God’s Uncompromising Justice

It's wonderful to pick back up in this book of history, 1 Samuel.

I had honestly forgotten how hard it is studying this.

! It's humbling.

I don't have all the answers to probably many of the questions that will be popping in your mind even as we read this.

But it's delightful also.

It pulls us deeper and deeper into all of God's Word and makes us just open to learn and receive from Him.

So that's been my prayer, even as you hear God's Word read, that the Holy Spirit would illumine what it is that you and I are supposed to receive from Him today.

I'll read this, trusting it as God's inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, and sufficient Word.

Yes, even in the Old Testament in a difficult passage like this.

And if you receive it that way as well at the end, respond with thanks be to God.

1 Samuel chapter 15.

1 Samuel 15 · chapter mention

Samuel also said to Saul,

The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people, over Israel.

Now therefore heed the voice of the words of the Lord.

Thus says the Lord of hosts,

I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel,

how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt.

Now go and attack Amalek.

And utterly destroy all that they have and do not spare them.

But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.

So Saul gathered the people together and numbered them in Telane,

200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah.

And Saul came to a city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley.

Then Saul said to the Canaanites,

Go, depart, get down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them.

For you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.

So the Canaanites departed from among the Amalekites.

And Saul attacked the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt.

He also took Agag, king of the Amalekites, alive.

And utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.

But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good.

And were unwilling to utterly destroy them.

But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.

Now the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying,

I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.

And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the Lord all night.

So when Samuel arose early in the morning to meet Saul, it was told Samuel, saying,

Saul went to Carmel, and indeed he set up a monument for himself.

And he has gone on around, passed by, and gone down to Gilgal.

Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him,

Blessed are you of the Lord.

I have performed the commandment of the Lord.

But Samuel said,

What then is the bleeding of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?

And Saul said,

They have brought them from the Amalekites.

For the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God,

and the rest we have utterly destroyed.

Then Samuel said to Saul,

Be quiet, and I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night.

And he said to him,

Speak on.

So Samuel said,

When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel?

And did not the Lord anoint you king of over Israel?

Now the Lord sent you on a mission and said,

Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.

Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord?

Why did you swoop down on the spoil and do evil in the sight of the Lord?

And Saul said to Samuel,

But I have obeyed the Lord, the voice of the Lord,

and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me and brought back Agag king of Amalek,

and I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed,

to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.

So Samuel said,

Has the Lord as great 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 witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he also has rejected you from being king.

When Saul said to Samuel,

I have sinned, for I transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words,

because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.

Now, therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.

But Samuel said to Saul,

Saul, I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord,

and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.

And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized 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 a neighbor of yours who is better than you.

And also the strength of Israel will not lie nor relent, for he is not a man that he should relent.

Then he said,

I have sinned, yet honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel and return with me,

that I may worship the Lord your God.

So Samuel turned back after Saul and Saul worshiped the Lord.

Then Samuel said,

Bring Agag of the Amalekites here to me.

So Agag came to him cautiously.

And Agag said,

Surely the bitterness of death is past.

But Samuel said,

As your sword has made women childless,

so shall your mother be childless among women.

And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.

Then Samuel went to Ramah and Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul.

And Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death.

Nevertheless, Samuel mourned for Saul and the Lord,

regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

The word of God for the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

Please be seated.

Amen.

Lord, we declare one more time in the words of Revelation 15.

Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God Almighty.

Just and true are your ways, O King of the saints.

We glorify your name, Lord.

We thank you that you are the same God yesterday, today, and forevermore.

We pray, Lord, that your Holy Spirit will illumine this dark passage for us.

We pray that you will bring out from this story what is true about you.

We pray, Lord, that by beholding you as our just creator,

the Lord of hosts whose ways are wise and righteous,

that you will apply this to our lives,

that we will align ourselves to a right view of you, our God and our creator.

I pray, Lord, that you will help me.

I pray that you will restrain my words.

I pray that you will guard the ears of your people.

I pray that only your truth will find its way into the hearts of your people

and that you will be glorified, Father,

as the work of Jesus Christ is exalted,

even from Samuel 15.

We pray this for his sake.

Amen.

Well, this passage we just read is a story of judgment.

First, the Amalekites are judged by God.

Next, Saul is judged.

And then finally, the wicked King Agag is judged.

Ben Franklin once remarked that he cannot command who does not obey.

A requirement to being the king of Israel is to obey the God of this people.

As I've reflected on this theme of judgment,

a very heavy passage and a heavy theme this week,

I think I've appreciated on a deeper level how we all obey something.

We all will give account for what we listen to, what we do,

what we are obeying in our lives.

One day we will give account to Jesus Christ himself.

Romans 2.16 says,

There will be a final judgment day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ.

That's Jesus Christ on the throne as King of Kings, Lord of Lords, judge of all.

God's anointed King, the Messiah.

He is coming again.

His second coming is not a coming of grace.

That's the age we're in now.

It's a coming of judgment.

So the message for today is to see the unchanging God's uncompromising justice.

It's the justice of God that's elevated and put on display in a shocking way even to us today.

God is just.

God must punish evil because of the absolute impartial righteousness that is inherent to his character as our perfect holy creator.

God is just.

And that's our just fatherly God.

The sins of one generation and the seed of the serpent who hate God, hate his kingdom and hate his people will be brought to justice one day.

And he does this in an uncompromising way.

Because God is just, he does not bend.

He does not make concessions.

Evil will not go unpunished because God is just and God is powerful.

So I want to do my best to open up this truth of God's uncompromising justice for us today with five observations about God himself.

When we come across difficult passages in reading God's word, and you do this probably every week as you're studying God's word.

Good advice was to start with what does this say about God, and then the application usually takes care of itself.

So here's the first proposition.

God's commands are clear.

We might not understand them, but if there's one thing we can say about the first few verses in this chapter is that God was very clear.

Look at chapter 15, verse 1.

Samuel also said to Saul, the Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people.

So God is clear that these are his people, God's people, not Saul's people.

Now, therefore, heed the voice of the words of the Lord.

You have one job, Saul.

Heed the voice of the words of the Lord.

God is so clear.

In this case, as the anointed one, the anointed king given an army by God himself, Saul is to carry out judgment that's been deserved for this people from long ago.

In the fullness of God's time.

No one else needs to understand.

This is what the anointed one is supposed to do.

We can look back on this whole history and just as God's been patient toward Israel, God's been patient to the nations, even those that opposed his people coming out of Egypt.

God has allowed all these sinners to behold his wondrous works and to repent of their idols, repent of their hatred of God and turn to God.

And now it's the fullness of time for judgment.

And verse two, thus says the Lord of hosts.

Remember how significant that name is, even for Samuel.

The Lord of hosts.

This is how his mother prayed to God.

When most of the nation seemed wicked.

It means Yahweh, Sabaoth, the Lord of armies, the commander of the army of the angels of heaven and the general of God's heavenly kingdom that is intruding to earth.

Yahweh, Sabaoth, the Lord of hosts.

He is not silent.

He speaks and his commands are clear.

He says in verse two, I will punish Amalek.

Who is going to punish this people?

It's God himself.

In other words, if there is victory, it is God's doing.

He will punish the people of Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up out of Egypt.

In Exodus 17, 14, we read that the Lord said to Moses, write this for a memorial.

In the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.

It's to be written down and remembered as a memorial for the people passed on from one generation to the next.

Look at verse three in our passage.

Now go and attack Amalek and utterly destroy.

Blot out the remembrance of this people.

Literally strike them.

All that they have and do not spare them.

Moses didn't just write this down in the book of Exodus for the first generation coming out.

He also preached this again in Deuteronomy 25 to the second generation.

That's what the book Deuteronomy means.

Namas is law.

Dudo is the number two.

So the second giving of the law to the next generation as they go on into the promised land without Moses.

Deuteronomy 25, 17.

Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt.

How he met you on the way.

Listen to the details now.

Amalek attacked your rear ranks and all the stragglers, the weak.

That were in the back of the procession that God was leading out.

When you were tired and weary.

That's what Amalek did.

Amalek did not fear God.

Therefore it shall be when the Lord your God has given you rest from your enemies all around.

In the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance.

Then once you have rest in the land.

You will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.

This has been a long time in the making.

It wasn't for Joshua to do.

It was for the king, the anointed one.

Once they're settled in the land for him to carry out.

You shall not forget.

The command is very clear.

Kill all.

And the word is almost a religious word.

It's devote all or consecrate all to destruction.

As an offering to the Lord.

Meaning it's going to be pleasing to God.

When the enemies of God are slain.

Stricken.

That's a sacrifice.

That's pleasing to God.

It would be too late for those enemies of God to repent at this point.

Israel is God's people.

God is their deliverer.

God does not let his enemies escape his justice.

And those who oppose God's mission to create a kingdom on earth for himself.

You oppose what God is doing.

You're opposing the mission of redemption.

You will pay.

You will suffer God's wrath.

God is not going to be able to create a kingdom on earth for us.

My understanding of the connection between the coming out of Egypt and what God is doing now is this.

Moses was a shadow of Christ's first coming as a servant, as a deliverer.

Think of how Moses was a prince in Egypt that then became a slave.

He identified with the slave people to deliver them from bondage as God's obedient servant.

And now Saul is a different shadow.

Saul is to be a picture of Christ's second coming, I believe.

He's anointed. He's crowned with honor.

He's given an army to execute a final judgment upon God's enemies who hate the work of his anointed one and who hate God's people.

And as the king of Israel, there is one great commandment that the king must follow above all else.

He must listen to the word of the Lord because God's commandments are clear.

Psalm 19.8 says the commandments of the Lord are radiant.

That's how clear they are, giving light to the eyes.

Not only are God's commandments clear, a second observation about God from this passage is that God's will is perfect.

God's will is perfect even in what God instructs in this difficult passage.

We continue reading in verse four that there were 2,000 foot soldiers.

I divided that number by the 11 tribes and it comes out to an average of 18,000 per tribe because Judah is listed separately.

And it says only 10,000 from the tribe of Judah, almost half.

And I don't mean to spend a lot of time.

I'm trying to not pass over difficult portions.

But in Genesis 49.10, we have this prophecy that the scepter shall not depart from the tribe of Judah.

So what is this man from the tribe of Benjamin doing with the scepter?

It's also, I think, foreshadowing, at least in the narrative, a king that will be coming from the tribe of Judah.

But for whatever reason, they're listed separately with Judah contributing less to Saul's campaign.

In verse five, we read that Saul came to a city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley.

God's people were on the defensive under Moses.

Remember, they're straggling along.

They're former slaves.

They're weak and tired ones are getting picked off and wiped out.

But now under God's anointed king, Saul, they will be on the offensive.

Notice how the retribution is fitting to the crime.

God's people had been attacked in a cheap, unfair way.

Slaying their women, slaying the stragglers, the sick, the elderly.

And now Saul, the anointed king, hides in the valley, ready to ambush them in one of their cities.

In verse five, Saul came to a city of Amalek.

So the punishment that God has designed in the fullness of time corresponds to the sins of God's enemies.

The Lord of hosts is victorious in this attack.

The Lord delivers.

He keeps his word.

Saul has the power of office to carry out the order.

He assembles a nation.

He attacks.

He's giving orders.

He has the understanding of God's command.

He understood this has to do with how people set themselves in relation to the Israelites as they were delivered from slavery.

And the Kenites were kind and gracious toward this former slave people.

So he understood even the purpose behind it.

You could say the theology behind God's command.

And he spares the Kenites.

So it wasn't for lack of power that Saul disobeyed.

It wasn't for lack of understanding.

God was very clear.

In verse eight, we read that Saul utterly destroyed all the Amalekite people with the edge of the sword.

But here's the big exception.

Not trusting that God's will is perfect.

Not trusting God as most wise.

Agag, the king, Saul kept alive.

And in verse nine, the guilt for this disobedience to God is shared.

Verse nine says, but Saul and the people.

Saul and the people.

So when Saul blames the people, there's likely truth in that.

The people had a part in this sin to not obey God fully.

And Saul certainly had a part as the king.

They did not destroy Agag nor the best of the sheep and the oxen, the lambs.

All that was good, they were unwilling to utterly destroy them.

See, while God's will is perfect, man does not submit his will to God.

Man's will is bound under the curse of sin, under Adam in the fall.

But everything despised and worthless that they were willing.

That they consecrated and devoted to destruction.

They gave God the trash.

The self-will of the king and the self-will of the people prevailed, in this case, over the perfect will of God.

They kept the best for themselves.

They devoted to God what they didn't want.

And the remaining sin of our own flesh is the same as Saul and the people.

We want to be self-willed.

We want to be subject to none but ourselves.

Under Adam's curse, our will is bound.

And it's always bent inward on ourselves.

But God so loves his people that he will not let a man rule over his people who will not first and foremost follow him as Lord and obey God as the servant.

The arrangement of the monarchy of Israel was this.

The king would have authority delegated by God himself.

Only to the extent that the king would submit himself to the perfect will and word of God.

We have the same principle where Jesus Christ is the king, the head of his people.

And he's the head of his church.

There's no authority within a church unless it be given by Christ and put subject to the word and the will of Christ, the head.

We're told in Romans 12, do not be conformed to the world.

Saul and the people wanted what was going to make them more profitable and prosperous in the land.

They were conformed to the pattern of the world.

And they were powerless without the finished work of Christ and the Holy Spirit changing their will.

But now in Christ, his power works in us to be transformed.

And we can know what is the good, pleasing and perfect will of God by the ministry of the Holy Spirit showing us in his word.

The third observation about God is that God's judgments are right.

God's judgment is always right.

God's judgment is not right.

But what's set up next, beginning in verse 10, is a contrast between Samuel and Saul.

In the first approach to God, which is Samuel, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, like we read in Romans 10, 17.

Look at verse 10.

now the word of the lord came to samuel saying i greatly regret that i have set up saul as king

i'm not skipping over this difficult phrase i'm going to handle this at the end because there's

two more relating to this god says saul has turned back from following me and has not performed my

commandments see the lord gave a clear commandment now the lord is judging rightly

when samuel hears the word of god look what samuel does it grieved samuel

and he cried out to the lord he's praying all night

that's a man of god

never cheering for a fellow countryman to stumble grieved when a dear friend

probably not brother that's that's showing you my hand i don't think saul is a brother

but he's grieved and he's going to pray and cry out to the lord all night for him he represents the

heart of god to the world so samuel's religion was this listen to god's word receive what god

says is true and feel deeply what god has spoken as hard as it is feel it let it stir you and move you

and pray to god crying out to the lord even if it means all night

verse 12 so when samuel rose early in the morning to meet saul it was told samuel saying

now here's the contrast the second religion it's saw notice the opposites

saw went to carmel and indeed he set up a monument who was it for

in verse 12 a monument for himself

where samuel's religion came through his ears

the word of the lord the voice of god came and spoke

saw is focused on what he and the whole nation can see

a visible symbol for himself a symbol of

saw's greatness saw had a religion based on sight

this monument was an idol

it was an idol for god's people to worship

saw as this this delegate deputy steward king instead of the lord of hosts himself

whose people they are do you remember how just a chapter ago

chapter 14 saw took credit for the victory that god sparked through jonathan and his armor bearer

then he sent out a whole pr campaign to give credit to saw

well saw did not get humbled or learn his lesson from that failure

now saw takes credit directly from god himself

in verse 12 it struck me the interesting description of of what saw does they say

saw has gone on around passed by gone down

it's creating an image of saw wandering around isn't it

remember how he couldn't find the donkeys and he's

going from one place to the other this whole

lap that he had to take

he's a man who's walking going passing by going around

and yet it's not by faith

i'm reminded of second corinthians 5 7 how

those who follow christ as his disciples walk

but we walk by faith with our eyes set on christ

not by sight

verse 13 then samuel went to saw and saw said to him

blessed are you of the lord

now notice who saw is speaking to saw is not crying out to the lord in prayer he's addressing samuel

we might be able to infer that as as saw is thinking as long as samuel sees me as sincere i'm good

that's very tempting in most religions isn't it as long as this priest this pastor sees me as being sincere i should be good the lord wants you to go directly to himself you don't repent to man you repent before god

saw said i have performed the commandment of the lord

i hope you pick up the irony here

the anointed king

the anointed king put in charge of god's people and god's army has made a massive declaration i have performed the commandment of the lord

this is saw declaring it is finished

is it

did he accomplish the mission that god gave him to do

and notice how he quickly tries to slide into blessing

blessed are you blessed am i i succeeded everything should be good now

i did it

but this prophet is faithful

he's not interested in tickling saul's ears

look at verse 14

but samuel said

what then is this bleeding of the sheep in my ears

and the lowing of oxen which i hear

in verse 15 saul said

shifting the blame

showing his bondage just like adam

they

have brought them from the amalekites

for the people spared the best

of all these things

oh and they did it to sacrifice it to the lord

remember when adam said

eve made me do it

oh and by the way

you're the one who gave me eve

shifting the blame

blaming it back on god

unrepentant

he says the rest we have utterly destroyed

can't we compromise here

negotiate partial obedience

is enough

for blessing

verse 16

then samuel said to saul

be quiet

it's a very polite

king james way to put it

in hebrew it's

hold back you

which is loaded as well isn't it

your flesh

your ego

your idolatry

your self-worship

is too much right now

hold back you

all of you

just

back off

too much

verse 17

let's back it way back

saw do you remember

how you got to be in this office

it was the lord

who anointed you

king over israel

the lord

sent you on a mission

and said

in verse 19

then why did you not

obey

the voice

of the lord

there's the refrain

one more time

it was clear

and saul says

listen to him

double down in verse 20

but i have obeyed

the voice of the lord

and gone on the mission

which the lord sent me

verse 21

but the people

are the ones who took

of the plunder

and he just repeats

the same excuse

god's judgment

is right

isn't it

saul heard

god's words

but he was not

changed by them

saul twists

god's words

just like

the serpent did

and adam and eve

learned from the serpent

to do

he takes license

for himself

he knows better

so he thinks

and he wants to

hurry on

to practicing

his outward religion

once again

thinking everybody

can be blessed

psalm 119

Psalms 119:37

verse 37

declares this

righteous

are you

oh lord

and

upright

are your

judgments

god's judgment

is right

the fourth

out of five

observations

about god

is this

god delights

in obedience

god delights

in obedience

in verse 22

samuel responds

one more time

in this dialogue

has the lord

as great delight

in burnt offerings

and sacrifices

as in obeying

the voice

of the lord

samuel is a preacher

with one point

he keeps making

that same point

over and over

and he says

behold

to obey

is better

than sacrifice

to heed

than the fat

of rams

now he says

something

that we have

to wrestle with

for rebellion

in verse 23

is as the sin

of witchcraft

literally the hebrew word

is the sin

of divination

it's to consult

with dead

spirits

it's to speak

with demons

to rebel

against god

is to

want the voice

of demons

also foreshadowing

another event

in saul's

life

it's to hear

another voice

and act

according to the

words of another

spirit

that opposes

god

that's what

rebellion

is

that's what

disobedience

is

and he says

in verse 23

stubbornness

literally

insubordination

to remove

yourself

from being

submissive

subordinate

to the rule

of god

out of order

with god

as the lord

is as the

iniquity

of idolatry

every time

we put ourselves

out of order

insubordinate

to god

we are making

ourselves

a lower god

we are wanting

to obey

our own

will

rather than

surrender

to the

will

of god

the creator

samuel

says that

god has

rejected

you

from being

king

how could

god not

do that

god's

judgments

are right

and god

delights

in obedience

this is not

an anointed

king through

whom god

can pour

out the

blessings

that he

so wants

to give

his people

saul fall

short of

the glory

of god

verse 24

then saul

said to

samuel

i have

sinned

so we need

to be listening

and wondering

is this

true repentance

is it

sincere

is this a

turning point

in saul's

life

saul goes

on to say

in verse 24

i have

transgressed

the commandment

of the lord

and your words

because i

feared the

people

and obeyed

their voice

now therefore

please pardon

my sin

return with

me

that i may

worship the

lord

one commentator

put it in a

way that to

me made

sense

see what

you think

saul's plea

for pardon

is made

to samuel

not to god

see that in

verse 25

he's talking

to samuel

please pardon

me

now as a

contrast

remember when

david also

sinned

against

many people

uriah

bathsheba

the entire

nation

his other

wives

but david

was so

consumed

by his

offense

against god

that nothing

else could

even come

into david's

mind until

he had

confessed his

sins to

god

directly

remember

psalm 51

where he

prays his

repentance

psalm 51

Psalms 51:4

verse 4

david wrote

against you

you only

have i

sinned

and done

what is

evil

in your

sight

so that

you may

be justified

in your

words

and blameless

in your

judgments

would you

turn back

to first

1 Samuel 12 · chapter mention

samuel

chapter 12

three chapters

back

and look at

verse 14

this is when

samuel is

anointing

saul to be

the king

is giving

him the

commission

to serve

as the

anointed

king

of god's

people

and listen

to what

he has

to do

it's

two

things

first

1 Samuel 12:14

samuel

12

verse 14

fear the

lord

serve him

and obey

his voice

do not

rebel

against the

commandments

of the

lord

so you

can

summarize

that list

as these

two

things

hear the

word of

god

obey the

word of

god

do those

two

things

you fear

god and

you listen

to him

you listen

to god's

voice you

obey him

yet by

his own

admission

saul had

feared the

people

and obeyed

their voice

would you

look back at

our sermon

passage chapter

15 look at

verse 24

he failed in

his commission

as the

king

in verse 24

right before

verse 25

begins saul

says i feared

the people

though my

commission as

king was to

fear god

and i obeyed

the voice of

the people

though my

commission was

to obey

the voice

of god

well now

saul's

confession

we're told

the motivation

behind it

he had been

publicly

exposed

it's a

confession of

sin prompted

not by

inward

conviction

but by

the fear

of people

continuing

now to

control him

i've come to

the conclusion

that this was

only an outward

repentance

maybe to

escape

punishment

but most

likely to

save face

before the

nation

what god

delights in

is obedience

and repentance

that are

inward

a contrition

of heart

realizing that

our sin is

rebellion

against our

loving god

in verse

26

samuel says

i will not

return with

you for you

have rejected

the word of

the lord and

the lord has

rejected you

from being

king over

israel

now he's not

saying you're

you're banished

you're hopeless

there's no

gospel there's

no invitation

for you to

repent

he's saying in

the office of

king you're

removed

this is stripped

away from

you though it

won't happen

immediately it'll

happen over

time

and this was

really gracious

of the lord to

remove from

saul the

idols that he

had his

idols were the

throne and a

dynasty to

glorify his

name just like

this monument

that he set up

it was gracious

of god to strip

away the idols

from saul and

the lord will do

this in us

won't he

those things we

hold on to as

a love something

that i'm bringing

out of order

out of subjection

to seeking first

god and his

kingdom and his

righteousness and

when god strips

away idols that

keep us from

receiving his

grace this is

his kindness as

our loving father

it's to teach us

to enjoy complete

satisfaction in him

alone

now in verse 27

samuel turned

around to go

away but saul

seized the edge

of his rope and

tore it in

numbers 15 verses

Numbers 15:38

38 and 39 god

commands the

israelites to

weave

tassels into

the corners of

their garments

that are to

remind them

quote to

remember all

the commandments

of the lord and

to do them

not to follow

after your own

heart or your

own eyes

see the

connection

verse 28

so samuel

said to him

the lord has

torn the

kingdom of

israel from

you today and

has given it

to a neighbor

of yours who

is better than

you

these words

in verse 28

are a transition

in first

samuel

it's the

beginning of

the end for

saul and the

beginning of the

rise for the

next anointed

king in

chronological

redemptive history

the next man

though he too

will fall short

of glad's glory

ultimately but it's

david a better

shadow of christ

the substance

from this point on

the narrative will

begin focusing on

the calling and

rise of the man

after god's own

heart who is

better because

obedience is

better than

sacrifice david

was far from

perfect but he

was a man of

obedient faith and

this made all the

difference in verse

30 saw said i have

sinned now listen

to the the

insight unto his

heart and his

motives all along

to determine whether

his repentance was

sincere i have

sinned yet honor me

now before the

elders of my

people and

before israel

return with me

that i may

worship the lord

this is evidence

that saul feared

losing the acclaim

he held for his

position before men

more than fearing

god the loving

lord of hosts

verse 31 samuel

turned back after

saul what message

does that send

they walked

together a ways

and saul

worshiped the

lord if his

repentance was

going through the

motions for

public appearance

we can infer that

was true of the

way in which he

worshiped the lord

well here's the

fifth and final one

for today god's

decree will not

fail though

saul failed

god's decree

does not

fail

in verse 32

samuel said

bring agag

the king

of the

amalekites

here to me

so agag

came to

samuel

cautiously

our imagination

can paint that

one a lot

right

agag is guy

killing pregnant

women from a

line of people

who that's how

you get to be

promoted in the

army is showing

your ruthlessness

demolishing the

weaklings

striking down those

who are tired

and weak and

frail

and celebrating

it and then

here's samuel

who we know

is very old

he's been very

old for a long

time now

and agag

this wicked

cruel violent

man comes to

samuel cautiously

the king who

just slayed the

amalekites

and is now

probably got agag

on chains and

parading him

mocking him

he sees the

posture of saul

before this man

samuel

and he follows

sue but all

he knows to

appeal to is

emotion

he says

surely the

bitterness of

death is past

you know maybe

we can just

move on

maybe we're

let things

cool down

and we can

get on with

how life is

going to be

going forward

but samuel

reminded him

not merely of

his people's

ancient guilt

but also of

his personal

sin

when god

judges sin

it's on

those two

levels

it's the

sin we

inherit

and that

it's our

long line

of sinning

ancestors

all the way

back from

adam and eve

no one

escapes that

deserved

judgment

piled on to

that is our

own personal

sin

falling short

of the glory

of god

in verse

33

samuel said

your sword

has made

women childless

and so shall

your mother

be childless

among women

and samuel

hacked

agag

in pieces

before the

lord

in gilgal

gilgal

has become

the place

where god's

people as a

nation go to

celebrate and

worship before

jerusalem

and it's in the

presence of the

lord

this is true

of god

he will

punish evil

from his

holy presence

the same god

who is grace

he will punish

and utterly

destroy

all those

who have

rebelled

against him

that's the

sign act

that samuel

gives the

whole nation

don't be like

the world

and don't

stop trusting

god as

just and

powerful

here's a

display of

both

we read in

verse 34

then samuel

went to

ramah and

saul went up

to his house

in gibeah

verse 35

samuel went

no more

to see saul

until the day

of his death

nevertheless

samuel mourned

for saul

and that's a

summary of the

relationship of

these two men

from now on

these two cities

gibeah of saul

and where was

samuel

ramah

ramah of

samuel are

only about 10

miles away

they could have

easily visited

one another

samuel mourned

for saul

he still shared

that grief

no doubt

he continued

to pray for

him

but the lord

had shifted

the office

and the

anointing to

another

and that's

what samuel

will work

at next

but this

story of

saul's

failure

and agag's

judgments

does not

end here

god's decree

will not

fail

turn back

real quick

to first

1 Samuel 9 · chapter mention

samuel

chapter 9

you need to

see these

things with

your own

eyes

first

1 Samuel 9:1

samuel

chapter 9

verse 1

what tribe

was saul

from

his dad's

name was

kish and he

was from the

tribe of

benjamin

it says in

verse 1

saul was a

benjamite

now turn to

esther

turn to esther

Esther 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

remember saul

was from the

tribe of

benjamin

the story of

esther begins

not with

esther but

with another

hebrew man

in exile

his name is

mordecai

esther

Esther 2:5

chapter 2

verse 5

once you

find that

figure out

what tribe

is

mordecai

from

esther

Esther 2:5

chapter 2

verse 5

says that

mordecai

was a

benjamite

now turn to

esther

Esther 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9

a few more

pages forward

esther

Esther 9:23

chapter 9

verse 23

this is a

story of

the israelites

in exile

god putting

a queen

named esther

into a

position

that god

would use

to spare

his people

and to

bring judgment

on god's

enemies

the enemies

of god

in the

book of

esther

are led

by this

man named

haman

look at

esther

Esther 9:23–25

chapter 9

verses 23

through 25

so the

jews

accepted

the custom

which they

had begun

as mordecai

had written

to them

verse 24

because

haman

look at

where he's

from

haman

the agagite

from the

line of

agag

the enemy

of all

the jews

had plotted

against the

jews to

annihilate

them

to consume

them

and destroy

them

and this

wicked plot

which

haman had

devised

against the

jews

would return

on his

own head

just as in

first samuel

15

these enemies

of god

are also

judged

according to

their own

evil

god is

giving

sinners

a long

time to

repent

and believe

just as

he did

to the

the

amalekites

and the

agagites

but god's

decree

will not

fail

brothers and

sisters

this is true

for you and

me for our

loved ones

for our

co-workers

god is

giving

sinners

a long

time to

repent

and to

turn to

christ

for salvation

but when

jesus returns

at the

hour that

is known

only to

god

we're

told in

matthew

25

that jesus

will sit

on his

glorious

throne

of judgment

he is

coming to

judge

as the

king of

kings

and now

comes that

that phrase

that in

verse 11

you can turn

back to our

passage first

1 Samuel 15:11

samuel

chapter 15

verse 11

we're told

that god

regrets making

saw king

and the

last verse

of our

chapter says

in verse

36 god

regrets

making you

king

he repeats

that

verse 11

and verse

36

that repetition

is called

an inclusio

it's setting

two bookmarks

we need to

study what's

in between

these two

these are

to be

taken as

one

section

these

statements

that god

regrets

or repents

they seem

to contradict

what god

has revealed

about himself

what has

god revealed

about himself

in malachi

3 6

god says

i am

the lord

and i

do not

change

in james

117

we read

that in

god there

is no

variation

or shadow

of turning

god doesn't

make saw king

and then turn

and change

his mind

something different

has to be

communicated

our second

london confession

of faith

chapter 3

paragraph 1

summarizes

the doctrines

contained in

the scripture

this way

god has

decreed

in himself

from all

eternity

by the most

wise and

holy counsel

of his own

will

freely

and

unchangeably

all things

whatsoever

come to

pass

this is

confirmed

by isaiah

46 10

declaring

god declares

from the

the end

from the

beginning

and from

ancient

times

things

not yet

done

saying

my counsel

shall

stand

i shall

accomplish

my purpose

so what's

in between

these two

bookends

verse 11

and verse 36

saying that god

regretted making

saw king

it's verse 29

find verse 29

and it's not to

diminish the

message of these

two verses 11

and 36 because

they're communicating

something very

important

that god so

loves his people

that god can't

bear to see his

people

being being led

or ruled by a

king who doesn't

align himself with

god these are

god's people

and when a

king gets in

the way of

this relationship

that god himself

needs with his

people well he

needs nothing but

he he won't

tolerate anything

in the middle

he's a jealous

god and as

saul puts himself

as a man that's

you know promoting

his own ego and

making monuments to

worship himself

god will have

none of that

so this is

language conveying

the the deep

love of god

the unrelenting

uncompromising

bond that god

will have with

his people

through an

anointed king

but it's not

saul it will

not be saul

saul serves a

different purpose

in the unfolding

of redemption

redemptive history

now look at verse

29

here's the

clarification of

what sounds

difficult to our

ears

god will not

regret giving

the throne

of king

to one who

is better

than saul

do you hear

what god's

saying

there is a

king

i will give

a throne

over my

people to

a king

far better

than saul

far better

than david

but this

king must be

an obedient

servant

this king

must deliver

god's people

from their

sin

from death

from hell

god's anointed

king the

messiah

must be one

that will

listen to

god's voice

heed god's

commands

and obey

god

perfectly

our lord

jesus christ

all alone

accomplished

the mission

that saul

and every

other king

failed to

accomplish

our lord

jesus did

this alone

tempted in

the wilderness

satan

tempted jesus

with the

kingdoms

of this

world

his for

the taking

in a

worldly

way

but king

jesus did

not fail

and how

did he

counter the

enemy

by remembering

god's word

he cited

back the

truth from

scripture

to satan

that he

had hidden

in his

heart

that he

may not

sin

against

god

he said

as it is

written

as it is

written

as it is

written

here's the

true king

through whom

god can

bless

and rule

over his

people

jesus

heeded

god

as his

father

jesus

obeyed

and therefore

he can

command

he is the

lord of

hosts

the commander

of the

armies

of heaven

hebrews

10 14

quoting

psalm

40

points out

jesus's

obedience

how i

have come

behold i

have come

to do

your will

oh god

jesus

prayed not

my will

but yours

be done

and our

lord jesus

christ

didn't keep

back the

best for

himself

he sacrificed

the best

to god

he consecrated

himself

the pure

sacrifice

the only

acceptable

sacrifice

on the

cross

he made

himself

wicked

agag

to be

hacked

to pieces

by the

uncompromising

justice

of the

holy god

whose decree

will not

fail

so that

you and

i

can be

his people

and he

can be

our god

we trust

this from

ephesians

111

that in

christ

we have

obtained

an inheritance

!

having been

predestined

according to

the purpose

of him

who works

all things

according to

the counsel

of his

will

saw

and agag

and haman

they couldn't

thwart the

will and the

plan of

god

god's