The Fall of a King

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.

so Saul prophesied as Samuel had said with the other prophets....

so Samuel said after Saul prophesied with the other prophets that he would be turned into another man.

so after he had prophesied God gave him another heart......

1 Samuel 10:9–10 KJV 1900

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. 10 And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.

so at this point the spirit of God was with Saul and his appointment to be king of Israel.

though it was not originally the plan of God for Saul to be king…he used him for the sake of the people.

but this came with a warning to the people by Samuel......

1 Samuel 12:20–25 KJV 1900

20 And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart; 21 And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain. 22 For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people. 23 Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way: 24 Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you. 25 But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.

so despite the direction that things where going…the prophet said that God would bless them and their king if they continued to serve and follow God...

Samuel had told the people that they had sinned against God in asking for a king to rule over them.

and prophesied that God would show a sign to the people in the form of thunder and rain.

after this, Saul slew a garrison of Philistines in Geba and the Philistines came down against Israel in retaliation.

30,000 chariots and 6,000 horseman and soldiers innumerable as the sands in the sea.

so the people where so afraid of the Philistines that they hid themselves in caves and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits...

the armies of the philistines pushed israel all the way back to Gilgal.

Saul was yet in Gilgal and the people that followed him trembled.

1 Samuel 13:8 KJV 1900

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.

at this time Saul is afraid that they may not have the blessings of the Lord to protect them from the philistines.

so Saul decided to take matters into his own hands despite the direction and words of the prophet.

this came about in part because Saul slew a garrison of the philistines without finding out the directions that God had for them.

when sin takes a foot hold in our lives it brings fear and robs us of our faith and strength for fear of the enemies coming against us.

we no longer feel the hope and protection of God in our lives

condemnation begins to cause fear and doubt to take over.

the bible says that when sin is finished it bringeth for death.......

so, no matter what the situation in our lives..if we obey the word of God and serve him and wait upon his direction....God will take care of us....he will give us direction, guidance and he will sustain us.

we run into problems when we take matters into our own hands as Saul did.

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume Chapter 13

Saul appears here a very silly prince. 1. Infatuated in his counsels (v. 1–3). 2. Invaded by his neighbours (v. 4, 5). 3. Deserted by his soldiers (v. 6, 7). 4. Disordered in his own spirit, and sacrificing in confusion (v. 8–10). 5. Chidden by Samuel (v. 11–13). 6. Rejected of God from being king (v. 14). II. The people appear hear a very miserable people. 1. Disheartened and dispersed (v. 6, 7). 2. Diminished (v. 15, 16). 3. Plundered (v. 17, 18). 4. Disarmed (v. 19–23). This they got by casting off God’s government, and making themselves like the nations: all their glory departed from them.

God allowed them to reap the repercussions of their actions..to be as all other peoples, relying on their own strength without the strength of God.

so Saul, in his fear and impatience, proceeded to offer the sacrifices to God himself

1 Samuel 13:9–12 KJV 1900

9 And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. 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. 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; 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.

Saul took it upon himself to offer the sacrifices himself though he was neither priest nor prophet. but simply because he was king.

sin often causes us to make rash decisions and not according to the will of God

we see in the bible that man always gets himself in trouble by not being patient or not waiting upon the lord.....

Exodus 32:1 KJV 1900

1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

Luke 12:45–46 KJV 1900

45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; 46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

this scripture is referring to people that get tired of waiting and begin to return to their own ways and soon forget about their God.

the bible says that they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength....

meaning to be in an active service to our God according to his direction and purpose. TO SEEK HIM FIRST.

to wait upon his will and direction....to trust in the power of our God.

1 Samuel 13:13–14 KJV 1900

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. 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.

so Saul had made an oath that neither him or any man shall eat anything until the evening

1 Samuel 14:24 KJV 1900

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.

but Jonathan his son ate honey because he had not heard of the oath by his father.

after the battle, the men with him ate of the spoils of the Philistines…but ate it raw or without proper draining of the blood....God had commanded that his people should not eat anything with the blood in it.

Saul attempted to cover up their sin by intermingling the people and feeding them cooked food.

he built an alter but was a little to late.

Samuel again told Saul to go and smite Amalek.......he was to utterly destroy all of them and all of their animals....including king Agag

1 Samuel 15:1–3 KJV 1900

1 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. 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. 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.

Saul again did not obey Samuel......

1 Samuel 15:7–11 KJV 1900

7 And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. 8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 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. 10 Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying, 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.

so Samuel’s continuously did his own thing and obeyed not God.

Saul actually told Samuel that he had performed the commandment of the Lord????

1 Samuel 15:13–15 KJV 1900

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. 14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? 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.

Saul apparently still did not think he disobeyed God.....he tried defending himself despite being told what to do??

1 Samuel 15:22–23 KJV 1900

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. 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.

so Saul was being accused of being.

Rebellious

stubborn

Saul had disobeyed God in that he feared the people and obeyed their voice.

this is in essence the moral of the story......Obedience to God is more important than any kind of sacrifices we can make

we must obey God and his word rather than how we think it should be.

1 Samuel 15:24 KJV 1900

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.

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