God’s Sovereign Rejection and Redirection 1 Samuel 16:1

Introduction

There are moments in life when we feel stuck—stuck in grief, stuck in guilt, stuck in failure. Maybe it’s over something we did, or something someone else did. Maybe it’s over something we lost, or something we thought we were supposed to have. And no matter how much time passes, our heart stays parked in that pain.

That’s exactly where we find the prophet Samuel in 1 Samuel 16. He’s mourning. Not over a death—but over disappointment. Saul, the man he anointed, the king the people had wanted, had rejected God—and in doing so, God rejected him from being king.

Samuel was heartbroken. He had invested time, prayer, and hope into Saul’s reign. And yet, Saul’s pride and rebellion had cost him the throne. The plan that started with such promise had ended in disaster—and Samuel is stuck, grieving over what might have been.

But then, God speaks.

This morning, I want us to walk through this powerful verse and see how God lovingly moves His servant from grief to purpose. Because maybe today, you’ve been sitting too long in sorrow—and God is saying to you what He said to Samuel:

“It’s time to get up. Fill your horn. And go.”

God’s Sovereign rejection and redirection Vs.1

The grief over rejection vs. 1a

Samuel ended chapter 15 by mourning over the fact that Saul had rejected God and lost the kingship

Samuel was invested from the beginning of Saul’s reign, even though he knew the consequences that would come from Israel getting the king that they had rejected.

I believe the more invested you are in a person, especially a new Christian on their spiritual journey, the more it hurts when they turn their back on God and end up rejecting him.

I remember in Bible college there would be guys that would come in on fire for God and then they would find a job or a girlfriend and the fire would go out, and I remember the pain when we would find out that they were leaving. I had a friend named Max who started strong, but through different life events and different job opportunities he would end up leaving college, even to this day it still hurts thinking about it.

The grounds for rejection 1 Samuel 15:23

When we think about the rejection of Saul, we must remember that God will never take away our salvation, but he can remove his hand of blessing from us as he did throughout Israels history, especially in the time of the judges, and I think it can be boiled down to a few reasons

Saul was rejected by God because of rebellion

The bible tells us that Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft

In the Bible, the phrase "rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft" from 1 Samuel 15:23, signifies that rebellion against God's authority is a serious offense, comparable to the spiritual dangers associated with witchcraft. It highlights that both rebellion and witchcraft stem from a rejection of God's will and an attempt to control one's own destiny or circumstances, rather than submitting to God's plan

How many of us are rebellious? What causes rebellion?

Two things that caused Saul’s rebellion

pride, thinking he knew better than God

All of us struggle with Pride, it is the sin that caused satan to fall from heaven and one of the ways he convinced Eve to sin (the pride of life)

The bible has a lot to say about pride

God resists the proud

James 4:6 “6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

1 Peter 5:5–8 “5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

Pride leads to destruction

Proverbs 11:2 “2 When pride cometh, then cometh shame: But with the lowly is wisdom.”

Proverbs 16:18 “18 Pride goeth before destruction, And an haughty spirit before a fall.”

Proverbs 18:12 “12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, And before honour is humility.”

Warnings against pride

Isaiah 2:11 “11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, And the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.”

Obadiah 3 “3 The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, Thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; That saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?”

There is only one cure for pride and that is humility

James 4:10 “10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”

1 Peter 5:6 “6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:”

Luke 14:11 “11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

Presumption, getting ahead of God

We need to be careful that we don’t get ahead of God

We are bound by time, but God is outside of time. God’s timing is always perfect and so even if we believe him to be late, he is always on time.

Saul was always trying to get ahead of God, and that was another cause for his rejection

The grace of redirection vs. 1b

Chapter 16 starts with Saul still mourning over the rejection of Saul, and the Lord speaks to him and asks him, how long he is going to mourn for Saul.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the past that we have a hard time moving forward. God had to bring Samuel back and remind him that he is still in control.

I’m thankful this morning that God saved me from my past and gave me a future, we must stop getting so hung up on past failure that we never move forward into what God has next for us

Some of you are still mourning something God has already moved past. A mistake. A relationship. A season of failure. But just like He told Samuel, God says to you: ‘Fill your horn with oil and go.’ There’s still work to do. There’s still a future.

God knows exactly what he is doing, before Saul was even anointed king God knew that he would be rejected because of his rebellion and He already had a plan.

Throughout the whole old testament from Genesis 3:15 on Satan tried everything in his power to destroy the bloodline of the coming Messiah, but he couldn’t because Satan is not all-knowing as God is.

God was sending Samuel to Jesse in Bethlehemite for the purpose of anointing a new king.

Notice the wording “for I have provided me a king from among his sons”

God always provides everything necessary to do His will

Abraham and Isaac on Mt. Moriah

God provided a ram caught in the thicket

Moses and the Israelites

He provided Manna and water to sustain them

Elijah

1 Kings 17:6 “6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.”

For Moses he provided Aaron

For Paul he provided Barnabas who vouched for him

For Ruth he provided Boaz

Hudson Taylor believed firmly in depending solely on God for provision. On one occasion, while working at a hospital in England, his salary was delayed. He had only one coin left but continued caring for patients and trusting the Lord. That night, he was called to pray with a dying poor man. With no money for food, Taylor gave his last coin to the family and prayed with them. The next morning, a letter arrived with money inside—exactly what he needed. No one knew but God. Hudson Taylor said: “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.”

God was going to provide another King for Israel and He had prepared a king from the line of Jesse

Application:

As a child of God we can never lose our salvation and I am so thankful for that! While we can’t lose our salvation, God can withdraw his hand of blessing from us, which is exactly what happened to Saul. God will only put up with so much rebellion before he withdraws his hand from our lives

Saul’s rebellion cost him the kingdom, but God was already working behind the scenes to raise up a man after His own heart. We may fail, we may mourn, we may get stuck in our past — but God never gets stuck. He always provides. He always moves His plan forward. And in Christ, He has provided the perfect King — not just for Israel, but for all of us.

Conclusion

Samuel mourned over Saul because he cared. He had invested in him. He had hoped for him. And yet, Saul’s pride, rebellion, and presumption had brought God’s judgment. Samuel couldn’t change what had happened—but he also couldn’t stay in that place of grief.

And so God spoke:

“How long wilt thou mourn for Saul…? Fill thine horn with oil, and go.”

Maybe you’re here today, and you're still mourning over something in your past.

A broken relationship.

A failed opportunity.

A spiritual fall—yours or someone else’s.

Or a season of rebellion that cost you the joy of God's presence.

Like Samuel, you’ve been grieving. But now, like Samuel, you need to hear the voice of God saying:

“It’s time to stop looking back. I still have a plan. I still have a purpose. Fill your horn with oil and go.”

God always provides what we need to fulfill His will. He provided a ram for Abraham, manna for Israel, a redeemer for Ruth, and strength for Elijah. And in our greatest need, He provided a Savior—Jesus Christ, the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world.

Samuel couldn’t stay in his sorrow because God had already chosen a new king—David, a man after His own heart. And God is still in the business of raising up new beginnings, even after disappointment.

So let me ask you:

What are you mourning today that God has already moved past?

What are you holding on to that God is asking you to surrender?

Are you ready to fill your horn and go?

Don't let yesterday's pain stop you from walking into God's purpose. There is life after loss. There is direction after failure. There is hope after heartbreak.

“Fill your horn with oil… and go.”

As we’ve seen this morning, God is always working—even when things fall apart. When Samuel was mourning, God already had a new king. When Israel was hungry, God provided manna. When Abraham lifted the knife, God provided a ram.

But none of those provisions compare to what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.

The truth is, we are all like Saul in one way or another. We’ve all rebelled. We’ve all sinned. The Bible says:

“All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) “There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10)

And like Saul, our sin separates us from God. But here’s the good news: God made provision.

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

You don’t have to earn your way to God. You don’t have to clean yourself up first. God already provided a way—through Jesus.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

Today, if you realize you’ve been walking in rebellion or pride—or maybe you’re just lost and broken—Jesus stands ready to save you. Will you beleive the Gospel this morning?