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There are times in Scripture when God gives a quick postscript on someone’s life. That is what we have in 1 Chronicles chapter 10 – a postscript on the life of King Saul of Israel. It is actually a very good thing for us to read, because it reminds us of some very important truths upon which to build our lives. Let’s take a few moments today to learn three important truths from the postscript on Saul’s troubled life.
So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the LORD, because of the word of the LORD which he did not keep; and also because he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of it, 14 and did not inquire of the LORD. Therefore He killed him and turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse. 1 Chronicles 10:13-14 (NASB) First, we learn of the trespass which brought about Saul’s premature departure from this life. The word “trespass” is very telling as God begins this postscript. The word comes from the Hebrew word “maal” which means to act unfaithfully or treacherously. It is the word that the Scriptures use when referring to adultery as an act of unfaithfulness and treachery in a marriage. Saul had been very unfaithful to the Lord. The trespass is further described as not keeping the Word of Jehovah. Let’s take a deeper look at this first sin. When God speaks to us He is giving us His Word. That is not a small thing and it calls for obedience to God. Unfortunately Saul received God’s Word more as a suggestion than a command. When asked to deal with the Amalekites he decided to only destroy what he thought was evil, keeping the king as a trophy as well as everything that he though looked good enough to keep. He even figured he could use that “good stuff” to sacrifice to God. When told to wait for the prophet Samuel to offer a sacrifice before a battle, Saul started to worry about defections from his army and forced himself to offer the sacrifice. The problem there was that Saul was not to do that. This was something that only the priests were to do. Saul saw that as just an inconvenience to what needed to be done. His life is a sad story of disregarding the Word of Jehovah to do what he wanted instead. When God made it clear that David was going to replace him because of his disobedience, his response was to attempt to kill David repeatedly. “Who cares what God has said – I’m going to be king!” was his response to that news. By the end of his life his disobedience reached disastrous levels. He slaughtered an entire village of priests by proxy to be sure his own will prevailed instead of God’s will. In the end God’s will prevailed (as it always will). David became king – and God put Saul to death for his treachery. Second, we learn that Saul’s treachery toward the LORD had a second manifestation – he sought the counsel of a medium. What is amazing about this is that Saul himself had just removed all those who were involved in this occult practice from Israel. He did this because God’s Word forbids it. But that was before he found himself in a difficult situation with a large Philistine army on the other side of a battlefield. Saul was in trouble – and God was not answering him no matter what method he tried. Of course, Saul did not respond to this well, nor did he take time to consider why God would not answer. There was enough disobedience and sin to make a mountain between Saul and God. He had rejected God’s Word, rejected God’s king, and even murdered God’s servants. None of this came to mind. Instead, all Saul could think of was that he needed to have Samuel tell him what to do. Never mind that earlier he had sent soldiers to drag both Saul and David before him to answer for supposed rebellion. Never mind that many times before Samuel had spoken the Word of the Lord to him only to be ignored. Saul needed a word and he needed it now. This is what led to Saul hatching a very unwise, ungodly plan. Samuel was dead – and he still needed to hear from him. What better way to accomplish this than to get a medium and have a séance! We can bring Samuel up from the dead and get the advice and Word from God we need! This was how convoluted Saul’s reasoning had become. But then again in our day we have people consulting horoscopes and tarot cards, palm readers and other occult means to get advice. When we no longer hear from God – we have a tendency to want to hear from whoever or whatever else is out there – right? The problem for Saul was that he knew somewhere in the midst of his confusion that this was still a capital offense. He knew it because he had previously reminded all Israel of it when he threw out all the mediums earlier. This was the second reason he would soon forfeit his life. That is even what Samuel told him at the séance – if that truly was Samuel. What a reminder to us to seek God – and if things have turned silent between us and Him to do everything possible to return. Such moments are not a time to turn to a second choice – but to repent and return – to weep and grieve our sin – to seek God with prayer and fasting until there is once again an open line between us. The last thing we see here is a very sobering statement made by the LORD in this postscript. Let me reiterate it before we look at it closer. “Therefore He killed him and turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse.” WHAT!? Did we just read that God said He killed Saul for his sin and rebellion? Yes, that is what we read. By the way, God does not apologize for this, nor does He do anything to soften the statement of this death sentence on Saul’s life. That is sobering – oh let’s be perfectly honest – it’s frightening! Some would even react by saying that “their God” would never do such a thing! But that is exactly what God did – and He continues to do it even today. When one of God’s own starts living in rebellion and continues to do so – there is a point where God will take them home. Now we should note that Saul was not killed by a lightning strike from the sky. He was killed in the battle against the Philistines. Nevertheless this passage makes it clear that God killed Saul because of his treachery. That should at least be a reminder to us that God, being sovereign, can engineer whatever is necessary to accomplish His purposes – even if His purpose is discipline on a rebellious king. Saul’s story is such a sad one. He had so much potential at the beginning of his kingdom. He was humble and responsive to God early on in his life. But his choice to do things his own way rather than God’s way led him to a very ignominious end. Having read of his life in Samuel and Chronicles, may we be reminded to avoid such choices in our lives.
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 “I will give thanks to You, O Lord among the heavens,
I will sing praises to You among the nations, For your steadfast love is great, Is great to the heavens, And Your faithfulness, Your faithfulness, to the clouds! Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, Let Your glory be over all the earth! Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, Let Your glory be over all the earth!” We would probably refer to this praise song as “an oldie.” The funny thing is until many of us read Psalm 57 this week; we may not have grasped just how much of “an oldie” it is! It is not just a song that was written in 1977 – the Holy Spirit through His servant David gave it to us. What may tend to astound us a little is the music studio in which it was written. ------------------ There he sat in a dark cave, wondering what possibly could be next. What had it been – 4 or 5 years he had been on the run? A fugitive from justice – at least the royal excuse for justice at the present moment. He could hear his own breathing – as well as the breathing of a small band of men who were with him in the place where light would not betray their presence. What would today bring? Another close call with death – another sprint up the side of a mountain with our pursuers barely out of sight? It was a lonely existence and often a frustrating one. But before his thoughts could turn to another thing there was a noise at the entrance of their hideout. Silence – absolute silence had to be observed. Did someone see them come in? Did they not cover their tracks well enough? Even worse – were these their final moments before a flood of battle-hardened warriors would begin what would be literally the fight of his life? No it was only one person – wait – it was one very recognizable person from his attire. The king was entering the cave – and remarkably – he was alone. It was soon evident that he was there to relieve himself. A lone soldier silently came to his side and whispered in his ear. “David – this is it – you can end all this now. God has led your enemy right to you where you can strike him down.” The stealthy voice was hushed as David took only a moment (but it felt like a year) to know what he should do. “This is God’s anointed!” He thought, “How can I stretch out my hand and kill him without guilt? He moved as if a small wisp of wind and cut just the corner of Saul’s garment off of the robe. Soon Saul was finished and began to depart from the cave. David waited a few minutes and then followed him. His men crept behind him to see what would happen. David called out to Saul and apologized. APOLOGIZED! What was he doing, his men thought! He isn’t going to kill him? He’s apologizing – and he’s giving away our position! We’re all dead men now! But soon after they heard Saul weep and apologize to him! What an amazing thing to see and hear. What a strange day it was. That night they sat around the fire and David pulled out his lyre. They loved when he did this – for few if any could write and sing like their captain. What prayer would he weave with his music and words tonight? This was a new one – and from what he said – it about today’s events in the cave. “Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, For my soul takes refuge in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge Until destruction passes by.” Sounds right – sounds like what we’ve been going through – that is for sure! But David continued with more. I will cry to God Most High, To God who accomplishes all things for me. He will send from heaven and save me; He reproaches him who tramples upon me. Selah. Our captain is so good at telling the story! We were praying too! It is truly amazing how he turns to God in every situation. It is amazing that he looks to Jehovah to deliver him – and – us! Reproach? Yeah – Jehovah needs to do a little reproaching and rebuking! We are being trampled. The thoughts of what he just sang ran wild in their heads as he went through a little break from singing and the music played by itself. A flourish of music seemed to be leading to some kind of revelation. “God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth.” Send love and truth? What we need to be asking for is a few more soldiers – no – a lot more soldiers! Maybe even a batch of angels! “My soul is among lions; I must lie among those who breathe forth fire, Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows And their tongue a sharp sword.” As I turned and elbowed a buddy next to me – we both had that look in our eyes. Yeah – David – tell it like it is! Lions – yep – they’re like lions – fire breathing lions – with teeth like spears and arrows! Absolutely David – their tongue is like a sword – a very sharp one! We braced ourselves longing for a little more judgment talk! We wondered how God was going to deal with our persecutors? This was going to be good! “Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth.’ Looked at my buddy and shrugged. Where did THAT come from? He’s started praising God. We were kind of used to this. It was like one moment he is concerned – maybe even a little mad. Then – boom – it’s like God does something to his heart and his tone changes. You know - It’s like he sees something we don’t. Almost like God was in the midst of all this mess. Kind of like – no matter what God is still in control of it all? Whatever the case – it may be disturbing – but it sure is amazing and enlightening! They have prepared a net for my steps; My soul is bowed down; They dug a pit before me; They themselves have fallen into the midst of it. Selah. YESSIR David! It was like they were hunting us with a net and a pit! Right again! Our souls were bowed down too! And its about time for someone to knock them into their own pit. Then – there is was again – that flourish in the music that meant a conclusion – or maybe some kind of insight. Oh how we loved how he did this! “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises! Awake, my glory! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations. For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens And Your truth to the clouds. Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth. There he goes again – praising and worshipping God. Was hoping for fire and judgment – but he turns to God and wants to awaken the morning. Thanks? Praise? Love? Truth? Boy - how he views things so very differently than us! Oh – and there it is again – that same chorus. Be exalted above the heavens – Let Your glory be above all the earth. Not exactly what I was expecting after that harrowing experience! Then it was done – the song was over. Like all of his songs – this one left us thinking – wondering – considering things. “You know – there is something about these songs,” I thought. Strange – but the more I hear them – the more I trust in God. The more any situation becomes Jehovah’s situation. The more I see God ultimately in control – no matter how bad or how good it gets. Then there is also that steady drum beat of everything being for God’s glory. I looked over at my buddy one last time before I lay down to sleep. “Eh – pretty good song,” I said. “And weird as it may seem – it makes me want to trust God right along with him.” As I turned my head and lay on the ground I thought of the words of the song I just heard – and drifted off into a restful night’s sleep. My last conscious thoughts were – “With a God like that – doesn’t matter what your situation is – a man can sleep peacefully at night.”  In 1 Samuel 16:14-15 and as well in 1 Samuel 19:9 we read of a strange situation with Saul where an evil spirit from the Lord that came upon Saul. Here are the verses written out below.
Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrorized him. Saul's servants then said to him, "Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you. 1 Samuel 16:14-15 Now there was an evil spirit from the LORD on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, and David was playing the harp with his hand. Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, so that he stuck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night. 1 Samuel 19:9-10 Here we read of an evil spirit from God who was sent to terrorize Saul. What do we make of this – an evil spirit from God? NOT THE FIRST TIME What may be astounding to some is that this is not the first time God has done this. He has used evil spirits to deal with sin in the past. Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, so that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood might be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers. Judges 9:23-24 God used an evil spirit to cause a rift between two sets of evil people who had done horrible violence in killing all the members of the Gideon’s family. This spirit widened that rift so that both parties were destroyed for their genocide of Gideon’s extended family. In 1 Kings 22:19-23, we read of the prophet Micaiah prophesied of an evil spirit who would be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of wicked king Ahab’s false prophets so that he would be led to go to battle and be killed at Ramoth-Gilead. In each of these situations God was dealing with those who were being very disobedient to Him. CONTEXT OF DISOBEDIENCE The first thing – as always – is to understand this in the context in which it is given. Saul has begun disobeying God regularly – without truly coming to repentance afterward. He was not just disobeying God in a personal matter alone – he was openly defying and disobeying orders God gave him for the actions of the entire nation. CONTEXT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT DEPARTING The second thing we should note is that the Spirit of God departed from Saul. Like nature, the spiritual realms abhor a vacuum. What happened in the departure of God’s Spirit was that an evil spirit from God filled that vacuum – though from what we can tell from the passage – it did not possess Saul. The word used for what was happening was that this evil spirit terrorized Saul. The word used here is “baath” which means to startle, terrify, or to fall upon. But why would God allow this? What was He seeking to do? GIVEN OVER One of the ways for us to understand this is to grasp the nature of God’s holiness. In Romans chapter 1 we read of how God responds to sin. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” Paul goes on to tell us that the evidence for God is first known through nature – and then through conscience. Therefore mankind is without excuse for not giving God thanks or honoring Him. What men do is to make a god of their own invention instead. God then “gives them over” to various kinds of sin – anything from sexual sin to anger to even disobedience to one’s parents. This is how God responds to sin in the ungodly. But there is more for us to grasp – including how God uses even Satan to deal with us when we sin so that we will return to Him in repentance. TURNED OVER TO SATAN There are several passages in the New Testament that will help us understand what was going on with Saul in these passages in the book of 1st Samuel. I’ve listed them below. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 1 Corinthians 5:4-5 This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight. keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme. 1 Timothy 1:18-20 In both of these passages there is sin that is a result of ones who are consistently living in disobedience to God. What Paul says in each case is that he turned these men over to Satan for a purpose. In 1 Corinthians the man was turned over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh. In 1 Timothy the two men were handed over to Satan so that they might be taught not to blaspheme God. This may seem extreme to us – but it is only because we don’t fully grasp the honor and glory that God deserves. Also we should remember that this is done rarely – but it is done also for the good of those to whom it happens. In both cases the goal is that these men would learn not to sin and grieve God. God loves them enough to discipline them – and bring them to repentance. So in light of these passages lets return to 1st Samuel and our passages about Saul. God was disciplining Saul by having the evil spirit terrorize him. The intent was for Saul to repent. The problem is that Saul refused to repent – or in some cases he partially repented – or had what 2 Corinthians 7:9-11 calls “the sorrow of the world” which leads to death rather than true God-focused repentance. Rather than turn to God we will watch Saul descend into madness as he is tortured with the reality that he has been replaced and that David is God’s chosen king for Israel’s future. WHAT ABOUT US? So what can WE learn from all of this? There are a couple of things we should grasp. First, is that God takes disobedience very seriously. To disobey God is to place ourselves immediately in the crosshairs of God’s discipline. We might want to think about that a little before we decide to disobey God in the future. Second, God loves us enough to want us to return to Him. He will use whatever it takes to bring us to repentance and return. Yes, that even includes setting the evil one loose to be an instrument of that discipline. What He is doing when He does this is simple. He is allowing the consequences of our sin to run free in our lives. One thing though that is a comfort to us is that God restrains the evil one from taking the full measure of hatred out upon us. But the longer we disobey – the more stringent will be the discipline. And – since we are speaking of eternal things – truly THIS is the most important issue in our lives. Greater than temporary happiness, greater than mental or physical health, greater than prospering in the here and now – God wants us to repent and turn away from disobedience. Considering what we are seeing in the life of Saul . . . it is my hope that we cringe at His power even while marveling at His love. God is at work drawing us to Himself – and He will not tolerate any rival. May we learn – and turn to Him from disobedience and thank Him for such wise, powerful love toward us.  Just thought I’d write something in light of our reading from 1 Samuel 15 the other day. Here is one of those passages that can really get confusing if we don’t study it in light of the whole counsel of God’s Word. On one day - and within one chapter of the Word - we read these three sections all dealing with God regretting (or in the King James it reads, “repenting”) something. And what we read has to be doubly confusing because in verse 10-11 God says he regrets making Saul king, in verse 29 He says He will not lie or “change His mind,” and then finally in verse 35 God repeats that He regretted making Saul king over Israel. Does God change HIs mind or not? Does this represent a serious problem with God being both immutable - and yet - in these passages - seeming to say that He isn’t immutable - because He made a regrettable choice in making Saul king? Which is it - immutable (never changing) or not immutable (changing His mind)?
The first thing we need to do in finding an answer to this dilemma is to place ourselves in humble dependence on God to reveal Himself through the Holy Spirit in the pages of Scripture. As we do this we need to address the whole counsel of God’s Word. First let’s see the passages we are addressing in 1 Samuel 15. Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying, "I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands.” 1 Samuel 15:10-11 (NASB) As Samuel turned to go, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. So Samuel said to him, "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. "Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind." 1 Samuel 15:27-29 (NASB) Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death; for Samuel grieved over Saul. And the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel. 1 Samuel 15:35 (NASB) The next thing to do is to seek to understand these with the wider lens of their context. Had God said anything earlier that would have made this a possibility? The first place to look for this is in Saul’s appointment as king. This did not come without a problem. The prophet Samuel did not want to see a king appointed for Israel. He rightly discerned that God was displeased with this request. Chapter 12 of 1st Samuel is his address to this displeasure of God. After telling them that this was an ungodly request - God manifest Himself by sending thunder and rain during the wheat harvest. This was completely out of the norm and the people feared the Lord greatly as a result. But Samuel sought to comfort Israel with a call to remain faithful to God by continuing to serve the Lord with all their heart. Then he said these words. "Only fear the LORD and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, both you and your king will be swept away." 1 Samuel 12:24-25 (NASB) Therefore we learn from the start of Saul’s kingdom that his appointment was based on him following God with all his heart and not doing wickedly. If he did this, Saul would be swept away by God’s judgment. The fact is that Saul did disobey a direct command of God twice already. This was the second time he disobeyed God in a direct command. The first involved him making an offering without a priest - something God absolutely warned against doing. It was on that occasion that Samuel made it clear that God was then seeking a man after His own heart to be king. We read that in 1 Samuel 13. Samuel said to Saul, "You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, for now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not endure. The LORD has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you." 1 Samuel 13:13-14 (NASB) So what we learn from a better understanding of the context of 1 Samuel is that God had already warned Israel and Saul once - and rebuked Saul for direct disobedience and said that God was going to seek out for Himself a man after His own heart to be king. It was in this context that the incident in chapter 15 with the Amalekites took place. So based on this alone we know that God had not “changed His mind” or “repented” as a man would who had made a mistake. He had already made it clear that Saul was going to be replaced because he had shown himself unfit to be Israel’s king by his multiplied disobedience. One thing we need to state here as well is that often God moved upon His prophets to speak judgment for disobedience and rebellion. But often these were conditional warnings. There was a caveat that if those who received the warnings would repent and turn from their sin - the disaster and judgment could be avoided. If they refused to repent and continued in their sin - the judgment would surely fall upon them just as God had promised. Saul knew this from Israel’s history - and yet he continued in his pride, disobedience and unwillingness to follow God’s decrees. It is at this point that we need to take a look at the words that were used in 1 Samuel and elsewhere to understand a little better what is going on in this passage. Once we have come to understand the context, it is wise to do word studies as well. The KJV regrettably uses the word repent in 1 Samuel 15 to translate the Hebrew word, “nacham” in 1 Samuel 15:11. According to The Complete Word Study Dictionary, Old Testament, the word “nacham” means: to be sorry or to regret. What is going on in this passage where God uses the word “nacham” every time He speaks is this - He is expressing sorrow and regret for having Saul made king. He did so to teach Israel a lesson. That lesson was to trust Him as king - and not be like the rest of the nations around them. And yet even as He gave them what they wanted, knowing it would lead to disaster for them, He did so that they would learn from their mistakes. But as these mistakes began to multiply and the people suffered because of it - God speaks of how it affects Him to see it - he was filled with sorrow and regret for having Saul as king and the suffering it caused. God is not just in heaven marking off the things that will happen like some unfeeling bureaucrat checking off a list. He hated to see the suffering it caused - and yet - He was also disciplining His people so that they would reject sin and adhere to His ways and leading. The word most often used for a man’s repentance is the Hebrew word “shub” which means to turn back. In verses 10 and 11 God uses this word “shub” to describe Saul’s turning from God. But when God speaks of His regret for making Saul king the word “nacham” is used. The two are distinguished from one another - as they are elsewhere in Scripture. A man disobeys God - and after learning of his rebellion is called to change his mind about his wickedness and repent (shub). But God knows no such shock in departing from the right way. What He experiences here - and elsewhere in Scripture is grief and sorrow over sin. Some might assert that God, being sovereign, knew Saul would sin. Then why would God make him king? Why wouldn’t God just make David king - or just refuse to have any king at all? Why would God allow the suffering and the sin that would follow Saul’s terrible reign as king - when He could have avoided it altogether? To answer this will require a second article - seeing as this one has already run very long. I’ll address this question in the next installment. |
Biblical ArticlesMost of these articles are taken from the Calvary Courier, a weekly newsletter that is sent to the folks who attend Calvary Chapel Jonesboro. Due to the response to these articles, we've decided to print some of them which proved to be very helpful to God's people at the fellowship. 
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