And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled. He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the LORD fell upon the people, and they came out as one man.
This is a different word in Hebrew that is more accurately translated as dread or alarm than the word translated in the phrase, "the fear of the LORD." It lacks the sense of reverence or awe. Israel was not responding in reverence, they were scared of the LORD's fury as had been exhibited by Saul.
Was Saul wrong to respond in anger? Probably! We see in other passages that he was an impetuous and easily angered individual.
The lesson to me is that I need to keep the end goal in sight; that is to lead those I shepherd into the fear of the LORD, God. the Almighty. That may require leading them through dread of the consequences of their sin. Also, that my teaching must not blithely skip over the understanding of the stench that sin brings to the party.
Today's readings in the Psalms:
Morning: Psalm 116
Mid-day: 119:49-56
Evening: Psalm 42
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