1 Sam 8:4, 5 The elders of Israel gather together & say to Samuel, “Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
1 Sam 8:7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.
9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. > 1 Sam. 11-17 >
*He’ll make soldiers of your sons & use them for his chariots - he’ll make them plow fields & harvest his crops & make weapons
Your daughters will labor making perfumes & work as cooks
He’ll take your best fields, vineyards & groves for himself
He’ll take a tenth of your grain & crops
He’ll take your servants to work for him & You, Yourselves shall become his slaves.
1 Sam 8:18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.
19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;
*Saul looked the part - he looked like someone that could be a king! God chose him because the people were demanding a king, not because he had the heart of a leader. All the tribes of Israel came before Samuel & the tribe of Benjamin was chosen (probably by casting lots) then Saul’s family was chosen & the lot fell on Saul. We don’t know why he hid himself when it was time to come forward. He may have felt inadequate for the position...he certainly acted humble & undeserving at the start, but that changed when he decided to lead his way.
1 Sam 15:3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
1 Sam 15:7 And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.
8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
10 Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying,
11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.
*So, what was so wrong about this? He spared a man of authority & kept the best animals to sacrifice unto God. Doesn’t that sound like his heart was in the right place?
It matters because it’s different - it’s an alteration from the command of God!
Be careful that you don’t see the command of the gospel the way you think it should be, or the way you want it to be. It doesn’t matter whether it makes sense to you or not. Sometimes things may seem foolish to us., but God’s thoughts are not our thoughts & His ways are not our ways. His ways & His thoughts are higher than ours. (Is. 55:8,9)
Matt 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God (perceive / comprehend - realize that something is true or exists)
*Jesus told Nicodemus,“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Jn 3:3
*We don’t fully understand the working of the doctrine of Christ until we’re born again, but when we’re filled with His spirit, he guides us into all truth. (Jn. 16:3)
*Saul goes down to Gilgal >
1 Sam 15:12 And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.
13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.
14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
*Saul chose to obey the command his way! Too often, good meaning people choose to follow beliefs of their family or their pastor or church members. Or, they read the word for themselves, but wrest the scriptures to suit their life or their way of thinking. Churches are filled with people living good lives, having a better testimony than some that hold the truth, but they are lost if they don’t keep the command exactly as it is given.
*We must do what God says, the way He says it!
Deut 4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
●Obedience to the Word comes with reward.
●Disobedience to the Word comes with consequences.
*God rejects Saul as king & sends Samuel to anoint David as king >
1 Sam 16:7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart
Acts 13:22 And when he had removed him, (Saul) he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.
*When God chose David, he didn’t choose talent, looks, intelligence or strength - he chose a heart like unto His own. An humble, upright, & faithful character.
Nothing will bring us to the kingdom but finding the heart of God. His Word made alive in Jesus - we obey His command & follow Him.
Our heart must be changed by fulfilling the operation of His doctrine.
John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
(We must search out His truth in the Word; we consider them to be the way to eternal life & they give evidence of Him.)
Comments