Three Kings of Israel are recorded in the constellation called Capricorn. It seems God told their story in the sky before it happened.
The women of Israel uttered “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousand.” This was the first moment King Saul began to fear for his kingdom. On that telling occasion, Saul sensed the throne could be taken from him and given to David. We will hear more of this story in upcoming lessons from the book of 1 Samuel.
THE THREE KINGS OF CAPRICORN
David isn’t the only King hidden within the stars of Capricorn. Saul was not a great King. However, his stories are still revealed in the stars of the heavens. We can see Saul’s pursuit of David in Capricorn. The Hebrew letter Cheth is symbolic of a “wall” or a “gate.” We will speak more of this when we cover the stories around the death of Saul. We see several confrontations between Saul and David at walls and gates. This is interesting to me. I plan to compare these confrontations to those of Nehemiah, who is also facing confrontations regarding “walls” and “gates.” We will save those comparisons for another day though.
1 Samuel 19:10 speaks of significant events involving “gates” and “walls” while Saul was in pursuit of David. “And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall; and David fled, and escaped that night.”
SAUL WAS LIKE THE OTHER KINGS OF NATIONS
Saul’s kingship began when Samuel was the last Judge of Israel. There were no kings during those days of the Judges. Samuel was Israel’s highest ruler during that time . However, Samuel’s sons were not fit to rule. Yet, they were slated to inherit the next judge’s seat. The people saw this problem. They were disturbed. One day they asked Samuel to give them a king “like all of the other nations.”
The fickle people overlooked one important fact. God was actually ruling Israel. He had all power in His hands. God could have solved the problem of Saul’s wayward sons. No man needed to be their head. This was one of Israel’s greatest mistakes. It was a turning point in their history. They forgot to realize God was their King. They chose a man above God.
However, God listened and heard their complaints. He had Samuel to give them Saul. We have followed Saul’s life as King. Today we’ve reached a time when Saul’s reign will soon be over. David’s reign is about to begin. We are about to see the death of Saul and the rise of David. First, I want to discuss a few more stories God wrote in the constellation of Capricorn. They are all about David, Saul, and Jesus. These stories give new confirmation to the scriptures we have always trusted.
GIVE US A KING LIKE ALL OTHER NATION’S KINGS
God listened to the people complaining to Samuel. He saw them wanting a human king. Of course, God was angry. God heard them asking for someone “like all of the other nations.” A greater insult was not possible.
This wrong desire of the people wasn’t in tune to the heart of God for Israel. However, God proved how right He was. He allowed Saul to rule over the nation for the next 40 years. The people received exactly what they asked for. They got a very human-thinking King. Saul made his own decisions instead of following God. By allowing Saul to reign, God was helping Israel to see their own lack of faith.
DAVID WROTE PSALM 19 VERSES 1-4
One has to wonder how much of God’s thoughts were known to David. He is the author of Psalm 19. Let’s view verses 1-4. We will ponder the possibilities of David’s knowledge from God: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. Without speech or language, without a sound to be heard, their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. (Psalm 19:1-4.)
It can be pretty amazing to understand the thoughts of a vagabond, wanderer, once shepherd, armor bearer, warrior, who looks into the night skies. Those very skies confirmed his anointing. Did David see it? Only God knows for sure. However, all words of the Psalms point in that direction.
In great contrast to Saul, another King is seen in the constellation called Capricorn. He is the King of all Kings. His name is Jesus. The ancients knew Him as The Son of David.
There is so much more to discuss about these three Kings. Their stories are still written in the stars. We will go deeper into these stories in next week’s lesson.