The Reign and Ruin of Saul: The Proud 8:1 - 31:13
His Arrives on the Scene 8:1 - 15:35
He is Demanded 8:1-22
He is Determined 9:1 - 14:52
He is Doomed 15:1-35
His Arrogance and Anger begin to Surface 16:1 - 31:13
As we continue to focus on Saul and his arrogance, we learn the certainty of God judgment upon the proud and His grace for the humble.
He was Demanded by the people, but people do not see as God sees. God gave the children of Israel what they wanted to show them that what they wanted was not what they needed. In many ways we are experiencing the same thing in our country and our world today. Remember the President's words a few years ago, "It's the economy, stupid!" Turns out it is not the economy about which we should be most concerned, IT IS THE ETERNAL!
The Eternal God always has the last word and although a leader may be suave, articulate, handsome, and all the rest does not mean that he can solve the country's problems. It is what a man is inside that makes the difference, and when any man, of any country, creed or color supports and upholds what God condemns, he is weighed in the balance and found wanting - regardless of what the people want.
In chapter 15, we see a prime example of Saul's self-will, which brought God to reject his kingship over His people:
HE IS DOOMED 15:1-35
The Crown - 15:1
God had consented to give the people the king they demanded. He was, in their eyes, the right man for the job, strong, handsome, head and shoulders above others. This guy would be today's rock star for sure, BUT he was not God's choice.
The Command - 15:2-3
The Amalekites were evil people and the avowed enemies of the people of God. We must always remember that God knows the heart and you can be sure that if there had been any chance of changing these people, God would have provided the opportunity, but He knew that they would seek to change the hearts of the people of God. Hence His command to destroy them.
The Conquest -15:4-8
The job was done in Saul's eyes and heart! In fact he defends himself by saying, "...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" (vs 20) Then he proceeds by blaming the people, "But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed to sacrifice the Lord thy God in Gilgal" (vs 21). It is not my fault! I am KING, but the PEOPLE did it! Can't we understand that Leaders who will blame someone else for their failure are JUST LIKE SAUL!
The Concession - 15:9-11
"We made concession by keeping the best and destroying the rest." Saul's claim doesn't hold water with God! Partial obedience is DISOBEDIENCE with God! We cannot partially obey God and not expect to suffer the consequence of our disobedience. Our society seeks to make concessions for abortion, sexual perversion, pornography, same sex marriage and so many other things that God rejects. How do we dare ask GOD to bless what HE has already CONDEMNED?
The Confrontation - 15:12-23
It is the prophet of God that confronts the king! It should be the same today! We must speak out against the evils of our day whether or not what God says is popular! God does not seek popularity! God standard is THE STANDARD and His Word is the Plum-line! We had best stop asking if men and women accept God and start asking if God will accept these men and women.
The Conviction - 15:24-31
Saul is brought face to face with his sin! But he seeks to weasel out by asking for the prophet's help. He seeks pardon from the wrong source and seeks to once again transfer blame by using the flimsy excuse that he FEARED the people! It is like a child that says, "Mama is gonna kill me for being late, so go with me so she won't be as upset with you there".
The Conclusion - 15:32-35
Samuel refused to return with Saul! When Samuel turned away, Saul grabbed his mantle and tore it. Then Samuel tells Saul that is precisely what God has done THAT VERY DAY to Saul's Kingdom...torn it from it to give to another. He refers to the LORD as the Strength of Israel!
REMEMBER that verses 30 and 31 do give some insight into the fact that God did not reject Saul as a person, but did reject him as King of Israel. THAT is important!
So Samuel finished the Job given to the king by cutting Agag into pieces. Many a man of God has had to "clean up" after leaders who "messed up".
We discover later that Saul fell on his own sword in an attempt to take his own life. Samuel never saw Saul again after the incident with Agag, but did mourn his death and God regretted that He ever permitted Saul to be King.
"PRIDE GOES BEFORE A FALL AND A HAUGHTY SPIRIT BEFORE DESTRUCTION."
God save America!
BLESSINGS!
He was Demanded by the people, but people do not see as God sees. God gave the children of Israel what they wanted to show them that what they wanted was not what they needed. In many ways we are experiencing the same thing in our country and our world today. Remember the President's words a few years ago, "It's the economy, stupid!" Turns out it is not the economy about which we should be most concerned, IT IS THE ETERNAL!
The Eternal God always has the last word and although a leader may be suave, articulate, handsome, and all the rest does not mean that he can solve the country's problems. It is what a man is inside that makes the difference, and when any man, of any country, creed or color supports and upholds what God condemns, he is weighed in the balance and found wanting - regardless of what the people want.
In chapter 15, we see a prime example of Saul's self-will, which brought God to reject his kingship over His people:
HE IS DOOMED 15:1-35
The Crown - 15:1
God had consented to give the people the king they demanded. He was, in their eyes, the right man for the job, strong, handsome, head and shoulders above others. This guy would be today's rock star for sure, BUT he was not God's choice.
The Command - 15:2-3
The Amalekites were evil people and the avowed enemies of the people of God. We must always remember that God knows the heart and you can be sure that if there had been any chance of changing these people, God would have provided the opportunity, but He knew that they would seek to change the hearts of the people of God. Hence His command to destroy them.
The Conquest -15:4-8
The job was done in Saul's eyes and heart! In fact he defends himself by saying, "...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" (vs 20) Then he proceeds by blaming the people, "But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed to sacrifice the Lord thy God in Gilgal" (vs 21). It is not my fault! I am KING, but the PEOPLE did it! Can't we understand that Leaders who will blame someone else for their failure are JUST LIKE SAUL!
The Concession - 15:9-11
"We made concession by keeping the best and destroying the rest." Saul's claim doesn't hold water with God! Partial obedience is DISOBEDIENCE with God! We cannot partially obey God and not expect to suffer the consequence of our disobedience. Our society seeks to make concessions for abortion, sexual perversion, pornography, same sex marriage and so many other things that God rejects. How do we dare ask GOD to bless what HE has already CONDEMNED?
The Confrontation - 15:12-23
It is the prophet of God that confronts the king! It should be the same today! We must speak out against the evils of our day whether or not what God says is popular! God does not seek popularity! God standard is THE STANDARD and His Word is the Plum-line! We had best stop asking if men and women accept God and start asking if God will accept these men and women.
The Conviction - 15:24-31
Saul is brought face to face with his sin! But he seeks to weasel out by asking for the prophet's help. He seeks pardon from the wrong source and seeks to once again transfer blame by using the flimsy excuse that he FEARED the people! It is like a child that says, "Mama is gonna kill me for being late, so go with me so she won't be as upset with you there".
The Conclusion - 15:32-35
Samuel refused to return with Saul! When Samuel turned away, Saul grabbed his mantle and tore it. Then Samuel tells Saul that is precisely what God has done THAT VERY DAY to Saul's Kingdom...torn it from it to give to another. He refers to the LORD as the Strength of Israel!
REMEMBER that verses 30 and 31 do give some insight into the fact that God did not reject Saul as a person, but did reject him as King of Israel. THAT is important!
So Samuel finished the Job given to the king by cutting Agag into pieces. Many a man of God has had to "clean up" after leaders who "messed up".
We discover later that Saul fell on his own sword in an attempt to take his own life. Samuel never saw Saul again after the incident with Agag, but did mourn his death and God regretted that He ever permitted Saul to be King.
"PRIDE GOES BEFORE A FALL AND A HAUGHTY SPIRIT BEFORE DESTRUCTION."
God save America!
BLESSINGS!
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