Amen. If you're looking in a Bible, turn to 1 Samuel chapter 13. That's what we're going to be looking at tonight.
If you're looking in one of the Pew Bibles, that's page 234, 1 Samuel chapter 13.
It's a bit of a long chapter, so we're going to read it section by section and go through it.
But as you're turning there, let me ask you this question. Have you ever been spiritually tested?
Been in a situation where you're put under pressure? You find yourself in a situation where trusting and obeying God seems like the hardest thing in the world to do.
Maybe you're dealing with a difficult or even a toxic environment at work, where your co-workers are constantly gossiping or cursing or cutting people down or slacking off
or lying to the boss or whatever. And if you don't join in with what they're doing, you feel isolated.
You get ostracized.
Or maybe when you go home or go back to wherever you're staying, there's somebody who provokes and irritates you.
Maybe it's your roommate who never cleans the bathroom, never washes the dishes.
Maybe it's your brother or sister who always criticizes and teases you.
Maybe it's your husband or wife who has some annoying habit that they don't seem to care enough to stop.
One of your kids is in a particularly difficult stage.
Or somebody else is just getting on your nerves all the time.
And it just seems to go on and on.
And it doesn't seem to get any better.
And so you're tempted to lash out in anger or to withdraw in bitterness because you feel frustrated and disrespected.
Maybe you're battling an addiction.
Drugs, alcohol, pornography, compulsive eating.
And you're dealing with cravings.
And the cravings feel overwhelming.
And maybe your sponsor or your accountability partner is falling into the same stuff as you.
Maybe they've fallen off the wagon completely.
And maybe you think it's just not worth it to fight anymore.
Maybe I should just give in.
Indulge a little bit.
Now in this passage what we see is King Saul being tested.
Put under pressure.
So let's read.
Chapter 13.
I'm going to read verse 1 to 8 to start.
Saul lived for one year and then became king.
And when he had reigned for two years over Israel, Saul chose 3,000 men of Israel.
2,000 were with Saul and Michmash and the hill country of Bethel.
And 1,000 were with Jonathan and Gibeah of Benjamin.
The rest of the people he sent home, every man to his tent.
Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba.
And the Philistines heard of it.
And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land saying,
Let the Hebrews hear.
And all Israel heard it said that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines.
And also that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines.
And the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal.
And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude.
They came up and encamped in Michmash to the east of Beth-Avon.
When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble, for the people were hard-pressed,
the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns.
And some Hebrews crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead.
Saul was still at Gilgal.
And all the people followed him, trembling.
He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel.
But Samuel did not come to Gilgal.
And the people were scattering from him.
Now what we've seen in the last few chapters of this book is Saul rising to power.
So he was chosen by the people.
He was anointed by the prophet Samuel.
And he was used powerfully by God to defeat Nahash in chapter 11,
who is the king of the Ammonites, who is coming against the people of Israel and attacking them
and causing all kinds of chaos.
The beginning of chapter 13, he begins his reign as king.
The first verse is sort of a typical verse that's used in the rest of the Old Testament
where it talks about the kings, where it says they, you know, lived for so many years
and then they became king and were reigned for so many years.
Now if you have different translations of chapter 13, verse 1,
there's a little question about how many years exactly did he reign.
I'm not going to get into that right now.
If you want to ask about that in the question and answer at the end,
I can explain that a little bit more.
Acts chapter 13 says he reigned 40 years in total.
It seems like perhaps this is just saying this happened two years after he started to reign.
But anyway, how long he reigned is not that important.
But he, so he faced, let's see, back in chapter 11, right, he had faced Nahash, king of the Ammonites,
coming in from the east, and God had used him to push him back.
Verse, but now the Philistines were coming from the west.
So he'd been attacked from one side, and then he got attacked from the other side.
And so verse 2 tells us he gathered an army, not a huge army, but a decent one,
and sent the rest of the guys home to be with their families.
Verse 3 goes on.
His son Jonathan, Jonathan is Saul's son, won the first victory over the Philistines.
The Philistines got mad, and so Saul called all the people to join him.
So basically, they have these enemies who are coming at them, and Jonathan wins this little victory,
and so they get even madder.
It's like stirring up a hornet's nest.
And so Saul says, let's come together.
And then verse 5 we see that the Philistines are this huge army.
30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, troops like the sand on the seashore, too many to count.
I mean, just imagine yourself.
You know, Saul has 3,000 people, or maybe it's three companies of people,
but 3,000 people, and he faces 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and so many troops they can't even count.
He's totally outnumbered.
And so the people get afraid.
Verse 6 and 7, it says some of them basically play dead.
They go hide in caves and tombs and cisterns.
They try to hide in the ground because they're just totally freaked out.
Some of them ran away.
They go east across the Jordan River.
So they basically ran away.
And then the people who stayed with Saul at Gilgal says they were trembling, trembling with fear.
So facing this overwhelmingly powerful enemy and feeling like, how in the world are we going to defend ourselves?
In verse 8, we see what Saul does.
So first he waited.
Verse 8 says he's waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel.
Now, Samuel was the prophet of God who had anointed Saul king, leader of the Israelites.
And Samuel and Saul were meant to lead the people of Israel sort of as a team.
Samuel would basically hear God's word and give the direction to Saul.
And Saul would lead the people of Israel in carrying it out.
Sort of like we have different branches of government.
And the president is sort of the executive office to carry out what the legislator and the judiciary decides.
A little bit like that.
So Saul and Samuel were supposed to work as a team.
And Saul was supposed to listen to Samuel because Samuel was a prophet who was hearing God's word.
And it seems like Samuel had made an arrangement with Saul.
So if you'll actually look back at chapter 10, verse 8.
This is a little bit further back.
But Samuel says to Saul, in chapter 10, verse 8, he says,
Go down before me to Gilgal.
And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings.
That was offerings of dedication to God and sacrifice peace offerings to celebrate God's provision.
Then he says, seven days you shall wait until I come to you and show you what you shall do.
So it seems like there's a similar arrangement going on here.
Samuel basically said, wait for me.
You know, basically if there's big trouble, I'll be there within seven days.
You know, that was pretty fast when you're traveling the way they did back then.
So Samuel would come within a certain time and give Saul directions.
Then Saul would carry it out.
That's how they would lead as a team.
But verse 8 says, Samuel didn't show up.
And it seems like it was the middle of the seventh day.
Saul's thinking, man, people are afraid.
Some of the people have run away.
Some of the people are hiding in caves.
And the people who are with me are completely afraid.
And Samuel's not showing up.
And he said he'd be here.
Here's where we see Saul being tested.
Because he knows what he's supposed to do.
He's supposed to wait for Samuel to come.
That was the plan that God had made with him.
That Samuel had made.
As the prophet of God.
But he's in a situation where he's put under pressure.
He's got enemies coming from the outside.
And then he's got his own people who are...
Don't believe...
They just...
They're just losing hope.
So what's he going to do?
Well...
You know...
I mean...
Think about that.
Have you been in a similar situation?
You feel pressure from the outside?
You feel pressure on the inside?
You feel pressure from the people who you think are close to you and are on your team?
And some of them seem to be turning tail and running away.
And you think, what am I going to do?
Verse 9.
So Saul said,
Bring the burnt offering here to me.
And the peace offerings.
And he offered the burnt offering.
As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came.
And Saul went out to meet him and greet him.
Samuel said,
What have you done?
And Saul said,
When I saw that the people were scattering from me and that you did not come within the days appointed,
and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash,
I said,
Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal,
and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.
So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering.
And Samuel said to Saul,
You have done foolishly.
You have not kept the command of the Lord your God,
with which he commanded you.
For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.
But now your kingdom shall not continue.
The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart.
And the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people,
because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.
And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal.
The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army.
They went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin.
Now, when you first read this, you read verse 9,
you might think,
So why does it matter that Saul offered the burnt offering?
You know, I don't get it.
Why does Samuel get so mad at him?
Right?
It just doesn't seem to make sense to us.
Why does he offer the burnt offering anyway?
But the problem was,
Samuel and Saul had a clear arrangement.
They were supposed to lead as a team.
And Saul was supposed to listen to Samuel,
because Samuel was a prophet who was given God's word.
And that was the one clear command that Saul had.
And it's the one thing they didn't do.
He didn't wait until Samuel came.
He went ahead on his own.
Other people were terrified, and so Saul panicked.
And you know,
sometimes fear
can lead us to do all kinds of foolish things.
And that's what Saul did.
What Saul did is he took matters into his own hands,
and he did what Samuel was supposed to do,
to offer the burnt offering.
The burnt offering was basically a sacrifice
of dedication or consecration to God,
sort of expressing submission to God.
The problem was,
he was offering this,
making this offering,
going through this ritual
that was supposed to symbolize
submission to God,
but he wasn't following the directions of Samuel,
who had said,
wait till I come,
and I'll tell you what to do.
Instead of trusting
and holding on to God's promise
when it seemed like everything else
was falling apart,
Saul latched onto this ritual.
And he believed that the ritual,
the burnt offering,
and the peace offerings,
was the key
to winning the victory.
You know,
sometimes that's what fear
can drive us to do.
It can drive us to
latch onto rituals,
or even superstitions.
Even some things that God hasn't
commanded us to do at all.
But we hold onto these things.
Lucky charms.
Whatever it might be.
Little patterns.
Things that make us feel
some kind of peace.
Make us feel like
it's going to be okay.
But those are really
substitutes for God himself.
So that's the problem
of what Saul did.
Saul said,
you know,
I can't trust that God's
going to come through for me,
so I've got to
take matters into my own hands.
And I've got to act
because I don't believe
that God's going to
do anything for me.
And that was the beginning
of Saul's downfall.
You see,
what Saul did here,
he did the very same thing
that Adam and Eve did
way back in the Garden of Eden.
You know,
the one clear command
that God gave Adam and Eve
was what?
He said,
you can eat any tree,
but don't eat from
this one tree,
the tree of knowledge
of good and evil.
And if you eat of it,
you will surely die.
And then Adam and Eve
are going for a walk one day
and they happen to be
going near the tree
and Eve gets into
a conversation
with this serpent
who says,
who says you shouldn't
eat from this tree?
You won't really die.
Actually,
it'll make you wise.
It'll make you like God.
It'll give you something
that you don't have already.
And so she listens
to that serpent
and she says,
hmm,
well,
let me judge for myself.
The fruit looks good.
Looks like it'll give us
wisdom.
Looks ripe.
Let me try it.
Adam's standing right there
beside her.
She gives some to Adam.
Adam's been just quiet
the whole time.
And he eats it too.
And what happens?
Everything falls apart.
Because that was the one tree
that represented
that God was the owner
of the garden.
And they were trying
to take over God's place
as the owners of the garden
instead of just the managers.
And everything fell apart
after that.
Right?
They ran away and hid.
And God came to them
and said,
where are you?
Just like Samuel
came to Saul
with a simple question.
What have you done?
And then,
just like Adam,
Saul starts making excuses.
Right?
What did Adam say?
She made me do it.
The woman you gave me,
she made me do it.
That's what Adam said
back in the garden.
What does Saul say here?
Verse 11.
The people were running away.
You didn't come.
You were late.
So I didn't want to wait
for you any longer.
The Philistines
are coming to get me.
And then he says,
so I made,
I forced myself.
In other words,
I did this reluctantly.
Saul makes all kinds of excuses.
He blames everybody else.
The Philistines,
Samuel,
his own people,
he blames everybody else.
He doesn't
take responsibility.
He doesn't confess his sin.
He doesn't say,
I'm sorry.
I was wrong.
That's the one thing
he doesn't say.
You see,
Saul's failure here
wasn't just
that he disobeyed
the initial arrangement
with Samuel.
But it's also
that he
responded
to Samuel
confronting him
by blaming
everyone else
and by refusing
to say,
I was wrong.
I'm sorry.
You know,
maybe,
maybe you failed
in a time of temptation.
Maybe like Saul,
you've been tested,
you've been put under pressure
and it was a hard situation
and you
turned away from God.
and you latched
onto something else
and you know it.
And maybe someone
confronted you.
Maybe someone
has come to you
and they said,
look at what you did.
You really messed up.
That really wasn't right.
How have you responded
to that?
Do you know
that's God's mercy?
Sometimes we don't think
it's God's mercy.
You know,
when my wife
comes to me
and says,
Greg,
you've got to
stop doing this
or
that wasn't really
kind what you just said
or
you were being
impatient
with our kids.
I don't see that
as God's mercy
coming to me,
right?
I'm defensive.
I'm like,
no,
but
do you realize
how I feel?
Do you realize
how many people
I've had to deal with
already today?
Do you realize
how tired I am?
Do you realize
how early I had
to get up this morning
because I got up
with the kids
when they woke up
at 5,
10 a.m.?
That's my response.
Often.
Like Saul.
Like Adam.
I get defensive.
I don't want to,
I don't want to hear
criticism.
Even when it's
by the one person
who loves me
more than anybody
else in the world.
But it's God's mercy
because he wants us
to come to that place
where we say,
I did it.
I'm sorry.
I was wrong.
And he wants us
to come to that place
not so we can beat
ourselves up
and stay in a place
of despair,
but so we can
come to him
and be forgiven
and be restored.
That's the good news.
But Saul doesn't,
Saul never gets there
because he stays
in that defensive,
self-justifying place.
And the response
from Samuel,
Samuel basically says,
your kingdom
isn't going to last.
You're not going to have
a dynasty
that goes on and on
forever and ever.
God's going to choose
someone else
to replace you.
someone who has
no relation to you.
And then Samuel
gets up and leaves.
Let's go on
and read the rest
of the chapter
starting at the end
of verse 15.
We'll see the results
of Saul's response.
Saul numbered
the people
who were present
with him,
about 600 men
compared to 3,000
at the beginning.
So it's a lot
smaller by then.
And Saul
and Jonathan,
his son,
and the people
who were present
with them
stayed in Geba of Benjamin,
but the Philistines
encamped in Michmash.
And raiders
came out of the camp
of the Philistines
in three companies.
One company
turned toward Ophrah,
which was in the north,
in the land of Shual.
Another company
turned toward Beth Horon,
which was to the west,
and another company
turned southeast
toward the border
that looks down
on the valley
of Zeboiim
toward the wilderness.
So basically,
we see the Philistines
are just swarming
throughout the whole country.
They're going
in every direction,
north, west, southeast.
They're taking over the place.
Verse 19.
Now there was no blacksmiths
to be found
throughout all the land
of Israel,
for the Philistines said,
lest the Hebrews
make themselves swords
or spears.
But every one
of the Israelites
went down to the Philistines
to sharpen his plowshare,
his mattock,
his axe,
or his sickle,
and the charge
was two-thirds
of a shekel
for the plowshares
and the mattocks
and a third of a shekel
for sharpening the axes
and setting the goats.
You can ask about the prices
if you're interested.
But on the day of the battle,
there was neither sword
nor spear
found in the hand
of any of the people
with Saul and Jonathan,
but Saul and Jonathan,
his son,
had them,
and the garrison
of the Philistines
went out
to the pass of Michmash.
The point of this
last paragraph
is the people of Israel
are now powerless.
They're powerless
to defend themselves.
They have no weapons.
They can't even sharpen
their farm tools
without going
and paying
the Philistines.
They become almost
completely dependent
and helpless.
And you know,
that's what happens
when we fail
to obey the Lord
and when we refuse
to admit our guilt.
It's a warning.
We gradually lose
our spiritual vitality
and energy.
And when we...
First, it seems...
First, we chose
to indulge
our sinful appetite
and then gradually
more and more
we become slaves
to our sin.
Chapter 13
is the beginning
of a downhill slide
for Saul
and for his kingdom.
And what we see
is that Saul
won't be
the promised Messiah.
He's not
going to be
the promised deliverer
of God's people
because he failed
the test.
And when he was
confronted with his failure,
he refused to admit
his guilt.
He didn't own up to it.
So he becomes powerless.
And that's a warning
to us.
But you know,
thankfully,
the story of the Bible
doesn't end here.
Aren't you thankful
that the story of the Bible
doesn't end here
and in other passages
like this
which show us our failure?
Verse 14
gives us a word of hope.
It says,
The Lord has sought out
a man
after his own heart.
In other words,
according to God's own will.
God is seeking out
a man to lead his people.
And soon,
in a couple of weeks,
as we go through
this book of Samuel,
we'll see who it is.
It's David.
And David is that king
that God promises.
But then,
you know what happens?
You keep reading
the book of Samuel.
You go into 2 Samuel
and you see that David
fails too in some ways.
And David repents
unlike Saul.
He confesses his sin.
That's one of the differences
between David and Saul
is David owns up
to his mistakes
where Saul never does.
But the good news
of the Bible
is not just about David.
David,
who lived a long time ago,
but about David's
great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson,
Jesus.
Right?
Jesus is
the promised deliverer,
the Messiah.
And in the New Testament,
it says that Jesus
has been tested,
he has been tempted
in every respect.
Every kind of temptation
that you face,
whatever it looks like,
Jesus has faced
every kind of temptation
and testing
that we face
as human beings.
Jesus.
And it says,
he has been tempted
as we are,
yet
without sin.
Jesus faced
the most intense
pressure
imaginable.
He was in the desert,
hungry
and alone,
and he was tempted
by the devil himself.
The devil says,
hey,
you must be hungry.
Why don't you use
your power
to turn these stones
into bread?
Why don't you
make your life
easy for yourself
and use your power
to make yourself
comfortable?
And Jesus says,
no.
Man doesn't live
by bread alone,
but by every word
that comes
from the mouth of God.
He says,
I've come
to live a life
in dependence
on God's word,
not to use my power
to make myself
more comfortable
and get whatever
I want right away.
And Satan says,
well,
you know,
not many people
really believe in you.
Why don't you
show off
and dazzle them all?
Why don't you
jump off the temple
and
call on the angels
to rescue you
so that you can
say,
ta-da!
I'm Superman.
Look,
believe in me.
And Jesus says,
don't put the Lord
your God to the test.
That's not what
I've come to do either.
And then the devil says,
look,
see all the kingdoms
of the world.
All the kingdoms
of the world
and all their glory
and all their wealth
and all their power
just bow down to me
and I'll give it to you.
It'll be so easy.
I'll give you everything.
Just swear loyalty to me.
And Jesus says,
worship the Lord your God
and serve him only.
Of course,
the greatest test
that Jesus faced
was when he
was in a garden
of Gethsemane
and his disciples
had gone to sleep
and he knelt down
and prayed.
He prayed,
Father,
if there's any other way,
take this cup
away from me.
But not my will,
but yours be done.
You see,
Jesus knew all the time
that God's will
for him
was that he would
lay down his life
on a cross
and bear the sin
of the world.
That was a heavy burden.
That was the most
intense pressure imaginable
to take all of our sin
on his shoulders
and to take the punishment
that we deserved
and to hang there
on the cross.
We can hardly even imagine
what it was like physically,
let alone
emotionally
and spiritually
to hang there
and to trust
and obey
God the Father
all the way to the end.
But he did it.
He did it for you.
He did it for me.
He did it for us.
Jesus held on.
He wasn't like Saul.
Saul gave in
and it all went downhill.
Jesus
persevered
to the very end.
It says
to bring
many sons
and daughters
with him
to glory.
That's why he did it.
To bring us
with him
to glory
so that our sins
could be forgiven
and so we could be brought
from death
to life.
So we could be brought
out of the pit
and into
his presence
forevermore.
So Hebrews says this.
It says
we don't have
a high priest
who is unable
to sympathize
with our weaknesses
but one who
in every respect
has been tempted
as we are
yet without sin.
So let us then
with confidence
draw near
to his throne
of grace
that we may receive
mercy
and find grace
to help
in our time
of need.
So let me come back
to the question
I asked at the beginning.
Where are you
being spiritually
tested?
Is that work?
Is it
at home
or wherever
you're staying
right now?
Are you feeling
impatient
like Saul
and wondering
if God's ever
going to
do anything
for you?
you know
Jesus
if you
have
turned to
Jesus
and put
your faith
in him
the Bible
says he will
never leave
you nor
forsake you.
When you walk
into work
tomorrow morning
or whenever
you go there
Jesus
is living
in you
by his
Holy Spirit.
You are
not alone.
When you have
to deal
with
all that
gossiping
or cursing
or dishonest
behavior
or whatever
you're dealing
with at your
work
Jesus
is right
there with
you.
You are
not alone
and he
will strengthen
you and he
will empower
you to
be faithful
to him
and to
put your
hope in him
and know
that you
are not
alone
there.
Maybe
it's at
home
or wherever
you're staying
and the
people around
you,
the people
you're living
with,
just drive
you up
a wall.
You know,
do you know
that Jesus
knows how
that feels
like?
Because Jesus
dwells within
every Christian
believer.
Do you know
what Jesus
has to deal
with every
day?
Think of
all the
worst things
you've said
in the last
year.
All the
crazy things
you've done
or that
you've seen
other people
do who
believe in
Jesus.
Jesus has
had to deal
with all
of those
very personally
because he
lives in
those people.
And he
doesn't give
up on us.
He's
patient with
us.
And sometimes
he sends
someone to
confront us
and say,
what have
you done?
But he
says that to
us out of
his love
because he
loves us
and he's
going to
bear with
us.
And he's
going to
carry us
through.
So that's
the kind of
savior we
have.
That's the
kind of
king we
have.
Not a
king like
Saul here,
but we
have King
Jesus.
Let's
pray.
Lord Jesus,
we thank
you that
you are
faithful,
that you
are faithful
even to the
point of
death on
the cross
for us.
And we
thank you
that you
are faithful
to us,
that you
dwell in
us by
your Holy
Spirit.
So we
pray that
you would
help us
where we
are facing
temptations
and trials
and testings.
Lord, I
pray that
we would
know that
we are
not alone.
I pray that
we would
not act
in
panic
or fear
or act
as if
you aren't
there
because you
are.
You were,
you are.
Lord, thank
you that
you are
the God
of second
chances
that you,
Lord, as
Samuel came
to Saul
and confronted
him and
gave him
an opportunity
to acknowledge
his sin.
Lord, as
later on
you would
send the
prophet Nathan
to David
to confront
him.
Lord, you
call us
to turn
from our
sin and to
repent and
to confess
and to say
I was wrong.
I'm sorry.
Lord, thank
you that
when we do
that, when we
confess our
sins, you
are faithful
and just
to forgive
us and to
purify us
from all
unrighteousness
so that we
can continue
walking with
you and know
that we are
not alone.
We pray that
we would know
that tonight
in Jesus'
name.
Amen.
We're going
to sing one
more song to
close and
then we'll
have about
five minutes
where you
can ask
questions so
if you have
questions or
thoughts you
can think
about those
as well.
We've got
about five
minutes.
If you have
a question
feel free to
raise your
hand or
brief comment
and I'd love
to hear it
and I'll do
the best I
can to
respond.
this is a
time when we
can interact
a little bit
over what
we've just
talked about.
Any questions?
Anyone?
Jonathan?
I just
have an
obligation
to talk
about it
all.
It seems
like the
punishment
that Saul
got seems
so strong
when you
compare the
way he's
portrayed to
some of
the other
kings of
Israel
later on
who
basically
didn't listen
the prophet
at all
didn't care
about the
prophet
at all
and you
know
so I
was just
kind of
surprised to
hear the
reason why
his lineage
was cut
off
when it
seems like
such a
minor
thing
compared to
the other
kings.
Yeah.
So basically
Saul's punishment
seems pretty
strong for
what he did.
You know,
he sort of
gave in under
pressure and
then he got
his whole
kingdom taken
away.
So and
then other
kings did
a lot
worse things
and they
didn't seem
to have
as bad
a punishment.
So what's
going on
here?
So one
thing you'll
see is
that Saul's
kingdom is
not actually
taken away
from him
here.
What Samuel
says to him
here is that
your kingdom
won't endure
forever.
So what
we'll see is
Saul's son
Jonathan does
not become a
king, does
not become
leader of
Israel.
God chooses
David.
He goes to
a whole other
family line.
And so
what Saul
lost here in
this chapter
was particularly
that legacy
of his
family carrying
on this
role of
the king
or leader
of Israel.
And then
what happens
as we can
and we'll see
this over the
next couple
weeks is
that Saul
sort of keeps
going downhill.
Saul.
So Saul
starts, it's
interesting, it
starts with
this sin that
you think, is
it really such
a big thing
that he offered
that burnt
offering and
he went ahead
without Samuel
and he didn't
listen to the
prophet.
But you know,
isn't that how
sin often
starts?
Sin often
starts with
things that we
think are
sort of
insignificant.
you know,
not listening
to God's
word,
not being
in fellowship
with other
Christians and
just going
it alone.
And then
it sort of
grows and
it gradually
goes.
I mean,
an addiction
is a great
example, right?
Nobody picks
up their first
cigarette and
says, I'm
going to smoke
for the next
30 years and
get lung
cancer.
nobody does,
right?
And most of
the time people
smoke their
first cigarette
and they're
like, ah,
it doesn't,
ah, it
makes me
cough, right?
But where do
you, how do
you get to that
point where
you're like,
man, I need
two packs a
day, right?
And isn't
it that, isn't
that true with
all kinds of
sins, not just
the things that
we think of as
addictions, but
things like
pride,
pride, not
wanting to,
just wanting
to do things
my own way
and I don't
really want to
listen to
anybody else's
advice.
And that
sometimes,
sometimes that's
the root issue
when, and
down the line
it causes all
kinds of
chaos and
relationships
break apart
and it goes
back to that
root issue
of pride.
pride.
So often, I
would say, sin
often starts
in ways that
we don't, that
we think are
very small.
And yet, if
it's not
acknowledged and
confessed, and
if we don't
turn back to
God and ask
His forgiveness
and ask Him to
change us, then
it just keeps
growing like a
cancer.
you know, like
an infection.
You get a
little infection,
it doesn't
seem like a
big deal, but
if you never
deal with it,
and if it just
keeps spreading,
it'll cause,
you'll have to
have surgery
someday.
So it's,
anyway, so I
think that's how
sin works.
And often,
you know, it's
true, other
kings did things
that seemed like
they were a lot
worse, and it
seemed like they
got away with it,
or at least
didn't have as
bad consequences
in this life.
And that's also
true, that we
don't, you know,
God's judgment on
sin is not fully
carried out in
our earthly lives.
And so, and
God's, and also
God's, you know,
we don't see the
full picture.
And so we can't
ever look at
somebody and say,
oh man, like,
their life is
awesome, they must
be perfect, you
know, in God's
sight.
Well, no.
And we also
can't look at
somebody and
say, oh man,
they're having
such a hard
time, they're
having all kinds
of disasters in
their life, they
must be the
worst sinner of
all.
That's not true
either.
Because in this
world, things are
mixed up.
We live in a
fallen world, and
so, you know,
sometimes, you
know, with
Saul, the, you
know, Saul was
the first, the
other thing is
Saul's the first
king.
And so, the
way God deals
with Saul is a
warning for those
in the future.
And so I think
that may be also
part of why it's
so severe in the
beginning.
Because if you
don't deal with
something seriously
from the start,
then the pattern
just easily carries
on in the future.
So, so that's a
little bit, but
that's a good
question.
All right.
One more question.
I rambled on a
little longer than
I need to.
Go ahead, Nord.
I want to ask
the opposite
question.
Yes.
Why was Saul's
question so
light?
Because the
sons of Aaron
were killed
immediately when
they offered
a strange fire
and the sons
of the world
were eaten by
the earth.
Yes.
So I thought
it was quite a
versatile happenstance
that does it
happen to Saul.
Yes.
So just to keep
you thinking.
Yes.
That's a great
question.
He says, you
know, what
about the
opposite question?
Why was Saul's
punishment so
light?
Some other
people were
killed right
away by God.
Right?
You know, the
Bible says the
wages of sin is
death.
I mean, think
about our own
lives and the
way that we
sometimes treat
God or each
other.
God.
And why
doesn't God
wipe us
out?
Thankfully, you
know, the
Bible says his
kindness is
meant to lead
us toward
repentance.
You know, his
kindness is
meant to lead
us to the
place where
we turn to
him and say,
forgive me.
And he's
made provision
for that
forgiveness.
That's the
best news of
all.
Is he's made
provision for
our forgiveness
from every sin
when we turn to
him.
So, thanks
Lord.
All right.
Anybody else?
I said one
more, but if
you have one,
yes, one
more.
One more.
So, this
story talks
about, I
think Saul is
very lucky to
have a prophet
like Samuel
speaking in his
life and to
give him such
a clearly
distinguishable
instance of
disobedience.
But for those
of us who
aren't as
lucky to have
prophets,
speaking into
alliance on
a regular
basis, how
do we
apply this
blessing more
directly and
in a way
that is
discernible?
Yeah.
Yes.
So, Saul had a
prophet Samuel
who was giving
him pretty
clear directions
and it was a
very specific
arrangement.
And so, Saul
had some very
direct guidance
on how to
carry out some
of his
responsibilities.
You know, what
about us?
We don't have
someone exactly
like Samuel who's,
you know, giving
us the same kind
of direct divine
guidance every
day.
So, a couple
things.
One is, what we
have that Saul
didn't have is
the Bible.
Now, Saul had
probably some
parts of the
Bible, the
law of Moses
in particular.
But that was
only the beginning
of God's
revealing himself
to his people
and to the
world.
And so, what
we have with
the whole Bible
showing the
story of not
just God's
dealings with
the people of
Israel, but
also how
that was, how
his plan for
Israel was
fulfilled in
Jesus.
So, we have
so much more
in here than
Saul had back
then.
So, one
application would
be, let's
really take
seriously and
dig into what
God has said
to us in
the Bible.
Because it's a
great blessing
that we have
it and that
it's so
available to
us.
And that
wasn't true
for Saul and
even less for
the people of
Israel.
Let's see, in
terms of more
specific guidance.
And the other
thing I would
say is that
there's a lot
of, even
with the
people who
heard, you
know, even
with Saul, or
with David, or
with Abraham, or
people who heard
the voice of
God in the
Bible, in the
Old Testament,
you know, if
you look at how
many times, even
someone like
Abraham, who
heard the voice
of God quite a
few times
directly, Abraham
maybe, there's
probably like 10
recorded instances
in the Bible
where Abraham
heard the
direct voice of
God telling him
to do something.
But Abraham
lived for 130
years.
So think about
that.
That would have
been maybe like,
the first time
was when he was
about 70,
probably.
So from 70
to 130, he
heard the voice
of God 10
times.
That's on
average once
every six
years.
So most of
his days, even
someone like
Abraham, who
heard the voice
of God, most
of his days, he
had to carry out
his life in
response to
what God
had already
said, not
with a new
special word
every day.
And so
that's, you
know, and I
think that's
true for us
often.
There's a lot
of decisions
that we face
that the Bible
doesn't tell
us, you
know, should
I marry this
person, or
should I,
you know,
choose this
career, or
should I,
you know, go
here, or do
this.
A lot of
really important
decisions that
the Bible
doesn't tell
you directly
one way or
the other, but
it gives us a
lot of wisdom
in how to
approach them.
And I think
the most
important issue
is God
wants to
shape our
hearts with
his wisdom
and his
priorities so
that we
approach our
decisions out
of a character
that loves
him above
everything else.
God
is a
God
so
anyway, that's
a lot.
And we can
talk more if you
have further
questions.
All right, let
me close us.
Yeah, look at
your bulletin if
you got one on
the way out.
There's a list of
small groups on
the back which
are Bible study
groups that meet
during the week.
I encourage you to
consider one of
those if you're
interested in that.
But let me pray
for us as we
leave.
Lord, we thank
you for your
word and thanks
for this time to
dig into it
tonight and to
discuss it a
little bit.
And we pray
that you would
help us to
keep asking
good questions
that you would
give us a hunger
to know more
about you.
And that you
would give us
a humility
to trust you
and to live
by what you
have shown to
us.
And we pray
that you would
bless us and
keep us this
night and
this week
ahead.
In Christ's
name we pray.
Amen.