1 Samuel 15; Obey the “Qol” of the Lord pt. 2

Introduction

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We have all watched sports and seen a bad call. Some of us might be tempted to say something like, “You’re missing a good match ref.” while holding up a pair of fake glasses.

On June 19, 2004 Tim Sylvia and Frank Mir fight at UFC 48 for the heavy weight championship. Tim Sylvia: 6’8, 263 lbs, 18-0. Frank Mir: 6’3, 253 lbs, 8-1. Two titans going head to head. The fight began with a few kicks and knees exchanged before Tim Sylvia shot for the double leg take down. Sylvia took Mir down and began to fight for the front guard. Mir is a black belt in Kempo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He was able to get Sylvia’s right arm and being to put him in an arm bar from the ground. Sylvia stood up to attempt to loose the arm bar or slam Mir.

Well a mere 38 seconds into the fight, at a pivotal moment, the referee Herb Dean stepped in. He called an end to the fight right then. Both men were confused. Herb Dean said “Stop” six times and had to say “The fight is over” twice before the men obeyed Herb’s command to stop fighting. Why did he stop the fight?

The crowd began to boo Herb’s decision to end the fight for what looked like no reason at all. The fight had just begun. The announcers were confused. They were giving the referee the benefit of the doubt, but they were seemingly confused. The Nevada state athletic commission doctor even examined Tim’s elbow and shoulder to verify there was no injury. He was fine.

Frank Mir went over to Tim Sylvia and said we will fight again. Sylvia said lets fight right now. He didn’t want to stop the fight. He was still ready to go. The fighters even began to go back to their respective corners to restart the fight. No one understood why Herb Dean would make such a call.

While all this confusion was going on, the announcers went back to the replay. The replay clearly showed that Tim Sylvia’s forearm snapped during the fight. His arm was indeed broken. Herb’s call to stop the fight them saved Tim Sylvia’s arm from more serious damage.

Need

Referees, umpires, and officials can miss the most obvious calls. Angel Hernandez, right? But there is one judge that does miss anything. He isn’t partial. He’s not lacking any wisdom or knowledge. No, He is the judge of all the earth. We need to listen and obey the “qol” of the Lord.

Topic

Obedience to God’s "qol”

Referent

1 Samuel 15

Organization

The Qol of the Lord and the Qol of the Laity

Read 1 Samuel 15:1-10 and pray

Sermon in a sentence:

I will obey the call of the Lord

William Garden Blaikie pg 64

The Expositor’s Bible, Volume 2: Samuel to Job Chapter XXI: The Final Rejection of Saul (1 Samuel 15)

Throughout the whole of this chapter, God appears in that more stern and rigorous aspect of His character which is not agreeable to the natural heart of man. Judgment, we are told, is His strange work; it is not what He delights in; but it is a work which He cannot fail to perform when the necessity for it arises. There is a gospel which is often preached in our day that divests God wholly of the rigid, judicial character; it clothes Him with no attributes but those of kindness and love; it presents Him in a countenance ever smiling, never stern. It maintains that the great work of Christ in the world was to reveal this paternal aspect of God’s character, to convince men of His fatherly feelings towards them, and to divest their minds of all those conceptions of indignation and wrath with which our minds are apt to clothe Him, and which the theologies of men are so ready to foster. But this is a gospel that says, Peace! peace! when there is no peace. The Gospel of Jesus Christ does indeed reveal, and reveal very beautifully, the paternal character of God; but it reveals at the same time that judicial character which insists on the execution of His law. That God will execute wrath on the impenitent and unbelieving is just as much a feature of the Gospel as that He will bestow all the blessings of salvation and eternal life on them that believe. What the Gospel reveals respecting the sterner, the judicial, aspect of God’s character is, that there is no bitterness in His anger against sinners; there is nothing in God’s breast of that irritation and impatience which men are so apt to show when their fellow-men have offended them; God’s anger is just. The calm, settled opposition of His nature to sin is the feeling that dictates the sentence “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” The Gospel is indeed a glorious manifestation of the love and grace of God for sinners, but it is not an indiscriminate assurance of grace for all sinners; it is an offer of grace to all who believe on God’s Son, but it is an essential article of the Gospel that without faith in Christ the saving love and grace of God cannot be known. Instead of reducing the character of God to mere good-nature, the Gospel brings His righteousness more prominently forward than ever; instead of smoothing the doom of the impenitent, it deepens their guilt, and it magnifies their condemnation. Yes, my friends, and it is most wholesome for us all to look at times steadily in the face this solemn attribute of God, as the Avenger of the impenitent.

Obey the “Qol” of The Lord or The Laity

v. 1 - “שְׁמַ֔ע לְק֖וֹל דִּבְרֵ֥י יְהוָֽה” “listen (shema) to the voice (qol) of the words of the LORD”

v. 3. - Like Herb Dean, we can look at God’s call and think he is unjust. But from another perspective, we can see God’s righteousness on display.

God gives life and he can take it. We do not have the right to take that upon solely upon ourselves.

This is a unique moment in redemptive history. God does not call us to destroy every wicked person everywhere. Abraham and Isaac.

Exodus 17/Numb 17 tell us of Amalekites’ sin.

17 “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, 18 how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. 19 Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.

Gideon - Judges 6-7.

1 Samuel 27:9; 30:1, 2 Sam 1:1- tells us that the Amalakites were in that land after these events.

Repentance and Salvation can also be an option Joshua/Rahab, Jonah/Nineveh, and vs. 6

v.10 - “And the word of the Lord came…” This phrase such catch our attention. Will Samuel (Shem el) listen to God or listen to the temptations of this world like Saul?

v. 11 - The author uses anthropomorphic language to describe an infinite God to finite creations. (see v. 29 and 35)

1689 LBCF - Chapter 2: God and the Holy Spirit

The Lord our God is but one only living and true God;1 whose subsistence is in and of Himself,2 infinite in being and perfection; whose essence cannot be comprehended by any but Himself;3 a most pure spirit,4 invisible, without body, parts, or passions, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto;5 who is immutable,6 immense,7 eternal,8 incomprehensible, almighty,9 every way infinite, most holy,10 most wise, most free, most absolute;

v. 13- Saul did the same thing in 1 Sam 13:10. Saul went to greet (bless) Samuel after offering the unauthorized sacrifice. Literally, Saul said he fulled the word (דָּבָר) of the Lord.

v.14 - “bleating” and “lowing” are not the right words. 1 Samuel 6:12 tells us that the cows that carried the ark of the covenant back to Israel were lowing (גָּעָה- ga’ah) as they went. Here lowing and bleating are the same word -

v. 19-20 - Why did you not “shema” the “qol” of the Lord.

v. 22 - Mere religious service or sacrifice to the Lord is not the same as listening to the command of the Lord.

We are going to move around the liturgy a little and add one more scripture reading into the worship service. Someone says they would like to lead the public reading during the service. I say, that is awesome that you want to serve the Lord! But, God does require all believers to be baptized and become part of a local fellowship of believers. There is no where in scripture or the bylaws that explicitly says that a person has to be a member of the scripture to pray or read scripture in the corporate worship. Why would I say to that this person should be baptized (doesn’t have to be at our church) and a member of a church? Because God has commanded them to be obedient before he will accept their sacrifice. The Lord Jesus Christ also give this principle. Matthew 5:21-22 says, “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the alter and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

v. 24 - Saul feared the people (not God) and listened to their voice.

v. 29 - we see here that God does not regret in the fullest sense of the word.

Psalm 115:3 ESV

3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.

v. 33 - Samuel listened to the Lord and cut Agag to pieces.

Numbers 25 - Phinehas and the Moabite woman.

Joshua 7 - Achan

v. 34-35 - Samuel and Saul separate. Samuel could have been happy since his replacement failed. Instead, he was said because he realized how sad it is that the king would not listen to God. This king will be a tyrant and make himself a God. The people of God would suffer!

Conclusion

Βruce Almighty- God just send me a sign

Application

We will listen to the “qol” of the Lord.

If you have not heard the call of the Lord Jesus Christ and obeyed by putting your faith in him, today is the day of salvation.

If you have, we will hear and obey his voice by reading scripture. We still have plenty of Bible reading plans on the table in the vestibule.

And

3. Praying. This week we will also pray during family worship. As we pray, write down the things were are praying about. Each day we will remind ourselves to hear how God will answer these prayers.