Saul - A Double Minded Man

Introduction

I began to name this the ‘Bible Person Study’, but chose to go with the ‘Bible Character Study’. I hesitated to name it that, as I don’t want to diminish the fact that these are real people we’ll be examining. But the reason that it’s named the Bible Character Study is because we’ll be focusing on the person’s character throughout. But don’t forget that these were real people, with real lives that made real choices that had real consequences.

I. Saul’s Nature

((What is their History / Background?)

From the Tribe of Benjamin

Benjamin was the smallest of the 12 tribes, so it was odd that a King would arise from that tribe.

Secondly, you have the prophecy of Israel to contend with: Genesis 49:10 “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh come; And unto him shall the gathering of the people be.”

The kingdom was prophesied to come from the tribe of Judah

Saul was from the Tribe of Benjamin

No Notable Heritage

According to Saul, he was a nobody in the eyes of man: 1 Samuel 9:21 “And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?”

The Bible tells us: Romans 2:11 “For there is no respect of persons with God.”

I’m thankful that ‘nobody is a nobody in the eyes of God!’

God used Saul, God used David and countless others to do great things for Him!

No Notable Heritage

Anointed by the Prophet Samuel (1Sam. 10:1)

Samuel was a great man of God - dedicated unto God even prior to his birth! And God used Samuel to anoint Saul to be King.

Anointed by the Prophet Samuel

II. Saul’s Notoriety

(What they are known for?)

First Appointed King of Israel (United) (1Sam. 8-9)

We see Saul ascending the throne in Ch. 9, but what’s more important is why - and for that we must look at Ch. 8.

Saul ascended the throne because the COI rejected the LORD.

It’s a sad thing that they had God as their king, but wanted a fleshly king. But you know what? If I were to guess that if there were 3 names on the ballot in 2 weeks - Trump, Harris & God - God would get the least amount of votes! For a few reasons:

Our lack of faith causes us to trust more in flesh & blood than the Spirit of God.

We are more invested in Party Policy than Biblical Principle.

He was the First Appointed King of the united Israel

Reigned over Israel 40 years

No record in the OT

(When Paul & Barnabas were in Antioch, they said): Acts 13:18–22 “And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness. And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot. And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet. And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years. And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.”

Saul reigned for 40 years

Died by Suicide (1Sam. 31:1-6)

At the end of his reign, Saul led the Israelites against the Philistines when an unnamed archer hit him. Then he ended up killing himself.

Died by Suicide

Lost the Kingdom to Another

Saul’s reign would not end by one of his sons taking control of the kingdom & ascending the throne, as is customary and many do. He lost the kingdom unto another.

III. What Makes Him Noteworthy

(What Lessons we can Learn from them?)

Looks can be Deceiving (1Sam. 9:2; 10:23; Ps. 147:10-11)

We get the term ‘head and shoulder above the rest’ from Saul’s description. The appearance was that he was a man among boys. If you were to look at Saul, you’d say ‘well, he certainly looks the part’. But he wasn’t. In fact, he was the opposite. He was a person who was impulsive, emotional & unstable. He was a boy by personality.

In contrast, God had to even give counsel to Samual when he sent him for Saul’s replacement: 1 Samuel 16:7 “But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”

David by contrast looked like a boy among men - but just the opposite was true with him as well.

Church, we are to make judgments:

Proverbs 21:3 “To do justice and judgment Is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.”

Proverbs 21:15 “It is joy to the just to do judgment: But destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.”

However, we must be careful in our Judgments. We cannot rely on what something looks like or how we feel about it.

Remember Eve: Genesis 3:6 “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”

The fruit looked good - but it wasn’t good for her! She judged with her eyes & her wisdom, instead of relying upon the Word of God!

EVERYTHING we do, say, desire should be judged against the Word of God!

Looks can be Deceiving

You’re Remembered More for how you Finish then how you Start

As we consider the beginning of Saul’s story - he starts off ok.

He shown as obedient to his father

He’s anointed

His heart is changed & he’s prophesying with the prophets

Either humility or fear caused a somewhat rough start

He came to the aid of the men of Jabesh (1Sam. 11) - rallied the troops and whipped the Ammonites.

So Saul began pretty good. But he finished poorly.

If I were to ask you ‘what do you know of Saul’, most of this you’d probably not have mentioned. Most likely: Hunting David, trying to kill David, going to the soothsayer, falling on his sword, etc.

Because typically, you’re remembered (i.e. your LASTING IMPACT UPON OTHERS) comes from how you finish as opposed to how you start.

Now that’s bad news for a man like Saul… but it can be good news for the rest of us!

Whether we like it or not, we can’t go back to the beginning of our Christian walk and change one thing. We can try to remember the past differently, but we can’t change anything. So the way we’ve started is history - HOWEVER we have FULL CONTROL over how we finish! Because the rest of your story is being written right now - the question is not how you started, but how will you finish?

You’re Remembered more for how you FINISH than how you started.

Intention Doesn’t Relieve you of the Responsibility to Obey (1Sam. 12:14-15; 13:8-14; 15:1-28)

We see a few things:

First before he was anointed, we get a glimpse of his Spiritual condition in 1Sam. 9:5-6.

Then the wheels start to fall off in 1Sam. 13.

(Read 1Sam. 13:8-12)

According to Saul’s excuse, his intentions were good - but he didn’t obey the Word of the LORD (which he’d been warned about 1Sam. 12:14-15).

Then we see great disobedience in 1Sam. 15:1-3; 8-9.

Saul was commanded to kill everything and everyone. But that’s not what he did.

We see this interaction (Read 1Sam. 15:10-23)

Saul said that his intention was to ‘sacrifice to the LORD’ (1Sam. 15:15)

So what does all this mean? It means this: Any time you use the excuse such as ‘Well, God knows my heart’ - it does NOT excuse your disobedience to His commands!

We are commanded - not to

Think for God

Give excuse or reason to God

But to OBEY GOD!

Matthew 7:21 “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”

Matthew 12:50 “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”

Rebellion is as witchcraft God says!

Intention doesn’t aleviate our responsibility to obey

Jealousy can Drive you Mad (1Sam. 18:6-11)

As we look at the life of Saul, it’s amazing how much of an effect jealousy had on this man. David was as loyal and valuable of a servant that that man could have asked for - yet he spent years seeking to end his life!

His jealousy caused him to think irrationally. But he’s not the only example of this:

The patriarchs against Joseph:

Acts 7:9 “And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,”

The elder against the younger:

Luke 15:28–29 “And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:”

Not only does jealously cloud your mind, it demonstrates discontentment.

If we’re jealous of others, it shows that we’re not content with what God has provided for us. And if we’re not content with what He’s given us, it means we’re UNGRATEFUL TO GOD.

So Jealously is a detrimental emotion that needs be remedied.

Spiritual Instability leads to Emotional Instability which leads to Erratic & Destructive Behaviors. (1Sam. 20:24-34; 24:16-22; 26-31)

(Set the table) In our text, we see that Jonathan was on the fence as to whether his daddy wanted to kill David. But Saul then preceded to try to kill his own son!

Then Saul’s an emotional wreck trying to kill, then spare, then kill David

In the final chapters, Saul is led to his destruction.

I’ve spoken about Saul’s jealousy, but two things:

It goes deeper than that

It starts before that

Saul had spiritual issues - which LED to his emotional issues - which LED to his destructive behaviour.

Church, I think much of our emotional problems that we have in this life as Christians is rooted in Spiritual problems that need addressed. You going to be emotionally imbalanced unless you have a strong Spiritual foundation.

Many times is a lack of faith. Faith in:

God’s promises

God’s Word

God’s ability

God’s presence

etc.

BECAUSE of that, we find ourselves all over the place doing things that are simply illogical - and ultimately destructive.

This is the reason that the most important aspect of our lives are our Spiritual condition (not just lost of saved, but stable and sure)!

Spiritual instability leads to emotional instability and erratic and destructive behaviors.

Be Careful what you Ask God For (1Sam. 8; 12:6-15)

The COI wanted a king - and God gave them a king. And look at what they lost in return!

They not only got an inferior leader, but they had so much more they gave up in the trade!

There’s many people that ask God for a bunch of money. Not me. I love the psalm that says: Proverbs 30:8 “Remove far from me vanity and lies: Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with food convenient for me:”

(Ill.) I heard a man who ‘accidentally’ won the lottery - and they were so thankful for the mistake! (We’ll see how that fares 10 years from now!)

Be careful what you ask for!

Conclusion