Route 66: 1 Samuel - Kings and Consequences

the book of 1 Samuel.

But before we begin, please join me in a word of prayer.

Lord, thank you for another opportunity that we are able to gather as your people, to worship you and to learn more from your word.

Father, what we do not know, teach us what we have not.

Give us what we are not.

Kindly make us For your son's sake, amen, alrighty.

If you were here when we looked at the book of Judges, one of the main points that we considered came from the very last verse from that book.

In those days, there was no king in Israel.

Everyone did whatever seemed right to him.

You could be wondering why I'm bringing up judges when we just did the book of Ruth last week.

The simple reason is that the story of Ruth took place during the time period of the judges, and the events in the first and second Samuel is what happens right after the period of the judges.

So the last words we read in the book of judges actually provide a big hint to what 1 and 2 Samuel are all about.

In those days, there was no king in Israel.

Everyone did whatever seemed right to him.

One of the key points that we touched on from that verse was that there was no king in Israel, and I had mentioned before that those words were scary, specifically because when we think about the word king, we will associate that word with authority, with rule or leadership.

And if you were to imagine any place without authority, rule or leadership, like a church or a group of people or a library, we know that some downfall is bound to happen.

With no authority, no rule, no leadership implies lack of order, which leads to two things disorder and disaster.

And this is exactly what happened in the book of Judges.

The Israelites were called to drive out their enemies and conquer the remainder of the promised land, but instead of being obedient, they compromised and disobeyed.

They became intermingled with their enemies and turned from the God who had saved them from Egypt and called them to covenant loyalty.

And because of their sin, god would judge them and allow them to fall into the hands of their enemies.

Israel will then cry out to God in repentance.

The Lord will hear their cry and then raise up a judge to deliver them.

But sadly, this cycle will repeat itself over and over and over again.

Israel needed someone greater than a judge.

They needed a king.

And this is where 1 and 2 Samuel comes in Our study tonight will technically only be in 1 Samuel, but it's important to note that 1 and 2 Samuel were originally written as one unified book in the Hebrew.

When it was later translated from Hebrew to Greek, the Greek took up more space and would no longer fit on one scroll.

So in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the book of Samuel was divided into two parts, and that's essentially why the book of Samuel is divided into two parts today in our English Bibles.

A simple way to think about 1 and 2 Samuel is as a tale of two kings.

However, in the first seven chapters of the book, we're introduced to a character named Samuel.

He was not a king, but he was Israel's last good judge and he served as Israel's prophet at the time, because the word of the Lord was rare in those days.

Samuel can be thought of as a transitional figure that helps Israel transition from being a people led by judges to a people being ruled by kings.

Even though Samuel served as this important transitional figure in Israel's history, we get a hint very early on in the book that the Lord's focus at this time would not be on one who was only a judge or a prophet.

So turn with me to 1 Samuel, chapter 2.

1 Samuel 2 · chapter mention

And listen to these words from verse 10.

Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered.

He will thunder in the heavens against them.

Joyful prayer given by Samuel's mother, hannah.

Before Samuel was born, his mother was barren and she had asked the Lord for a child.

The Lord heard her cry and he answered her prayer.

And in response to the Lord's kindness, hannah offered up a song or a prayer of thanksgiving and that prayer ended with the words that we just read Now.

Throughout the whole prayer, hannah speaks gladly about who the Lord is and what he had done and what he had done for her.

But what's interesting about these last words in Hannah's prayer is that they speak about what the Lord will do.

If we pay attention to the words of verse 10 again, we see a bit of a prophecy that sets up the rest of 1 and 2 Samuel.

Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered.

He will thunder in the heavens against them.

The Lord will judge the ends of the earth.

He will give power to his king.

He will lift up the horn of his anointed.

The book Samuel anticipates the king the Lord will give power to.

As mentioned earlier, the book of Samuel can be seen as a tale of two kings, and the two kings that we encounter in this tale are a king named Saul and another king named David.

Both were kings at different points in Israel's history, but they were both appointed by God.

But since Samuel focuses a bit more on Saul and Saul's life, saul's life will be the center of our overview for this evening.

Just before we get to Saul, I'd like to give us a little bit more context to Israel's situation before Saul comes into the picture.

So turn with me to Samuel, chapter 8.

, and we're going to look at verses 1 through 9, and then verses 19 and 20.

Okay, when Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel.

His firstborn sons were named Jael and the second was Abijah.

They were judges in Beersheba.

However, his sons did not walk in his ways.

They turned toward dishonest prophet, took bribes and perverted justice.

So all the elders of Israel gathered together and went to Samuel at Ramah.

They said to him look, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways.

Therefore, appoint a king to judge us, as the same as all the other nations have.

When they said, give us a king to judge us, samuel considered their demand wrong, so he prayed to the Lord.

But the Lord told him listen to the.

Now to verses 19 and 20.

Listen to them, but solemnly warn them and tell them about the customary rights of the king who reigns over them.

Now to verses 19 and 20.

The people refused to listen to Samuel.

No, they said, we must have a king over us.

Then we'll be like all the other nations.

Our king will judge us, go out before us and fight our battles.

We're at a point in Israel's history where the people of Israel were longing for a king, and this longing wasn't bad.

But the problem was that Israel's motive and the idea of a king was different than what God had in mind.

As we read in verse 20, israel was more interested in being like all the other nations rather than being identified as a separate people belonging to the Lord, and their idea of a king was someone that would replace God.

God's idea of a king can be found in Deuteronomy 17, verses 18-20.

Deuteronomy 17:18–20

You don't have to turn there, but just listen to these words.

God's ideal for a king, when he is seated on his royal throne, he is to write a copy of this instruction for himself on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priest.

It is to remain with him and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the Lord, his God, to observe all the words of this instruction and to do these statutes.

Then his heart will not be.

God's idea of a king was one of a man who would be faithful and loyal to him and one that would live by his word, and in doing that, this king would not be a king that rules separate from God, but rather a king that rules under God.

So the question that arises when Saul enters the picture is what kind of king will he be?

Will he be the king the people of Israel want, or will he be the king that the Lord wants?

Saul's life can be divided into four stages.

He has this funny start, I would say, or silly start, that can be found in chapter 9 and 10.

He has short success chapter 11, serious sins, chapters 13 and 15, through 15, and he has a spiral downward.

And he has a spiral downward 16, all the way to chapter 31.

I'll be giving a very short synopsis of each stage, but as we work through each stage, I'll be giving us a verse or two that will serve as a snapshot of that stage.

The snapshot are there to just help us get the essence of what each stage was like in Saul's life.

Once we look through all of those stages we'll be going back to Saul's serious sins for some points of observation and application and from there we'll see how that stage helps us to understand what 1 Samuel is all about.

So, stage one Saul's start.

Look with me to 1 Samuel 9, verse 3.

1 Samuel 9:3

1 Samuel 9, verse 3.

1 Samuel 9:3

Verse 3.1 Samuel, chapter 9, verse 3.

1 Samuel 9:3

One day the donkeys of Saul's father Kish wandered off.

Kish said to his son take one of the servants with you and go look for the donkeys.

So, saul, how did you become king?

You know it's funny.

You ask that because one day my father's donkeys got lost and I was told to go look for them.

And as I was looking for them, I just ran into this man named Samuel and my life hasn't been the same since.

This is essentially how Saul's story started and it's rather funny.

You have this impressive, handsome and tall gentleman from the tribe of Benjamin and he was simply minding his own business, looking for a few donkeys, but little did he know that the Lord had appointed a time when he would encounter Samuel so that he could be anointed as Israel's first king.

Another thing that makes Saul start funny is that when the time came for him to be received as king by the people of Israel, he chose to hide himself, and as someone who's described as literally a head taller than everyone else, I wonder if thoughtfully thought he could somehow hide his way out of this position that the Lord had called him to.

This behavior gives a bit of a foreshadow to what the rest of his time as a king would be like.

But though he seems to cower at this moment, he does have some success.

Stage number two Saul's success.

Look at 1 Samuel, chapter 11, verses 12 and 13.

1 Samuel 11:12

1 Samuel, chapter 11, verses 12 to 13.

1 Samuel 11:12–13

Afterward the people said to Samuel who said that Saul should not reign over us?

Who said that Saul should not reign over us, give us those men so we can kill them.

But Saul ordered no one will be executed this day, for the Lord has provided deliverance in Israel.

Before Saul was officially recognized as the king of Israel, a town called Jebush Galid was in deep trouble.

They were threatened by one of the enemy groups of Israel, known as the Ammonites, and the Ammonites had threatened to gouge out the right eye of the people there.

When word of this got to Saul, the Spirit of God came upon him and he was extremely furious.

So he rallied 330,000 men in total to fight against the Ammonites and he slaughtered them, and in doing this, saul proved himself worthy as a king.

He closed the mouths of those who doubted him, and the interesting thing is that Saul had some passionate fans who were ready to kill those who doubted him, and that's the context of the verses we just read.

Afterward the people said to Samuel, who said that Saul should not reign over us.

Give us those men so that we can kill them.

But Saul ordered no one will be executed this day, for the Lord has provided deliverance in Israel.

Saul's success was not just demonstrated in the fact that he managed to wipe out Israel's enemies.

His success was also demonstrated in his humble response to the situation and his acknowledgement that it was the Lord who delivered Israel.

His success was due to the fact that he was matching what God wanted a king to look like, according to Deuteronomy 17.

Saul feared the Lord and his heart was not exalted above his countrymen, and his heart was not exalted above his countrymen.

But sadly, this didn't last for long.

And this brings us into stage three, saul's serious sin.

Look at 1 Samuel 15, verse 22.

1 Samuel 15:22

Then Samuel said Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord?

Look, to obey is better than sacrifice and to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.

Saul had reigned as a king in Israel for 42 years, but unfortunately there were two main failures during his reign that resulted in two serious indictments from the Lord.

Saul's first failure is seen in 1 Samuel 13.

An enemy group of Israel known as the Philistines had gathered against them 3,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen and troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore.

The men of Israel saw that situation, saw that the situation was scary and a difficult one, and they started to hide themselves in caves and among the rocks and holes.

Israel was certainly in need of the Lord to fight this battle for them, but before Saul and Israel could go into battle, samuel had told Saul to wait seven days for him to arrive at Gilgal so he could offer up a burnt offering and fellowship offering unto the Lord.

Samuel had appeared to be running late, and while Saul was waiting for Samuel, the people of Israel grew impatient and started to leave Saul.

So Saul decided to take it upon himself to offer the sacrifice to the Lord, and as soon as he did so, samuel had arrived.

And because of Saul's impulsive behavior, samuel said to him the words we just read you have been foolish.

You have not kept the command the Lord, your God, gave you.

It was at this time.

The Lord would have permanently established your reign over Israel, but now your reign will not endure.

This was Saul's first failure.

His second failure is found in 1 Samuel 15.

In verse 3 of chapter 15, saul had received these explicit words from the Lord Now go and attack the Amalekites and completely destroy everything they have.

Do not spare them.

Kill men and women, infants and nursing babies, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.

There was no room for ambiguity in the Lord's command to Saul, but sadly, this is what we read in verse 8 and 9 of chapter 15.

What we read in verse 8 and 9 of chapter 15.

He, that is, saul, captured King Agad of Amalek alive, but he completely destroyed all the rest of the people with the sword.

Saul and the troops spared Agad and the best of the sheep, goats, cattle and choice animals, as well as the young rams and the best of everything else.

They were not willing to destroy them, but they did destroy all the worthless and unwanted things.

Saul's disobedience the second time around resulted with the words from Samuel found in verse 23.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.

And this brings us into Saul's last stage, saul's spiral downward.

You don't have to turn there, but listen to these words from 1 Samuel, 31, verse 4.

1 Samuel 31:4

And Saul said to his arm bearer draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised men will come and run me through and torture me.

But his armor bearer would not do it because he was terrified.

And Saul took his sword and fell on it.

Now this verse doesn't necessarily capture the journey of Saul's spiral downward, but it captures the end of it.

Immediately after Saul's disobedience regarding the Amalekites, a new character gets introduced to the book of 1 Samuel, and that new character is a young boy by the name of David.

He gets anointed to be the next king of Israel and during the rise of David's fame and popularity, saul grows immensely jealous of him.

Saul gets tormented by a spirit of resentment, so much so that he tries to kill David on quite a few occasions, even when David spared his life twice.

When Saul goes up against the Philistines again, it doesn't end well for him.

In the heat of the battle, he takes his own life and that becomes the end of King Saul all together, and that's the four stages of Saul's life.

So let's go back to Saul's sin and consider a couple of things.

Let's look at verse Samuel 13, and let's listen to verses 8 through 12.

And let's pay attention to Saul's answer that he gives Samuel regarding his disobedience when he waited seven days for the appointed time that Samuel had set.

But Samuel didn't come to Gilgal and the troops were deserting him.

So Saul said Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.

Then he offered the burnt offering.

Just as he finished offering the burnt offering, samuel arrived, so Saul went out to greet him and Samuel asked what have you done to greet him?

And Samuel asked what have you done?

Saul answered when I saw that the troops were deserting me and you didn't come with me, come within the appointed days, and the Philistines were gathering at Mishmash, I thought the Philistines will now descend on me at Gilgal and I haven't sought the Lord's favor, so I forced myself to offer the burnt offering favor.

So I forced myself to offer the burnt offering.

Notice that Saul's disobedience was motivated by what he saw, and this is the exact same thing that happened with Eve in the garden she saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at.

So because Saul strictly acted based on what he saw rather than having faith in what was said by the Lord, there was a serious consequence for his actions, and the same happened with Eve back in Genesis.

A question I'd like us to consider when we find ourselves in a situation where God seems to be delaying, are we more prone to act and speak in a way that is only based on what the situation looks like or you can even say, feel like or are we more prone to act or speak in a way that reflects faith in a God who does not delay in his promises?

One more observation from Saul's answer for his disobedience is found in 1 Samuel 15, verses 17 through 24.

1 Samuel 15:17–24

1 Samuel 15, verses 17 through 24.

1 Samuel 15:17–24

1 Samuel 15, verses 17 through 24.

1 Samuel 15:17–24

Samuel continued Although you once considered yourself unimportant, haven't you become the leader of the tribes of Israel.

The Lord anointed you king over Israel and then sent you on a mission and said Go, completely destroy the sinful Amalekites, fight against them until you have annihilated them.

So why didn't you obey the Lord?

Did you rush on the plunder and do what is evil in the Lord's sight?

But I did obey the Lord.

Saul answered I went on the mission the Lord gave me.

I brought back King Agag of Amalek and I completely destroyed the Amalekites.

And the troops took sheep, goats, cattle from the plunder, the best of what was set apart for destruction to sacrifice to the Lord, your God, at Gilgal.

Then Samuel said Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifice as much as in obeying the Lord?

Look, to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams, for rebellion is like sin of divination and defiance, like wickedness and idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.

Pay attention to this last verse.

Saul answered Samuel, I have sinned, I have transgressed the Lord's command in your words.

Because I was afraid of the people, I obeyed them.

I was afraid of the people, I obeyed them.

And notice how in both examples the first example in chapter 13 and this example, saul was more concerned about what the people around him were doing and what they thought.

In the example in chapter 13, the first thing that Saul says to Samuel as he was trying to adjust himself was I saw that the troops were deserting me.

And in this example he says I was afraid of the people, I obeyed them.

The ironic thing about Saul's story as Israel's first king is that in the end he is just like the people of Israel.

The book of Samuel starts with the people of Israel longing for a king, but they were motivated by simply wanting to follow the surrounding nations because they had kings.

And when Israel finally gets their first king, he fails to lead them because his actions were motivated by what the people around him were doing rather than focusing on living by faith in God's word.

So I'd like to close with this.

In light of Israel's weakness and Saul's weakness to be more concerned with the opinions of others, here's one final reflection Will our obedience to the Lord be solely based on what we see other people doing?

I pray that we may continue to be a people that stands with the Lord even when the majority decide to abandon him.

Let's pray.

The majority decide to abandon him.

Let's pray, heavenly Father, we thank you that you've given us your word and that you have spoken so clearly, and we have no need to doubt your goodness, father.

We thank you that, as we look at the life of Saul, we recognize that he was not the king that you intended us to follow, but we do thank you, father, for the greater king that we have in Christ Jesus and Lord.

We ask that, as your people, we would be obedient, that we would trust you, regardless of how things look, regardless of how things, regardless of how things seem, because you are a faithful God and we have every reason to trust you with everything that we have and everything that we own.

We give you praise and glory for this evening.