READ: 1 Samuel 15:20-35
“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” – Isaiah 53:3
The presence of someone at your event is evidence that you have been honoured. Your presence at certain functions is a sign of your respect for the person. Your presence at someone’s wedding is a sign that you respect him or her. Your absence can be a sign of dishonour.
When Saul realised he had lost his position, he begged Samuel to be present at the church service. Samuel’s presence would be a sign of respect for Saul.
Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God. 1 Samuel 15:30
Your failure to call on someone can be a sign of dishonour. Your visit to someone’s house is a sign of your respect for him. The failure of the wise men to pass by the king Herod’s court was a sign that they dishonoured him. The wise men simply did not show up at the palace of Herod. Their absence was a loud rebuke of disrespect towards the king. Herod himself realised that he had been despised.
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. Matthew 2:16
Your absence at important functions or your failure to call on someone may be a sign of dishonour