July 22, 2001

What Happened?

1 Samuel 9-31

Have you ever known someone who's sole purpose in life was to serve as a bad example to others? Someone that your parents would refer to when they were trying to drive home some warning to you: "If you don't straighten up, you're gonna' end up just like so-and-so!" Sometimes those people started out well, and then went bad. It looked like they were going to do well, and then things fell apart. In the Bible, Samson was one of those people. Started out with a lot of promise, but never lived up to his potential.
King Saul was another one, and I want us to consider his life today, and hopefully learn something from his mistakes.

If you have your Bibles with you today, and I hope you do, turn to 1 Samuel chapter 9. The background of this portion of God's Word is that Israel has asked God for a king to rule over them. God had been ruling them himself, through prophets and judges, but they wanted a human king. God gave them Saul. To briefly review what Saul was like, he was king when Israel was having a lot of war and trouble with all the nations around them. David (David & Goliath? That David) grew up during the reign of king Saul. Saul grew jealous of David and tried a number of times to kill him, even though Saul's son Jonathan was David's best friend. Saul got so eaten up with jealousy & hatred for David that once he even killed the priests who helped David escape from Saul. Finally, before a battle that was about to happen between Israel and a large Philistine army, Saul consulted a witch, a medium, to enquire how the battle would turn out. The next day, he and his son Jonathan were killed in the battle.

That is the thumbnail sketch, let's look at the details and find out where Saul messed up, so that we don't make the same mistakes. 1 Samuel, chapter 9, verse 1: " Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power.
1Sa 9:2 And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people."
Modern translation? He was one big, tall, good looking dude.
Verse 3: "And the asses of Kish, Saul's father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.
1Sa 9:4 And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not.
1Sa 9:5 And when they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us."

Let's stop here; Saul was a big man, and he was also an obedient and submissive man. His father told him what to do, and he did it. He was willing to endure hardship. He looked a long time for the lost animals.
He was a thoughtful man. He realized that his father would soon quit worrying about the lost animals and start worrying about him if he stayed gone any longer. All these things are assets. They are part of a good character. He was also a man with religious convictions. Since he is not having any luck finding the lost asses on his own, he decides to ask God, verse 6:
"And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honourable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can shew us our way that we should go."

God was behind all of this, because while they going to the city, the prophet Samuel was already there, sent by God to anoint Saul as king of Israel. At this time in his life, Saul was a humble man, look at what he says in verse 21 when Samuel begins to reveal that God has plans for him: "And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?" He seems very humble.

Samuel anoints Saul with oil, and God confirms His blessing on Saul in a remarkable way, chapter 10, verse 6: "And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.
1Sa 10:7 And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee.
1Sa 10:8 And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do.
1Sa 10:9 And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day."

That is a good testimony. Saul appears to have everything going for him, even to the extent that God gave him a new heart. In our vocabulary today, we would say that Saul had a wonderful conversion experience, and also an anointing of the Holy Spirit. Samuel then publicly proclaims Saul as king, most of the nation enthusiastically accepts him, and when some don't; Saul is gracious to them, verse 26: "And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched.
1Sa 10:27 But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought no presents. But he held his peace." Nice. Saul started well. Things looked good. But then things started to go downhill, and we need to know why, so that we don't mess up the way Saul did.

A huge army of Philistines had come to do battle with Israel. The prophet Samuel had told Saul to wait at the town of Gilgal, until he came and offered a sacrifice to sanctify Saul, and give God's blessing to his kingdom. But Saul lost his faith in God's timing, disobeyed God, and lost God's blessing. Turn to 1 Samuel 13, verse 5: "And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Bethaven.
1Sa 13:6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.
1Sa 13:7 And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
1Sa 13:8 And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.
1Sa 13:9 And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering.
1Sa 13:10 And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him.
1Sa 13:11 And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash;
1Sa 13:12 Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.
1Sa 13:13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.
1Sa 13:14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee."

Saul disobeyed God. At that time, you had to be a priest to offer a sacrifice, not just anybody was allowed to do it, that was part of the law of Moses. Saul was not qualified. His disobedience resulted in David being called to receive the kingdom in Saul's place. Now; put this situation on hold for a minute, and turn to chapter 14, verse 24.

There came a major battle between Israel and the Philistines, and Israel was winning, but there was a problem: the Israelite army was faint with hunger, verse 24: "And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food.
1Sa 14:25 And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey upon the ground.
1Sa 14:26 And when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped; but no man put his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oath.
1Sa 14:27 But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened.
1Sa 14:28 Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day. And the people were faint.
1Sa 14:29 Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey.
1Sa 14:30 How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for had there not been now a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?"

Later that day, Saul has the priest enquire of God whether they should continue to pursue the Philistines. God does not answer, and they realize it is because of sin. Saul calls the people together to have the priest cast lots, and see who has sinned, that the Lord will not answer, verse 38: "And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all the chief of the people: and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day.
1Sa 14:39 For, as the LORD liveth, which saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But there was not a man among all the people that answered him.
1Sa 14:40 Then said he unto all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people said unto Saul, Do what seemeth good unto thee.
1Sa 14:41 Therefore Saul said unto the LORD God of Israel, Give a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan were taken: but the people escaped.
1Sa 14:42 And Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken.
1Sa 14:43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him, and said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in mine hand, and, lo, I must die.
1Sa 14:44 And Saul answered, God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan.
1Sa 14:45 And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not."

Interesting. Here we begin to see another aspect of Saul's character.

Put this scene on hold for a minute, and turn to another incident in the life of Saul, chapter 15, and verse 1. Before we read this, notice that it sounds as if the Lord is giving Saul an opportunity to correct his mistake, because God is the God of second chances. Notice also what Saul does with his opportunity.
"Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD.
1Sa 15:2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.
1Sa 15:3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass."
Skip to verse 7: "And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.
1Sa 15:8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
1Sa 15:9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
1Sa 15:10 Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying,
1Sa 15:11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.
1Sa 15:12 And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.
1Sa 15:13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.
1Sa 15:14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
1Sa 15:15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
1Sa 15:16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
1Sa 15:17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?
1Sa 15:18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
1Sa 15:19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?
1Sa 15:20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
1Sa 15:21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.
1Sa 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath 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 hearken than the fat of rams.
1Sa 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
1Sa 15:24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice."

>From here on, it is all downhill for Saul. Samuel anoints David to be king, and Saul becomes jealous of him and tries to kill him. Saul repents from time to time and swears to David that he will not hurt him, and then he goes back on his word. It seems as if Saul gradually loses his integrity. He makes vows and breaks them. He says one thing one day and something else the next. He falls into an ongoing depression. He is inconsistent, he destroys all the wizards and witches out of the land because he knows they are contrary to God's will, and then he goes to one himself when God refuses to answer him. Finally, he is mortally wounded on the battlefield, and commits suicide rather than allow himself to be taken captive by the Philistines.

Is there a cause and effect for this trouble in Saul's life? Is there some reason that things went so bad for him? Yes there is, and the reason is just as relevant to us today as it was to him back then. In no particular order, here are some of the things that caused Saul's downfall: one of them was impatience with God.

Turn back to chapter 13 and verse 11: God had told him to wait until a certain time when Samuel would come and sanctify him and bless his authority, but Saul got nervous because of the situation and decided Samuel was not going to show up in time. Saul then intruded into the office of the priest, and back then, that was a major no-no. When Samuel asked him what he had done, notice how he responds. "Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and you didn't come in time, and the Philistines were already here." And then in verse 12, he continues: "The Philistines will overrun my position, the offering has not been made, so I forced myself, and made a burnt offering."

Samuel, it's your fault because you were late. And because you were late, situational ethics took over.
Shifting the blame. It's not my fault, because you were late. If you had been here on time, this never would have happened. You should have got here on time. Shifting the blame.

Is it always someone else's fault? Do you have a problem with shifting the blame? How about if you don't think you do, but everybody that really knows you, knows better? God cannot do a work in your life until you accept the responsibility for your own failures and sins. Quit deceiving yourself. Some people haven't changed since the days of Adam: "God, it's not my fault; it's that woman that you gave me." It was either her fault or your fault, but it's not my fault. Denial. Shifting the blame. Turn on the light and look in the mirror.

How about situational ethics? God says one thing, but the situation appears unacceptable, so we ignore God's Word to accommodate the situation, right? Wrong.

When did we ever understand a situation well enough to ignore what God says about something and go sort things out on our own? Really: when did we ever have the big picture to where we could come up with a better plan that God already has? In this case, no sooner does Saul get done intruding into where he shouldn't have gone, than Samuel shows up.

This is an excellent example of why we don't let the situation determine the response, (instead of God's Word determining our behavior). Saul has messed up, because he didn't correctly understand the situation. His timing was off. If he had waited just one more hour, Samuel would have been there, and his whole life would have turned out different.

We do not set God's Word aside when the situation does not look good. Situations change; God's Word is a constant. Do not structure your life, your morals, or your ethics around whatever the situation happens to be. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. What looks like solid ground today could be mud tomorrow. Stay on the Rock.

How about the incident with Jonathan and the honey? Chapter 14 and verse 44. Saul has made a rash and foolish vow; "Cursed be the man who eats any food until evening, that I may be avenged on my enemies."
Is that stupid or what? But he is the king, and in that situation, God honors what he says, the priest gets involved, and Jonathan turns up as the one having sinned against God in trespassing the king's vow.
Saul is all full of himself and his self importance as the king; "Who ever has done this thing will surely die, even if it's my son, Jonathan."

Guess what: it is Jonathan. "Well then Jonathan must surely die." I don't know what the Biblical or theological term for that kind of attitude is, but around here, there is a word that describes it perfectly: redneck. How stubborn and foolish and arrogant and full of yourself would you have to be to do something that stupid, and then refuse to admit that it was stupid even to the point of calling for the death of your son rather than admit you did something stupid. That's just plain pure redneck.

Pride is part of that. An inflated sense of your own self importance. And pride leads to worse problems: rebellion. When Saul only partly obeyed God in destroying the Amalekites, by the people keeping the best of the animals for themselves, Saul said that "they were really going to use the animals to sacrifice." That was a lie, they wanted them for themselves.

Turn to chapter 15 and verse 22: "Hath 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 hearken, than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as the sin of idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected thee from being king. And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words, -and then notice what he says here- because I feared the people and obeyed their voice."

Proverbs 29:25 tells us: "The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe."

Saul was more concerned with appearances and public approval, peer pressure, than he was with what God said. Look what he says to Samuel in verse 30: "Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God.
1Sa 15:31 So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD."
Even when God has disqualified him from office, he wants to keep up appearances.

Let's bring all this home to where we live: Saul had a lot of good points, humanly speaking, he was OK, he had some things going for him. That puts us and Saul on the same level. He was just like us, a nice guy. His biggest problem was that he did not take God seriously. He did not take spiritual things seriously. He just couldn't seem to understand that God says what He means, and means what He says. He had a very shallow view of God.

I suspect that a lot of Christians fit into that category. God is not anywhere close to the center of their life, God is just out on the edges somewhere, and we call Him in for a little aid and assistance when we think He might be helpful. Does that describe you today?

Along with that, Saul had a heart problem. God gave him a new heart; Saul didn't give God his old one. He kept his old heart and tried to use it instead of his new one, and it kept getting him in trouble. I know for a fact that a lot of Christians have that problem. Make very sure that you are not one of them.

Saul was typical of a very common type of Christian that lives out on the fringes of God's will and protection. They don't get involved with the church too much, they live their lives pretty much the way anyone in the world might live, they are not too bad, and not too good. That's dangerous. There is a certain protection that comes from staying within the close fellowship of the church. There is a certain safety that comes from keeping yourself in close contact with the people of God. When you get out and away from that place of fellowship and communion, you're just like an old World War 2 bomber that falls out of the formation, you make yourself a lot more likely to get shot down. Stragglers from the flock make dandy targets.

Saul got out of touch with God's will for his life. When you get away from God's will for your life, then you start living according to your will for your life. Do you think that will be better? Do you think that your will for your life will be better for you than God's will for your life? Just like Saul offering the sacrifice while Samuel was only an hour away, you will mess up big time, and try to do for yourself what God needs to do for you. And your efforts won't do you any more good than Saul's efforts did for him.

Did you ever start a penny rolling around one of those whirlpool shaped things in the department store? There is a certain sort of lifestyle that seems to cause a similar spiral in the way we live. We start off going around in a broad fashion, but eventually we get trapped in a spiral that tightens up and goes down hill fast. You get involved with some doubtful behavior, and rationalize it by saying: "I can break out of this anytime I want.""I'll behave this way now, I can always get more spiritual when I get older."
That's not true. Be careful. Don't ever get started on any sort of lifestyle that can cause you trouble over time. You will reap what you sow.

There is an old joke about a farmer that had a stubborn mule, and he had to carry around a 2X4 to get the mule's attention. Is God carrying around a 2X4 with your name on it? Because God will get your attention. If that is your situation with God right now, whose fault is it?

All of us are aware of Christians, true, born again Christians that have done really stupid things. Just because you are a Christian does not mean you won't end up with your life all screwed up if you persist in making stupid choices. And all of us have heard of Christians that have ended up in terrible situations, just like Saul did.

How many of us have heard of Christians that have ended up in terrible moral or ethical situations while they were walking in close fellowship with the Lord? Really walking with the Lord? I can't think of any. Let's just say that it's a rare thing. That has to teach us something.

Saul is a good role model for what not to do, how not to be. Saul is a good object lesson of how not to act. This is not a complicated lesson. Take it to heart and take it with you.