[Chris has given me permission to edit and upload his script. He wishes to express his indebtedness to John Woodhouse commentary on 1 Samuel.]
We expect a lot of our leaders, and rightly so. Good leadership is important. Good leadership means security, safety, and a space to flourish, but bad leadership will allow wickedness to flourish.
But our leaders aren’t Messiahs. They won’t solve all our problems. Even the real and true Messiah, Jesus Christ, didn’t come to solve all our problems in this life, but to die for our sins and bring us into the next life.
However, leadership matters. If the head stinks, so does the whole fish, and the whole lot has to be thrown out.
Israel knew the importance of having a good leader.
So far in 1 Samuel we've seen God's people suffer under the corrupt leadership of Eli and his sons (1 Samuel 2). The people want a leader who will save them from the Philistines (1 Samuel 4-6). In this situation, Samuel emerges as a godly and effect leader (1 Samuel 1, 3, 7).
But Samuel is now old. His sons are corrupt. So Israel is worried about the succession plan (1 Samuel 8:5). Who will lead Israel after Samuel is gone? Who will save Israel from the Philistines?
Last week, we saw Israel’s solution. 1 Samuel chapter 8 verse 5:
You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have. (NIV)
We can sympathise with Israel. A good leader is important, someone who has the national interest at heart, a leaders who'll protect Israel from her enemies.
But Samuel does not sympathise at all with Israel’s request. Because God is King. God gave Israel the land as a gift. God saved them in the past. But Israel wants to be like the nations. So they reject God as their king.
Surprisingly, God decides to grant their sinful request. 1 Samuel chapter 8 verse 7:
Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king (NIV)
So the big question is, ‘Who will be King?’It must be a man that God chooses. So who will God choose? (Deuteronomy 17:15).
Today, we are looking at Saul, the first King of Israel. We will look at Saul’s rise, in chapters 9 to 11. And then we’ll see Saul’s fall in chapter 15. We first meet Saul in 1 Samuel chapter 9 verses 1 to 2:
There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish ... He had a son named Saul, an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites - a head taller than any of the others. (NIV)
Saul is physically impressive. Saul is tall. US Presidential candidates always want to be taller than their opponent. A strapping young man, Saul could play second row for the Wallabies.
It’s a great feature for leading an army into battle. Where a we going… we’re following Saul… you can see his head up the front.
Even Saul’s name is special. Names often have a meaning. So ‘George’ means farmer and ‘Sarah’ means 'princess'. Likewise, Saul's name means ‘asked for’. Given that Israel has been asking for a leader, Saul looks like the man!
Chapter 9 recounts how God sovereignly worked to bring Saul into Samuel's path. In verse 3, Saul is sent by his dad on a mission to bring back some stray donkeys. Saul’s search leads him to Samuel. But this is no coincidence. God has sovereignly arranged the meeting. 1 Samuel chapter 9 verses 15 to 16:
Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed this to Samuel: ‘About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him leader over my people Israel; he will deliver my people from the hand of the Philistines.’ (NIV)
This wasn't just a mission to look for lost donkeys. God brought Saul to Samuel so Samuel could anoint him leader over God's people. 1 Samuel chapter 10 verse 1:
Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him, saying, "Has not the LORD anointed you leader over his inheritance? (NIV)
Saul is called to lead God's people. The fruitless search for the donkeys has born unexpected fruit.
As Isaiah and Paul both say, ‘I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.’ (Isaiah 65:1; Romans 10:20 NIV)
God's word powerfully makes ordinary people extraordinary. Saul was sent out with a servant to find stray donkeys. But he encountered God's word, and would never be the same again.
This experience is not reserved for the special, the elite. All of God’s people know something of his powerful life changing word.
[Chris: Before I was a Christian, I was going about my business trying to establish a career in academia, get some savings together, planning some world travel. Then God's word came in and completely changed the direction of my life. Now I'm studying at Moore College training to read and understand God's word better to serve others. And we all have our own story, how God grabbed us and brought us to himself.]
At this stage, Saul's anointing is secret. Only Saul and Samuel know. The news is made public during Saul’s coronation at Mitzpah. 1 Samuel chapter 10 verses 23 to 24:
...[A]s he (Saul) stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see the man the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people." Then the people shouted, "Long live the king!" (NIV)
Saul is a big strong man. The people want a King. God chose Saul, the ‘Asked For’ King. And the people like what they see. But this is a King under law. This is a constitutional monarchy. So 1 Samuel chapter 10 verse 25:
Samuel explained to the people the regulations of the kingship. He wrote them down on a scroll and deposited it before the LORD. (NIV)
The people thought they were getting a king like the other nations. But Saul is only to be a king under the word of God. King or no King, God rules his people by his word.
Saul went home to Gibeah. He was accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched. (1 Samuel 10:26). But at this stage the crowd is divided. Some troublemakers said, ‘How can this fellow save us?’ (1 Samuel 10:27).
By doubting Saul they doubt God. Because God chose Saul. So these troublemakers add sin upon sin. By asking for the King in the first place, they rejected God. And now by rejecting the King God chose, they reject God again.
God answers these doubts emphatically in chapter 11. God has no trouble saving by Saul, his chosen instrument. A crisis has been brewing in the Israelite town of Jabesh Gilead. Nahash the Ammonite King has besieged Jabesh Gilead (1 Samuel 11:1). And the Israelites in the town see their only option is a treaty and subjugation to Nahash.
What is their first instinct when the threat materializes? Do they cry out to God? Do they send for Saul, the new leader appointed by God to defeat Israel's enemies?
No. They do neither of these things. Their solution is to surrender and ask Nahash to be their king. Like the troublemakers, Jabesh Gilead doubt that God's appointed leader can save them.
But it is worse even than that. Nahash the Ammonite says that a condition of the treaty is that he gouge out the right eye of every person in the town and so bring disgrace on all Israel.
A pathetic surrender followed by violent humiliation of God's people. Again, they don't cry out to God for salvation. Rather, they request a seven-day reprieve to see if there is a saviour in Israel. And in a sick game of cat and mouse, the arrogant Ammonite king lets them.
The messengers eventually come to Gibeah of Saul. The people there weep at the news, but no-one bothers to find Saul. Indeed, Saul himself doesn’t seem to have taken the whole King thing very seriously. 1 Samuel chapter 11 verse 5:
Just then Saul was returning from the fields, behind his oxen…
What is Saul up to? He’s not training up the valiant men. He’s not preparing to fight Israel's enemies. He’s gone back to being the farmer that he was before. Saul shows little initiative to do the job he has been chosen by God to do.
But something happens that changes that. 1 Samuel chapter 11 verse 6:
When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he burned with anger. (NIV)
Saul by himself doesn’t possess the initiative or leadership instincts to do the job. But God takes initiative and changes the situation. The Spirit comes upon Saul and spurs him into action. With God’s enabling power, and by the Holy Spirit, God’s chosen leader starts on the task he’s been anointed to do. Saul gathers the army and prepares for battle. God will use his king to passionately protect his people. 1 Samuel chapter 11 verse 11:
The next day Saul separated his men into three divisions; during the last watch of the night they broke into the camp of the Ammonites and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together. (NIV)
The farmer wins the war. God can use whoever he wants to fight the good fight and win the war. He can even use you.
Christians are at war. We have an enemy. It is not a flesh and blood enemy, like an Ammonite King. We have a spiritual enemy. Our spiritual war is with Satan and his forces.
How do we fight such a war? It is not with the weapons of the world. It is not a literal and physical war against other people. We fight with spiritual weapons against a spiritual enemy. Our weapons are righteousness and the word of God. So we live Christian lives the best we can and proclaim the good news about Jesus Christ. That’s how we fight.
But importantly, we fight our war knowing that the decisive battle has already been won. The success or failure of God's Kingdom doesn't rest on us. God's King, the Lord Jesus Christ, has already defeated the powers of Satan for us. For at the cross, Jesus has saved us from the power of Satan, by taking the condemnation that our sins deserve, so Satan has no accusation that sticks. And when Jesus Christ rose again, he defeated Satan who has held over us our fear of death, for Jesus showed his power over death.
The God who saved Jabesh through his king and Christ Saul has offered to save all of us through his King and Christ Jesus.
Israel questioned Saul's ability to save: ‘How can this man save us?’ Our world questions Jesus, too. ‘How can this man, Jesus, save us?’
But Jesus has demonstrated his ability to save. Jesus’ death and resurrection shows that he is mighty to save. He has proved that he is willing and able to save us, by dying and rising again. And all you need to do is accept Jesus Christ as your King, admitting you have rebelled against God as King, saying sorry and asking for forgiveness, and for the rest of your days, get off the throne of your life, and live with Jesus Christ as your King.
The salvation God worked through Saul at Jabesh Gilead is, unfortunately, the high point of Saul’s Kingship. Saul saved Israel by crushing Ammon. But sadly, this success shows how far Saul falls.
Chapters 13 and 14 reveal Saul's disobedience and foolishness. But the low point is chapter 15. Chapter 15 will define Saul's kingship as one of failure.
In 1 Samuel 15, Samuel again brings God's word to Saul. 1 Samuel chapter 15 verses 2 to 3:
This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’ (NIV)
And of course, this is genocide, and we believe that genocide is evil. And it is evil for us. We do not live in a time when the theocratic state is God’s instrument of wrath. We live in a time when God is patiently waiting for people to repent and treat Jesus Christ properly. But conducting holy war and wiping out the Amalekites is not evil for Saul. For Saul and Israel in the Old Testament were God’s instrument of wrath. Just as God now can use a Tsuanami, or an earthquake, to wipe out whole areas of people, men, women and children – for his own just reasons – so God can also use the Old Testament nation he appointed to be a holy nation, to visit his judgment on wickedness and evil.
What God did to the Amalekites, God does every 120 years or so to the whole population of the earth. For within 120 years, God will wipe every last human living today from the face of the earth - men, women and children. With the Amalekites, God just compressed the time frame and stipulated the means.
God made Saul King. Saul must obey God’s word. The Amalekites were always hostile to Israel. And the day had finally come for God's judgment to fall on them (Deuteronomy 25:17-19).
God's wrath and the punishment we deserve is terrifying. We must not lessen the horror of this command - wipe them out. But there’s something more terrifying. The judgment God worked through Saul on the Amalekites points to another judgment guaranteed to fall. Acts chapter 17 verse 31:
For he [God] has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead. (NIV)
Jesus in his first coming came in humility and meekness. But such will not be his second coming. Consider Revelation chapter 19 verses 11 to 16:
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.”He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. (NIV)
And that fearsome and powerful warrior, who will wage war in a robe dipped in blood, with a sword coming out of his mouth, is Jesus Christ. God has appointed another King, Jesus Christ, to judge the world and carry out his fierce wrath. The day of judgment is coming. And if you don't believe that the God of love is also a God of wrath, you don't believe the God of the bible.
Those submitting to Jesus’ Lordship will be saved, but those who reject Jesus, have rejected God's King, and they will suffer the horrible consequences.
The wrong response to this is to question God's King or curse the holy and righteous judgment of God. The right response is to ask God for mercy and submit to his appointed King, Jesus Christ, before it's too late.
Jesus is the judge, but Jesus is also the saviour. So the apostle John says, in John chapter 3 verse 36:
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him. (NIV)
How have you responded to the King? It's a matter of eternal life or eternal death, heaven or hell.
Saul’s mission was clear. Total destruction. But Saul fails to obey God's Word. 1 Samuel chapter 15 verse 9:
... Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs – everything that was good. (NIV)
Saul disobeyed God's Word. And Saul’s argument with Samuel shows us how deceptive and corrupting sin is. When Samuel confronts Saul with his sin, listen to what Saul says. 1 Samuel chapter 15 verses 20 to 21:
But I did obey the LORD, ... I went on the mission the LORD assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal. (NIV)
Saul uses two old and familiar tactics: denial and blame shifting. We can almost hear Saul’s defiant and outraged protest. ‘But I did obey the Lord’, even though it is blatantly obvious he hasn't. I'm not guilty! That’s the denial. Then comes the blame shifting. Besides, it wasn't me who took the sheep and cattle as plunder. It was the soldiers! It’s their fault not mine!
How many of our relationships suffer because we refuse to accept responsibility for our wrong actions? Conflict would resolve much quicker if denial was replaced with confession and apology.
Often, we are utterly sincere in our belief that we are innocent. But such is the power of sin. Sin deceives us into thinking that we are never the guilty ones. It’s everyone else, but me.
Sin's deception damages our relationships. Most importantly, it jeopardises our relationship with God.
Do you really believe that you are guilty before God outside of Christ? Do you really think that you need forgiveness. The bible tells us this, of course. But do you believe it applies to your case.
This is one reason why we say a confession together every week. It's not because we sin in the week, lose our forgiveness, and so must come back to be forgiven all over again. A Christian is always dependent on the forgiveness of God, moment by moment, day by day, and the Christian life is the forgiven life of God’s children lived before God. But we say the general confession each week to remind us of our sinfulness and our need for forgiveness. And a danger of not having such a reminder, is that sooner or later sin would quickly deceive us into thinking we aren't all that sinful after all, and that we’ve moved beyond needing God’s forgiveness, and we’ve graduated from the Lord’s prayer, which asks for both our daily bread and forgiveness for our daily sins.
So have you accepted God's verdict on each one of us, that we are, each on of us, sinners, and that even as Christians we still have sinful thoughts, words and deeds? Such a confession is liberating. In the face of such a confession to God, sin and guilt loses it’s power over us. Such a confession allows us to receive the wonderful blessings of forgiveness of sin.
Saul’s first instinct when accused of sin was denial and blame shifting. But he was guilty of disobeying God's Word. And sadly, this disobedience was the reason for his failure as King. 1 Samuel chapter 15 verse 23:
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king. (NIV)
Saul had some admirable leadership qualities. He was physically impressive. With God's enabling, Saul could get the job done.
But at the end of the day, Saul’s sin disqualified him from leadership. In Saul, we see the deceptive, corrupting power of sin, a power that plagues any and every form of human leadership.
We are cynical about our human leaders. Sin is the reason why even the best of them will eventually let us down.
We need a greater leader than the likes of Saul. Saul’s failure points us to that leader. Saul’s disobedience points us to the King who was and is perfectly obedient – even to death on the cross.
Jesus is the real leader we need.
Let’s pray.