Julie
Saul is being rejected by God for not following the commandments. Saul follows the will of the people over God and makes poor decisions. So God tells Samuel that he is regretted making Saul king. That is actually said a couple of times in this reading and I found that interesting because there is a school of thought that God knows all that is going to happen before it happens...correct? If that were the case then why would he regret a decision? In giving this some thought I wondered if God sees that we have the potential for good and evil and he gives us a chance to make those decisions to see how we will choose, so maybe he know how each situation would turn out but hopes that we will make that decision to follow him and his commandments.
The proverb is a continuation. Within this continuation, we are learning more about what constitutes good and bad decisions and the consequences for each.
Michelle
It gave me pause as well when reading that God regretted something. I think you are correct though. God has given us free will to make decisions on our own. He knows the path no matter what we choose, but has hope that we will continue to follow his commands. That is all that is asked and seems to be the righteous way to go and leaves us with less negative, regretful decisions. We live better lives if we follow the commands given, no matter where they lead. This can be difficult to swallow.
There is a devotional to this chapter that is pretty good. It's titled "But Lord!". It gives and example of a mom giving her son instructions for the day while she is at work, only to return home to find he did not follow them as stated. I can relate to this. When she confronted him, he rolled his eyes and said, "But Mom, I didn't think you meant all of it!" Saul's actions reveal his self-willed heart. God's commands didn't fit Saul's plans, so he tweaked them to fit his convenience. It says we are all a little like Saul in that we fall into the "But Lord" trap. Some examples: I know your grace is sufficient but Lord, I think I'll take the easy way out. But Lord surely flirting isn't cheating. But Lord overeating isn't hurting anyone else. Instead of squelching temptation, we succumb to it. The more we take that turn, the more we fool ourselves that we are innocent. Everyday we have ample opportunities to choose God's leading us or reject his instruction. The final line gets me, "Not as I will, But as you will" (Matthew 26:39) I have heard this in a song. Not my will but your's be done as a prayer to God. This is something we should all be keeping in mind. Especially when we are trying to justify our actions.
Most of this proverb is about wisdom and foolishness. The verses that stood out are toward the end. "Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up. The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray." I am trying to figure out why these were most prominent to me today. I do tend to suffer some anxiety so that could be why and I am careful to choose my friends or those I consider friends. Although I do not believe myself to be righteous.
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