Three Mistakes

The First King

Samuel was old and his sons were not good. The people were looking around in a fleshly way applying their own wisdom and wanted a king like other nations. Samuel was concerned but God said that he was not to take it personally, they were rejecting Him and not you Samuel.

"There was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people." (1 Samuel 9:1‑2) It shows Saul was tall and handsome.

Why did God let them have a king when Samuel was old?

What Manner of King

God wanted them to understand what would be the consequences if they had a king. "This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear (plough) his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants." (1 Samuel 8:11‑17) God clearly warned and informed them. Remember what went wrong with King David and Bathsheba; David did what he wanted.

Israel Rejected God

They wanted an instant fix like humans do when they should have waited on God because He knows best. Therefore, "ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day. Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us." (1 Sam.8:18‑19) They had been looking at the world around them in surrounding nations and wanted to be like them. And they were stubborn. It shows if there appears to be an obstacle in your way one must still wait on the Lord.

Saul’s First Meeting with Samuel

This is how Saul starts: "The asses of Kish Saul’s father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses. And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not. And when they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us. And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honourable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can shew us our way that we should go." (1 Sam.9:3‑6)

Saul makes a good start. Out of the goodness of his heart he obediently went with his servant to look for his father’s lost animals but after a while he wanted to give up looking for those animals. This reaction is a normal human weakness as it would take time and effort. It was a good opportunity to overcome this weakness. We need to get rid of this weakness and show we are progressing in faithfulness to God. Here his servant told him there was another option and he appears to have pushed Saul and told him he had some silver Saul could give as a gift.

"When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of ! this same shall reign over my people." (1 Sam.9:17) Just like when John the Baptist was immersing Jesus, God revealed Jesus was the Lamb of God.

Samuel Revealed God’s Plan for Saul

"As for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father’s house? And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?" (1 Sam.9:20‑21) God had a big commission for Saul. Saul’s reply was not of his humbleness but of his weakness in the flesh. It was hard though because he had no experience of how to be a king.

Being Humble is Surrender to God

There are examples of humility in the Bible. One example is Mary in the days before the possibilities of IVF as written by Luke when "said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her." (Luke 1:34‑38) Mary showed she was humble but understanding that nothing with God is impossible.

Samuel Anointed Saul

"Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, "Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?" (1 Sam.10:1) Also he gave Saul signs after to show him God was with him.

Saul in his Weakness Hid Himself

"When Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found. Therefore they enquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff. And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward." (1 Sam.10:20‑23)

God’s Commandment to Saul

God gave Saul his first opportunity to obey him completely. "Go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do." (1 Sam.10:8)

First Mistake

When the "Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Bethaven. When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits. And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him." (1 Sam.13:5‑8)

"Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering." (1 Sam.13:9) He had panicked and made the decision to make the offering himself and rather than the priest. This was not acceptable to God, it was more important to obey God. There is a lesson here to obey God and withstand external pressure and not to compromise or make an excuse.

Foolish Act

"Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.

"And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee." (1 Sam.13:11‑14) If we have a secret sin we must try and get rid of it.

The Next Opportunity for Saul

"Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." (1 Sam.15:3) This was a straightforward command of what to do and what not to do.

Second Mistake

"Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD. And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" (1 Sam.15:13,14) He had been told all the animals must be killed.

Success Turned into Pride

Samuel again persists. "Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD? Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites." King Saul tries to justify his actions and hide the sin. "But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. Samuel said, Hath 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 hearken than the fat of rams." (1 Sam.15:19‑22)

It’s a good point to note in public we are on our best behaviour but we also need to confront secret sins because in a sense they will be revealed and God sees and knows.

What is True Repentance?

Samuel explains what is more important. "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, He hath also rejected thee from being king. And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD…Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God." (1 Sam.15:23‑25,30) If we do anything wrong we have to repent in order to get forgiveness and keep the love of God.

Jesus gave us a beautiful example in the parable of the Prodigal Son. He repented, he wanted to go back to the love of his father realizing he did not deserve it. Here repentance was the key to his restoration. King Saul should have done so.

There may be challenges like the three Hebrews Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, in the book of Daniel, when the King of Babylon had an empire and they were told to worship the statue, which was idolatry. They were keen to obey God’s commandment as God is so mighty they completely surrendered to the Lord their God not expecting anything in return.

Saul wanted his son Jonathan to reign after him, but he was on the decline. Even when Saul had lost the kingship, and the spirit and saw David had the spirit, he still used his power to try and kill David.

Third Mistake

"Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor. And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee." (1 Sam.28:7‑8) However it was against the command of God to consult a familiar spirit (medium).

Saul’s Death

"So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it." (1 Chron.10:13) "Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it." (1 Sam.31:4)

In summary Saul made a good start but its more important where you finish; King Saul had made the wrong decisions. It’s a good lesson to wait on the Lord, be humble and be completely faithful to the word of God.

Saul Turned into Paul

These are the steps we must follow. The apostle Paul said, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." (1 Corinthians 9:24‑27 NIV) Paul who was first known as Saul did this not only with his words but with his actions to the end of his life.

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