Plucking the Eagle's Wings

The Prophetic Implication of Election 2000

want, but they won't like what they get." This happened with King Saul as people began to turn against him. Parallels Between Saul's Time and Contemporary America When God allowed Israel's will to prevail, six problems arose within Saul's administration. They were: • The people were heavily taxed to finance the government (1 Samuel 8:15-17). • The morale of the military declined to an all time low (1 Samuel 17:19-24). • The people were in debt, discontent, and discouraged (I Samuel 22:1-2). • There was arrogance and abuse of power (1 Samuel chapter 22). • The righteous were persecuted (1 Samuel 18:9-12). • The leaders practiced divination instead of seeking God (I Samuel 28:7). We have similar circumstances in America today. While Hebrews paid a ten percent tax on their wealth, Americans pay a much higher rate. The Biblical ten percent, or tithe, was initially established by God to support the Temple and the priests. The morale of Saul's armies was at an all-time low as the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant, and Goliath taunted Israeli soldiers in the Valley of Elah for forty days. Not one soldier was willing to challenge Goliath and even King Saul refused to go to war. Yet, under Moses, the Hebrews conquered two giant kings, Og of Bashan and Sihon of Moab. Joshua and Caleb were each over eighty years old when they ran giants out of the land. Joshua led Israel as it conquered over thirty one Canaanite cities. Even though America remains the greatest military power on earth, the morale of its armed forces has weakened. One military expert told me that it is very difficult to recruit young people, and terrorist attacks, like the one on the USS Cole, do not help matters. The people in Saul's kingdom were in debt, discontented and discouraged. This resulted from Saul's unrighteous leadership. He ruled from a fleshly heart instead of by the leading of the Spirit of God, so God's favor was not upon him. Americans are in severe debt, many are discouraged, and most are discontented with their lives. They seek

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