Saul's Hearing Test

1Samuel 15:22  And Samuel said, "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

When my daughter Aubrey was just a toddler and the severity of her disabilities were just becoming evident, her pediatrician scheduled a hearing test. Since geneticists could not find the cause of her small head, which seemed to be contributing to global developmental delays, there were understandable concerns that deafness may be added to the growing list of disabilities. 

Although it was unsettling to see Aubrey’s tiny sedated body all wired up, it was a relief to find out that her brain’s ability to register sound was functioning perfectly! Aubrey can hear. Yet, sadly, time would reveal that Aubrey’s ability to “hear” did not mean she would be able to heed even the simplest directions.

Opening the first week of our new Sister to Sister study on Israel’s first king, Saul, I thought of Aubrey’s hearing test.  Once chosen by God, Saul was anointed by God’s prophet Samuel. As 1 Samuel unfolds, we learn that Saul’s was given a new heart, the power and presence of God’s Spirit to not just hear, but to listen.

Saul’s anointing as King was for listening, to hear and heed d the voice of God through His prophet Samuel. Saul began well. Tragically, he stopped listening. Worst of all, he wanted people to think he was listening. (Ironically it was the “sound” of sheep bleating—spoils of war Saul kept refusing to obey God’s voice—that gave Saul away. Everybody could “hear” the evidence that Saul stopped listening to God—especially Saul!) Saul was anointed to listen and when he became characterized by a refusal to listen, he lost his anointing as King of Israel (1 Samuel 15:26):

Once we place our faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, we are sealed with His Spirit, we are anointed by God. We become part of His royal priesthood destined to reign with Him for all eternity (1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 20:6). Upon our “annoitnting” we were given a new heart and the continual presence of God’s Spirit within us—everything we need to not just hear God’s word, but listen, to heed the very words of God.

Yes. I have been anointed to listen. And so have you. Are we?

Let’s not miss any and every opportunity to hear His Word.

Let’s listen to, heed each Word.

For our good and His glory, may we not forsake the beauty of evidencing the King of Kings for a few bleating sheep.

Pattie