When it was clear Donald Trump would be our president, I was more than a bit concerned. Specifically, I told friends, “I pray he is our David and not our Saul.” As it turns out, he is a bit of both, and history will decide which reign his presidency most resembles.
If the paragraph above has you wondering what I’ve been drinking, let me assure you that is not the case. The only thing influencing me at the moment is my knowledge of biblical history, and it was the influence leading to the comment invoking the ancient kings. Consider the reference to Saul.
Saul was the first king of Israel. He was chosen by God when the Jews cried out to Him for a king. They were not happy with the leadership of judges. They wanted a king, just like all the other countries and tribes. They wanted someone who looked like a king, talked like a king, and acted like a king. God gave them Saul because he met their criteria.
The same can be said about President Trump. Many Christians and others were calling out for a change in leadership. By that, they did not mean a shift from one party to another. They wanted someone different, someone not part of the political swamp, and in stepped Donald Trump. He was precisely what the people were asking for at the time, which is why I referenced Saul in the first place.
In some ways, Saul’s story is a cautionary tale. Similar to the old adage, be careful what you wish for. Saul was a decent king for a time. Then he got himself into trouble with God. As the Bible teaches, crossing God was a risky business in Old Testament times, and Saul paid the price for his hubris. In fact, God sent Isaiah to anoint Israel’s new king long before Saul fell on his sword, which brings us to David.
The Bible teaches God ordered Samuel to anoint David as the future king when David was a child. He was chosen by God when he was still living at home with his family, and it would be years before David the man became king. In the interim, David did many good, even great things, and stayed faithful to the Lord God. After Saul killed himself to avoid being captured by his enemies David assumed the throne.
David was a man after God’s own heart and did God’s will. He also did a few things that were not God’s will, such as taking another man’s wife and orchestrating that man’s death. Later, he, as had Saul, decided he could move forward without God’s blessing. God chastised David for that move. Yet, there was a difference between Saul and David.
David was allowed to live a full life. It was not without trials and turmoil, but in the end, he was still God’s chosen king. In fact, Jesus came from the line of David, which is a significant statement about how God can use a sinner to produce the future King.
For the record, this piece is not about politics. It is about the origin of one’s faith as a Christian, and how that faith leads you to see the world around you. Some people believe God appoints or allows certain people to come into power, as in the cases of Saul and David. Others believe God has no hand in such worldly matters, either because He chooses not to meddle, or He does not have the power to interfere. It is that divide which triggered this piece, and an article to be posted in the future. Either way, my comment stands.
I still pray President Trump is our David and not our Saul. At the moment he displays characteristics of both, and only time will tell if he falls on his sword, or marks the beginning of a new and better era for our nation.
© sinnerswalk.com – 2019
