In this lesson, David Capoccia teaches on two major instances of disobedience in the life of King Saul: 1) Making a sacrifice contrary to God’s command and 2) Sparing the Amalekite king and choicest animals. David Capoccia explains the context and root of these sins and poses the following three questions for application:
1) Do you walk by faith or by sight?
2) Do you find yourself falling continually into certain sins? Is there and underlying idol that is the root of your sin?
3) Do you rely on external acts and rituals for God’s favor/or your salvation?
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follow along with me starting in verse one Saul was 30 years old when he began to Reign and he reigned 42 years over Israel now Saul chose for himself 3,000 men of Israel of which 2,000 were with Saul and mcmash and in the Hill Country of bethl while 10,000 were with Jonathan at giba of Benjamin but he sent away the rest of the people each to his tent Jonathan smoked the Garrison of the Philistines that was in giba and the Philistines heard of it then Saul blew the trumpet throughout the land saying let the Hebrews here all Israel heard the news that Saul had smitten The Garrison of the Philistines and also that Israel had become odious to the Philistines the people were then summoned to Saul at gilgal now the Philistines assembled to fight with Israel 30,000 chariots and 6,000 Horsemen and people like the sand which is on the seashore in abundance and they came up encamped in mcmash east of bethaven when the men of Israel saw that they were in a straight for the people were hard pressed then the people hid themselves in caves and thickets in Cliffs and cellers and in pits also some of the Hebrews crossed the Jordan into the land of GAD and Gilead but as for Saul he was still in gilgal and all the people followed him trembling now he waited seven days according to the appointed time set by Samuel but Samuel did not come to gilgal and the people were scattering from him so Saul said bring to me the burnt offering and the peace offerings and he offered the the burnt offering as soon as he finished offering the burnt offering behold Samuel came and Saul went out to meet him and to greet him but Samuel said what have you done and Saul said because I saw that the people were scattering from me and that you did not come within the appointed days and that the Philistines were assembling at mcmash therefore I said now the Philistines will come down against me at gilgal and I have not asked the favor of the Lord so I forced myself and offered the burnt offering Samuel said to Saul you have acted foolishly you have not kept the Commandment of the Lord your God which he commanded you for now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever but now your kingdom shall not endure the Lord has sought out for himself a man after his own heart and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over his people because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you then Samuel arose and went up from gilgal to giba of benj and Saul numbered the people who were present with him about 600 men all right let’s start our analysis of this text with some simple observations by the beginning of this chapter and its events some time has gone by since the CH the events of chapters 10 to 11 we talked about some of these things but Saul was coronated as king and giba in chapter 10 he administered a campaign of warfare against the ammonites in chap chap 11 and then the king the kingdom was renewed under Saul at gilgal by Samuel at the end of chapter 11 so some time has gone by Saul gathers to himself some men for his army how many 3,000 and he put some under himself and some under Jonathan he’s got 3,000 men but Israel does something to make the Philistines rather annoyed with Israel what does Israel do how does Israel make itself odious to the Philistines Jonathan Saul’s son and Saul himself through Jonathan they attacked the Philistines they smoted The Garrison at geba I think it was giba and this touches off a war and Saul summons all Israel to fight many Israelites gathered Saul but the Philistines also gather and it’s quite a large army people numbered like the sand of the sea along with 6,000 Horsemen and 30,000 chariots though 30,000 actually may be the number 3,000 but that’s still a lot of Chariots remember that chariots were greatly feared on the ancient Battlefield because chariots could rain down arrows on enemy infantry but they were so fast that the Infantry didn’t have a chance to fight back so often the tactic with chariots was to wear down the enemy with arrows until the foot soldiers were so were so demoralized and disorganized that they could be mopped up with ground troops so a high number of Chariots under the Philistines was a very great strategic Advantage when Israel sees what it’s up against how does Israel react they run and hide they hide in various places they had gathered but now they scatter some people stay with Saul but even those are few and trembling verse 15 tells us at the end of our section that we read how many people are with Saul by the time Samuel arrives just 600 and remember he gathered to himself 3,000 before hostilities had even begun he only had 600 left now Saul is at gilgal waiting for Samuel verse 8 tells us that Saul Waits 7 Days according to the appointed time set by Samuel in other words Samuel had indicated to Saul that Samuel would come to gilgal with SE within seven days and Saul was to wait for him now what was Samuel apparently going to do once Samuel arrived Eric he was going to offer sacrifices now when had Samuel said that he would do this we might want to go back a few chapters to 1st Samuel 108 where if you just peek over there for a moment you see the statement 1 Sam samel 10:8 and you shall go down before me to gilgal and behold I will come to you to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice peace offerings you shall wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you should do wow that sounds exactly like the situation and your steady Bibles might link what we just read with the passage in 1st Samuel 13 however these words in 1st Samuel 10 are said to Saul before Saul had even become king and they actually have already been fulfilled Saul did go to gal in 1st Samuel 11 and he was reconfirmed by Samuel there as king moreover surely seven more than seven days have passed since Samuel’s first prophetic word to Saul so this statement from 1st Samuel 108 cannot be referring to what’s happening in 1st Samuel 13 as there’s no other command from Samuel like this in the intervening chapters we must infer that Samuel had said something similar to Saul after the outbreak of hostilities with the Philistines that is go down to gilgal wait for me when I come I will offer sacrifices and then show you what you should do but seven days have gone by and there’s no sign of Samuel verse 8 tells us that the people were scattering from Saul more and more people are leaving Saul each day as the battle with the Philistine horde approaches the word so appears in verse n back in um chapter 13 what does so indicate it’s a uh it’s similar to the word therefore what do those words indicate yeah Eric exactly a new action based on what happened before cause and effect a result of what had previously been declared that is Samuel did not come so uh Saul commands that the animals for the peace and burnt offering be brought to him and he offered them himself who according to God’s law was the only one allowed to offer sacrifices the priests though sometimes prophets were also permitted but it was the office of the priests not the king as soon as he’s done sacrificing oh yes Dwayne Samuel is certainly a prophet and like I said some prophets were also permitted to offer sacrif he’s in the line of Levi but he’s not in the line of Aaron some say that he is a priest some say that he’s not I think he’s just a prophet because we still have the sons of uh Eli serving as priests but Samuel was certainly allowed to offer sacrifices but Saul was not but some would say that Samuel was also a priest that he was specially Allowed by God to be priest but anyways as soon as Saul is done sacrificing the burnt offering what happens Samuel Samuel arrives this is almost cinematic right this is like what you see in a movie right when he gives up on Samuel there’s Samuel hi Saul notice at the end of verse 10 it says Saul went out to meet and greet Samuel or literally meet and bless Samuel you might think after you’ve just grossly violated the law of God that you might want to hide from God’s Prophet but no Saul goes out to meet Samuel only even bless him but Samuel says to Saul what have you done notice Saul’s response it gives three reasons for why he offered the sacrifice what’s one of them yeah the people were scattering from me what else you didn’t show up on time yeah that’s another reason what’s a third reason the Philistines are coming and I still haven’t sought the favor of the Lord people are leaving me you didn’t come on time Samuel the Philistines are gathering I need the Lord’s favor and how did Saul think he would get the Lord’s favor namely via sacrifice offer up the animals what is noticeably missing from Saul’s explanation to Samuel any confession of sin yeah no uh no confession of sin and certainly no repentance instead he defends himself I’m innocent observe Samuel’s response to Saul Samuel does not give any credibility to Saul’s defense but instead tell Saul five things you have done foolishly you have disobeyed God’s command your kingdom could have been established by God perpetually but now your kingdom shall not endure and God will raise up someone else to rule a man after God’s Own Heart Samuel then leave Saul alone with his trembling troops all right let’s use these observations now to answer some interpretive questions why does Samuel ask Saul what Saul has done I mean the smoke from the altar would have been a dead giveaway so why ask what yeah he’s certainly going to be pointing out the um the error of Saul um he’s also giving Saul an opportunity to do something what are you going to say Rob certainly it gives him a chance to explain what he did but uh more importantly to confess we actually see this pattern throughout the Bible even when somebody does something obviously wrong usually it’s not like all right here’s your judgment there’s usually a what have you done why did you do this and there’s some chance to confess and repent we we observed however that Saul does not admit any guilt in fact his defense is essentially an effort at what is justifying himself by transferring the responsibility to others transferring the blame it’s not my fault the people were scattering I had to do something to keep them here and to inspire them it’s not my fault you didn’t come on time I had to do something since you failed me it’s not my fault the Philistines are going to attack I have to do something to get God on my side before they come yeah Rob all right we’ll talk about that in just a second but that’s an important question did Samuel really not come on time but certainly Saul shifts the blame and does not admit any guilt himself notice even that Saul says he forced himself to do it that’s a loaded phrase it implies something about Saul’s action what does it imply I really what yes kind of I mean it it it acknowledges that there was some sort of barrier and perhaps we would say that I really shouldn’t have done that but you might think that if Saul was trying to defend himself he wouldn’t have say I forc myself to do it he might have said like oh but I just slipped into it I really didn’t want to but I just ended up doing it but when you use the phrase force yourself it gives more of the agency to Saul where he says no I overcame something to do this if you’re defending yourself why would you say that unless you think that forcing yourself was actually what it’s actually the good thing to do there’s a certain nobility in this statement I overcame those feelings and those compulsions that told me that I shouldn’t do it I was strong enough to do what was necessary for Israel’s sake I forced myself but Samuel doesn’t give him any sort of credit for that that he condemns Saul but what about Saul’s not or Samuel’s not arriving on time does Saul have some justification for what he did I mean God’s Prophet said he would be there and he wasn’t was Saul Justified then partly because of that what do you think yes St okay yeah we’ll we’ll talk about that in just a second but it might not actually be that Samuel didn’t arrive on time but even if he didn’t would Saul be justified yeah Eric right exactly yeah that’s a as well said Eric he should have trusted the Lord to provide even if Samuel the provision that he expected did not show that was not an excuse for him to then just and violate God’s law this is an important principle for us to give another parallel example it’d be like saying well the government failed to give me my full refund on the tax return I was supposed to get more they didn’t give me the full amount therefore I’m going to go rob a bank no even if others fail us we’re not justified in committing sin but we sometimes do think this sometimes especially with our own family members or spouses we say because he’s not being obedient to God neither will I I’ll show him or because she’s not giving me what I’m do I’m justified in acting out in evil no this is totally wrong and we sin when we do this whether people fail us or whether we just think they fail us it is never justification to sin and when we sin we will experience the consequences of our sin and even God’s chastening but as was noted salt is not NE necessarily right when he says Samuel did not arrive on time for after all Samuel does not admit any failure he does not respond to Saul’s allegation he says you know what you’re right I didn’t show up on time but you should have still not have done this doesn’t respond to that allegation at all and while we’re not told specifically when Saul offered the sacrifice he probably offered it at the end of the seventh day after he had concluded that Samuel was unfaithful Samuel’s not coming I better do this myself but then Samuel shows up right when the sacrifice is finished Samuel probably had come within seven days it just wasn’t what Saul expected Samuel to do Saul probably interpreted within seven days to be sometime in the middle not at the very end of the Seventh Day within usually implies that but technically even the last second of the seventh days within seven days but Saul’s not willing to wait that long there’s too much pressure too much visible danger you can’t expect me to wait that long you obviously have not kept your promise to me Samuel now we can’t say this for sure but I find it more likely that Samuel did arrive within the a lot of time and Saul just didn’t think that was the appropriate time for Samuel to arrive either way Saul is not justified in his action it commits great sin by offering sacrifice when that is only the offer the office of the priest but before we analyze Saul and his motivations any further let’s turn over and look at Saul’s second failure because we’re going to group our observations of those two episodes together to get at what is it that is causing Saul to erir so badly turn over now to 1 Samuel 15 1st Samuel 15 we’re going to read the entire chapter as we look now at the second failure second great sin of Saul in the text between 1st Samuel 13 and 1st Samuel 15 we read that Jonathan Saul’s son full of Faith initiates Deliverance by Deliverance for Israel by attacking the Philistines the Philistines flee Israelites pursue God delivers Israel Saul fights a number of wars with Israel’s other enemies he performs quite valiantly as he does so and then God says a message to Saul through Samuel at the beginning of chapter 15 so let’s read starting at the be starting in verse one then Samuel said to Saul the Lord sent me to anoint you as king over his people over Israel now therefore listen to the words of the Lord thus says the Lord of hosts I will now punish amalec for what he did to Israel how he set himself up against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt now go and strike amalec and utterly destroy all that he has and do not spare him but put to death both man and woman child an infant ox and sheep camel and Donkey then Saul summon the people and number them into lame 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah Saul came to the city of amalec and S an ambush in the valley Saul said to the kenites go depart go down from among the amalekites so that I do not destroy you with them but you showed kindness to all the sons of Israel when they came up from Egypt so the canites departed from among the amalekites so Saul defeated the amalekites from havala as you go to shur which is east of Egypt he captured AAG the king of the amalekites alive and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword but Saul and the people spared AAG and the best of the sheep The Oxen the fatlings the Lambs and all that was good and were not willing to destroy them utterly but everything despised and worthless that they utterly destroyed then the word of the Lord came to Samuel saying I regret that I have made Saul King for he has turned back from following me and has not carried out my commands and Samuel was distressed and cried out to the Lord all night Samuel Rose early in the morning to meet Saul and it was told Samuel saying Saul came to Carmel and behold he set up a monument for himself then turned and proceeded on down to gilgal Samuel came to Saul and Saul said to him blessed are you of the Lord I have carried out the command of the Lord but Samuel said what then is this bleeding of the sheep in my ears and the Lo of The Oxen which I hear Saul said they have brought them from the amalekites for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen to to sacrifice to the Lord your God but the rest we have utterly destroyed and Samuel said to Saul wait and let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night and he said to him speak Samuel said is it not true though you were made little or though you were little in your own eyes you were made the head of the tribes of Israel and the Lord anointed you King over Israel and the Lord sent you on a mission and said go and utterly destroy the Sinners the amalekites and fight against them until they are exterminated why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord then Saul said to Samuel I did obey the voice of the Lord and went on the mission on which the Lord sent me and I brought back AAG the king of the king of amalec and have utterly destroyed the amalekites but the people took some of the spoil sheep and oxen the choices of the things devoted to destruction to sacrifice to the Lord your God at gilgal Samuel said has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord behold to obey is better than sacrifice and to heed than the fat of Rams for Rebellion is as the sin of divination and and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry because you have rejected the word of the Lord he has also rejected you from being King then Saul said to Samuel I have sinned I have indeed transgressed the command of the Lord and your words because I feared the people and listened to their voice now therefore please pardon my sin and return with me that I may Worship the Lord but Samuel said to Saul I will not returned with you for you have rejected the word of the Lord and the Lord has rejected you from being King over Israel as Samuel turned to go Saul sees the edge of his robe and it tore so Samuel said to him the Lord has torn the Kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you also the glory of Israel will not lie or change his mind for he is not a man that he should change his mind then he said I have sinned but please honor me now before the Elders of my people and before Israel and go back with me that I may Worship the Lord your God so Samuel went back following Saul and Saul worshiped the Lord then Samuel said bring me AAG the king of the amalekites and AAG came to him cheerfully and egag said surely the bitterness of death is passed but Samuel said as your sword has made women childless so shall your mother be childless among women and Samuel hewed AAG to Pieces before the Lord at gilgal then Samuel went to RMA but Saul went up to his house at giba of Saul Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death where Samuel grieved over Saul and the Lord regretted that he had made Saul King over Israel okay a little bit longer section than the previous one but let’s make some observations what did God command Israel to do to the amalekites totally destroy them specifically eliminate what well I I I hesitate to say everything because there may have been some material objects that were permitted it’s not specifically stated what they are to do with those but certainly they are to kill all the people men women and children doesn’t matter how old and all the animals don’t take any of the animals they are all to be destroyed they are under the ban of the Lord now why I mean sounds a little bit like genocide why why was Israel supposed to do that exactly remember when some people might want to say oh look at this horrible thing that the Israelites did in the Old Testament or look what even God commanded this is not normative this is not like oh we should all do this this was a special direction from God as an act of judgment specifically because the amalekites had attacked Israel when Israel was on their way to the promised land God says I remember it and I’m going to repay them for what they did and here’s how you’re going to destroy them you’re going to totally annihilate them this was a specific that he was God was going to use the Israelites as agents of judgment so that was the mission given to Saul but what does Saul actually do he does not kill the king he kills all the other people but not the king of the amalekites what about the animals yeah Eric yeah they did not kill all the animals they just killed the the ones that were badl looking ones that were worthless best of the animals he let the people keep how does God react to Saul’s actions he tells Samuel he was yeah he regretted making Saul King he was sorry that he had made Saul King how does Samuel react yeah he was distressed and cried out to the Lord all night Samuel was greatly affected by Saul’s Disobedience Samuel goes to meet Saul and he hear Saul has moved on to a different place but what has Saul done in the meantime he built a monument for whom himself not to God but to himself when Samuel finally catches up with Saul notice Saul’s reception He blesses Samuel and reports that he Saul has fulfilled God’s command Sam asked poly why Samuel hears the sound of animals what’s Saul’s explanation exactly oh I didn’t do this the people did this oh and they did it as sacrifice to God these are going to be sacrifices Samuel reminds Saul of how God made Saul King how God commissioned Saul to destroy the amalekites and their animals and Samuel then asks Saul why didn’t you obey God how does Saul defend himself I did obey God I didn’t disobey I did what God told me to and what does he say yeah once again he says the people they took the animals but again it’s sacrifices to the Lord your God how could you condemn me as wrong then Samuel speaks some poetry to Saul pointing out to Saul some basic truths to God what is better than any sacrifice of a precious animal yeah that’s true yeah it might not even be true that yeah I certainly think you’re right to say that Saul is deceiving himself maybe does think he’s really obey the the Lord but um because he he wants to obey the Lord in this way this is convenient to Saul certainly regardless of whether the people are going to sacrifice him or not it was a benefit to them because if they’ve got these animals and they can sacrifice these to God that means they don’t have to sacrifice their own animals either way the people are going to benefit materially from taking these animals but maybe they’re not even going to sacrifice them in the first place back to my question though what is better than any sacrifice to God obedience and what is worse than even divination I mean a cult uh practices condemned as Abominations what is worse than that what is it yeah Rebellion Disobedience obedience is better than sacrifice divination is not as bad as disobedience and because Saul’s rejected God’s word what has God done he’s rejected Saul rejected Saul from being King that same judgment Prophecy from earlier repeated Saul then does something surprising he admits his sin he confesses his sin and even the reason for it why did Saul do what he did I think you mentioned it Rob why does Saul do what he did he feared the people he feared the people Saul asks for pardon and for Samuel to go down and worship with him but Samuel refuses he says I’m not going to go with you then Saul seizes Samuel’s garment grabs on to Samuel the Garment tears and Samuel uses that as a symbol of God’s judgment he reiterates that God has torn the Kingdom from Saul and he will give it to someone better Samuel says that God will not change his mind about this because God is Not Like a Man God does not change his mind Saul confesses his sin again but then again request that Samuel go with him to worship and he tells him why if you go with me you will do what for me you will honor me before the elders and all the people what does then Samuel do after they go and worship because Samuel acases what then does Samuel do that Saul had not done he killed the king he killed AAG and didn’t just kill him he hacked him to pieces that’s very gruesome whoa Samuel why remember Samuel’s also pretty old but he’s totally willing and apparently able to do this Samuel and Saul then separate and we’re told that Samuel Samuel continues to grieve over Saul even though he doesn’t see him any anymore and we’re told at the very end of the chapter that God regrets making Saul King over Israel yeah yian ah we’re going to ask that question in just a second but that’s a great question Ian why didn’t Saul kill AAG we’ve looked at some of these observations let’s go through some interpretive questions now before we talk about why Saul didn’t kill AAG how can God say that God didn’t God doesn’t change his mind because twice in this chapter we see God expressing regret do regret by definition imply a change in mind how do we reconcile these things yes Steve okay that’s a good point Steve that when we do see that God changes his mind it’s not like God’s nature has changed he’s always acting in a way that is consistent with his character here he always is um acting according to that principle even that principle that we seen those who honor me I will honor and those who despise me will be lightly esteemed even the people that sin against God and have Prophecies of judgment against them like Nineveh when they repent God acts according to his nature and he often or I think maybe every time he uh either lessens the Judgment or even removes it certainly this is a difficult question to explain but we know that because this is the the word of God and it it is perfect there’s no real contradiction here when you talk about the emotions of God and the mind of God it can become very difficult to explain it properly because God is eternal he doesn’t even exist um like we do in time he’s outside of time so how can God feel any type of emotion because he’s always been and nothing um H how how can you describe what God’s emotions are like in one sense he never changes because the way he was in the beginning he’s always been and always will be but in another sense he acts in time and and and appears to change and certainly depending on how PE what people do different aspects of God are put forth there are different ways we can explain it another way we could say it is that this regret of God was uh eternally pre-ordained God uh this was a purposeful decisioned by God to feel regret so that he would uh be motivated to act towards Saul and toward towards Israel in a certain way but however you want to describe it God doesn’t really change his mind he is still um he’s still acting according to how he’s always purposed God is completely Sovereign and eternal he’s not really contradicting himself by saying he’s not changing his mind though it is difficult to explain but back to Ian’s question why or actually no sorry we have one more before that why does Samuel hack egag to Pieces isn’t that unnecessary obviously not because Samuel did it and it’s recorded in the scripture but why why do that yeah Eric yeah yeah I think you’re um you’re right on there Eric this is a picture of obedience for Saul and for the rest of Israel where Saul was not careful to obey the whole command of God he left some of it undone Samuel is so careful to obey God’s word he makes sure that it’s done not just by running AAG through but by cutting him into pieces there’s no possibility that this command can not be fulfilled because look AAG is in pieces it’s a valuable principle of obedience that’s being depicted here the question is not how little can I do before it is considered sin and Disobedience but rather how much can I do to make sure that it is obedience yeah Rob right yeah you’re totally right Rob Samuel’s not bloodthirsty he’s not a sadist but he wants to show the seriousness of obedience to God you go to the nth degree to make sure you obey God you don’t just say well I I think I pretty much obeyed because Saul thought he obeyed but he was not careful he was not careful to actually listen to God’s word yeah Dan that’s a good point too this this hacking to Pieces may be in part for judgment I mean Samuel even says to him you made many women childless you’ve been a killer and now you’re going to be killed and in a pretty gruesome way so I think that’s a good point also Danny judgment but uh now to what Yan asked why did s leave AAG alive in the first place what was the point yeah Steve yeah yeah we see Saul not only sets up a monument to himself but essentially AAG is a monument look what I’ve done here’s this great king remember even that prophecy back in the Old Testament about AAG the Lord’s King is GNA be higher than AAG AAG must have been a pretty exalted King he says here’s this great exalted King and he’s my prisoner I’m pretty great that’s probably the only reason that Saul left him alive just to show him off as a trophy to his own glory and his own power okay um next question when Saul’s confronted over his Disobedience what do we see him again doing Shifting the blame I didn’t do it the people did it besides the people they just want to do it for sacrifice I’m innocent we’re Innocent but he eventually does admit his sin he says the real reason is he feared the people now why would fearing the people cause them to leave the animals alive what does that have to do with it yeah Rob yeah they might get upset they wanted the animals they obviously wanted the animals for themselves and if you said no they have to be destroyed it might make the people upset and if they’re upset what could Sol fear would happen to him yeah they might turn against him they might no longer support him they might not come out to him whenever he needs them to fight the battles they might even remove him as king he needs their support at least he thinks he does does Saul In this passage repent of his fearing people more than God he confesses it but does he repent of it I think we could definitively say no because how does he show that he’s still fearing the people exactly you can’t go away from me Samuel I need you to honor me in front of the people I still need the people’s support Samuel you’re not allowed to leave unless you honor me before the people so Saul’s not yet repented now in these two accounts now tying This Together these two accounts from 1 Samuel we see Saul committing some pretty serious sins he’s not waiting for Samuel to get God’s Direction against the Philistines he’s invading the priest’s office and sacrificing animals himself to God he deliberately disobeys God and God’s Mission Against The amalekites he led Israel into sin by letting Israel keep some of the animals and even tried to pass off his Disobedience as piety but based on what we’ve seen and heard of Saul in these passages what sinful beliefs are at the root of these outward acts of Disobedience yes Steve that’s true yeah yeah there’s definitely a lack of reverence for the Lord a lack of a seriousness about the Holiness of God and it is poignant that he he continually says the Lord your God rather than the Lord my God or even just the Lord what else is can we see is in Saul’s heart that keeps leading him into sin yeah Eric yeah we Saul confesses himself he fears people and I think that’s tied to the kingship he believes that he needs the people or else he’ll lose the monarchy and he does not remember that it’s God who gave him the monarchy it’s God who’s the one who’s going to decide to remove him or keep him there he thinks that the people were the ones he needs the people he needs this external source of security in this sense he’s acting just like whom that we just looked at last week the Israelites themselves they want an external source of security a powerful King but the king also wants an external source of security he wants the support of the people and both are rejecting God by seeking this security they do not actually believe or are willing to trust God and be obedient to God because they think that temporal Securities visible Securities are more important I think we can also say that Saul is proud Saul makes nothing of erecting monuments to himself showing off captured Kings even taking to himself the exalted office of priest how dare you take that to yourself Saul well I’m the King Saul saw himself as deserving honor praise and submission and did not remember that only God deserves these things and whatever honor he has in his kingship was an undeserved gift from God he used to simply be grateful to God but he fears man and he makes the same error of judgment as the people of Israel by trusting in externals rather than the invisible God Saul thought as long as the people were on his side and his crown was Secure he could be happy happy and at ease but if the people no longer honored him or if they deserted him Saul could no longer be happy or secure and when it came to battle Saul does perform very valiantly when the numbers are on his side when there’s an expectation of Victory but when the victory looks impossible Saul Des spares even in his Devotion to God Saul looked to the externals twice Saul figures that sacrificing to God the correct animals is more important than actually obeying God’s word obeying God’s commands he was willing God was or Saul was not willing to to act by faith in God he looked to his own people his own wisdom and even his own performance of rituals to see him through Saul had rejected God and therefore God rejected Saul Now God would raise up another king God promises to do this a king Who Loved God who saw obedience as more important than sacrifice and who did not look to external sources of Deliverance right but again and again trusted God the invisible God in heaven to provide perfectly for him and probably no greater instance of that than in the Battle of David and Goliath right I mean that is the antithesis of Saul waiting for Samuel at gilgal right oh I don’t have enough people I have to go outside of God’s will to obtain Victory but David says who’s this uncircumcised dog who insults the Holiness of God God can grant Victory David put his trust in the right place and God Vindicated David’s trust as would the greater David many centuries later the Messiah who entrusted himself to the Lord his father and was Vindicated Saul is a sad warning for us by clinging tightly to the kingship and to the approval of people Saul ensured that he would lose the kingship and be disapproved by God he essentially Saul loved Earthly Treasures more than God and ended up losing both his Earthly treasures and God this should remind you of what Jesus says in the gospels Matthew 16:25 for whoever wishes to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it Matthew 6:33 but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you if you were just obedient Saul God would be willing to establish your kingship forever but you’re not willing so therefore you not only will lose God but you will lose the kingship Samuel was right Saul was indeed foolish and we must be aware that we do not make the same mistakes let’s consider some specific application questions as we close we need to ask ourselves based on what we’ve seen today do you walk by faith or by sight Saul is very much sight based what about you when your circumstances do not appear to show that you will make it through you’re looking out at your situation you’re looking for evidence you don’t see it do you despair as Saul did do you become disobedient do you Embrace solution ions that violate God’s word do you start to worry do you start to become angry at God do you start to pity yourself my brothers and sisters if we’re doing this this is pride this is lack of faith because God is able to deliver us if we simply obey we need to work hard yes we need to be faithful to what God commands but we also need to Simply wait for God’s vindication believe the word of God it is Sher than anything you can observe in the world you’ll never have enough evidence in the world to believe God but you have all the evidence you need in the scriptures humble yourself before the Lord and He will lift you up another question do you find yourself falling to certain sinful Temptations again and again such as lying anger slander laziness covetousness or lust even though you know these things to be wrong consider Saul he committed great sins because he cherished some false ideas and even Idols in his heart use the scriptures and consider for yourself whether you are clinging to a belief or Idol that is actually the root of your sin for example you may notice that you’re constantly angry and speaking ill to people people but is it because you actually believe that people don’t treat you as you deserve you have an exalted view of yourself this is pride and lack of trust in God’s sovereignty or do you believe or or rather do you notice that you’re continually anxious and discontent feeling like you just don’t have enough to be happy well could be that you believe that there’s some treasure in life whether abstract or material that is so NE necessary that you cannot be happy or secure without it you have an idol you have an idol in your heart and the fear of losing that Idol or of not obtaining that Idol is causing you to sin it may Simply Be ignorance and maybe it’s because you’re not aware of what the Bible says for example perhaps you believe that patterns of sin like these are normal for Christians you know it’s just the way we are but that is a false belief Bible says you’ve been made into a new Creature if you believe in Christ so consider whether there is a root of sin that is fueling that is providing nutrition to these symptom sins in your life and if you if you notice something like that in your life but you’re not sure what the root is ask for help for with a a more mature brother or sister in the church that’s part of how we’re supposed to minister to each other one more question do you rely on external works and rituals to secure God’s favor for you this is what Saul attempted to do we can do the same going to church saying prayers giving money and offering taking communion even reading the Bible do you think that these will give you God’s favor or save you these are good things but they cannot by themselves save you no amount of Good Works can deliver you from God’s Wrath he requires absolute perfection you need a new heart a heart filled with faith a heart that loves and seeks to do all God’s will you need to be rescued from your sinful condition that you had inherited from Adam you need the righteousness of Jesus to cover you and to pay once and for all for the damning and infinite sin debt that you owe how do you obtain this by faith Abraham simply believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness all those who are saved must do as Abraham did believe God and trust yourself to God do you believe God your flesh doesn’t want to do you cater to the flesh or do you believe God’s word and then is your belief shown in a new lifestyle of Faith because as we’ve seen those who believe God are changed final comments or questions before we close close yeah George true true yeah that’s a great Point George when you compare David and Saul not only is David’s life characterized by righteousness but even when David sins he confesses his sin and then repents of it he does not continue in that behavior anymore he turns away from it but Saul he confesses his sin but then keeps on going back to it he does that with his fear of the people and when David threatens the kingship we see the same thing with Saul D or David says why are you coming after me I haven’t done anything to you and Saul’s like you know what you’re right you’re more righteous than I and then a couple months later he’s back on the trail of David because he idolized the kingship he thought he needed the kingship for his security he never dealt with the root cause of his sin he never repented other questions or comments yeah Danny that’s a good question Danny don’t have uh time to fully answer that question but whenever you talk to someone about how God is just or unjust usually they don’t have a concept of what real Holiness is the Holiness of God and the unholiness of people and they say oh you know people didn’t deserve that that’s really so mean of God they don’t understand just how reprehensible evil is to God how God is so good and just and he must um come against sin with full wrath and he’s patient he he gives the various peoples of Israel time to repent the people of Canan including the amalekites but they do not and so he says therefore I as the judge must act justly I must do as your sin deserves now the flesh doesn’t want to hear that because we say I’m good I don’t deserve that from God but the Bible informs us no actually you deserve much more than you actually have received so that’s my short answer for now yeah absolutely because you’re right that transitions right into the gospel God has been very gracious to you he’s given you time he gave them time to repent they didn’t he’s given you time to repent you need to repent now because as they perished so will you and so will all men and then you will face the final judgment we’re out of time so I know there was another question bill if anyone else has questions or comments come see me afterwards let’s uh pray as we close father I thank you for this word it is a sobering word but as the seriousness of judgment awaits those who disobey you and will not put their trust in you so is the The Hope and the shity of faith God those who do trust in you those who do wait for your Vindication you do provide for them you do vindicate their faith you did that for David you do that for many of the righteous ones that we’ve already seen and you will do that for us please minister to us in the rest of today’s service in Jesus name amen