursued. Christ declared, Mary hath chosen the good part. For one thing is needful, this one thing that she has done, to give up herself to the guidance of Christ. The things of this life will be taken away from us, at the furthest, when we shall be taken away from them; but nothing shall separate from the love of Christ, and a part in that love. Men and devils cannot take it away from us, and God and Christ will not. Let us mind the one thing needful more diligently.
