The King is Dead, Long Live the King

Intro

· Before we come to our passage today, I want to read some New Testament passages:

o John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

o Revelation 21:3-4: “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

o Romans 8:38-39: “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

· There are many passages, in both the OT and NT, that, when we read then, our hearts are uplifted with joy and delight! We leave feeling good, our hearts warmed, and our souls stirred

· But sometimes we come to darker passages, ones that present us with the ugliness of sin and the human condition

o These passages don’t give us warm fuzzies, they don’t make us feel good

o Yet these passages, just like the others, were written for our instruction, for our edification, for our growth in holiness

o We must not neglect the darker passages, for they teach us important things about ourselves and about God

· Our passage today is such a passage, but as we come to God’s Word today, we ought to come prayerfully, asking God to use it to instruct us in how we ought to live

· Summary: God’s word will come to pass, and God will deal with sin

· (read passage)

Prophecies Fulfilled

· This is a dark passage; death and destruction fill the page

o The Philistine hoards swarm fourth

o Thousands of Israelites die, Jonathan and the rest of Saul’s sons die

o King Saul dies

· But this battle did not occur in isolation; it was not mere happen stance

o This story began all the way back in 1 Samuel 8-9

o The people of Israel had been living under the judges, but towards the end of the prophet Samuel’s life, they demanded a king

o God grants them their request, and gives them King Saul

· Yet things did not go well for Saul

o After an initial victory, Saul begins to go down a path of sin

o In 1 Samuel 13, Saul fails to wait for Samuel to perform a sacrifice before going to fight the Philistines; Saul does what God only allowed Samuel to do

§ Saul disobeys God’s command, and he performs the sacrifice himself

§ When this happens, God tells Saul through the prophet Samuel that Saul’s kingdom will be taken away from him

§ Saul’s disobedience here resulted in a promise by God that Saul would lose his kingdom

o But things didn’t stop there; in 1 Samuel 15, God commands Saul to wipe out the Amalekites; this was to be a complete and utter destruction, with no one and nothing left behind

§ Saul did the job – mostly: he killed every Amalekite – except their king; he destroyed all their goods – except the really fine items and livestock

§ This was in direct disobedience to God’s command; God had commanded complete destruction, yet Saul only did half measures

· You see, partial obedience is still disobedience

· When God challenged Saul for his disobedience, he tried to deflect, but God was having none of it

§ Hear what Samuel says in verses 22-23: “And Samuel said, ‘Has 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 listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination [or witchcraft], and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.’”

§ Oh, hear those terrible words! Hear that terrible curse! God rejects Saul as king; Saul no longer had God’s blessing

§ God tells Saul that He is taking the kingdom away from Saul and giving it to another

§ This one act of disobedience lost Saul the kingdom; this one sin brought about the end of Saul’s kingly dynasty

o But the story still goes on; God’s warning did not bring Saul to repentance, but instead Saul descended into more and more sin

§ Saul makes a foolish vow while fighting the Philistines

§ He displays cowardice when Goliath challenged the Israelites

§ He pursued David for years and attempts to kill David multiple times

§ Saul killed dozens of God’s priests for something they did not do

· Are you exhausted yet? Is the picture of Saul dark enough yet? We must go further still

o The very day before Saul dies, Saul goes to a sorceress for counsel

o Such divination, such witchcraft, was strictly forbidden by the law of God; to seek counsel from a witch would result in being cut off from the people of God

o Yet this is precisely what Saul does; Saul had inquired of the Lord, but God did not answer, and so Saul seeks out a witch

o Saul’s apostasy is complete; his destruction is certain, and God tells him so; Saul went to the witch to seek comfort, but God instead promised death

o God overrode the demonic intent of the witch and spoke to Saul through Samuel that Saul, his sons, and countless Israelites would die the very next day

· And so it happened

o The next day, Saul died

o The next day, Saul’s sons, including Jonathan, died

o The next day, Israel was given into the hands of the Philistines

o The next day, God took the kingdom away from Saul

o The next day, God made plain to all that He had rejected Saul as king

· This is the first lesson we can draw from this passage: God’s Word will come to pass

o Many years had passed between Saul’s first sin with the sacrifice

o Maybe Saul had become complacent; would God really remember His threats? Would God still be able to bring His word to pass?

o Maybe Saul no longer took God’s word seriously

o But God was very serious; the Almighty God is not going to have His plans thwarted; even where man reneges on his word, God keeps His word

· 1 Chronicles 10:13-14: “So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the LORD in that he did not keep the command of the LORD, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance. He did not seek guidance from the LORD.”

· Are we like Saul? Do we take God’s Word seriously? Do we tremble before His word?

o When God says that those who do not believe in Christ are condemned, do we take His word seriously?

o When God says that the sexually immoral, murderers, idolaters, and those who love lying will be cast into eternal hell, do we take His word seriously?

o God’s word is not to be trifled with! Both the threats and the promises are certain.  Our God is not a God who changes His mind. Our God is all powerful and brings His purposes to pass. Our God is not a fickle God, but a steadfast One, and not a single word of His fails

· When God commands us to do something, do we obey?

o My own heart shudders when I think of this; how many times do I fail to obey God? How many times do I downplay the seriousness of the Word of God?

o I know I’m not alone, for such is the state of every man, woman, and child

o We are all sinners; God’s law condemns us; it reveals our guilt

o And because God’s Word is certain, because God’s Word will come to pass, God will deal with your sin and with my sin

o When God says that the wages of sin is death, this is a settled reality

· Let Saul’s life be a lesson: God’s Word willcome to pass

The Foolishness of Worldly Wisdom

· So we see that Saul’s death came about by the Word of the Lord

· But I want you to notice something else: how did Saul die? What was the direct cause of his death?

o Look at verse 4: “Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it.”

o It was upon his own sword, his own trustworthy sword, that he died

· This is not the first time we have seen this sword

o We see it in 1 Samuel 13, where Israel is fighting the Philistines and Saul is one of only two people with a sword

o We see it back in 1 Samuel 17, when Saul tried to give it to David when David went to go fight Goliath

o We see Saul going to war against the Philistines, the Amalekites, the Ammonites, and later David himself

· This sword was a valuable item to Saul

o It was his means for prosecuting war, for destroying his enemies

o It was a marker of his kingship, a symbol of his strength and military might

· The sword was Saul’s means for solving many of his problems

o Got an enemy? Sword. Need to attack the Amalekites? Sword. Need to rid yourself of a pesky shepherd boy? Sword.

· Saul’s sword was his way of doing things; it was his answer to everything

o Seeking wisdom from God rarely, if ever, entered his thinking

§ Where was prayer? Where was seeking the wisdom of God through the prophet Samuel? Where was he devoting himself to the Word of God?

§ Over and over he demonstrated that he did not trust God

§ Over and over he demonstrated he was obsessed with keeping his authority and his kingship, even to the point of disobeying God

o And perhaps we see it here at the very end

§ Does he entrust his soul to God? Nope. He goes to what he knows best – his sword

§ He doesn’t trust God with his life, but he’d rather do things his way, to take his life with his sword; it was his answer to everything

· This brings us to our second lesson: the foolishness of worldly wisdom

· Saul had trusted in his own sword, yet this became his very undoing

o The very sword which he trusted, became the means of his death

o He thought worldly means would save him, but when pushed to the uttermost, when pushed to his limit, not only did his sword fail to save him, but it was the direct cause of his destruction

o The very thing he trusted in, killed him

· My dear friends, are we like Saul?

o Do we rely on worldly wisdom? Do we even pursue the right things?

o Are we foolish like Saul? Have we put our trust in something else or someone else?

o Do we trust in our 401k plans, or do we trust in God? Do we trust in politicians, or do we trust in God? Do we trust in our own intellect, our intelligence, or do we trust in God? May we never place our trust in anything other than Him!

· If we place our trust in anything else, it will be our destruction, much like it was for Saul

o God will not be mocked; God will have no rivals for your affections and your trust

o God will not suffer you to pursue worldly goals with worldly means

o Those things you lean on, those things or those people, will be your undoing, maybe in this life, certainly in the next

· Do not come to the end of your life to find that you have placed your trust in worldly things

o Do not be like Saul, and find yourself on the spiritual battlefield, surrounded by death and destruction, only to discover that which you trusted in has failed you

o Do not come to the end of your life, only to find that the 401k, the politician, the intellect you trusted in, has run you through like a sword

o Do not be like Saul, and die at the hands of the very thing you trusted in

· What foolishness is this! God offers Himself to us, eternal life is held out to us

o Why would we trust in anything else? Why would we trust in that which will be our undoing, rather than in the God who gives us life?

The Devastation of Sin

· There is a third, related lesson, and that is the devastation of sin

· Imagine yourself as an Israelite soldier at Mount Gilboa 3000 years ago

o The two sides rush at each other

o You see your friends and comrades begin to fall around you

o You hear the blood-curdling screams of dying and wounded men

o You hear the jeers of the Philistines as they press their advantage

o You turn to flee, yet more and more soldiers die around you

o You see Jonathan, the faithful son of Saul, fighting desperately, only for him to be run through with a spear or sword, and die

o It’s a rout – man after man is dying. The field is soaked in blood, you run as fast as you can to get away – and then you are struck with an arrow and are wounded. You cannot escape. You think of your wife and children at home, but here you are, wounded, with a Philistine soldier standing over you – and he drives his spear into your heart

o You die, your wife is widowed, your children are orphaned – as a direct consequence of Saul’s sin

· Thousands of soldiers died, women were widowed, children were orphaned, parents lost sons, home and land was lost, as the Philistine hordes swept across the land   

o Wicked and righteous alike die; it wasn’t just the wicked Israelites like Saul who died on this battlefield, but it was righteous men as well

o Jonathan, this God-fearing, David-loving man, a man who braved his father’s wrath to defend David, fell on the battlefield

· Consider the destruction from this battle!

o Consider not only the lives lost, but the families wrecked, the livelihoods destroyed; this was a devastating loss

· Consider also the national shame

o King Saul had died – along with all his sons

o Saul was the very first king of Israel, but not only did he die, but his family was wiped out as well

o There was no son to succeed Saul; that line was almost completely wiped out

· Consider what had come before for Israel

o After they entered the promised land, they had no king but were instead led by the judges

o But the people repeatedly sinned, and they kept being subjugated by their enemies, over and over and over

o Not only that, there were multiple civil wars in Israel; it was chaos

· The people had hoped that a king would unite them, would subdue their enemies, and make Israel great

o This was what King Saul was supposed to do

o If I can borrow some slogans from American politics, Saul might’ve had some slogans of “Make Israel Great Again” or “Change We Can Believe In”

o But these great hopes of the people of Israel were dashed by Saul’s sin

o Not only this, but we see Israelites abandoning their cities and the Philistines living in them

§ This is a reversal of the conquest of Canaan under Moses

§ This was the land the Israelites were supposed to be conquering and filling after the Exodus

§ But here we see Israel falling back, and the pagan nations of Canaan retaking the land

· Saul’s kingdom was ripped away from him when he sinned in how he dealt with the Amalekites

o Even though it seemed like a victory at the time, he failed to do things God’s way; he thought he was wiser than God

o What could have been a crowning moment of his reign turned out to be his undoing, because of his disobedience, because of his sin

· And the more Saul sinned, the more he was hardened in his sin; one sin led to another

o And we see this all the way to the end

· My dear friends, consider the ravages of sin! The consequences of sin are far-reaching

o Consider the impacts on the nation! The sin of this one man impacted thousands

o The impacts of Saul’s sin were not limited to just him; the effect of his sin spread like wildfire, and because he was a king, that made the impacts of his sin that much more widespread

o His sins were not merely private matters; his sin, his utter lack of character, had very real-world consequences for tens of thousands of people

· Do we understand why God takes the character of leaders so seriously?

o When these leaders sin, their actions and their poor character are never limited to just themselves; when a king sins, it can devastate a nation

o Matthew Henry writes, “Princes and great men should in a special manner take heed of provoking God’s wrath; for, if they kindle that fire, they know not how many may be consumed by it for their sakes.”

o Why does the book of Proverbs talk about the importance of the character of rulers? Why does the Old Testament spend so much time highlighting the moral failings of leaders? Because it matters!

o Why are the qualifications for leaders in the church, both pastors and deacons, almost exclusively focused on issues of character? Because it matters!

o Why does God care about the character of parents, leaders in the home? Because it matters!

o If you are a leader, the impacts of your character are amplified

o If you are a parent, if you are a leader in a church, if you are a leader in business, if you are a leader in government, the most important thing for the well-being of those in your care is your own character

o Do not think that skill or charisma can cover for poor character; it did not for Saul, and it won’t for you, either

o God first and foremost cares about your holiness, about your character

· In a sense it’s easy to talk about sin in prominent leaders; it’s harder to talk about ourselves

o Sure, we can talk about a Bill Gates or a Barry Bonds; but you are often leaders in your own circles

o And even if you’re not a leader, you are still in community; you do not live on an island, you do not live cut off from all human contact

o Do not think that your sin will have no impact on others; the effects of sin have the propensity to spread

· But maybe some excuses are rushing to your mind

o Yeah, we might know some leader might be in unrepentant sin, but they’re too important

§ Maybe they’re an important religious figure, and to deal with unrepentant sin would be embarrassing

§ Maybe they’re an important business figure, and we can’t let it impact the bottom line

§ Maybe they’re a sports figure, or a politician; yeah, sin’s bad, but we can’t let our side lose!

· Would it be okay to excuse Saul’s poor character and actions because he was fighting the Amalekites and Philistines? After all, the nation was in crisis; Saul was their guy, did that make his sin okay? Of course not!

o But even as we rush to condemn Saul, do we excuse others who act like Saul?

o Even as we rush to condemn Saul, do we excuse ourselves?

· Consider how seriously God takes sin!

o This was the nation of Israel we’re talking about; this was God’s chosen nation

o Surely God would not let Israel fall into the hands of their enemies

o Surely God would not allow the king of Israel to fall into the hands of the Philistines

o Surely God would not allow Saul’s body to be paraded around and Saul’s armor and weaponry put on display in pagan temples

o But that’s exactly what happened!

o The very place where Saul fell, Mt. Gilboa, was the same place of Gideon’s triumph over the Midianites, and yet it turned into the site of one of Israel’s greatest defeats

· Saul was humiliated and God was blasphemed

o In the eyes of God, it was better for Israel’s foes to triumph, for the gods of the Philistines to seemingly triumph, than for God to leave Saul’s sin unaddressed

o God cares about the holiness of His people

· J.C. Ryle said, “For one small sin, Adam lost paradise. For one small sin, Saul lost the kingdom. The truth: there are no small sins.”

o Sin is very serious, not just big sins, not just public sins, but private sin as well

o Not all of Saul’s sins were public; in fact, many of them were private

§ His decision to sacrifice without Samuel was a private sin

§ His decision to go to the sorceress was a private sin

o Do not imagine that God was only punishing Saul for his public sins, those sins that occurred in the eyes of all

§ No, God punished Saul for secret sins, sins that almost no one new about

§ Thousands died for one of Saul’s secretsins

· Do you harbor secret sins in your life? If you do, if I do, we must root it out!

o Why? Because God is deadly serious about sin!

o These secret sins have a way of spreading like cancer; private sins can have very public consequences

o May God give me, may God give you, a tender conscience towards sin, that we would not harbor it

o Shine the light of God’s Word on your soul; let it search you and know you; let it know your rising up and lying down; let it know your secret thoughts

o Bring these sins to God in repentance and lay them at the foot of the cross

· But perhaps another excuse arises in your mind: what about others? Those atheists, those transgender advocates, those serial killers – what about them? Surely these sinners are much more important and of greater concern to God

o Yeah, yeah, I might sin, but those people are much greater sinners

o It’s the month of June, after all, it’s “Pride Month”; sin is celebrated by our culture

o I’m a Christian, and so my sin is covered; God’s priority is in dealing with them

· 1 Peter 4:17: “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God.”

o When God deals with sin, He starts, not with the unbelieving world, but with His own people

o Oh, He will surely deal with the sins of the unbelieving world; Psalm 2 says that God laughs at those who raise their fists in rebellion against God

o But God cares even more so about the holiness of His people; that is His priority!

o God first deals with our sin, not with theirs; He deals with us before He deals with them

o This is what the Bible plainly says! Do we think God is foolish? Do we think that He is making His life harder by dealing with the sin of Christians first rather than an unbelieving world?

o My friends, God does not need your public relations expertise! God is the High King, and He will deal with everything in His own good time

o God’s first priority is with my holiness, with your holiness

o Our first priority must reflect God’s priorities; we must start, not with those outside the camp, but within

· Do not take sin lightly!

o Let God’s Word shine brightly on your heart, on your life

o Let it expose the sin that dwells in the secret places of our hearts

o Let God’s Word bring us to repentance, let it bring us to the foot of the cross

o Let us not be like Saul, and instead let us take sin seriously

Conclusion – Will Israel Live Again?

· This passage of Scripture is dark

o To be honest, apart from the story of the valiant men from Jabesh-Gilead who courageously retrieved Saul’s body and buried him, this story is difficult to read

o We don’t come away from this story feeling good

o There really isn’t any “good news” here.

· This whole story is depressing

o Israel has lost its king, and his dynasty wiped out; thousands had died and Israel’s army was decimated; it seemed as if the end of Israel was near, for how does a nation recover from such a catastrophic loss?

o Imagine you’re an Israelite living at this time, and you’re experiencing this real-time; you’re probably asking yourself, will Israel live again?

· But God…even as things looked dark, God was still working

o God had not abandoned His people; even in the face of a crushing defeat, even in the face of an existential crisis for the nation, God was working

o Even when all had seemed lost, God had His man; God had one whom He had anointed to reign over Israel

o Did God do this because Israel cleaned itself up? Did God do this because Israel was righteous? Not at all! Israel was unclean; Israel was unrighteous

§ God did this out of the abundance of His mercy, not for any merit in Israel

§ God did this to faithfully fulfill His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

· God raised up one in Saul’s stead – David

o Even as Saul was being defeated by the Philistines, David was defeating the Amalekites (1 Sam 30)

o Where Saul failed to wipe out the Amalekites, and for his sin lost his kingdom, we see David doing what Saul had failed to do

o Even while Saul was dealing with the consequences for failing to wipe out the Amalekites, David pursued a band of Amalekites and eliminated them

· 1 Chronicles 10:14 – “Therefore the LORD put him [Saul] to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.”

o God always has His man; God is always working to fulfill His purposes

o And here, it was in a lowly shepherd from Bethlehem, David, the son of Jesse

· God would raise up David and bring him to higher heights than anything Saul ever accomplished

o Where Saul fell before Israel’s enemies, David would defeat them

o Where Saul was marked by hardness of heart, David was marked by a soft, repentant heart

o Where Saul failed, and with it brought down the Israel’s hopes in him, David succeeds, and Israel thrives

· But even then, David would still fail

o David was himself marked by sin and failure

o He fails to control his family, and David himself commits adultery and murder, the combined effect of which resulted in civil war which killed tens of thousands

o David conducted a sinful census of Israel, and for that 70,000 Israelites died

o As great as David was, as humble, as godly as he was, he, too, would disappoint, and his sin would affect many

· The OT is full of disappointment. Over and over and over we find failure, sin, and disappointment. But in every case, this is not the end of the story!

· What we must do is look David’s son – Jesus

o The repeated failures, the repeated sins, show us that we need a King who is indeed sinless, One who will not fail in His role, whose kingdom will have no end

o All this build up in the Old Testament points us to the Messiah, the sinless one, the Son of David, the Son of God

· God always has His man, and it has always been Jesus, the Son of God

· God fulfills His word, not only in removing Saul, but in crushing Satan through the cross

· God confounds worldly wisdom, by working through the foolishness of the cross

· God takes sin seriously, through the death of the Son of God on the cross

· Even as God brought back Israel from destruction through His anointed agent, a lowly shepherd from Bethlehem named David, so God will bring His people, the church, back from eternal destruction through the Good Shepherd, the Son of God, born in Bethlehem

· Even in the face of Saul’s sin, Israel would indeed live again!

· And even in the face of our own sin, we can indeed live again!

o Have you, like Saul, followed your own wisdom?

o Have you, like Saul, shown impatience with God’s timing?

o Have you, like Saul, sought wisdom from all the wrong sources?

o Have you, like Saul, done things your way rather than God’s way?

o Have you, like Saul, loved yourself more than you have loved God?

· My friend, if you have, there is forgiveness for you!

o Even though your sin is a stench in the nostrils of God, even though your rebellion deserves divine condemnation, in Christ you can find forgiveness

o The Son of God, Jesus, came to earth, died on the cross, and rose again to take away your sin

o Jesus, the Son of David, offers mercy to you!

o Will you take hold of it by faith alone?

o Will you, like David, go to God in repentance and thereby find forgiveness?

o Or will you, like Saul, go deeper and deeper into the abyss of sin?

o Will you, like Saul, despise the Lord?

· Remember how God’s Word will certainly come to pass? This applies not only to the threatenings of God’s Word, but to His glorious promises as well

o “For God so loved the Word, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” – this word of God is certain!

o If you believe in the Son of God, you will have eternal life; this is a promise, this is a settled reality

o If you believe, you will have eternal life; whomever will call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved

· Do not delay! Do not delay to go to the Lord, lest you find the door of repentance closed to you

o Flee to Christ today, flee to Him while you still have life, while you still have your mental faculties; seek Him while He may be found

o And find in Him forgiveness, find in Him rest, find in Him peace, find in Him life

o Will you, like Saul, cast yourself upon your sword and die, or will you cast yourself on Christ and live?