Head and Shoulders
1 Samuel 9:2 He had a son named Saul, an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites-a head taller than any of the others.
A preacher many years ago used the phrase "head and shoulders" as a description of the government Israel had under Saul because Saul was "head and shoulders" taller than everyone else and because he depended on his own smarts and strength. To a certain degree the preacher mentioned "head and shoulders" as a way of refering to the shampoo in order to make it easy to remember. I have no problem at all using the phrase as an attention getting devise, but on the other hand, I don't see the connections between the description of Saul and the type of dependance on human strength that was exibited by Saul. I'm not sure that this is good exegesis, but it seems to fit anyway. While it is very conveinent for the preacher to point out the correlation between Saul's description and the his spiritual state, is that what the original human author meant and is that what the original recepiants of the text would have thought of by the text. I'm quite tempted to use the teaching myself because Saul's life does show one while blessed of God in some ways, but also shows a dependancy on self instead of a dependancy on God.
I often find people who look to human forms of power as ultimate power. Power is fleeting. I remember a story by a Army officier who retired. He went to the military hospital and gave his ID card to the new solder behind the counter. The soldier said, "How can I help you buddy?" Of course those who know the military, this is very inappropriate way to address an officier, but the young soldiers saw the man as a retiree, not an officier. One day, "Sir, yes sir". The next day, "How can I help you buddy?"
God's power is not fleeting. His strength is not for a moment. His wisdom will not disapate due to alzheimer. His wealth will never be depleted. I want Christ as my head and lean on His shoulders.
A preacher many years ago used the phrase "head and shoulders" as a description of the government Israel had under Saul because Saul was "head and shoulders" taller than everyone else and because he depended on his own smarts and strength. To a certain degree the preacher mentioned "head and shoulders" as a way of refering to the shampoo in order to make it easy to remember. I have no problem at all using the phrase as an attention getting devise, but on the other hand, I don't see the connections between the description of Saul and the type of dependance on human strength that was exibited by Saul. I'm not sure that this is good exegesis, but it seems to fit anyway. While it is very conveinent for the preacher to point out the correlation between Saul's description and the his spiritual state, is that what the original human author meant and is that what the original recepiants of the text would have thought of by the text. I'm quite tempted to use the teaching myself because Saul's life does show one while blessed of God in some ways, but also shows a dependancy on self instead of a dependancy on God.
I often find people who look to human forms of power as ultimate power. Power is fleeting. I remember a story by a Army officier who retired. He went to the military hospital and gave his ID card to the new solder behind the counter. The soldier said, "How can I help you buddy?" Of course those who know the military, this is very inappropriate way to address an officier, but the young soldiers saw the man as a retiree, not an officier. One day, "Sir, yes sir". The next day, "How can I help you buddy?"
God's power is not fleeting. His strength is not for a moment. His wisdom will not disapate due to alzheimer. His wealth will never be depleted. I want Christ as my head and lean on His shoulders.
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