DON’T BE A SAUL…
This week I have been talking about False Prophets, Teachers and Preachers. I thought I would highlight an example of Apostacy through the story of Saul.
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Saul was a King that was anointed by Samuel because the people were begging for a King. God told Samuel to anoint a King. Saul was anointed as King. As King, God gave Samuel an assignment…
I Samuel 15: 3Now go and attack the Amalekites and devote to destruction all that belongs to them. Do not spare them, but put to death men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels, and donkeys.’ ”
9Saul and his troops spared Agag, along with the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves b and lambs, and the best of everything else. They were unwilling to destroy them, but they devoted to destruction all that was despised and worthless.
Samuel Denounces Saul
10Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying, 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions. ”And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all that night.
12 Early in the morning Samuel got up to confront Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel, and behold, he has set up a monument for himself and has turned and gone down to Gilgal.”
13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said to him, “May the LORD bless you. I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.”
14 But Samuel replied, “Then what is this bleating of sheep and lowing of cattle that I hear?”
15 Saul answered, “The troops brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but the rest we devoted to destruction.”
16 “Stop!” exclaimed Samuel. “Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night.”
17 And Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, have you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel 18and sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and devote to destruction the sinful Amalekites. Fight against them until you have wiped them out.’ 19 So why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you rush upon the plunder and do evil in the sight of the LORD?”
20 “But I did obey the LORD,” Saul replied. “I went on the mission that the LORD gave me. I brought back Agag king of Amalek and devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21 The troops took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of the things devoted to destruction, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”
22 But Samuel declared:
“Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obedience to His voice?
Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice,
and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.
23For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
Saul’s Confession
24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have transgressed the LORD’s commandment and your instructions, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, please forgive my sin and return with me so I can worship the LORD.”
26 “I will not return with you,” Samuel replied. “For you have rejected the word of the LORD, and He has rejected you as king over Israel.”
27 As Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28 So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you. 29 Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.”
30 “I have sinned,” Saul replied. “Please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD your God.”
31 So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the LORD.
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.”
Agag came to him cheerfully, for he thought, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”
33 But Samuel declared:
“As your sword has made women childless,
so, your mother will be childless among women.”
And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. 35 And to the day of his death, Samuel never again visited Saul. Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.
We should understand that we God gives an assignment, we should do it, or he will assign it to someone else who will do it.
Samuel Anoints David
I SAMUEL 16:1-30
16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”
4 Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”
5 Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
So, Jesse shows Samuel some of his other sons but Samuel said these were not the ones that God has chosen.11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”
“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”
12 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”
So, Samuel anointed David and the power of God came on him very strongly.
David in Saul’s Service
14 Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil[a] spirit from the Lord tormented him.
15 Saul’s attendants said to him, “See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the lyre. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes on you, and you will feel better.”
17 So Saul said to his attendants, “Find someone who plays well and bring him to me.”
18 One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him.”
Here we see that David gifts made room for him. The bible says that your gift will make room for you and bring you before great men. Now, Saul at this point really liked David and even promoted him to be his armor-bearer. David continued to excel in his duties. He even defeats Goliath the giant. This is because David understood his assignments.
Later, we begin to see things change!
I Samuel 18:5-16-David Promoted
5 Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul’s officers as well.
6 When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres Liars. 7 As they danced, they sang:
“Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands.”
8 Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” 9 And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.
So now from this point on, Saul’s “close eye” turns into despising and wanting to kill David. Let’s look at verse 12…
12 Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had departed from Saul. 13 So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns. 14 In everything he did he had great success, because the Lord was with him. 15 When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in their campaigns.
Now in addition to this, we see that Saul became more jealous and afraid of David after he married his daughter and he remained his enemy the rest of his days. Not only this, but in verse 30 we see that
30 The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle, and as often as they did, David met with more success than the rest of Saul’s officers, and his name became well known.
There are several attempts on David’s life by Saul:
Saul Tries to Kill David
I Samuel 19:1-3
19 Saul told his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David. But Jonathan had taken a great liking to David 2 and warned him, “My father Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow morning; go into hiding and stay there. 3 I will go out and stand with my father in the field where you are. I’ll speak to him about you and will tell you what I find out.”
Later in chapter 31 of I Samuel will see that Saul dies by falling on his own sword.
Saul did not want to wait for the process of God. Saul also chose not to obey God and was not truly repentant. In leadership, “to whom much is given, much shall also be required.” The bible tells us that spiritual teachers will be judged more harshly than others. We should understand that leaders are held to a higher standard of accountability.
Obey God and wait on Him during your process to develop you like David. God was developing David as a young child tending to the sheep and David remained faithful to God. Part of that process also included David enduring being hated by Saul, but Saul was not willing to do what David did in the posture of obedience, so Saul was replaced by David.
let’s obey god….
