The prophet Isaiah calls on Israel: “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (55:6-7).
To the same people, a contemporary of Isaiah, Hosea, says, “With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the Lord, but they will not find him; he has withdrawn from them” (5:6).
We often empathize with Adam and Eve who, once they sinned, realized they were naked, became ashamed, and hid themselves from the presence of the holy God (Genesis 3:7-8). Sometimes we empathize with Jonah, wanting to flee from the presence of God (Jonah 1).
Do we ever empathize with King Saul? “When Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by prophets” (1 Samuel 28:6). King Saul epitomizes the rebellious sin of the whole nation of Israel, illustrated in the words of Isaiah and Hosea above.
That was not the first time God had hidden himself from King Saul. Before the incident with King Agag and the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15, the previous chapter (14:37) reads: “Saul inquired of God, ‘Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?’ But He did not answer him on that day.”
Proverbs 15:29 encourages us to be careful of our behavior if we do not want God to hide Himself from us: “The Lord is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.”
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Do we ever empathize with King David when he prayed: “Do not cast me away from your presence and do not take your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:11)?
Do we take the goodness and grace of God for granted to the extent that we continue to live a self-centered life and believe God will continue blessing us? Do we think that God will not ever turn away from us? David recognized the possibility as he wrote that great penitential psalm following his sin with Bathsheba.
Frequently, when talking to people about being in worship, they will respond, “Well, I pray every day.” Praying, I point out to them, to God without reading His word is the same as telling God you want Him to listen to you but you are not listening to Him. Why would He answer the prayer of such a person?
If we do not want God to hide His presence from us, let us humbly submit to His teachings in the New Testament and always keep a teachable attitude. Humility is a fundamental response to the word of God.
–Paul Holland
