1 Samuel 13

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.

1 Samuel 13 · chapter mention

If you're looking in one of the Pew Bibles, that's page 234, 1 Samuel chapter 13.

1 Samuel 13 · chapter mention

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.

Acts 13 · chapter mention

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

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.

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?

Anyone?

Anyone?

Anyone?

Anyone?

Anyone?

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.

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.

Yes.

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