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Skip's Teachings > 09 1 Samuel - 2002 > The Downward Spiral Of A Leader

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The Downward Spiral Of A Leader
1 Samuel 13-15
Skip Heitzig

1 Samuel 13 (NKJV™)
1 Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel,
2 Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the mountains of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent away, every man to his tent.
3 And Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, "Let the Hebrews hear!"
4 Now all Israel heard it said that Saul had attacked a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel had also become an abomination to the Philistines. And the people were called together to Saul at Gilgal.
5 Then the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth Aven.
6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in danger (for the people were distressed), then the people hid in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in holes, and in pits.
7 And some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
8 Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.
9 So Saul said, "Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me." And he offered the burnt offering.
10 Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him.
11 And Samuel said, "What have you done?" And Saul said, "When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash,
12 "then I said, 'The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.' Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering."
13 And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done 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.
14 "But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you."
15 Then Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people present with him, about six hundred men.
16 Saul, Jonathan his son, and the people present with them remained in Gibeah of Benjamin. But the Philistines encamped in Michmash.
17 Then raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned to the road to Ophrah, to the land of Shual,
18 another company turned to the road to Beth Horon, and another company turned to the road of the border that overlooks the Valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.
19 Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, "Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears."
20 But all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen each man's plowshare, his mattock, his ax, and his sickle;
21 and the charge for a sharpening was a pim for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to set the points of the goads.
22 So it came about, on the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. But they were found with Saul and Jonathan his son.
23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.
1 Samuel 14 (NKJV™)
1 Now it happened one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, "Come, let us go over to the Philistines' garrison that is on the other side." But he did not tell his father.
2 And Saul was sitting in the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron. The people who were with him were about six hundred men.
3 Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD'S priest in Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. But the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.
4 Between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines' garrison, there was a sharp rock on one side and a sharp rock on the other side. And the name of one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.
5 The front of one faced northward opposite Michmash, and the other southward opposite Gibeah.
6 Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, "Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the LORD will work for us. For nothing restrains the LORD from saving by many or by few."
7 So his armorbearer said to him, "Do all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you, according to your heart."
8 Then Jonathan said, "Very well, let us cross over to these men, and we will show ourselves to them.
9 "If they say thus to us, 'Wait until we come to you,' then we will stand still in our place and not go up to them.
10 "But if they say thus, 'Come up to us,' then we will go up. For the LORD has delivered them into our hand, and this will be a sign to us."
11 So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, "Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden."
12 Then the men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armorbearer, and said, "Come up to us, and we will show you something." Jonathan said to his armorbearer, "Come up after me, for the LORD has delivered them into the hand of Israel."
13 And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees with his armorbearer after him; and they fell before Jonathan. And as he came after him, his armorbearer killed them.
14 That first slaughter which Jonathan and his armorbearer made was about twenty men within about half an acre of land.
15 And there was trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and the raiders also trembled; and the earth quaked, so that it was a very great trembling.
16 Now the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and there was the multitude, melting away; and they went here and there.
17 Then Saul said to the people who were with him, "Now call the roll and see who has gone from us." And when they had called the roll, surprisingly, Jonathan and his armorbearer were not there.
18 And Saul said to Ahijah, "Bring the ark of God here" (for at that time the ark of God was with the children of Israel).
19 Now it happened, while Saul talked to the priest, that the noise which was in the camp of the Philistines continued to increase; so Saul said to the priest, "Withdraw your hand."
20 Then Saul and all the people who were with him assembled, and they went to the battle; and indeed every man's sword was against his neighbor, and there was very great confusion.
21 Moreover the Hebrews who were with the Philistines before that time, who went up with them into the camp from the surrounding country, they also joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.
22 Likewise all the men of Israel who had hidden in the mountains of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, they also followed hard after them in the battle.
23 So the LORD saved Israel that day, and the battle shifted to Beth Aven.
24 And the men of Israel were distressed that day, for Saul had placed the people under oath, saying, "Cursed is the man who eats any food until evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies." So none of the people tasted food.
25 Now all the people of the land came to a forest; and there was honey on the ground.
26 And when the people had come into the woods, there was the honey, dripping; but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath.
27 But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath; therefore he stretched out the end of the rod that was in his hand and dipped it in a honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his countenance brightened.
28 Then one of the people said, "Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, 'Cursed is the man who eats food this day.'" And the people were faint.
29 But Jonathan said, "My father has troubled the land. Look now, how my countenance has brightened because I tasted a little of this honey.
30 "How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found! For now would there not have been a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?"
31 Now they had driven back the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. So the people were very faint.
32 And the people rushed on the spoil, and took sheep, oxen, and calves, and slaughtered them on the ground; and the people ate them with the blood.
33 Then they told Saul, saying, "Look, the people are sinning against the LORD by eating with the blood!" So he said, "You have dealt treacherously; roll a large stone to me this day."
34 And Saul said, "Disperse yourselves among the people, and say to them, 'Bring me here every man's ox and every man's sheep, slaughter them here, and eat; and do not sin against the LORD by eating with the blood.'" So every one of the people brought his ox with him that night, and slaughtered it there.
35 Then Saul built an altar to the LORD. This was the first altar that he built to the LORD.
36 Now Saul said, "Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and plunder them until the morning light; and let us not leave a man of them." And they said, "Do whatever seems good to you." Then the priest said, "Let us draw near to God here."
37 So Saul asked counsel of God, "Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You deliver them into the hand of Israel?" But He did not answer him that day.
38 And Saul said, "Come over here, all you chiefs of the people, and know and see what this sin was today.
39 "For as the LORD lives, who saves Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die." But not a man among all the people answered him.
40 Then he said to all Israel, "You be on one side, and my son Jonathan and I will be on the other side." And the people said to Saul, "Do what seems good to you."
41 Therefore Saul said to the LORD God of Israel, "Give a perfect lot." So Saul and Jonathan were taken, but the people escaped.
42 And Saul said, "Cast lots between my son Jonathan and me." So Jonathan was taken.
43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, "Tell me what you have done." And Jonathan told him, and said, "I only tasted a little honey with the end of the rod that was in my hand. So now I must die!"
44 And Saul answered, "God do so and more also; for you shall surely die, Jonathan."
45 But the people said to Saul, "Shall Jonathan die, who has accomplished this great deliverance in Israel? Certainly not! As the LORD lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day." So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.
46 Then Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.
47 So Saul established his sovereignty over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the people of Ammon, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he harassed them.
48 And he gathered an army and attacked the Amalekites, and delivered Israel from the hands of those who plundered them.
49 The sons of Saul were Jonathan, Jishui and Malchishua. And the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal.
50 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.
51 Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.
52 Now there was fierce war with the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man or any valiant man, he took him for himself.
1 Samuel 15 (NKJV™)
1 Samuel also said to Saul, "The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the LORD.
2 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt.
3 'Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'"
4 So Saul gathered the people together and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah.
5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and lay in wait in the valley.
6 Then Saul said to the Kenites, "Go, depart, get down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt." So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
7 And Saul attacked the Amalekites, from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt.
8 He also took Agag 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, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.
10 Now the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying,
11 "I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments." And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the LORD all night.
12 So when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, it was told Samuel, saying, "Saul went to Carmel, and indeed, he set up a monument for himself; and he has gone on around, passed by, and gone down to Gilgal."
13 Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, "Blessed are you of the LORD! I have performed the commandment of the LORD."
14 But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my 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 the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed."
16 Then Samuel said to Saul, "Be quiet! And I will tell you what the LORD said to me last night." And he said to him, "Speak on."
17 So Samuel said, "When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel?
18 "Now the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, 'Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.'
19 "Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the LORD?"
20 And Saul said to Samuel, "But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
21 "But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal."
22 Then 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 heed than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king."
24 Then 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.
25 "Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD."
26 But 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."
27 And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore.
28 So Samuel said to him, "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.
29 "And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent."
30 Then he said, "I have sinned; yet honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD your God."
31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul worshiped the LORD.
32 Then Samuel said, "Bring Agag king of the Amalekites here to me." So Agag came to him cautiously. And Agag said, "Surely the bitterness of death is past."
33 But Samuel said, "As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women." And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul.
35 And Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.

New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.

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09 1 Samuel - 2002

As detailed by Pastor Skip Heitzig, First Samuel tells the stories of a prophet, a politician, and a poet--Samuel, Saul, and David--and how God used them to form the nation of Israel.

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Well, we have a new worship group of sorts tonight, I see over here.

Yeah!

[APPLAUSE]

We have some members of my staff-- Dave Row on the guitar, then Jen, my assistant, next to Dave, Amy over there. Then we have Paul on guitar. And then from the Lively Hearts Club Band, we have Ken Riley on the bass.

[APPLAUSE]

And Michael McDade, what are you doing playing the drums? You play like every instrument there is to play.

[APPLAUSE]

Let's see, he plays guitar. He plays keyboards. He plays piano and drums. Of course, you just lost your reward in heaven because I mentioned that. But it's good to have you guys. And then to my right here, this is my guru. I wanted to introduce him to you. Now, this is Terry Willis. He's a member of my staff as well.

[APPLAUSE]

And then next to Terry-- both of you guys are wearing black. You're men in black tonight--

We're men in black.

-- is Chip Lusko. Chip, how are you tonight?

[APPLAUSE]

These men are filled with wisdom. That's why they're up here. And they're going to answer any question in the world that you might have. They said they could answer it. Isn't that what you told me?

That's what he said.

Oh, OK. OK, now before we-- we have a few questions. You know, we get a lot of questions that come in, and we need to take some time every now and then to actually answer them. And it's a good thing that we do, because I have a couple of emails right here, one from Spain and one from Cuba, thanking us for Line On Line. They watch it live from those countries.

[APPLAUSE]

One comes from Spain from a brother named Steve, and he says, thanks so much for your wonderful online ministry. I'm a Navy chief stationed with my family in Spain. I can't begin to tell you how my soul is refreshed by your message and the fact that we include on the web live broadcast the praise and worship music. So you guys go over real big over there. You're in Spain.

And then we have one from Cuba. Crystal watches Line On Line. And she says, it's very exciting, and I'm glad I didn't miss it. It's exciting for me to see your church online. And then she asks, also, is there any way of recording this online?

Well, Crystal, if you're watching this live, you can go to the Archive section and watch any of the Line On Line broadcasts at any time you wish. So it's always available, 24 hours a day, as long as you have a computer available of some kind.

And then thank you for your Line On Line ministry and your willingness to answer questions. Well, speaking of questions, we have a few tonight, don't we, gentlemen?

We do.

Terry, what are they?

Well, let's start off with this one. You know, if we're not supposed to judge, should we be on a jury?

Now, say that again. If we're not supposed to judge-- oh, there it is, so everybody can see it. Let's broadcast it up here on all the screens. If I'm not supposed to judge, should I be on a jury? I suppose that means like in a courtroom doing jury duty, is that right? Well, Chip Lusko, you have a legal background.

Yeah, right. Now I do.

[LAUGHTER]

We have to clarify, Skip. That was Cuba the country, too, right?

Yeah, it was Cuba the country, not Cuba, New Mexico--

[INAUDIBLE] We have to be [? clear. ?]

--the township.

Right.

Well, I think we have to also really define our terms here as to what the word "judge" means biblically. And it doesn't mean to draw a conclusion. It means to condemn. And we ought not condemn anybody, but we are called to do our civic duty. And as long as it doesn't conflict with God's clear revealed will, we're free to do that.

And you know, I would even take it a step further. Terry, you can get ready to jump in any time. But it wouldn't even preclude somebody-- you shall not judge. When Jesus said that, that wouldn't keep anybody from becoming, professionally in a court of law, a judge.

It's not speaking of-- they're two completely separate issues. One is to not have all the facts and assume you know a person's motive and to hypocritically, censorially judge that person versus somebody who's actually, like you said, Chip, a civic duty type of an issue.

I think there's also something where when people read that, they're missing also about mercy. God set the state up to be in that place for capital punishment and to judge. But we want to step in that place. We see something. We think, if I was the judge, I would do this.

But God is leaving that again for the state. Where our thing is, one, to pray. If we're not praying, we're probably judging, if we're not forgiving. And if God did that with us concerning us being sinners, I think we need to do that with people believing in-- leave judging always in the right hands.

Right. God will judge. Let's just sort of rephrase the common biblical mandate. Don't be a sin sniffer. Don't be a gospel gestapo, like you and you alone are the righteous one, and you can pass judgment on people. For as you said, God is the ultimate judge.

He is.

And in Israel, there were judges that God set up. And Jesus himself talked about going to court and paying the last penny. So in his own words, there was this endorsement of such.

But they're still God's servants, the people that are in that position. And God still puts them there, and the state sets them up. And we need to leave it as that and make sure we're not always [? standing ?] in their place.

Let me ask you this. Did you like Chip's answer, or was it wrong?

I did like Chip's answer.

OK, I just wanted to put him on the spot there. OK. We have a second-- this is just fun. You know, we just-- you kind of take it a little too seriously. It's just we're having fun up here. Chip, go ahead.

Also, Skip, on the issue of judging, God made provision for a city of refuge, interesting concept. He provided a place of forgiveness and for mercy. Next question, though, is relevant to today and what's going on in our world, is there such a thing as a holy war?

Boy. [? Well, ?] I guess it depends who you ask, wouldn't it?

[INAUDIBLE] we're asking you.

Yeah, well, you're asking me. OK, thank you.

[LAUGHTER]

Well, the definition of a holy war goes back for us, at least in our history, to the Crusades, when there were a group of people who believed that it was justified to go to the Middle East and kill people who didn't believe in Christ, namely Jewish people especially, and people who wouldn't submit to this mandate.

It was not unlike what Islam is doing in some places today. And of course, September 11, in some people's book, was considered part of a holy war, a jihad. When I was in New York City at Ground Zero a week after the Trade Center fell, there was graffiti on pieces of paper around, and you could freely express whatever was on your heart.

And one person drew a picture of a boxing ring and two boxers in it. One was standing up victorious. The other one was on the ground defeated. An arrow to the victorious boxer said Muhammad. The boxer lying on the ground had an arrow pointed to it and the words Jesus were [INAUDIBLE]. And underneath it said, Mohammad 1, Jesus 0, referring to the World Trade Center.

Because in some people's minds, the West and Christianity, America and Christianity, are all lumped up together. Jesus and the West-- strike the West, you strike Jesus. And in some people's view, that's OK to do.

Now, we also can't get around the fact that in the Old Testament, by special revelation, God mandated certain wars to take place. In fact, we're going to touch on that a little bit later on in our studies, so I don't want to give away the goods.

But we don't live in that era. This is a different kind of an era. We're not dealing with Amalekites who are preprogramed for generations and generations of terrorism. We're dealing now with a new covenant and the dispensation of grace.

Isn't there a higher view also that we are involved in a spiritual holy war?

Oh, we are involved in spiritual warfare, certainly, yes. And I think the question is probably a little more on the literal side as I read it.

Now, Terry has spent a good bit of time with martial arts.

That's right. Now, that's an interesting idea. You know, I don't think--

[LAUGHTER]

I don't think you go out on purpose to harm people, or do you?

I've never had a chance to use it. My goal is to look-- well, not that way.

[LAUGHTER]

[? Let ?] me ask you this. Just if you and Chip were to have a fight right now, who would win? That's all I want to know.

He would surrender, he said.

[LAUGHTER]

Go ahead, Terry, sorry.

Well, Jesus fought with the army of Israel in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, he came to look to seek and give life, to save it. So when I think about martial arts, I'm looking to [? calling ?] my opponent, I don't want him to injure me, and I don't want to injure him. And with that, I've never had to use it. Size helps a little bit.

You're not going to hurt me, are you?

I want a [? job. ?]

OK.

[LAUGHTER]

I guess that's a good answer. Do we have time for another question? What else do we have there on the list?

Regarding Saul, if a person commits suicide, do they go straight to hell? We get that question a lot here, people calling on the phone.

We do get that question a lot. And you know, that's going to be really toward the end of this book where he does commit suicide, but it does bring up that issue. And it's interesting. The US judicial system sort of relegates a suicide victim to somebody who is insane. That's generally the view of the law. They say, well, he was insane. He's not responsible for his actions.

And you know, I've met people who have come close to the brink of suicide, and even later on did indeed take their life. And it did seem-- though this is painting with a broad brush, it certainly doesn't apply to everyone-- I think that a person can get to a point where they do not understand the value of right and wrong.

And it's just like we would talk about a kid, saying the age of accountability, whatever that age might be, depending on the child. But then what if a person never actually gets to that age, or if during a period of great depression comes to a point where they're not knowing what they're doing, thus, in a sense, not responsible for their action?

So I'm going to say I would never guarantee a person who committed suicide or-- of course, I couldn't do that-- but a person whose family member committed suicide that they would go to heaven necessarily.

But I would balance it out with God's mercy. God's merciful. God knows the hearts of people. It is a sin. But I would never presume on the mercy of God and just say, oh, it's no big deal and pass over it. I think it is a very grave issue.

I believe the same. And as we were talking earlier, I think salvation is based on one thing. It's based on Christ.

Right.

And someone may have been under a delusion at that point, listening to Satan, not listening to what God has said, and they may take their lives.

Jesus talked about one sin that was unforgivable, which was the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

Yes.

Chip Lusko, do you have any words of wisdom?

Yeah, I think the issue is not taking your life by your own hand, but what you did with your life before that moment and if you ever committed to Christ. That's the higher view.

Committed to Christ. That's right. It all goes back to that, doesn't it, our relationship with him. Thank you, guys, for joining us tonight.

You're welcome.

[APPLAUSE]

Let's continue with worship.

As you open your Bibles to chapter 13-- and I'm going to be summing up great portions of it and then honing in on some of the verses themselves. Because we want to look at three steps, as you saw on the screen, that Saul, the first king, took in his degeneration and ultimately his rejection by God.

Now, as you're turning in your Bible, a couple of announcements. If you are watching over the internet and you have a question about tonight's study even while we're doing it, just send it on over, and they'll process it upstairs. And if it's a question that fits with our study, then we'll just answer it right here on the fly.

And also a word about questions. Sometimes we're getting questions that have to do with studies past, and we want to answer that with our staff. But as far as answering it, you need to sort of anticipate where we're going. That's why we give you in the bulletin and even on the net what we're going to be covering in the next few weeks, so you can formulate a question based on that information.

The other announcement is next week we have a special guest for Line On Line. Greg Laurie will be here doing our study with us.

[APPLAUSE]

He's on my board of directors, and he and Raul Ries will be in town. And so Greg's going to do it, and I'm going to see if Raul can at least stay and we can interview him. Or maybe Terry and he could have a fight, because they're both karate people. I don't know. We'll figure out something, See who wins.

But let's have a word of prayer. Father, we do thank you for this evening. Thank you for your word and these stories that are so relevant to our own lives. Lord, some of us have had a busy day and even a crazy week. And we pray, Lord, that you would just diffuse that with your presence and open up our minds and the eyes of our heart to grasp eternal things and to apply these principles to our lives in Jesus' name. Amen.

You may have heard about the man who desperately needed money, and he went to the local zoo to get a job feeding the animals. And the manager of the zoo, the zookeeper, said, well, we don't have any positions for that. They're all taken.

But he noticed this applicant's size and strength. And because their gorilla had just died, he said, hey, listen, this might sound crazy, but if we gave you a gorilla suit, could, for a few days at least, you play our gorilla? Because he's a big attraction in the zoo. People love to see the ape. Would you mind? And the guy thought about it. And the money was good, so he says, OK, I'll do it.

Well, there he was, day after day, in the cage beating his breast, yelling out loud or making ape noises, gorilla noises. And I don't know the difference, so if I'm wrong in what species, whatever, I'm sorry. But there he was.

And people said, what an intelligent gorilla you have. This gorilla is amazing. We've not seen this kind-- this caliber of intelligence before. Well, one day he got carried away. And he was swinging from the tree and he swung a little too far, and he ended up in the lion's cage. And the lion came out and stalked him and let out this huge roar that only the king of beasts can muster up.

Well, this guy was scared to death, but he knew he couldn't scream because he would give away his cover. So he slowly backs up toward the wall. He's getting ready to climb over it. And the lion lunges forward as if to attack and roars again.

Well, by this time, it's just too much. So the guy in the gorilla suit says, help, at the top of his voice. Just then, the lion, in a very low voice, says, shut up, stupid, or you'll get both of us fired.

[LAUGHTER]

So there's a case of two people pretending to be something they certainly were not. Well, Saul wasn't wearing a gorilla suit, nor was he wearing a lion suit. But he was wearing a king suit, you might say. He was the King of Israel.

But he was wearing a facade. He pretends to be a godly person. He says the right words. He even goes through some of the right motions. But his heart is far from God. And tonight, the veneer comes off. We finally see Saul for who he is. He's just become king. But in three successive chapters, the true nature-- will the real Saul please stand up?

Well, he does in these chapters, unfortunately. Francis Bacon said, "A bad man is a worse man when he pretends to be a saint." I think that could safely sum up this man's life. He pretended to be something he really wasn't.

And something about this type of person you will notice. Hypocrites often love to justify themselves. They feign spirituality. They look down on other people who aren't like they are. And they seek to justify themselves.

Remember, Jesus gave a parable in Luke's Gospel. He said two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. "And the Pharisee stood and prayed out loud, thus with himself," it says.

He says, " 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men-- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, and even like, ahem, this tax collector over here.' " He says that out loud. " 'I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I possess.' " But Jesus said, " 'The tax collector wouldn't even lift his eyes up toward heaven but beat on his breast, and he said, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner.' "

Now, here you have a Pharisee justifying himself and a tax collector humbling himself. And Jesus said it was the tax collector who went away justified. The Pharisee was self-justified but not before God. The tax collector humbled himself, and he walked away, Jesus said, justified.

I have watched leaders fall. I've seen them. I've seen leaders on my own staff fall for various reasons. And I notice that there is this progression. Oftentimes, certain activities begin with denial, at least their own activities.

In the midst of it, there is a denial. Oh, I have no problem. This really isn't an issue. And then from denial, there's arrogance and then a list of other things, and we're going to look at them tonight.

Chapter 13, verse 1. And let me just give you the first step spiraling downward for King Saul. We mentioned these a few weeks ago briefly. Here's the first one.

Saul played the fool by arrogance. He played the fool by arrogance. Now, by his own admission, he played the fool. He said, " 'I have played the fool and erred exceedingly.' " He said that at the end. But here is the first step-- arrogance.

"Saul reigned," it says, "one year. And when he had reigned two years over Israel, Saul chose for himself 3,000 men of Israel. 2,000 were with Saul in Michmash and in the mountains of Bethel, and 1,000 were with Jonathan"-- that's his son-- "in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent away, every man to his tent.

And Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout the land saying, 'Let the Hebrews hear.' "

Now, you'll notice that as we're reading the scripture, we're showing you some scenes, actual footage of Israel and this area around the Judean hillsides where this is taking place. Saul was at-- it says Michmash, or Michmash if you want to be more Hebraic. This is about 7 miles north of a town called Jebus.

Have you ever heard of Jebus? It's the ancient name for a city you're familiar with-- Jerusalem. It was called Jebus. The capital was, at that time, in Gibeah, because that's where Saul was from. He made his own hometown the capital.

So that's what he is protecting with his 3,000 men. However, though he has 3,000 armed men, he's about to encounter 30,000 chariots plus soldiers. He's going to be greatly outnumbered, which causes many of the children of Israel to actually flee, hide in the caves.

Now, notice what we just read. "Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Gibeah, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout the land saying, 'Let the Hebrews hear.' "

Who won the battle? Jonathan. Who blew his own horn? Dad. Now, you might think, well, you're making too much. He's just signaling. But I would call this military plagiarism. He gives no attribution to his son.

In fact, you find something out about Saul in reading his history. He likes to sit around and watch things and blow trumpets and give orders. But Jonathan, on the other hand, his son, is the real fighter.

Saul loves attention. Do you know anybody like that? There are certain people, they just can't stand when you're not talking about them, when they're not on the stage, when they're not the ones that everyone is after. They just can't stand it. Saul was like that. He didn't want David-- he didn't want his own son to get any of the limelight. And so this is sort of a preview of this man's life. Saul blew the trumpet.

Well, 30,000 chariots plus soldiers, they recognize they're outnumbered. And it says in our text that they flee. Some of them go all the way across the Jordan River. Some hide in caves, because they know they're outnumbered.

Look at verse 8. "Then he waited seven days." Now, he was told to wait, to go to this place and wait for Samuel, the prophet, to come. And this man of God would offer up a sacrifice tantamount to, let's dedicated our lives to the Lord. But he didn't do that.

"He waited seven days according to the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattered from him. So Saul said, 'Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.' And he offered the burnt offering.

Now, it happened as soon as he finished presenting the burnt offering that Samuel came, and Saul went out to meet him that he might greet him. And Samuel said, 'What have you done?'

Saul said, 'When I saw that the people were scattered from me, that you did not come within the days appointed, that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, then I said the Philistines will now come down to me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord. Therefore, I felt compelled and offered a burnt offering.'

And Samuel said to Saul, 'You have done foolishly.' " I like people who just call it as they see it. And believe me, this guy does. " '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 continue. The Lord has sought for himself a man after his own heart. And the Lord has commanded him to be a commander over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you."

Saul presumed. We don't know exactly what he was thinking, but presumption is the lowest form of communication. Maybe he thought, well, you know, Samuel is late because he trusts me to do this now. He's passing the torch of priesthood to me. That was a bad presumption, if that was indeed his thinking, because he wasn't a Levite. Only Levites could do this stuff.

And you know what? If you're a king, don't try to be a priest. If you're a priest, don't try to be a king. God has regulations for each. And here's a guy who presumed to enter into a priest's office, and it wasn't God's command.

Now, this isn't the first and last time this happens. Remember in Second Chronicles-- and if you don't remember it, you'll read it some day if you keep coming here, because we'll go through it. But there was a guy named Uzziah. He was the King of Judah at the time. And the Bible says "He lifted up his heart"-- get this-- "He lifted up his heart to his own destruction"-- pride. "He lifted up his heart to his own destruction."

What did he do? He walks into the temple and offers incense like a priest would. He probably thought, this is cool. I always wanted to be a priest. When I was a kid, I dressed up like a priest, and I always dreamed of it. Now, because I'm the king, I can do anything I want.

So a man of God came in and rebuked him for going into the priest's office. And the Bible says, "Leprosy came onto his face instantly." He just turned leprous. He had this grave disease. It was God's response to someone intruding into the priest's office that he reserved only for the Levites.

Well, Saul gives three excuses. And I call them excuses, not reasons. There's a difference. Billy Sunday once said that "An excuse is the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie-- the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie." Something about us slippery humanoids-- we are very skilled at justifying ourselves. We're good at it. We can come up with so many reasons that may be just excuses.

And notice his own reasons. Number one, he says the people scattered. Number two, the Philistines are coming. And number three, you're late. And he lays the blame really upon the prophet. You know, you're late. I'm a type A personality. I expected you here on time. You didn't show up. So I just did it.

He doesn't confess his sin. He didn't say, you're right, I know what the Bible says. You're right, I know what the law says. I shouldn't be doing this. He makes up excuses. Know anybody like that? We're all like that, aren't we, from time to time? Well, here's his excuses. He didn't confess his sin. He justified himself.

Do you remember just a few chapters back how this man began his reign? When Samuel first called him, he thought, oh, who am I? No, I can't be the king. Who am I?

Now he's singing a different tune. Now he's saying, look who I am. Not who am I, but look who I am. I'm the king. I can do anything I want. So he is lifting up his heart. Pride, arrogance is the first step. He thinks he's something more than what God called him to be.

It gets worse. I'm going to sort of spill the beans a little bit. Chapter 15, it says that Saul went up to Mount Carmel and set a monument to himself on Mount Carmel. That's how bad it got. He started naming universities and monuments and things after himself, the great King of Israel. His pride went from one stage to the next.

Now, go down a few verses to about verse 17, because Saul returns to Gibeah. At this time, he only has 600 men with him, which enables the Philistines to continue their attacks against Israel because their army is depleted. They're scared.

It says, verse 17, "The raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned onto the road to Ophrah-- that would be where Oprah Winfrey is from. No, I'm just making that up. This is Ophrah. Actually, there's a "ph." Into the land of Shual. Another company turned to the road to Beth-Horon. Another company turned to the road to the border that overlooks the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.

Now, there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all of the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, lest the Hebrews make swords or spears." Think of the situation Israel is in. They haven't developed metallurgy for iron implements. They have sticks and bronze at best.

When they want to get their farm implements sharpened, they have to go pay the Philistines, who have developed this and maintain control over this technological edge in warfare at the time. Gives them a disadvantage. They are disarmed. The Philistines are well-armed. And the Philistines are terrorizing, attacking, the Israelites.

There is an interesting ideology, and it really is idealistic, I believe. It's a philosophy that talks about disarming America. And there have been administrations that have sought to not pay for military protection. It's not an important issue.

And it's idealistic because it's the belief that we're going to come to a place in history where we're going to recognize we're all swell people. And we're going to just kind of line up around the Earth for one big group hug, and we're going to get over this warfare.

So if we begin with America by disarming America, disarming honest people, good people who would need to protect themselves, you will eliminate war. No, you won't eliminate war.

Because you have one problem, you see. It's called the heart of man. It's "desperately wicked," the Bible says, "Who can know it?" And that's not generational. It's not like, oh, yeah, it used to be desperately wicked. It still is. And you give man technology, and he becomes who he is with technology.

But if you just eliminate all weaponry altogether, what you will do is enable thugs to become worse. Because you're not going to disarm criminals. You're not going to disarm thugs. It's historically proven. If they want to get stuff, they will.

And we see a situation of this happening right here. You know, I work as a volunteer. I'm a chaplain for the FBI. And this last week, we had a memorial service that they have yearly for the Bureau. And at this memorial service, all of the names of FBI agents who have fallen in the line of duty in history, since it first began, their names and testimonies of their death are read.

I found it interesting that in all of the FBI's history, only 47 men have fallen in duty. And that's encouraging. But as they're reading how they died-- they died going after mobsters, the gang in Chicago, the gangs in New York, drug traffickers bringing things into the country, bank robbers, people who are amassing weapons to go against, to bring an uprising of anarchy.

Edmund Burke once said, "All that is necessary for evil to abound is for good men to do nothing-- for good men to do nothing." Israel needed to do something. Well, they continue to do things in these chapters.

Now we come to chapter 14. The army is reduced, as I said, to 600 men. "Saul is sitting under a tree watching," it says, the beginning part of this chapter, "under a pomegranate tree." It's kind of nice. He's eating and watching.

But Jonathan, his boy, he's not a watcher, man. He's not a sitter. He's a doer. And he definitely does something here that's classic. I love this story. It is indeed, seriously, one of my favorite stories in all of the Bible. It's a classic.

But it also, in contrast to Jonathan, brings up something about Saul. Saul plays the fool-- second step-- by indifference. He's indifferent to his men's needs. He's thinking only of himself. And when you're self-focused, you don't have time to think about what others need. And those kind of people make poor leaders.

Look down to verse 6. I just sort of summed up the first part-- one sitting watching, and one's going to do something. Jonathan wants to go to the camp of the Philistines. "Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, 'Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.'

So his armor-bearer said to him, 'Do all that is in your heart.' " Don't you love guys like that? " 'Go then, here I am with you according to your heart.' " Hey, let's both go. If you're going to go, I'm going with you. I'm not scared.

"Then Jonathan said, 'Very well, let us cross over to these men, and we will show ourselves to them. If they say to us, 'wait until we come to you,' then we will stand still in our place and not go up to them. But if they say thus, 'come up to us,' then we will go up; for the Lord has delivered them into our hand, and this will be a sign to us.'

So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, 'Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden.' Then the men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, 'Come up to us, and we will show you something.

Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, 'Come up after me-- for the Lord has delivered them into the hand of Israel.' " We got our sign, man. "And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees with his armor-bearer after him, and they fell before Jonathan. And as he came after him, his armor-bearer killed them. That the first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, was about 20 men within about a half an acre of land.

And there was a trembling in the camp"-- most interpreters see this as an earthquake that happened just at that time-- "in the field, and among the people. The garrison and the raiders also trembled, and the earth quaked so that it was a very great trembling."

Now, Jonathan knew he was outnumbered, obviously. You have a camp of Philistines. He's got two-- he and his armor-bearer. Some think he had a small contingent of men as well, and these were sort of the point men that went up to spy it out and go first, and then the other group would come later.

But he's outnumbered. And so he takes them into this, if you follow this geographically, topographically, into a narrow mountain pass-- you can still find it in Israel today and go to this spot-- into a narrow mountain pass so that he could control the warfare in a small perimeter of land. It would be hedged in by a canyon.

Back in the Greek days, the Battle of Thermopylae, it was called, in eastern Greece, same tactics were employed. The Grecians were outnumbered by the Persians. But the Greeks were able to fend off the Persian invasion by bringing them into a very similar situation of a canyon, and though they had fewer men, be able to push off the Persians.

Also, interesting side note, I was reading that General Allenby, the British general-- if you know your recent history you remember who he was, he fought in the Middle East-- read this chapter the night before he fought and won the Turks. In a very, very important battle, he read this.

Some believe that he was a Bible-believing Christian. I don't know. But if the authors that know him well are correct, then here's a guy who's reading his Bible and gets inspired for the next day's battle.

Well, look what Jonathan says. He goes, " 'Let's go up--' " and listen to him, " '--it may be,' " I don't know for sure, but " 'it may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.' " Don't you love that attitude?

Hey, I got an idea. What would it be-- what would it be like if you and I went to the camp of the Philistines? Well, what do you mean, Jonathan? Well, God's big, right? Yeah. And God can do anything, right? Yeah. And God's all powerful, right? Yeah.

Well, I was just thinking, if God is all of that, if he wanted to, not that he would, but if he wanted to, he could use just you and I. We could whoop all of them. Do all that is in your heart, Jonathan. If you're going, I'm going. Loyalty to the end.

But what a thought. God doesn't need 600 scared men sitting under trees eating pomegranates. I mean, he could use those, but he could also use two guys who have guts. Let's go for it.

I love the Jonathan attitude, the go-for-it attitude. Hey, let's just go out and see what the Lord will do. Maybe God will do something cool in our life. Let's try it. I've got an idea. Oh, that'll never work. Yeah, but if God's behind it, it could work. It will work.

I was a young surfer in Southern California. And I thought, do you think if I moved out east to New Mexico--

[LAUGHTER]

It's all a matter of perspective now. I'm as far west as you could get. If I moved out east, do you think the Lord, could he, like, use me to start a church? I don't know. But it's God. He could do anything.

And I had a good friend back then named Kent. He said, go for it. I'll go with you. Those were some trying years. They were some adventurous several months. And I remember trying to talk people into coming with me. Hey, you ought to come out, and we can start this thing together. You can be a worship leader. You could do this.

Oh, I don't know. I don't think God's calling me. OK, I can buy that, no problem. God's not calling you, I don't want you to come anyway. I want you to stay. I only want you to come if God's calling you.

A couple years later, I got a call, a phone call, from some of these people. Suddenly, God was calling them, now that we had a church established and a payroll to pay staff. And I feel like God's really called me to work alongside of you. Really? Where was your adventurous spirit a couple years ago? It's great to find these adventurous types. Let's just see what God will do with our lives. They went out.

Jonathan has a proper concept of God. Saul does not. Saul has a huge sense of himself. Jonathan has a huge sense of God. One is focused on God. One is focused on self. There's a huge difference between them. Jonathan recognized that God is not limited by human resources, human capabilities. God has no limitations at all.

And you will do well to remember that when you pray. Why is it that when we pray we often bring our own weaknesses, frailties, inabilities into our prayer life? Oh, God, I don't know if you could ever see fit or could even do something here, but. Who are you talking to? God. Hello. Creator.

I think that before we pray, or even as we pray, we should do what they did in the Book of Acts chapter 4. They set it up by recognizing to whom they were addressing this communication. They had a huge need. They were being threatened. They could be killed. But they didn't rush, right, and go, oh, god, we're going to killed.

This is how they began their prayer. Lord, you are God. You created the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them. Good way to start your prayer. It elevates the whole thing. You recognize you're praying to God. He can do anything.

And when you get that perspective, the request sounds a whole lot easier for him to fulfill. When you recognize, oh, if I were to ask my buddy this, it would be a problem. If I were to ask my boss for this, it wouldn't even work. But if I were to ask God for this, God can do anything, and he's my Lord. Jonathan had that kind of a perspective.

You remember Abraham and Sarah, when God said to Abraham, I'll be back in a year. Your wife's going to have a baby. And she laughs behind the curtain to herself. I'm an old hag, and that guy out there just said I'm going to have a baby. Oh, "could I have pleasure in my old age?"

She said that to herself silently, but the Lord spoke up and said, " 'Abraham, why did your wife Sarah laugh?' " And she shouted back from the curtain, " 'I didn't laugh.' " Liar. "He said, 'You did laugh.' Is anything too hard for the Lord?"

What are you facing tonight? What big issue is on your plate tonight? What are you grappling with? What in your immediate future is just overwhelming? OK, it's overwhelming. We have established that fact.

Now, second question, is anything too hard for the Lord? No. So then difficulty must always be measured by the capacity of the age in doing the work. If you're doing the work, go ahead, crumble.

But if you're rolling it onto God's shoulders and difficulty is measured by the one doing the work, Lord, you're God. You made the heavens, the earth, the sea, everything that's in them. Piece of cake. That's his attitude.

OK, in the meantime, let me speed ahead in the story. They take roll call. Army roll call-- see who's there and who's not there. Jonathan and his armor-bearer are not there. So Saul consults, supposedly, the Lord. He says, " 'Bring the ark here,' " in verse 18, " 'Bring me the ark.' "

Now, other translations say, "Bring me the ephod." And probably that is the case, because the ephod and the ministry of the ark were closely connected. Verse 2 mentions a priest wearing an ephod. So he's probably calling for the guy with the breastplate, the high priest with the Urim and Thummim.

Do you remember those two things? Some of you, when I say Urim and Thummim, you go, gotcha. Others you're going, are you speaking in tongues? Urim and Thummim. Do we have an interpretation?

Urim and Thummim were two stones, a white stone and a black stone, used to discover the will of God when there were two options, a yes and a no kind of a thing. It would be like a sanctified rolling of the dice but definitely controlled by God.

Saul wants to know what the will of God is, until he hears a sound in the Philistine camp. He hears the roar come up. He doesn't know what it is. But he's a soldier, so he thinks, I got to be ready. And in effect, he says to the priest, " 'Withdraw your hand,' " or cancel that order with God. I'm too busy to inquire of the Lord. We got to get up and do something.

Verse 27-- let me back up just a tad. In the midst of all this, Saul gives a stupid order, and it really was lame. He tells his fighting men, his soldiers who need energy like to fight all day long, and he's going to make them walk 18 miles, you'll see this, they can't eat anything.

We're going to fast. Oh, it sounds so spiritual. Lord led me to fast. Uh, excuse me, we're in a battle. Oh, I know, but we're not going eat anything until we've avenged these enemies.

Well, Jonathan wasn't around. So look at verse 27. "Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath. Therefore, he stretched out his hand out the end of the rod-- he stretched out the end of the rod that was in his hand and dipped it in a honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, his countenance brightened." He found some honey on the road. He was hungry. Cool, he said, and he ate it.

"And one of his people said, 'Your father strictly charged the people with an oath saying, 'cursed is the man who eats food today.' And the people were faint." Well, no wonder. But "Jonathan said, 'My father has troubled the land. Look now how my countenance has brightened because I tasted a little of this honey.' "

You get the picture here? Saul was acting spiritual, but this is irrational. The fighting potential of an army is lessened, it's hindered, if you don't give them energy.

So in verse 31, "Now they had driven back the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. So the people were very faint." That's an 18-mile pursuit. They were desperately hungry.

And verse 32, "The people rushed on the spoil, took the sheep, the ox, and the calves, slaughtered them on the ground, and the people ate them with the blood." Raw meat, ugh. Sushi, sort of. "Then they told Saul, saying, 'Look, the people are sinning against the Lord by eating with the blood.' So he said, 'You have dealt treacherously; roll a large stone to me this day.' "

And verse 35, "Then Samuel built an altar to the Lord; this was the first altar he built to the Lord." Oh, he built an altar. Whoopie-do. It says, "The people were faint." They needed to do something. They reacted.

They disobeyed Leviticus 17, which says, "You shall not eat meat with blood." They ate it. It was unkosher. Saul sees. This is a sin. He's the guy that caused it. Hello. Makes a big to-do about it.

Because of his indifference-- because of his indifference-- he's looking at himself, he's trying to act spiritual, no food-- because of his indifference to his men, they were hindered, and he caused them to stumble, literally, to sin.

Now think for a moment what he could have done. As a leader, he could have inspired people. But he intimidated people. You can either inspire people or you can intimidate people by your role, by your leadership. Leaders often intimidate, but good leaders inspire others with that go-for-it attitude.

For instance, Nehemiah did that. Nehemiah and his merry men and women were faced with the huge task of building the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and burnt with fire.

But he told them of God's hand upon his life, what the Lord was leading him to do, how he left his post and he traveled those many miles, and he was there to build the walls of Jerusalem. And the Bible tells us, "The people built the walls, for the people had a mind to work." Inspired by a leader, "--the people had a mind to work."

But Saul, unfortunately, intimidated his people with these crazy, indifferent, goofy dictates, and that's why he never had loyalty around him. Nobody was loyal to him because of this kind of activity.

Verse 36. "So Saul said, 'Let us go after the Philistines by night and plunder them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them.' And they said"-- in a faint voice, " 'Do whatever seems good to you.' " I mean, these guys are hungry.

And notice, "Then the priest said, 'Let us draw near to God here.' " Hey, we're not going anywhere. Let's pray. Let's seek the Lord before we go anywhere. Before we go on your little pursuits, let's seek the Lord.

"So Saul asked counsel of God, 'Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you deliver them into the hand of Israel?' But he did not answer him that day." God wasn't speaking. "And Saul said, 'Come over here, all you chiefs of the people, and know and see what this sin was today. For as the Lord lives, who saves Israel, though it be Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.' But not a man among the people answered him."

OK, Saul, praise. God says nothing. God has nothing to say to him. God has nothing to say to those who are repeatedly disobedient, as you have seen and will see that he is. He's got his heart bent on his own deal.

So if you're not going to obey what I said last time, why should I tell you something more? If you're bent on your own deal, if you're bent on your own kingdom, if you're bent on being number one, and you're not going to listen to me and you're going to act this way, I've got nothing more to say. Nothing to say to him.

Now, Saul interprets the silence of God as, oh, there must be sin in the camp. There was-- him. But he thinks it's somebody else. So they go through drawing these lots, and the lot falls on Jonathan.

And verse 43, "Saul said to Jonathan, 'Tell me what you have done.' Jonathan told him and said, 'I only tasted a little honey with the end of my rod that was in my hand. So now I must die.' "

In other words, do you hear how lame this is? Yeah, I really sinned, dad. I confess. I ate honey. Of course, I won the battle. but that doesn't matter. I ate honey, and I know that makes you angry. So kill me.

"So Saul answered-- Saul answered, 'God, do so and more also, for you shall surely die, Jonathan.' But the people said to Saul"-- now they're going to step in, see, he has no loyalty base built in because of his actions-- "Shall Jonathan die who has accomplished this great deliverance in Israel? Certainly not. As the Lord lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.' So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die."

Imagine, Saul would have killed his own son. Jealousy hates to see others honored. Jonathan's in the limelight. And then he acts spiritual-- "--as the Lord lives." Oh, please. The people step in and say, this guy is out of control. He's whack hammer, man. We got to stop him now.

So he plays the sin by arrogance-- he plays the fool by arrogance. He plays the fool by indifference. And third-- let's skim through chapter 15 and look at some of these verses-- he plays the fool by disobedience. Arrogance led to indifference. His indifference led to disobedience. Now you find a guy writing his own rules.

Verse 1. "Samuel also said to Saul, 'The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people, over Israel; now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the Lord.' Thus says the Lord of hosts, 'I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and attack Amalek and utterly destroy all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, oxen, sheep, camel, and donkey."

Boy, that seems to us extreme, doesn't it? We hear that, that seems very extreme, like God is performing extreme surgery here. And we wonder about it, and we're not the first ones to wonder about it. Why would God say such a thing? We would especially ask that if we had no historical knowledge whatsoever of the Amalekites and their policies.

If you just go back in history, you'll remember when the children of Israel left Egypt it was the Amalekites who looked for the old people, the babies, the children, the mothers with child, the stragglers when they were marching and attacked the rear flanks and destroyed them.

And they indoctrinated their children with this policy generation to generation to terrorize them, to terrorize anybody that wasn't an Amalekite, because they have been Israel's enemy from the past, and they keep cropping up throughout their history. They keep cropping up. That's why God in the Old Testament-- after the incident in Exodus, "God said, 'You shall blot out the name of the Amalekites forever.' And he said to Moses, 'Tell that in the hearing of Joshua.' "

They didn't do that. They didn't really do that. It seems that some escaped or some were let go. And you say, well, what's the big deal? Well, go to the Book of Esther-- not now, but in your mind and later. We don't have time.

There was an Amalekite named Haman. And Haman was almost successful in destroying every Jewish person in the kingdom. That was his aim. Kill them all. It was like Nazi Germany. He was an Amalekite, one of the leftovers, one of those that weren't destroyed.

And again, they had this indoctrination-- destroy Jewish people. Kill them. And they indoctrinated their children as such throughout their history. That's a problem.

And I'm not going to solve this problem, but we're facing-- not we are. Israel in the Middle East, and potentially we are too because we're aligned with Israel, we're seen as the enemy. Israel is facing a huge problem now. It's not just, what do we do with the Palestinian issue? It's what do we do with the Palestinian children?

You know, we have a mindset in America-- let's kill Saddam Hussein. The problem's over. Oh, oh, no. He has a son who's worse than he is. Let's get rid of the Syrian monarch. The new Assad, the son of the old, is much worse in his policies than the old one. And then there are generations of people indoctrinated with "kill America, destroy America, kill Israel, destroy Israel."

73% of Israelis favor a Palestinian state. If terror would stop, they favor an autonomous Palestinian state. But 69% of the Palestinians favor suicide bombings. Latest polls, and the sources are quoted up there on the screen.

In the schools in Palestinian territory-- this is all documented-- in the fifth grade class, the Arabic language book says, quote, "Know, my son, that Palestine is your country. That its pure soil is drenched with the blood of martyrs." Answer this-- why must we fight the Jews and drive them out of our land?" Fifth grade class.

In the seventh grade, Islamic education in Palestinian territories, quote, "This religion will defeat all other religions and will be disseminated by Allah's will through the Muslim jihad fighters."

In the eighth grade text, same territory, reader and literary texts for the eighth grade, "My brothers, the oppressors"-- that is, Israel, "have overstepped the boundary. Therefore, jihad and sacrifice are a duty.

We are to lead them--" excuse me. "Are we to let them steal its Arab nature? Draw your sword. Let us gather for war with red blood and blazing fire. Death shall call, and the sword shall be crazed from much slaughter. Oh, Palestine, the youth will redeem your land."

These are things that are taught in summer camps. You know, we send our kids away to camps for the summer? Summer camps in that part of the world are these freedom fighter suicide camps. It's on record. This is no new breaking news. These are camps all over that part of the world, including North Africa. Have been for many, many years.

So there is a problem. What do we do when the next generation and the next generation with this mentality persists? What's the solution? The solution is for Jesus Christ to come back. That's really the solution.

There will not be a solution in the Middle East, and you've heard it here first. There won't be. Even if they draw up a peace agreement and tomorrow have two autonomous states, won't be over. Just the beginning.

"But Saul and the people spared Agag, the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, all that was good; they were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, they utterly destroyed.

And the word of the Lord came to Samuel saying, 'I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as King. He has turned his back from following me and has not performed my commandments.' And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the Lord all night." Wouldn't you love to have a friend like that?

"So when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, it was told Samuel, 'Saul went to Carmel, and indeed he has set up a monument for himself, and he has gone on around, passed by, and gone down to Gilgal.' And Samuel went to Saul and Saul said to him"-- listen to this guy-- " 'Blessed are you of the Lord.' " It's like saying, praise the Lord, brother. " 'I performed the commandment of the Lord.' "

Liar. He is a liar. Listen, "Samuel said, 'Well, what then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?' " If you've obeyed God, why do I hear animal noises? Is that you?

"And Samuel said, 'They--' " he just loves to point the finger at everybody but moi-- " 'They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God.' " Interesting, isn't it? Not the Lord my God, not the Lord our God, the Lord your God. Maybe a Freudian slip, I don't know. Slip of the tongue. " 'And the rest we have utterly destroyed.' "

Chapter 13, he blames Samuel. Chapter 14, he blames Jonathan. Chapter 15, he blames everybody. "And Samuel said to Saul, 'Be quiet.' " I'll tell you, I like a guy who in the midst of a crisis and the need for rebuke can be like this.

He says to this guy, "Be quiet." He's the king now. " 'Be quiet,' king, I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night.' He said, 'Speak on.' Samuel said, 'When you were little in your eyes, were you not the head of the tribes of Israel?

Now the Lord sent you on a mission, and he said, 'Go and utterly destroy 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 swoop down on the spoil and do evil in the sight of the Lord?'

Saul said to Samuel, 'But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord and gone on the mission which the Lord sent me and brought back Agag of Amalek. I have already destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the plunder, the sheep and the ox and the best of the things, which should have been utterly destroyed to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.' "

So "Samuel said"-- and here's one of the best verses in scripture, one of the classic verses, memorize this verse if you don't know it already-- " 'Has the Lord as great a delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.

For the rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.' "

Ooh, he hears that word again-- "rejected." Second time he hears it. Oh, don't like that. He said "rejected." That's right. It's over, buddy. Think of the irony of this man who has heard from Samuel repeatedly the word of God, who knew the word of God, who knew the commandments of God, but flagrantly disobeys. He played the fool by disobedience. He's disobeying God.

This is a warning to some who like to talk about themselves as being Christians, right with God in sort of a generic, friendly style. There may be sin in your life. You know you're disobeying God.

But you say, oh, but deep inside, I love the Lord. Deep inside, Jesus and I are close friends, man. We're real close. Really. Well, Jesus said, " 'If you love me, keep my commandments.' " Jesus said, " 'You are my friends, if you do whatever I tell you to do.' "

The problem with many church people is we don't really believe what we believe. We have a formal creed. We have a formal theology, but then it's disconnected from our practical theology. We love to sing, Jesus is my Lord, but I'll sleep around during the week, but I'll leave my husband and wife, but I'll cheat and steal. We won't say that, but we disconnect formal theology from practical theology.

So the question is, in all of the rhetoric about God and I love him and I sing to him, when does the Lord bit really kick in? When do you actually, because he's your friend, obey him? That was Saul's problem-- disobedience. And he is rejected.

Now, in the next few verses he'll say, you're right, I sinned. I've sinned. I'm wrong. Verse 24 he mentions that. And he says, "--because I feared the people and obeyed their voice." Bingo. He feared men. He was concerned about his reputation in their eyes, not God.

But then it goes on to say-- and let me just sum it up for you-- he, says, OK, I've sinned, but honor me before the people. Honor me. Don't just leave like this. You've announced that I'm rejected. At least let's save face. Honor me before these people. Let's make a good show that I'm really a good guy. At least just do it temporarily.

"Samuel turned to walk away. Saul grabbed his robe. His robe tore. Samuel turns around to him and he says, 'God has torn the kingdom away from you.' "

Now in the next chapter, you're going to see God beginning to raise up a new guy named David. And I wanted to kind of cover these chapters loosely going through some of the verses to set it up for the next guy, the good news, a man after God's own heart.

Now, Saul-- look at verse-- let's just look at the last couple. Verse 30, "He said, 'I have sinned, yet honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel. Return with me that I may worship the Lord your God.' "

Verse 34, "Samuel went to Ramah. Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul, named after him now. Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless, Samuel mourned for Saul. And the Lord regretted that he made Saul king over Israel." Now, you will watch that Saul will remain in power, but he is rejected now by God, and he will be replaced with King David.

There was an instructor of Alexander the Great. Now, you know who Alexander was. He conquered the world by age 31. Type A to the max, this guy. In fact, he wept that there were no more worlds to conquer.

One of his instructors, looking back over Alexander's life, spoke a little tribute to this intense king. He said, " 'Oh, Alexander, Alexander, golden child, able to conquer the world, unable to conquer his own passions-- unable to conquer his own passions.' "

What are you after in life? What are you trying to conquer? What are you trying to be king of? What are you after? What's the most important stuff? And is self-control a part of that? That's part of the fruit of the spirit-- love, joy, peace, long-suffering. Self-control is in there.

May the Lord help us to not allow steps, no compromises, with the flesh. No compromises with the world, those things that grab for our attention. Let's never take a step of arrogance and say, oh, well, so many other people do it. No big deal. I'm fine. I'm a good person. I'm good the way I am. Let's not become indifferent.

And finally, let's not be disobedient to God's revealed will. You want to hear God speak to you more, obey what he's already told you. When Jesus spoke about friendship, remember he said, "You're my friends if you do whatever I want." He says, "All these things I have revealed to you." Part of friendship is disclosure. But if you're a true friend of Jesus, you'll obey what he has already told you. Let's pray for help for that.

Lord, as we close tonight, we think of Saul, who covered over his lies with rhetorical lacquer, spiritual-sounding lacquer. He knew the right phrases, the right words. He knew how to put on a good spiritual show. But deep inside, his heart was alienated from you. And we read that at one time he was small in his eyes. And then he grew arrogant and indifferent and disobedient.

Lord, I pray that you might give to us a wake-up call if we have become any of those or all of those. To humble ourselves before you, to take the blame if the blame is indeed on our shoulders to be taken, we'd would seek your forgiveness, your restoration, and look forward to many more days, months, and years of you using us and you speaking to us.

Guide us, Lord, by your spirit. I pray, Lord, that you'd raise up more Jonathans, who have a big view of God rather than a big view of themselves. We need those men and women like Jonathan and his armor-bearer. In Jesus' name, amen. Let's all stand.

Additional Messages in this Series

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3/13/2002
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Why Me, Lord?
1 Samuel 1
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3/20/2002
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Generation Next?
1 Samuel 2
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3/27/2002
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God, Is That You?
1 Samuel 3
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4/3/2002
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Spiritual Superstitions
1 Samuel 4
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4/10/2002
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The Battle Of The gods!
1 Samuel 5-6
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4/24/2002
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Revival: Repentance Versus Conviction
1 Samuel 7
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5/1/2002
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A Tale Of Two Kingdoms
1 Samuel 8
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5/8/2002
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Civic Duties Of A Christian
1 Samuel 9-10
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5/15/2002
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The Just War
1 Samuel 11-12
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6/28/2002
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Telling A Book By Its Cover
1 Samuel 16
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7/3/2002
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Overcoming Giant Problems
1 Samuel 17
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7/17/2002
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The Green Eyed Monster Of Envy
1 Samuel 18-19
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7/24/2002
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The Four Faces Of Friendship
1 Samuel 20
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7/31/2002
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The Fugitive
1 Samuel 21-22
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8/7/2002
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Who Is My Enemy?
1 Samuel 23-24
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8/21/2002
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Suffering With And Submitting To A Crazy King
1 Samuel 25
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8/28/2002
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Sorrow Without Repentence
1 Samuel 26-28
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9/4/2002
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Saul's Ending, David's Beginning
1 Samuel 29-31
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There are 18 additional messages in this series.
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