Saul: A Man After His Own Heart

1 & 2 Samuel  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  58:58
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Introduction: Welcome/prayer
Last week, in chapters 13 & 14 we spoke of Saul as being a man of no faith by his act of ignoring the Word of God and then adding to the Word of God. The first of which cost him the throne for himself and his descendants.
Today, we once again look at the life of Saul… we’ll start with 1 Samuel 14:47-52, where we’ll briefly summarize his military exploits, and then move to chapter 15 and focus on a key failure. In doing so, we’ll see that Saul is truly a man after his own heart, and not Yahweh’s...
The question for us, whose heart are we after? Our own? God’s? Maybe someone else’s? How do we know?
Saul’s failure here in 1 Samuel 15 will help guide us and act as a warning to us…
When we look at Saul, we must look at ourselves likewise
And just as Samuel is the Word of God to Saul, we need to ask ourselves how do we respond when the Word of God comes to us...
Do we act like Saul? Or do we act as a person after God’s own heart?
READ 1 Samuel 14:47-52
1 Samuel 14:47–52 ESV
When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned he routed them. And he did valiantly and struck the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them. Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchi-shua. And the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn was Merab, and the name of the younger Michal. And the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel. There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he attached him to himself.

A Life of Conflict

The foes of Israel
Moabites - descendants of Lot’s oldest daughter
Ammonites - descendants of Lot’s youngest daughter
Edomites - descendants of Esau
These three were to the East of Israel
Kings of Zobah - a city state to the north
Philistines
A people located to the west, along the coast, we are familiar with them
Amalekites
A group of people who lived in the south, Amalek himself is a descendant of Esau… the people named after him are probably a mix of Esau’s descendants as well as a group of people were already living in the land prior to Esau.
But Amalek attacked Israel during their Exodus, which you can read about in Exodus 17… that’s the start of this feud
In his reign Saul conscripted brave men to fight for him… fulfilling 1 Samuel 8:11
1 Samuel 8:11 ESV
He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots.
We then hear an account of Saul’s family
Sons
Jonathan
Ishvi
Malki-Shua
Daughters
Merab
Michal
Wife - Ahinoam
Cousin - Abner son of Ner (General of Army)
Father - Kish
Uncle - Ner son of Abiel
After being given a summary of Saul’s reign and family we are brought to the task that ultimately leads to the rejection of Saul by Saul’s rejection of God’s Word… an act exemplified in the ending of the relationship between Saul and Samuel
READ 1 Samuel 15:1-9
1 Samuel 15:1–9 ESV
And Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ” So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah. And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.

Saul’s Task

Samuel goes to Saul to give him instructions from God
In doing so, Samuel reminds Saul, of the authority that he has to tell Saul what to do...
As if Samuel knows Saul is prone to not listen to God… which is true.
God sanctions “total war” against the Amalekites
Harem - Hebrew word meaning “to put under a ban” - but not just any kind of ban… a ban that involves destruction and to no longer live… devoted to destruction...
A war that leaves no one and no thing living…
God in His instructions even specifically mentions that the women and the children… and the infants are to be slaughtered.
Harem is a sacred war… it is the war that Joshua waged against Jericho...
Which is the battle that led to the sin of Achan...
It is a war reserved for God’s most severe judgments… it is the judgment mentioned at the end of Malachi, the last book of the OT, if the work of the Lord does not come to fruition.
So, this is no small task… not b/c it is difficult or complex, but b/c of the holiness of it
Let me add this… the lives that you and I are called to as disciples of Christ are lives of Harem… not to destroy others… but to destroy the sins of our own lives and to battle the spiritual forces...
2 Cor 7.1
2 Corinthians 7:1 ESV
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
We, like Saul, have been given a holy task, empowered by Yahweh Himself, who will complete it for us if we are faithful…
We, are called to devote our old selves, our sins, to total destruction… a work accomplished by God Himself as He causes us to be born again into a new creation…
A life that is crucified with Christ… a death to the old self that is total… not partial...
When we are baptized… our whole body is baptized, not part… all of ourselves identifies itself with Christ...
To hold onto anything… anything we think is pleasing or good, when God has explicitly told us to destroy… we commit idolatry… we commit the sin of Saul of which we will read about it shortly...
So, in response to this task, Saul gathers an army of 210,000 men...
As he moves to city of Amalek they warn the Kenites to flee, for they were kind to Israel, unlike the Amalekites, so the Kenites flee..
So far so good for Saul...
Then he attacks… and he slaughters the people, including the women and the children… but...
He saves the king… oh and he saves the best of the animals...
This does not meet the definition of Harem, it does not satisfy the task given by God through his prophet Samuel
And as such Samuel becomes aware of it… let’s read about Samuel hearing the news… verses 10-19
READ 1 Samuel 15:10-19
1 Samuel 15:10–19 ESV
The word of the Lord came to Samuel: “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night. And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.” Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.” And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?”

Saul’s Sin

God speaks to Samuel and informs of the grief that making Saul king has caused Him...
God’s grief becomes Samuel’s grief
Samuel loses sleep over this matter…
For Samuel’s heart was synced with God’s heart
When was the last time you grieved over what grieves God?
When was the last time you lamented over the false teachings that pervade the Bride of Christ?
When did you last weep over the sins of the church?
A person after God’s heart, grieves over such things...
A person after God’s heart, loses sleep over these things...
If Saul caused God such grief, and God is all-knowing, all-powerful, why did He choose Saul, if only to reject him and be grieved by him?
Saul was chosen as an act of judgment against Israel for Israel asking for a king other than Yahweh… for a king like the kings of other nations
The whole situation grieves God… but it is necessary… God needs to discipline His people and one of the ways He does it is through their leaders..
Samuel leaves first thing in the morning… probably anxious awaiting for the first ray of light to break the horizon so he can head out...
He goes to where Saul perhaps ought to be, or at least where Samuel thinks Saul is at… yet Saul is not there...
In that journey Samuel learns Saul has not only moved on but he has created a monument… for himself, in Carmel...
This action exemplifies Saul’s life… a life of self-interest… a life devoted to himself, his own gain, his own glory, his own legacy… making God’s interests, God’s glory, second to himself… we have seen this time and time again
Let this be a warning to us… are we more concerned about being remembered for what we did rather than glorifying God?
Are we more concerned about leaving a legacy of our lives, a monument to be remembered by, than we are giving God glory?
Samuel eventually tracks down Saul at Gilgal...
Saul sees Samuel and has the gall to lie to him… the very man who made him king… tells Samuel he did as God commanded...
Samuel responds with stingy honesty…
“What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?”
Saul counters by attempting to justify why the cattle have not been slaughtered… they have been brought to sacrifice to the Lord
Samuel has none of it...
Samuel reminds Saul that he was a nobody… and that it was God, not himself who made him king over Israel..
And it was God who commanded Saul to completely destroy the Amalekites…
Why did Saul think he could determine what was best? Why did Saul think he could disobey the Lord?
Better yet… what about you...
Why do you think you know better than God?
How do you justify your sins? How do your justify your disobedience?
We all do it at some point… even I do initially when found out… the thing is… what do we do once we recognize we are doing it?
Do we “disarm” ourselves and recognize truth when we hear it and repent and obey it...
Or do we continue to allow our feelings, our emotions, our experiences to be how we determine what is true?
Let’s read the rest of chapter 15 and see what Saul says and what happens… 1 Samuel 15:20-35
1 Samuel 15:20–35 ESV
And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” 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, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.” Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the Lord.” And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the Lord your God.” So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul bowed before the Lord. Then Samuel said, “Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him cheerfully. Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” And Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord in Gilgal. Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

Saul’s Justification

Saul once again tries to word his actions in a way that sound like he has been obedient...
Yet the king of the very people who were to be destroyed still lives...
And the animals… well, now Saul tries to blame the people for that...
He even tries to say it was done for the glory of God… they did most of what God asked for… and what remains will be given to God in glory
This is the thing though… that Saul did not understand or care to understand, and many today, do not understand...
Partial obedience is in fact disobedience…
We must not think that simply because most of what we are doing glorifies God it’s okay to do a little that is not in obedience to Him...
The thought today goes something like this - “We might be disobedient in how we worship God, but we’re doing it to give God glory and most of what we are doing is in obedience to Him.”...
For example, women pastors...
Yes, Scripture clearly forbids women from preaching authoritatively over men and to serve as elders...
But… she can really exposit the Word… She can really teach… she really knows theology
She’s real popular… people listen to her… and after all God gets the glory...
I know what 1 Timothy 2:12 says, and Titus, and how God ordained things on the 6th day, and how Jesus picked 12 men to be His disciples and could have easily picked one of the many women who followed Him to buck the trend of God ordained male leadership… but come on.. she’s good, it’s Beth Moore, people love her… as long as God gets the glory, right?
Or songs we sing....
Yes, the theology is shoddy and promotes heresy but it sounds so good… it turns the faucets of the eyes on for people...
And yes, playing this music provides financial support for a church that clearly commits heresy and engages in witchcraft… but people love it...
Souls are touched… God is glorified… it draws people in...
Or gay marriage...
They love each other in ways most straight people don’t..
How can we not honor that and how does that not honor God?
After all, if we love one another with that kind of love does that not bring God glory?
Sometimes these sins are done as good intentions… but not always...
Sometimes this self-serving selective obedience isn’t done to glorify God at all… but rather to pursue gain under the guise of serving God.
A person unwilling to sacrifice their desires for obedience to God’s clear commands is a person not to follow… you might as well sign-up for Saul’s army… not David’s… Saul’s.
The only glory God receives with those who are disobedient to His commands, is the glory of His justice being executed against it.
Now, be careful… how are you, right now, trying to justify any of these examples… make sure you use the Word of God rightly and not your feelings… not the feelings of society… don’t try to justify it… Scripture is clear… Samuel is clear… Saul is our example
Now, if you are struggling with understanding God’s Word on this...
Let me know… don’t remain confused… don’t remain in the dark… and especially, don’t take my word for it… Take God’s Word for it...
I’m here not to force feed you my thoughts and beliefs… I’m here to give you God’s Word and to equip you with it...
If you are struggling with understanding it… let’s talk… there is much to admire about a person who is honest with themselves about what they do and do not understand… a person willing to wrestle with the Truth… If Saul, lacking knowledge and understanding, would have only submitted himself to the teaching of Samuel… only gone to him, to seek guidance, it may have gone differently for him… don’t be like Saul...
After Saul attempts again to justify his actions Samuel gives Saul a theology lesson
Samuel first summarizes a key belief of Old Testament teaching in verse 22...
Obedience is better than sacrifice...
A teaching that we hear over and over again through the prophets and the books of the Old Testament
A teaching that Jesus Himself emphasized though with more of a focus on the mercy aspect towards one another over sacrifice.
In verse 23, Samuel equates the willful disobedience, that is rebellion, to the sin of divination
And presumption is an act of idolatry… to make the will of self into a god… to determine what is to be acceptable and not acceptable based on one’s own opinion outside of God’s clear teaching
The consequence of Saul rejecting the authority of God’s Word is God’s rejection of Saul as king… a sin and consequence that Saul has done before… as we spoke about last week
Saul, finally admits his sin against God and confesses his reason and this is the root of the matter
Verse 24, Saul feared the people....
Like many churches today.... it’s the voice of the people that dictate how worship services are formed… what music is played… what topics are preached or not preached… who preaches and who doesn’t preach...
Cowards fill the pulpits that are not after God’s heart… b/c if they were… they would be like Samuel, and would obey the Word of God, they would grieve over their people, but they would not give in to their presumptions, and rebellion...
The elders of these churches are just as cowardly… allowing pastors to mislead the people of God that they have been tasked to overseer...
Who do we fear? God? Or people?
What drives our obedience?
It might start with God… but when society pushes back against it do we follow through?
It is not an easy thing… sure, it’s easy to say it and acknowledge it… it’s a whole other thing to bear the cost of obedience...
This is why Jesus tells us in Luke 14 we must count the cost of following Him… being a disciple of Christ doesn’t make life easier for everyone… some of us live such cozy lives that coming to Christ definitely makes it harder...
But to a person after God’s own heart means we sacrifice our own… we put it to death… we go to war against its desires… a sacred holy war to totally destroy it...
This confession of Saul leads to him seeking forgiveness but it is too late
Saul wants forgiveness but he doesn’t want to change… he doesn’t fear God… he fears the people… he only fears God when it works to his advantage...
Besides… Samuel can’t grant forgiveness… only Yahweh can...
As Samuel turns to go away after telling Saul of his rejection and refusal to go back with him Saul grabs the corner of Samuel’s robe and tears the corner off...
More than likely it was the tassel that Saul grabbed and tore off… Per Numbers 15:38-39, the tassel was a reminder of the Lord’s commands…
Numbers 15:38–39 ESV
“Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after.
Those last words describe Saul well… a man who ignores God’s Word, and follows after his own heart.
Thus this tearing was clearly symbolic of Saul’s transgression against God’s Word as well as God tearing the kingdom of Israel from Saul for his actions and the kingdom will be given to a person who is better than Saul…that is a man who is after God’s heart and not his own...
A day of reckoning is coming to the American church… and on that day God will give His sheep to those men who are faithful in pursuing God’s ways and not man’s ways…
And the reward to those who are faithful will not be greater popularity, nor greater wealth, but rather greater service to the King...
Success in God’s Kingdom is not measured by numbers… but faithfulness.
Upon Samuel rejecting Saul a second time… Saul makes a request fitting to his true self...
He asks Samuel to return with him to help him save face with the elders
Though Samuel starts back with Saul… he ultimately does not return with him
Samuel requests Agag to be brought to him
And Agag, comes to Samuel...
A difficult translation here… some versions mention Agag coming cheerfully, others trembling… though the context does favor the sense that Agag was under the impression he was to be spared when he approached Samuel...
Though… that’s not the case
Samuel… states the judgment of God against Agag and hacks him to pieces before the Lord.
After this second act of judgment against a second king… Samuel goes back to Ramah and Saul to Gibeah...
Samuel continued to grieve for Saul however… and the Lord grieved over Saul being made king...
I want to back up to verse 29 and pick on a characteristic that Samuel highlights of God, when he refers to God as the “Glory of Israel”, a name in the Hebrew that has along with a sense of eternal or everlasting duration… a glory that never fades… and this includes God’s Word… in this specific context Samuel is referring to God’s decision to remove the kingship from Saul…
But I think in this day we often forget that the Word of God is eternal and will never pass away...
Matthew 24:35
Matthew 24:35 NET
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
We must not allow ourselves to think that God’s Word is no longer sufficient, no longer relevant to our present day...
We must not allow ourselves to be swayed by the voices of society and the passions of the culture to act disobediently to God’s Word
We must always seek the heart, the will of God… and not our own…
We must ask God to help us discern between the two...
We must ask God to help us understand and know His Word objectively… not through our feelings or how society feels about a particular passage… but ultimately how God wants us to understand it… how God originally intended it to be understood… recognizing He is all-knowing, He is all-powerful, He is perfect...
When we bring ourselves to the table this morning, we renew our commitment to be faithful to His Word… to be a people after His own heart… a people willing to forsake themselves for His sake, for His Gospel...
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