By Mf«. Bessie Wilbon
LESSON BACKGROUND
For many yedrs the Hebrew people had
lived under a ystem of judges. These
judges helped c sliver the Israelites from
various surroun ing peoples who troubled
them periodical! . A cycle developed at this
time. When the; idge died, the people soon
slipped into sin i nd rebellion. Bondage by
the foreign peope followed. When in the
depths of their n sery, the people cried out
to God, He raise up another judge, and the
cycle was repea ed.
Samuel had ji iged the people for many
0years. In his ok age he appointed his two
sons judges ovei the people. When the two
proved themseh es unworthy of that posi
tion, the people < sked Samuel to appoint a
king over then instead. God was dis
pleased for He k lew that their request was
a rejection of Hi rule over them. In effect,
He was their ir risible King, with judges
serving as His h iman agents.
r oHowmg-Godfs direction; Samuel point
ed out the great expense of royal es
tablishment wou[d entail and warned that
military conscrij tion and other unfavorable
actions -were rtj irtain- to ensue. This - is
detailed in 1 Sa nuel 8. In spite of' Sam
uel’s-warnings^the peoplednsisted-thatthey
Wanted a klngrfftrallythe^prd told Bamuei
to accede to thei^ request and give them a
~~KmgTttfa». ■ o •'!' ■ --:_,__
- (1 SamueH2ri47 ISHfrttrWill go well with
you if you honor the Lord your God, serve
Him, listen to Him, obey His commands and
if you and your king follbw Him. But if you
do not listen to the Loijd but disobey His
commands, He will be against you and your
—king--*•--’-*—
Fear the Lord- serve obey - don’t rebel.
These are words admoni shing the Israelites
to respect God’s command and to do His
—«mU—everlonlfpfl the ;fact that they
had rejected His dir© t rule over them.
They wanted an earthl visible king, and
God granted their wisl. Yet, this "giving
in” to theii- desires wis not a license for
them to reject the way of life and devotion
God had established fo them.
Conformity to God’j will, would be es
sential to the peopl’s well-being, and
^nothing thaLa royal, unily could,add to -
meir mrmm cGn m5h their n66d 16
follow the Lord. This w s essential for them
^nd their king. It was lot unthinkable that
wiey would turn aga ist God’s way as,
indeed, they did in 1 ter ' years. Samuel
warned of what the coi sequences would be
if this happened.
Yes, they were God’! people, and He was
“for” them. But He vould not be on their
side if they refused o do His will. His
blessing and His benelts were conditioned
by their continued obelience to His will. If
they rebelled againstjGod, His hand, His
mighty creative, sus lining, empowering
help - would no longe: be theirs, but this
same energy would be urned against them.
Through God’s mery, a way back into
fellowship and partne Ship with Him was
provided for the peop e who hadLshown a
rebellious spirit. Sar uel had given the
assurance that “the I >rd will dot forsake
His people,” (v. 22). low ever, the warning
had to be sounded thaoto follow a course of
disobedience and wicl edness would bring
destruction, in spite of Samuel’s prayers on
their behalf. The king 'hom they wanted to
fight their battles vould be unable to
forestall their destruc ton - both king and
people would be swep away.
This lesson brings o our attention the
question of how God’s Will relates to ours.
He gives us freedom t 'use our wills - even
to rebel against His p irpose for our fives.
Yet, in the end, H r will achieve His
purposes. This is notch ie by overriding our
wills or by keeping us from the con
sequences of the wrong choices we are per
mitted to make. Howe) >r, even in tl)e midst
xrf the problems the*! errors bring op
portunities emerge . y which previous
wrong decisions can te rectified, or, by
- which the effects of uese dhoices can be
corrected.
It was not God’s vm that Israel have a
king. Yet, when they asked for one, God
granted their reques arid He/ promised
guidance and help hr whatever lay ahead.
So it always seems 9 be. Even in the
beginning, though Adi m and Eve sinned
and were excluded ft an the 'garden, the
promise of a future II sliverer who should
bruise the serpent’s 1 »d was also given.
Even during the lair exile, God found
persons whose heart turned to Him and
whom He could use ii *orks of return and
restoration. ’ if ;
Well, did Samuel fp m the people about
the devastating resiids off turning from
God? Yes. True, God « en dan bring to pass
good out of evil, but t i$ also true that
sinners themselves ice destruction or
desolation.
Randy McClure •
~~ . ....Morehouse graduate
McClure: True Success Is
Mai' ' ' ' ig Faith hi God
By Teresa Simmons
Post Managing Editor
■ .“True success Ismain
taining faith in God, always
aspiring to be the best you
can be and praying.” These
contentions have guided
“Randy McClure through
the four year maze of stu
dies aLMorehouse College
in AHanta-nAr. ' '
Now that graduation ’ is
behind him, McClure plans
--to do more with-his Bio
togy degree than simply,
make “big” money. “I’ve
always wanted to be a role
model to tell others that
‘You can do it, too. All you
have to do is buckle down.
To lose sight of God is the
beginning of failure.’” "
McClure plans to attend
the summer program en
titled MED at the Uni
versity of Chapel Hill. Af
ter the summer program, ~
ne would uke to enter the
Medical School of Chapel
Hill if accepted. Georgia
State University’s Medical
School is his second alter
native.
He plans to be a doctor in
Family Practice and was
inspired to go to Morehouse
because of its positive re
putation.
Moic«w>tisi! ims gfwi
uated more black Ph.D.s
and physicians. After re
searching the school, I
found Morehouse to be the
best shot. I also found that
religious training was in
fluent within the univer
sity. Strong faith in God in
order to be successful in
any field was taught_to_us.
These were revelations
that my grandmother has
always instilled in me
also.”
- McClure’s guardian- is
his grandmother, Mrs. K.
B. Walker. His father was
Thelma Gonslaves is his
mother, and his stepfather
is Joseph Gonslaves.
His ambition to become a
doctor was sparked by the
profession of his mother:,
nurse’s aid. “Medicine and.
- working .with people have_
-always interested."^” |
McClure commented. Ac
quiring an M.D. degree will
give me . some say -and
authority—to really —help
people.’’
Returning home to Char
lotte after medical schooMs
not clear to McClure^ But
he does know that his
faith and belief \n God^wffi—
be coupled with his ambi
tion to succeed. “For me,
God, school and becoming
a doctor easily go hand in
hand. It would be impos
sible f«i me tu attempt tu
study without spiritual di
rection.”
McClure participated in
several extra-curricular
activities at Morehouse. He
was Residential Advisor
for three years; was in
volved in the Chapel As
sistant Program; played
the tuba in the Marcb
1RB Bdliuv Sfftf was'pF&T-"
dent of both the North
Carolina Club and the Dor
mitory Council (freshman
year).
During his undergrad
uate collegiate tenure, he
worked sometimes one and
at other times two jobs. He
was inducted into Who’s
Who Among College and
University Students; ho
nored as an outstanding
Young Man of America;
and was nominated for the
B. R. Brazil Award (a scho
larship).
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