The Battle within

Exposing our True Nature

In the Star Wars movies… usually the true nature of each character is eventually revealed. (Anakin: When we watch episode 3… the whole crowd knows what will happen.... because we have already seen episode 4-6!) We know the ending… but are still hoping that Anakin will fight the darkness… he will fight the dark side.... but.... then we see it play out… his pride finally overwhelms his sense of reason… and he is overtaken by his desire to get what he wants… no matter the cost.

As you watch these events unfold Anakin ends up demonstrating a long list of foolish decisions driven by a prideful trust in himself.... and Obi Wan illustrates faithful Leader who trusts in “the force”.

While the Star Wars movies are fiction… some of the principles illustrated are true.... and some are even presented in Scripture. The battle between dark and light is real.... and we have an eternal… all knowing… all powerful … Deity in whom we can trust..... and His name is the Lord our God!

Let’s open our Bible’s to 1 Samuel today and look at chapters 13 and 14, where we will see this battle between dark and light.... where Saul’s true nature will be exposed… and we will truly see in whom he trusts.

Last week Samuel pointed out Israel’s great need for spiritual and national renewal!!!

He had told them to either Fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart, or act wickedly and be swept away. (1 Sam. 12:24-25)

True renewal would only take place as the hearts of the people… and the king were turned to God in a real relationship.

For now.... it seems like the people have repented… it seems like their relationship with Yahweh is being renewed and Saul’s career as King was just getting started..... but we still haven’t really heard anything from Saul at this point.

Here is an insight into Saul’s heart based on what we have seen so far… and what we will see today.

Saul seems impressive to others. That is not necessarily a bad thing. The real danger is that he thinks of himself as pretty impressive!

Saul has and will prove to be the kind of person who shapes God’s Word to be what he wants it to be. He hears God’s commands through Samuel and in a way he listens and acknowledges God’s Word (kind of.), but then reshapes God’s commands until they become more favorable to him. Saul will illustrate this a few times as we look at chapters 13-14… as well as throughout the rest of the book.

As we look at the next 20 chapters, we are going to see that starting today Saul’s career will begin a rapid downhill spiral that will last for the next 40 years.

As we work through the narrative today… the question the author wants us to constantly ask ourselves is: “In whom do I trust?”

That question is very important for those living through the events of 1 Samuel.... but it is also very practical… and relevant for each one of us as well! The answer to that question will come out as the true nature (condition of the heart) of a person is exposed.

Let’s begin our study today by taking a look at the first response to the question: “In whom do I trust?”.

I. The one who trusts in himself (13:1-23 & 14:24-52)

Chapters 13 and 14 are one overall event in the history of Israel. That is why we are looking at an overview of these 2 entire chapters today.

13:1-7 helps to give us an idea of what is going on in Israel’s world right now.

Verse 1 is a hard Hebrew verse to translate… so the verse is going to be different… depending on what English translation you have.

The idea being expressed is that Saul was around 31 when he became king and reigned over Israel for about 40 years (Acts 13:21 tells us that).

Verse 1 and the beginning of verse 2 could accurately be translated/ interpreted as “Saul was 31 when he became king and when he had reigned for 2 years, Saul chose 3000 men of Israel.”

We are told in verse 2 that 2000 of those men Saul kept with him in the hill country of Bethel and 1000 went with Jonathan in Gibeah.

Now verse 3 tells us that while Saul has the larger army, Jonathan was actually the one who defeated the garrison of Philistines that were at Geba. Could this be the very garrison that Saul was supposed to defeat back in chapter 10? Probably!

Why do I say that? Verses 3 and 4 tells us what Saul does when he hears of Jonathan’s victory.

He blows his own horn and takes the credit for what Jonathan had done! Then he immediately leaves to go to Gilgal, which was the place where Samuel had told Saul to go once he obeyed the Lord.. and wait for him there (1 Sam. 10:8).

Saul is connecting this victory back to the word of the Lord that was spoken to him back in chapter 10. But, he isn’t really obeying the Word… Saul was supposed to defeat the Philistines… not Jonathan.

Since Saul failed to obey the word of the Lord back in chapter 10, it seems like he is taking what God had said to do back then… and trying to do it now when it on his terms… and his timetable.

Saul now has an army… he is self confident… he has a lot of trust in himself right now.

What happens next is a huge turning point in Saul’s career. It is a moment when the blame-shifting begins and Saul proclaims that he has been forced into foolishness.

A. Forced into Foolishness

At this point Jonathan has defeated the garrison of Philistines… which has pretty much just stirred up the hornets nest. While Saul is celebrating in Gilgal, the Philistine army prepares for retaliation.

Verses 5-7 tell us that the Philistines gathered 30,000 chariots (translation issue: probably more like 3000 chariots) and 6000 horsemen and troops and came and camped in Michmash (where Saul was initially with his troops)! When that happened… the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble, so they started to hide anywhere they could find (caves, holes, cisterns, etc…). Where was Saul? He had gone off to go blow his own horn! He was at Gilgal… and whomever was with him was scared to death!

Saul is now at Gilgal waiting for the Samuel. Saul is finally doing what he was told in chapter 10… but, he is not doing it on God’s time table… or with the right heart attitude.

Saul has basically said in his heart… Yes, I will obey… but when I’m good and ready! So, here we are at Gilgal waiting for Samuel.

7 days come.... and on the 7th day… Saul is still waiting.... no sign of Samuel. While Saul waited.... the people were beginning to scatter because of their fear of the soon coming Philistine retaliation.

So, Saul acts according to his nature. He decides to expedite God’s time table and twist and reinterpret God’s Word… and Verse 9 tells us that Saul takes matters into his own hands… and instead of waiting for Samuel, he decides to make his own burnt offering and peace offering.

As soon as Saul finishes offering the sacrifices.... remember it is still the 7th day.... Samuel arrives (just like he said he would).

When Samuel sees what has happened… he asks Saul… “what have you done?” When I read that question it immediately reminded me of when God asked a very similar question to Adam in the garden. “Where are you?.... What have you done?”

Saul defends himself with the same blame shifting that Adam and Eve tried.... saying that the people were afraid and were running away.... and then he says… and you said you’d come in 7 days… and you didn’t! Remember Samuel showed up on the 7th day… he wasn’t late! Saul was impatient and showed that his trust was in himself rather than in the Lord.

Now, look at verses 12-14 and see what happens next... Saul said,

1 Samuel 13:12–14 ESV

I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

Saul was given the Word of God… and he chose to trust in Himself rather than in God.

For several chapters now we’ve been wondering… is Saul truly a man after God’s heart or not. Now we have the answer!

Saul tries his best to blame shift. “Samuel.... I had not choice!!! I had to do it!!!! I couldn’t just keep waiting… I had to do something.... I didn’t want to… but I had to force myself!!!

Saul had made a huge mistake! His true nature had been revealed. When the battle within him ended.... the battle to obey the Lord and trust in Him… or to obey self and trust in Saul.... Saul chose to trust in himself.

Saul’s huge mistake was to think that obeying God is an easy thing to do. Trusting God is usually neither straightforward or simple.

Honestly, most times trusting and obeying God looks foolish to many people. (going overseas with young kids)

But actually, the foolish choice is one of disobedience. One author said that “the wisdom of obedience can only be seen when we take into account something other than the circumstances.” We have to take into account God’s promises to His people.

When we consider the circumstances of the moment as more important than the promises of God.... we follow Saul down the path of foolishness.

Truth: Lack of trust leads to full deception and disobedience.

Saul illustrates that it is the fool who trusts in himself.

Trust in ourselves leads us down a path of disappointment and deception towards destruction.

—> Illustration: But you were the chosen one!!!! You were supposed to bring defeat the sith… not join them!!!!!

Because of Saul’s foolish trust in himself instead of the Lord, Saul’s kingdom has come to an end!

The consequences of Saul’s choice to trust in self rather than God… were that the kingdom would be taken away from him and given to someone who was truly a man after God’s own heart. Hmm.... I wonder who that could be?

Even though Saul had been told that the kingdom had been taken away from him… Saul doesn’t let that stop him.

Throughout the rest of chapter 13, Saul continues to rally the troops and prepare for the coming battle with the Philistines.

When we come to chapter 14, the focus initially shifts to Jonathan (Saul’s Son). He does something that launches the nation into battle, which then provides an opportunity for Saul to step up again and illustrate that his trust is in himself and not in the Lord… as he foolishly makes a vow he would come to regret.

B. Regretful Vow

Chapters 13-14 are kind of like a sandwich: Two foolish actions by Saul serve as the bread.... and then a faithful act of leadership by Jonathan are sandwiched in between.

We are going to come back to Jonathan in a few minutes. For now let’s look at 14: 24.... —>

When we come to verse 24, a battle has been raging and the people of Israel are beat!

Saul sees that his army is tired… and in need of a pick me up… so while Saul could have stepped up and given a heart warming speech and supported his troops with words of affirmation and rewards for their hard work.... he again shows is true nature and foolishly makes a vow that would have far reaching circumstances.

In verse 24 he says.

“… Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies. So none of the people had tasted food.”

Smart move right? Your people are tired and ready to give up… so what do you do? Starve them!

If you keep reading you’ll see that the army comes to the forest where they find some fresh honey just sitting there waiting to be eaten. No one touches it.

Then, along comes Jonathan (Saul’s son) who had not heard the foolish vow that his father had made.

Jonathan is just as tired as everyone else… he’s hungry so he eats the honey and his strength is restored… he gets the color back in his face… the spring back in his step… and he’s ready to keep fighting for victory!

One of Saul’s men then tells Jonathan about his fathers vow and Jonathan responds by saying in verse 29,

1 Samuel 14:29–30 ESV

Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. See how my eyes have become bright because I tasted a little of this honey. How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies that they found. For now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great.”

God does end up giving victory to the Israelites that day in spite of Saul’s foolishness… but verse 31 says that they were very faint.

Saul had starved them almost to the point of death. So, once they receive victory these starving soldiers go run after all the spoil and start eating anything they can get their hands on including raw meat with the blood still in it!

Saul’s foolish vow… was actually causing the people to sin and disobey the Law. Saul… the anointed ruler of God’s people is leading the people into sin.... instead of towards the Lord.

God had instructed the people in Lev. 17:10-14 that anyone who eats the blood with the flesh will be cut off from God’s people! Saul had foolishly trusted in himself.... and the consequence of his deception were that all those who had gone out to battle were sining and now were in danger of being cut off from the Lord!

Saul had foolishly led the people in the exactly the opposite way in which he had been charged. He was to lead the people towards the Lord… not away from Him!

Saul quickly tries to find a solution to this issue by instructing everyone to bring the animals to a big rock that he set up so that they could slaughter the animals there and the blood would run off. Then, the people would be guarded against breaking the Law.

Remember the vow that Saul foolishly made? Remember that Jonathan had actually broke the vow… and according to Saul’s vow should be killed?

Let’s talk about that.

After Saul tries to recover from the disaster he just created, In 1 Samuel 14:36-46, Jonathan admits to eating the honey and then Saul responds in verse 44.

What is interesting here is not what Saul says… that is expected by a foolish king. The interesting turn is what the people say.

1 Samuel 14:44–45 ESV

And Saul said, “God do so to me and more also; you shall surely die, Jonathan.” Then the people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who has worked this great salvation in Israel? Far from it! As the Lord lives, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.” So the people ransomed Jonathan, so that he did not die.

Saul’s Perception of things was that God was blessing because of him.

When in reality, God had blessed and given victory in spite of Saul.

The people are seeing that now and stand up and say… NO! this isn’t right. There was nothing wrong with what Jonathan did… what was wrong was your foolish vow!

Jonathan is actually the one who has brought us victory today! God has blessed us in spite of Saul’s foolishness.... and because of Jonathan’s faithfulness.

At this moment… the people were actually leading Saul! Huge reversal! Saul was anointed to be the righteous representative of God who would lead the people… and here there is a role reversal where the people stand as God’s righteous representative… and lead Saul.

A truth that is taught throughout this whole event is: Just because it seems like you are experiencing God’s blessings in your life does not mean that you are living in obedience and/or following God’s Will.

Truth: God’s blessings are often not because of us… but are in spite of us.

God is not blessing your or making you victorious because you are so awesome! Victories and blessings in your life honestly have little to do with you! You are experiencing God’s blessings and victories in your life because of His Awesomeness!!!!

As the reader’s of God’s Word… we have the amazing opportunity to see these truths lived out in the lives of others.... so hopefully we won’t fall into the same mistakes.

In between these 2 foolish acts of Saul… there is a glimmer of hope. While it seems like Saul’s reign will be characterized by foolishness and self-trust.... Jonathan is presented as a faithful son who has placed his confidence and trust completely in the Lord.

II. The one who trusts in the Lord. (14:1-23)

The hopeful light in this event is Jonathan.

Saul has proven to be a man after his own heart.... not after the Lord’s.

Saul’s lack of trust in the Lord has led him to a place of deception, disappointment… and as he continues down this path will ultimately lead him to a point of destruction.

But in contrast to Saul, Jonathan faithfully succeeds where his father fails.

In 14:1-23, while Saul hides in a cave waiting for the Philistines to attack… Jonathan faithfully goes on the offensive and initiates the battle that would ultimately lead to Israel’s victory. He does so with no regard for himself… but with full confidence expressed in verse 12, “… the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel.”

Throughout this whole event, the victories claimed by Saul were all initiated and driven by Jonathan’s faithfulness to the Lord and Jonathan’s leadership of the people.

Saul may be the king… but he is already losing his reign over the people.

Jonathan understood that God blesses and provides victory because of God… not because of us.

He is sovereign… He is the King! He provides for His people in His timing and in His way!

As we look at Saul’s example in these two chapters we see a fool who trusts in himself.

When we look at Jonathan.... at every opportunity he expresses an amazing amount of faithfulness to the Lord and leadership of the people.

Jonathan stands as an example of the Leader who trusts in the Lord.

Saul’s example teaches us that: Lack of trust leads to full deception and disobedience.

Jonathan’s example teaches us that: Complete trust leads to victory and life!

Application:

Main Idea:

Trusting in ourselves alone leads us down the path of disappointment and deception towards destruction, but Trust in the Lord (based on a faith based relationship with Him) leads to victory and life!

Response:

Reject the kingdom of self…. embrace the kingdom of God!

Stop believing the worlds lie that: God is blessing because of you and embrace the possibility that God may be blessing in spite of you.

Remember: Just because it seems like you are experiencing God’s blessings in your life does not mean that you are living in obedience and/or following God’s Will. Often, God blesses not because of us… but in spite of us.

God is not blessing your or making you victorious because you are so awesome!

Victories and blessings in your life honestly have little to do with you! You are experiencing God’s blessings and victories in your life are because of His Awesomeness!!!! --- Let’s rejoice praise Him for that!!!

Pursue the praise and satisfaction of the Lord rather than living for the praise of man. (Reject the fear of man)

God is the Only One in whom we can fully trust! Give him your doubts… give him your fears and anxieties, give him your nervousness.... give him your questions..... and hesitations.... He can handle them...

God has given each one of us the promise of His Word.... and He has give us His Spirit to lead us, guide, and teach us!

Maybe there is a situation right now in your life that you don’t understand..... But God does!

Maybe there is a decision to be made that you are unsure of.... God is sure.

You can trust Him to provide! It might not be the way you expect… But He will provide for His Children. We’ve seen that over the last few weeks.

God will not surrender His Children!

God will provide for His Children!

Church, God is calling us to respond to Him in faith!!!! The question is… will we respond by fully trusting Him? Or… will we respond by trust in ourselves?

A choice must be made. Which will you choose?