by Gary C. Gibson

Created on: July 09, 2009   Last Updated: August 22, 2009

Second marriages are adultery according to the words of Jesus Christ, yet let us consider a little more of what the Bible has to say about marriages from the book of first Samuel...

For those that don't remember, Samuel was an Old Testament era Israeli prophet at a time when Israel had made it out of Sinai yet were not well established in Israel. God's relationship with Israel was something like a marriage-he seemed to want the Jews as the chosen people to be able to meet his strict standards for civilization, and all that he required wwas that they obey his word with it's instructions for a civilized life.

The Jews were not in posession of the plains of the lowlands in this time, and five Palestinian cities of scale were located there and in control. The Jews demanded a king to lead them, and Sameul let them know that5 God did not want the Jews to have a king, because God was their sole king. Nevertheless the Jews demanded one, so God said he would provide one, and Samuel let them know it would not be a good choice with instructions of how they would be regimented somewhat impersonally.

Saul was God's choice for the new king. Saul was quite large compared to ordinary Israelis. His father sent him out from his village to find some lost asses, and in the process eventually he made it to the village of Samuel, who told him that he would be king soon, and also that his lost asses had been found. Through some trials and tribultions Saul became king and the Jews were happy-God wasn't.

Jws and others of antiquity did not value democracy. God tried to dispense with the mortal king but they would not learn. While Saul dispensed with the Philistines toward the direction of Oprah and a few others, he could not satisfy God's requirement that his primaruy task was to obey him. Ordered to slaughter the Amalekites including their king and prime lambs and oxen., Saul spared those and killed everyone else including women and children. Samuel let Saul know his time was numbered and it was-he would eventually kill himself to avoid captue by the Philisitines along with his sons. On this occassion however Samuel took a sword and hewed the Amalekite king (malek means king in Semitic languages and perhaps God just preferred democracy and no rival 'chosen people' or 'ruling class tribe').

God did what he could to square away the Jews and their disobediance. Eventually he would scrap the entire effort and send his son to do the job of leaduing vioa allegiance in hearts and minds

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