...God is Backwards

Whenever I read the historical texts in the Bible, I become more and more amazed at how completely bizarre God is in choosing the people He wants to use as His servants. Often, the choice seems random and usually, His callings seem completely counter-intuitive.

Why in the world would God have chosen Moses to lead the nation if Israel out of Egypt? To start off, Moses was the adopted child of Pharaoh's household--the last person one would think would remove the nation's greatest labour force. Then, this royal figure goes and murders of of his officials in broad daylight. He runs away & lives in the desert for forty years, seemingly trying to leave his past behind him. Then, lo and behold, God tells him to go back & remove the Israelites from Egypt. Moses refuses several times (and, with good reason, especially if you ignore that it is God who's telling him to go & do this. Were it anyone else, the reluctance seems very justifiable), but he eventually goes, being met with opposition from both the nation of Israel and the nation of Egypt. However, in the end, God's choice proves to be a good one. Moses "comes into his own," and becomes Israel's most prominent leader, through relying on the Lord.

And what about Samson? The guy's selected from birth to be set apart for God and is commanded to never cut his hair, never be in the presence of a carcass and to never eat/drink anything that "comes from the vine." Throughout his life, however, the records state the not only does Samson repeatedly use dead animals as weapons, but he also eats honey out of a rotting lion carcass. He constantly parties, imbibing in many delights from "the vine," assumedly. And it is only when he gets his hair cut that the Lord removes his supernatural strength (though, Samson's strength returns to him later on after his capture, just in time to destroy over 10,000 of Israel's enemies and himself in one last act of zeal.).

Those examples are all commonly known, even though we often gloss over them. But take this one on for size: Saul, the first anointed king of Israel is a direct descendent of the inhabitants of Gibeah, from the tribe of Benjamin. What the heck?! Doesn’t sound very important or striking unless you've just finished reading the book of Judges (or if you're a meticulous tracker of Biblical history/lineages).

Here's the deal: Back in the day, after the time Samson judged Israel (potentially during the judgeship of Eli, the High Priest who reared Samuel, Israel's last judge), there was a Levite who was travelling through Israel on his way home in Bethlehem with his wife. He stays the night in Gibeah, since he had left late in the afternoon and it was getting dark. No one in Gibeah offered to provide him lodging (as was the usual custom in Israel), so he ended up staying in the square until an Ephraimite returned to the city & offered this traveller a place to stay in his own house. However, when the men of Gibeah got word that there was fresh blood in town, they banged on the Ephraimite's door, demanding that the Levite come out of the house, so that every man in town could have sex with him (sounds a lot like what happened to the messengers of God staying with Lot in Sodom, no?). The Ephraimite man chastised the men of Gibeah, telling them that such an act was unwholesome and rude, however the men of Gibeah kept pressing for sexual relations. Eventually, the people inside the house relented (fearing for all of their lives, no doubt), and they made a proposal: if the men of Gibeah were dead set on having sex with someone in that house, the least they could do is have sex with a woman. The mob outside capitulated and forced the Levite's wife to come outside, where every man in the city continually raped her until the morning, when she was returned to the house's doorstep, dead.

The Levite doesn't take too kindly to this abhorrent act, and calls the whole nation of Israel to do something about it. In response, the nation musters its entire military intent on purging this wickedness from amongst their people by killing every person from Gibeah. Unfortunately, the entire tribe of Benjamin decides to defend its city, Gibeah, and as a result, 11 tribes of Israel attack one. Heavy losses on both sides, but 11 eventually beats one. In the end, the nation of Israel completes its ethnic cleansing, leaving only 700 survivors from the line of Benjamin--all of them male.

What does this have to do with Saul? Well, Saul is a Benjamite, and everyone in his father's house is a direct descendent of those from Gibeah. Yep: Saul's grandpa is a guy who wanted to have sex with a man from the priestly order, but who decided instead to rape the same Levite's wife until she died. If you were a Jew, and God had told you that such a man would become your king, how do you think you'd react? It's no wonder that there was some grumbling among the nation of Israel when Samuel proclaimed Saul as the nation's regent. It's also no wonder that Saul thought Samuel was out of his mind when he was told that he'd become king. Again, it's no wonder that Saul was hiding amongst the baggage when Samuel pronounced Saul's kingship to the whole nation.

It’s funny that way. People & society often tend to have a collective moral conscience that typically shuns leaders whose lineage reveals horrific &/or detestable acts. Yet, God—in His infinite wisdom—chose to use such individuals to glorify His name. When we turn to the New Testament, we see a similar trend as Jesus invites tax collectors to be his followers. Even Jesus Himself was a self-proclaimed Rabbi, though by formal instruction, he was a carpenter (how many rig pigs do you know & trust to teach you the finer points of atomic electronegativity?). And to forerun the theological foundation of the Church after Christ’s departure, God chooses Christianity’s most ferocious opponent: Saul of Tarsus. Kinda makes you think (at least it does, me)… Almost appears to be that God doesn’t give a crap what society says should happen. He chooses & says what (or whom) He wants to choose/say. And He is always vindicated in His choices.

So, next time you think that God has made a serious mistake in what He’s done or said, consider Moses; consider Samson; consider Saul. God has His reasons, and He never screws up. He may not make sense from where we see things, but His reasons always prove best.