Saul died because he was unfaithful to the LORD; he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance … - 1 Chronicles 10:13

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 23, 2013): 1 Chronicles 10

Once upon a time there was a tortoise. And one day the Tortoise was having a conversation with a Hare. Now the Hare knew that it was one of the fastest animals around, and definitely faster than the slow Tortoise. So the Hare loved to tease the Tortoise because the Tortoise was so slow. Now the Tortoise, tired of being the butt of all the slow jokes, proposed a solution – a race. Now, on the surface a race between a Tortoise and a Hare seems ridiculous. Of course, we have heard and have told the story many times. And we know how the story ends. The Hare, confident of his victory falls asleep under a tree, and the Tortoise plods on past the sleeping speedster eventually winning the race. And there is a moral attached to the story. One that we have repeatedly taught and one that plodders everywhere need to hear – slow and steady wins the race.

Of course, the story is not true – at least as we see truth. But the story has achieved mythical status. There has never been a conversation between a tortoise and hare; no race has ever been proposed. But there is a truth that is found in the moral of the funny little story. Steadiness in the things that we do is important. It is not always the quick that win, sometimes the plodders that are persistent at a task can be winners too.  And so the myth becomes important. A myth is not necessarily an untrue story, but it is always a story to which an important truth in the form of a moral has been attached.

The story of Saul and his reign had been told and retold through the generations. It was a true story in the way that we understand truth – it really happened. But as the story is told in Chronicles, it now also becomes mythical. A moral has been attached. Saul failed for two reasons – he refused to keep the word of God that had come down to him and he had consulted a medium for guidance. The second sin had magnified the first. Not only had Saul disobeyed God, but he had tried to justify his disobedience by going to a medium for advice. His hope was that the medium would be able to overturn the will of God. And so this is the myth that was now attached to the story of Saul. And now it is the moral that has become the truth that needs to be taught.

And so the myth is born. What had simply been true became more than true. The story had become a model for us to follow. Just like slow and steady wins the race, we also need to recognize the moral imperative of the story of Saul – one that teaches us that there is no one who is a greater authority than God, and that obedience to him is our ultimate responsibility.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 11