2从扫罗悲惨的结局,我们可以学到许多关于神经纶的功课。扫罗的悲剧,完全是因著他没有正确的联于神的经纶。神要在地上完成祂的经纶,祂也将扫罗带进祂的经纶里。但扫罗不肯有分于神的经纶,并与神的经纶合作,反而自私自利。神要在祂的选民中间建立国度,但扫罗僭用神的国,想要建立自己的小王国。大卫却完全不同。他为撒母耳所膏时,清楚的知道自己被神指派作王,但他没有一点作王的观念。扫罗被设立作王之后,立刻充满了作王的思想,包括想到他儿子要如何继承他。(二十31。)扫罗在这点上是自私的,并且错误到极点。他所寻求的是要建立他为著自己的王国,而不是建立神的国。最后,神放弃扫罗,将他剪除,使国与他断绝。在十五章二十八节,撒母耳对扫罗说,『今日耶和华使以色列国与你断绝,将这国赐与一个与你相近,比你更好的人。』因著扫罗被神放弃,他就像孤儿一样被撇在一边,当难处来到时得不到帮助。虽然大卫是最能干、最有经验的战士,但由于扫罗的自私和妒忌,大卫没有为扫罗所用。事实上,因著扫罗要除去大卫,大卫就被迫到以色列最大的敌国去。(二七1~2。)大卫到了非利士人那里,特别是到了亚吉王那里。当非利士人聚集军旅,要与以色列争战时,大卫(那时已经作亚吉王的护卫长)对于是否该与非利士人站在一起,与以色列人争战,感到左右为难。这个为难乃是扫罗自私所带来的结果。以色列人被击败,被仇敌所杀,这也是因著扫罗的自私。但神在祂的主宰里,进来对付扫罗,并救大卫脱离他那左右为难的情形。
2From the tragic end of Saul we can learn many things concerning God’secon o my. The tragedy suffered by Saul was altogether due to his not being properly related to God’s economy. God is carrying out His economy on earth, and He brought Saul into His economy. Instead of participating in God’secon o my and cooperating with it, Saul was selfish. God wanted to build up His kingdom among His chosen people, but Saul usurped God’skin gdom to build up his own monarchy. With David the situation was entirely different. When David was anointed by Samuel, he had a clear understanding that he had been assigned by God to be the king, but he did not have any thought about kingship. After Saul was appointed to be the king, he was immediately filled with thoughts of the kingship, including how his son would succeed him (20:31). In this Saul was selfish and wrong to the uttermost. He sought to build his selfish monarchy rather than the kingdom of God. Eventually, God gave Saul up and cut him off, tearing the kingdom away from him. In 15:28 Samuel said to Saul, “Jehovah has torn the kingdom of Israel away from you today and has given it to an associate of yours, who is better than you.” Because Saul was given up by God, he was left alone, like an orphan, having no provision of help when trouble came. Even though David was the most skillful and experienced fighter, he was of no use to Saul because of Saul’s selfishness and envy. Actually, because Saul wanted to do away with him, David was forced to go to a country that was Israel’s biggest enemy (27:1-2). David went to the Philistines, in particular to King Achish. When the Philistines gathered their camps to fight against Israel, David, who had become the bodyguard to King Achish, was in a dilemma of being one with the Philistines to fight against Israel. This dilemma was the result of Saul’s selfishness. The people of Israel suffered defeat and were slaughtered also because of Saul’s selfishness. But God in His sovereignty came in to deal with Saul and to rescue David from his dilemma.