Preached Sunday, October 10, 2010
from
1 Samuel 15:22-23

Theme: God may remove us from the privileges and blessing in His grace if we refuse to act in faithful obedience to His commands.

(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

This morning, I draw your attention to the story of the very first of the Old Testament kings of Israel—King Saul. And I’d like to begin by reading the words from the Bible that—I believe—best sum up his sad and tragic story.

These words of rebuke were spoken to Saul by God’s prophet Samuel at the most important turning point in the king’s life. Please listen to them carefully. They read as follows:

So Samuel said:

“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
He also has rejected you from being king” (1 Samuel 15:22-23).

The story that leads us to those words is one that takes us from King Saul’s ascension by God’s grace into a position rule over God’s people, all the way down to his rejection from that honored position because of his constant unfaithfulness and rebelliousness. His life has an important lesson to teach us—and these words that I’ve just read sum up that lesson to us very well.

* * * * * * * * * *

Think about those stunning words: “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” They warn us of how subtle and self-deceptive the sins of rebellion and stubbornness before God can be. And we don’t always recognize those sins for what they are, because they can be easily disguised in our minds as acts of worship and devotion to God.

There are those who call themselves Christians, and who profess to love God and hold to His word, but who show by their actions that they—in reality—are in rebellion against God and His authority in their lives. Their true nature shows up in the fact that, even though they know exactly what God says to do, they won’t do what He says . . . or, even more subtly, won’t do it in the specific way He says to do it. They fool themselves into thinking that, under the circumstances, they know a better thing to do than what God commanded—or a better way to do it than He said. They can even get themselves to the point of thinking that they’re actually performing acts of devotion that God should be pleased with—because, in their minds, they’re doing things God wanted, but doing “better” than even God said He wanted done.

As this passage warns us, the true nature of such acts can be easily hidden by the fact that they involve outwardly religious acts—the making of “burnt offerings and sacrifices”. But God is not fooled. They remain in His sight what they really are—nothing in the world but acts of open disobedience and rebellion. Even though they may be covered-over with a religious veneer, God declares such acts of rebellion against His rightful authority to be as repulsive to Himself as the sin of witchcraft! They are acts of stubbornness toward God’s commands that, as far as He is concerned, are as hateful to Him as acts of iniquity and open idolatry!

Such actions characterized Saul—the first Old Testament king over the people of Israel. And the final verdict on his life from God’s prophet was this: “Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.” He had ascended to a position of honor in God’s favor; but he lost it all because of His consistent rebellion and stubbornness and refusal to do before God what God had command to him—a refusal that dared to masquerade as acts of worship.

And I believe, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, that God wants us to begin our study of the Old Testament kings by considering Saul’s life very carefully—and learning this important ‘foundational’ lesson from the life of the very first of Israel’s kings. We must never think that, just because we have been the recipients of His grace, we don’t need to do as He tells us. We too can be removed by God from a position of privilege and blessedness in His grace if we refuse to act in faithful obedience to His commands.

* * * * * * * * * *

Now; let’s step back and remember why it was that Israel had begun to have kings in the first place. As you may recall from our time together last week, it was because the people of Israel had themselves rebelled against God.

For the first 400 years of their history—from the time God delivered them from their captivity in Egypt to the time they had fully occupied the land He had given them—they had no king at all. They were wonderfully ruled over by God Himself who had faithfully provided for their needs, and had powerfully fought their battles for them, and who had graciously raised up judges to deliver them from their troubles and teach them His way.

One of the greatest of these judges was godly old Samuel. But in the time of his ministry to them, the people of Israel began to grow discontented with God’s faithful rule. They told Samuel, “. . . [W]e will have a king over us, that we may also be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles” (1 Samuel 8:19-20). What a sad and fateful demand that was! And in answer to it, God permitted them to reject His rule and gave them what they wanted instead—even though it would prove to be very bad for them.

Saul—the man from the tribe of Benjamin—was the man He gave them.

But I believe it’s important to remember that, at the time that He gave Saul to them, God also let the people know how He felt about their request. After Samuel had presented Saul to them, he said,

“Now therefore, stand and see this great thing which the LORD will do before your eyes: Is today not the wheat harvest? I will call to the LORD, and He will send thunder and rain, that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking a king for yourselves” (1 Samuel 12:16-17).

Wheat harvest was a very dry time of year. To have thunder and rain at that time—and particularly on the very day that Samuel called for it from God—would clearly have been a miracle.

So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel. And all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of asking a king for ourselves” (vv. 18-19).

They got the point! But note also how God promises to show mercy to them—even though they chose a king over Him.

Then Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing. For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you His people. Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way. Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king” (vv. 20-25).

If they would keep true to Him, God would still bless them—even though they had rebelled against Him in choosing a king. I’m so glad that God is good to us too—even though we often disobey Him. And yet, how much greater God’s blessings in our lives would be if we didn’t rebel against Him in the first place!

* * * * * * * * * *

Now; it’s in that context that the story of Saul begins. And I point this out because not only was God gracious to the people of Israel, but He was also gracious to the man He permitted them to have as their king. He raised Saul up from being a nobody, to becoming the king of Israel.

So; let’s begin by considering . . .

1. SAUL’S ASCENSION TO A POSITION OF HONOR BEFORE GOD.

I see this told to us in three key points in the “ascension” side of Saul’s life. First, it’s told to us in the way God called him from humble beginnings. We’re told;

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. And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people (1 Samuel 9:1-2).

Saul was tall, good-looking, and born into a wealthy family. But he was by no means a ‘natural-born leader’. The Bible tells us that Saul’s father sent him and one of his servants out to look for some lost donkeys; and in the course of their search, they came to Samuel “the Seer”—hoping that he would tell them where the lost donkeys were. But God had already told Samuel that Saul was the man He had chosen to be given to Israel as their king.

What a surprise it must have been to this young man Saul, when Samuel met him and told him to come to the high place with him and eat. He assured him that his father’s donkeys were safe. And then said, “And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on your father’s house?” (v. 20). This came as an even greater surprise to Saul. He said, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?” (v. 21).

Later the next day, as Saul and the servant were returning home, Samuel told Saul to send his servant up ahead so he could give Saul a word from God. And when they were alone, we’re told;

Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said: “Is it not because the LORD has anointed you commander over His inheritance? When you have departed from me today, you will find two men by Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys which you went to look for have been found. And now your father has ceased caring about the donkeys and is worrying about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”’ Then you shall go on forward from there and come to the terebinth tree of Tabor. There three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall receive from their hands. After that you shall come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is. And it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying. Then the Spirit of the LORD will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. And let it be, when these signs come to you, that you do as the occasion demands; for God is with you. You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do” (10:1-8).

The Bible tells us that as Saul went, “God gave him another heart” (v. 9). And everything that Samuel promised would happen came to pass! The Spirit of God even fell on Saul, and he prophesied with the group of prophets. It came as a surprise to all who heard about it; and they said, “What is that that has come upon the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” (v. 11).

* * * * * * * * * * *

I don’t believe we should take this remarkable work of the Holy Spirit to mean the same thing as the salvation of Saul’s soul. Rather, I believe it means that, whereas he was not much of a leader before, God’s Holy Spirit came upon him and began the work in him that would make him a courageous leader to his people. God gave him a new heart—that is, the heart of a ruler. We see this clearly in the next important phase in his ascension—the way God commissioned him before the people.

Saul made no boast about having been anointed king. In fact, he went home and didn’t tell anyone about it. And soon afterwards, Samuel called all the people together; and we read that he told them;

“Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all kingdoms and from those who oppressed you.’ But you have today rejected your God, who Himself saved you from all your adversities and your tribulations; and you have said to Him, ‘No, set a king over us!’ Now therefore, present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your clans.” And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was chosen. And Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they sought him, he could not be found. Therefore they inquired of the LORD further, “Has the man come here yet?” And the LORD answered, “There he is, hidden among the equipment” (10:18-22).

Imagine that! That’s how they were introduced to their new king! They had to go find him; because he was so bashful and fearful that he was hiding from everyone! What kind of leadership could anyone expect from a man like that?

So they ran and brought him from there; and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?” So all the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!” (vv. 23-24).

He was declared to be their king. And the people admired him for being handsome and tall. But clearly, if he was going to rule God’s people, it wouldn’t be by his own power!

* * * * * * * * * * *

But the work of the Holy Spirit that had been begun in him—the work to give him the heart of a leader and make him a new man—was about to show itself. It was demonstrated in the way he rose to the challenge of leadership.

Some time after his commission before the people, the armies of the Philistines threatened to humiliate and enslave one of the clans of the people of Israel. Saul was out working his oxen when he heard of this; and the Bible says,

Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard this news, and his anger was greatly aroused. So he took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not go out with Saul and Samuel to battle, so it shall be done to his oxen.” And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent. When he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand (11:6-8).

Where’s the shy, timid, reclusive Saul now? Suddenly, he was as courageous and kingly as he was handsome and tall! God—as Saul himself declared—”accomplished a great salvation in Israel” that day (v. 13). God had graciously called him, commissioned him, and enabled him to rise to the challenge of leadership.

* * * * * * * * * *

Now; after that, the people might have expected great things from such a man. They might have thought that choosing a king wasn’t such a bad thing after all. He was as tall and handsome a man as could be found; and now, he had proven himself to be a great military leader.

But there was a serious character flaw in this strikingly handsome new king. He was not faithful to obey the things that God commanded him to do. And in the end, he proved to be a liability—and a living illustration of how someone can be rejected from a position of honor before God when they refuse to act in faithful obedience to His commands.

Note, then . . .

2. SAUL’S REJECTION BECAUSE OF HIS DISOBEDIENCE TO GOD.

We see this in another three important crisis moments of Saul’s life. The first was when he refused to wait on God’s appointed servant.

It happened during a serious conflict with the Philistines. The people of Israel were gathered at Gilgal—the place where Samuel had told Saul to wait for seven days until Samuel himself came to offer burnt offerings, and make sacrifices of peace offerings, and show Saul what God would want him to do. The people of Israel were greatly outnumbered; and because the Philistines held control over the blacksmiths of the land, the Israelites had no swords or spears. But this should have caused Saul and his people to remember the many times God Himself had fought for them in the past.

The Bible tells us;

Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. So Saul said, “Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.” And he offered the burnt offering (13:8-9).

This seems like a very religious thing to do, doesn’t it? It’s true that it wasn’t what Samuel said to do; and yet shouldn’t God be pleased? But no sooner did he finish the offering than Samuel came upon the scene.

And Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.” And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you” (vv. 11-14).

We might be tempted to think that Saul’s act wasn’t such a bad thing. After all, he was simply making an offering to the Lord. But his doing so was, in actuality, an act of disobedience to God’s clear word to him. This was a test of his obedience—to see whether or not he would keep God’s word; and he failed the test. Now, Saul had set into motion the events that would lead God to put someone else in his place.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Now; I have often speculated that God might have forgiven Saul if he had simply confessed his sin of presumption and repented. But we have no indication that Saul did so; and this shows us, I believe, something of the true nature of his heart. It had been changed by God for bold leadership; but he himself had not softened it unto humble obedience. He did not have God’s interest at heart, but sought his own agenda instead. And this is shown to us very clearly in the next great crisis of his life—where he was ruled-over by his own interests.

As the battle with the Philistines waged on, God used Saul’s faithful son Jonathan to defeat them. Jonathan and his armor-bearer were able—by faith in God’s help—to make their way into the Philistine ranks and kill about twenty men within a half-acre area. And as they did so, God caused a great earthquake to occur in the Philistine camp, set them in a panic and confusion, and caused them to turn their swords on one another! God turned it out to the Israelites’ advantage that only the Philistines had blacksmiths; because the Philistines ended up using their newly-sharpened swords on themselves!

Jonathan was a great hero of faith. And through him, God proved once again that He was able to bring about the victory for His people. But what did Saul do? The Bible tells us;

And the men of Israel were distressed that day, for Saul had placed the people under oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food until evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food. Now all the people of the land came to a forest; and there was honey on the ground. And when the people had come into the woods, there was the honey, dripping; but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath (14:24-26).

What a foolish oath this was! As a result, Saul’s army was weakened by hunger at a time when they most needed their strength. And did you notice his motive? He said no one was to eat any food until evening “before I have taken vengeance on my enemies” (v. 24; emphasis added).

Jonathan didn’t know about this foolish oath, and he ate honey along the way. And as a result, Saul purposed to slay his own son—until the people prudently stopped Saul from putting to death the great military hero of the day!

* * * * * * * * * *

God had announced that He would remove Saul from his position of authority; and already, the people were beginning to question his wisdom. Then comes the final and very tragic act of disobedience that led to Saul’s complete rejection—where he openly rebelled against the command of God.

God commanded Saul to fulfill his role as king over the people; and execute judgment on the Amalekite people. They had, long ago, mercilessly attacked the people of Israel when they were tired and weary after having been delivered from bondage in Egypt (see Exodus 17:8-16; Deuteronomy 25:17-19). God told Saul very specifically;

“Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey” (1 Samuel 15:3).

The command was plain. But Saul did not do as God had commanded. Perhaps he thought that God’s command was too extreme. Perhaps he thought that he knew better than God what should be done. Perhaps he thought that he knew a better way to do it. In any case, the Bible tells us;

And Saul attacked the Amalekites, from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt. He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed (vv. 7-9).

God told Samuel that He greatly regretted setting Saul up as king. It wasn’t that God had made a mistake. Rather, the people made the mistake in demanding a king over God’s rule; and God regretted that they did so and had to suffer the consequence of having such a disobedient man as their ruler. And Samuel himself wept all night long before the Lord because of the Lord’s expressed regret.

The next morning, Samuel went out to confront Saul. When Saul saw him, he hypocritically declared, “Blessed are you of the LORD! I have performed the commandment of the LORD” (v. 13). He was very disobedient and rebellious to God—but was able to make it seem in his own mind like a great act of worship that he kept that which God commanded to be destroyed.

Samuel didn’t buy it, though. He said;

“What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.” Then Samuel said to Saul, “Be quiet! And I will tell you what the LORD said to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak on.” So Samuel said, “When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel? Now the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the LORD?” And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal” (vv. 14-21).

What excuses! What rationalizations! What blame-casting! It was nothing but rebellion; but Saul tried to make it sound like a great, noble act of worship. How deceitful the human heart can be! And it was then that Samuel uttered those sad words that we began with this morning:

“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
He also has rejected you from being king” (vv. 22-23).

The story gets even more pathetic and gruesome from there. Saul pleaded and begged that Samuel would at least give the appearance of honoring him before the people. But Samuel makes it clear that the time of repentance had past; and that God would now tear the kingdom from Saul and give it to another who was “better”.

What’s more, Samuel further exposed Saul’s rebelliousness by doing what Saul refused to do. He called King Agag to be brought to him; and when Agag made an appeal to Samuel that everyone, you might say, “bury the hatchet”, Samuel most decisively does so—with what may have been Agag’s own sword!

* * * * * * * * * *

Saul was graciously given a position of honor from God over His people. God raised him up from obscurity and humble beginnings, and set him up as king. He didn’t have to do anything to earn that position of favor and honor. He was not, in and of himself, worthy of it in the least. God gave it to him as a gracious gift; and so long as he was still little in his own eyes, God was able to continue showing him His favor. And in that respect, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, you and I are like Saul. We too are in a position of favor before God by grace. We have been declared to be His sons and daughters; and we made co-regents with His Son Jesus Christ.

But let’s learn the lesson from Saul’s sad story. Let’s not be prideful. Let’s not be haughty. Let’s not be rebellious. Let’s not be stubborn. Let’s not forget that, though we have been raised by God to a position of honor through His grace, we can still nevertheless be brought down from the privileges and blessings of that position if we refuse to act in genuine, heart-felt, sincere, faithful obedience to His commands. I certainly don’t mean to say that a genuine believer can lose his or her salvation—but we will certainly lose the rewards of His favor, and the opportunities of service.

And I must also say a word to those who have—thus far—refused to confess their sin and believed on Jesus as Savior and Lord. There’s a lesson in Saul’s story for you too. God has given a command to cease from trying to earn your favor before Him by your good works, and to humbly believe on His Son. “This is the work of God”, Jesus once said, “that you believe in Him whom He sent” (John 6:29). Don’t rebel against that command. Don’t think—as Saul did—that religious acts of pretend worship will make up for disobedience to the vital command to trust God’s Son’s sacrifice on the cross for you. As Jesus warned, “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and one many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:22-23).

Even such outward acts of worship and devotion, when done in a spirit of stubbornness and rebellion toward God’s commands, are as repulsive to Him the sins of witchcraft, and iniquity, and idolatry. May God help us to prove ourselves to be a truly saved people by the fact that we remain—until the day we die—a people who faithfully both ‘trust’ and ‘obey’.