Saul's Rejection & Our Salvation | 1 Samuel 13:1-15:35
- Natalie nagy
- 2 days ago
- 28 min read
As preached by Zach Thompson.
The King God has for his people will...
1) Share God's heart & keep his commands (13:1-15a).
2) Value God's praise over men's praise (13:15b-14:52).
3) Deal with sin and worship in truth (15:1-35).
For more on this and other sermons, visit cfcutah.org.
1 Samuel 13-15
Good morning, Christ Fellowship!
This morning, we will continue our series through 1 Samuel. Last time we were in 1 Samuel, we were introduced to Saul. He seemed to be a humble man who needed to work through some fearfulness, and by chapters 11 and 12, Saul was filled with potential and hope. He was obedient to the Lord. He was bold in leading. He had forbearance with those who spoke against him.
The text was filled with hope that this man could be the one who would set right the wrongs of that ancient serpent in the garden.
But in our text this week, Saul dashes that hope to pieces. Chapters 13 to 15 are a summary of Saul’s reign as the legitimate king of Israel. And it acts as a record and testimony against him because in these chapters, Saul rejects the Lord, and in turn, the Lord rejects Saul from being King.
Now, if you are able, would you stand in honor of the reading of God’s word?
Our main text today is chapters 13 to 15 of 1 Samuel, but I want to start by reading some selections from chapter 12 to help us understand the weight of what we see in 13 to 15.
Look at 12:14-15, The Lord made a promise to the people through Samuel. “If you will fear the LORD and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God, it will be well. 15 But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you and your king.”
Then skip down to the end of chapter 12. Look at verses 24 and 25. “Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. 25 But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”
And the rest of our text today is a fulfillment of these promises. We’ll see good things happen, and then Saul’s selfishness and pride will lead them into suffering and sin.
As goes the king, so goes the people. Let’s continue in Chapter 13.
13:1 Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel, 2 Saul chose three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent home, every man to his tent. 3 Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.” 4 And all Israel heard it said that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines. And the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal.
5 And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth-aven. 6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns, 7 and some Hebrews crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him, trembling.
Saul’s Unlawful Sacrifice
8 He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. 11 Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, 12 I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the LORD.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” 13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the LORD your God, with which he commanded you. For then the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.” 15 And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin.
And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, about six hundred men.
[Then, from 16 through the end of the chapter, it says that the Philistines broke into three different garrisons, and gives us context for the hopelessness of this battle. The Israelites didn’t have blacksmiths to make actual weapons, so they were at a severe disadvantage, except for Saul and Jonathan, who happened to have swords. Continue in chapter 14.]
[In chapter 14, Jonathan boldly attacks the Philistines in faith, and begins a panic in the Philistine camp. Saul sees the panic and initiates a full attack. Then pick up in 14:24.
Saul’s Rash Vow
24 And the men of Israel had been hard pressed that day, so Saul had laid an oath on the people, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies.” So none of the people had tasted food. 25 Now, when all the people came to the forest, behold, there was honey on the ground. 26 And when the people entered the forest, behold, the honey was dropping, 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, so he put out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes became bright. 28 Then one of the people said, “Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food this day.’ ” And the people were faint. 29 Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. See how my eyes have become bright 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 that they found. For now, the defeat among the Philistines has not been great.”
31 They struck down the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. And the people were very faint. 32 The people pounced on the spoil and took sheep and oxen and calves and slaughtered them on the ground. And the people ate them with the blood. 33 Then they told Saul, “Behold, the people are sinning against the LORD by eating with the blood.” And he said, “You have dealt treacherously; roll a great stone to me here.” 34 And Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the people and say to them, ‘Let every man bring his ox or his sheep and 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 they slaughtered them there. 35 And Saul built an altar to the LORD; it was the first altar that he built to the LORD.
36 Then Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them until the morning light; let us not leave a man of them.” And they said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” But the priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.” 37 And Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into the hands of Israel?” But he did not answer him that day. 38 And Saul said, “Come here, all you leaders of the people, and know and see how this sin has arisen today. 39 For as the LORD lives who saves Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” But there was not a man among all the people who answered him. 40 Then he said to all Israel, “You shall be on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side.” And the people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.” 41 Therefore, Saul said, “O LORD God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant this day? If this guilt is in me or in Jonathan, my son, O LORD, God of Israel, give Urim. But if this guilt is in your people Israel, give Thummim.” And Jonathan and Saul were taken, but the people escaped. 42 Then Saul said, “Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was taken.
43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” And Jonathan told him, “I tasted a little honey with the tip of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am; I will die.” 44 And Saul said, “God do so to me and more also; you shall surely die, Jonathan.” 45 Then the people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who has worked this great salvation in Israel? Far from it! As the LORD lives, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.” So the people ransomed Jonathan, so that he did not die. 46 Then Saul went up from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.
Saul Fights Israel’s Enemies
47 When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he routed them. 48 And he did valiantly and struck the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.
49 Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchi-shua. And the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn was Merab, and the name of the younger was Michal. 50 And 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 There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he attached him to himself.
The LORD Rejects Saul
15 And Samuel said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the LORD. 2 Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. 3 Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”
[Then skip down to verse 7]
7 And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. 8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless, they devoted to destruction.
10 The word of the LORD came to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the LORD all night. 12 And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” 13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the LORD. I have performed the commandment of the LORD.” 14 And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the LORD your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.” 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the LORD said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.”
17 And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. 18 And the LORD sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction 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 pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the LORD?” 20 And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the LORD. I have gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me. I have brought Agag, the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.” 22 And 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 listen than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
he has also rejected you from being king.”
24 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 bow before the LORD.” 26 And 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 As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. 28 And Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. 29 And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” 30 Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the LORD your God.” 31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul bowed before the LORD.
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him cheerfully. Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 33 And Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. 35 And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the LORD regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.
Let’s Pray.
A few years ago, I was visiting a church back east, and we decided to go to a Mexican restaurant after the service was over. I had heard several people rave about this place, so I was pretty excited to try it out. We went into the restaurant, the atmosphere felt right. The chips and salsa were good, and they kept the basket of chips full. Everything was going in the right direction. Now, one of my quirks is that when I go to Mexican restaurant for the first time, I usually judge the quality of that restaurant based on the quality of 2 dishes–a chile relleno or a taco salad. At this restaurant, I ordered the chili relleno. It’s a large poblano pepper that is stuffed with queso and deep fried, then it might have red sauce on top with more cheese or something. Delicious. The plates started to come out, and they all looked like pretty standard dishes you would get at a tex-mex restaurant. Then they set a plate down in front of me, and I just stared at it. I was confused. The food I was looking at wasn’t what I had ordered.
It was bell pepper that they had cut the top off of, and they stuffed it with ground beef and melted a piece of American cheese on top.
I asked the waiter if I had ordered the wrong food, but he said no, that’s the chile relleno.
That might have been the single most disappointing culinary experience of my life. Not because I wouldn’t eat that exact same thing in some other context. It’s because it just wasn’t what I ordered.
And as I ate it, do you know what I was thinking about? I was thinking about how good an actual chili relleno tastes. I found myself longing to go to some other Mexican restaurant and get the food that I actually wanted.
Our text today is about God’s rejection of Saul as the king of Israel. Saul was like that bell pepper with a slice of cheese on top. He just wasn’t what had been ordered. And in these chapters, as we see his failures, it is meant to make us long for the true king that God has for his people.
And so this is how we are going to structure our meditation.
Here is our first point.
The King that God has for His people will:
Share God’s heart and keep his commands (13:1-15a)
We see this most clearly in 13:1-15a.
In these verses, Saul ignores the command of God and starts to reveal the callousness of his heart.
Now to be clear, Saul is in a genuinely tight spot. He has 3,000 men with him. And the Philistines have mustered an army where just the chariots outnumber his men 10 to 1, and the author doesn’t even bother to say how many more standard troops the Philistines have. They are woefully outnumbered.
The Israelites are hiding and starting to flee.
So when Samuel doesn’t arrive at the time Saul expected, Saul takes it upon himself to offer burnt offerings that were supposed to be reserved for Samuel.
And in verse 10, it says that “As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came.” If Saul had just been willing to wait a few hours, how different would this have been? Samuel still came on the 7th day, he just didn’t come at the time Saul wanted him to. How easy it is to flout the Lord’s timing.
In shock, Samuel asks, “What have you done?”
And Saul starts to make excuses. Verse 11, he says, “The people were scattering… you did not come within the days appointed… the Philistines had mustered.” He blames the people. He blames Samuel. He blames the Philistines.
He never even hints that he might have been wrong
And Samuel responds with stern clarity. Look in verses to 13-15.
“And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the LORD your God, with which he commanded you. For then the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.” 15 And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin.”
These verses are heart-wrenching. This man, who has been anointed by God to be king over his people, has ignored the command of God, and thus he is rejected.
Now, maybe you read this, and you think that God is being too harsh. Should the kingship really be torn from Saul because he started the barbecue before Samuel got there?
But that’s not what this is about. It’s not about the sacrifice. It’s not about the timing of the sacrifice. It’s about Saul’s heart. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.
Saul had disobeyed the clear and direct command of God. He had taken on the office of priest when it wasn’t his to take. He was pushing the people toward action when they needed to stop and wait on the LORD, and when he was confronted about it, he stiffened his neck.
And in the Lord’s rebuke, we see the substance of this first point. Look at verse 14 again. “But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart . . .” There it is. There is what the Lord desires for his people. That they would have a king who lives according to the heart of God and not according to his own whims and dictates.
Saul had ignored the command of God, he showed his cards. His heart wasn’t for God. His heart was for his own victory. His heart was chasing the praise of his people.
And as goes the king, so goes the people.
What is the direction of your heart today? And what does that say about who your king is?
The Lord wanted to lavish his pleasure on His people. He wanted them to love him and have every good thing, but Saul was chasing glory instead of God. What are you chasing?
Everyone has ambitions. Your ambition might be to pursue laziness and sleep on the couch, but that is still ambition. What are your ambitions? What are you chasing with your time and your energy?
Is it comfort? Is it pleasure? Is it self-aggrandizement? Are you ambitious for things of God?
Turn to a better ambition.
There is such a thing as holy ambition.
And it isn’t some dry, stuffy thing that’s reserved for people who don’t know how to laugh. It’s alive and passionate, and it’s good.
People think that keeping the commands of God will result in being stifled. Holiness is perceived as restrictive.
But that is the thinking of someone who hasn’t experienced it. As we live according to the heart of God and keep his commands, that is when we flourish. When we love the way that he has called us to love, when we care for people the way he has called us to care for people.
When we fight against covetousness and anger and lust and greed. When we embrace gratitude and peace and love.
This is when we experience the flourishing that God has for us.
And apart from all that, when we are living in a way that pleases God, that is itself a reward. That God is pleased with us.
God’s pleasure in us as His children should be central to our lives.
Saul doesn’t have that. He hears words from God that should have stricken him with terror, “You have done foolishly,” and he seems to walk away without concern
And that brings us to our next point.
The King that God has for His people will:
Share God’s heart and keep his commands (13:1-15a)
Value God’s praise over men’s praise (13:15b-14:52)
We see this from 13:15 to the end of chapter 14.
Saul sees that his 3,000 men has dwindled to 600, and to make matters worse the soldiers were equipped like farmers on the field of battle. The Philistines had denied blacksmiths to the Israelites, so none of these 600 had legitimate weapons of war except for Saul and his son, Jonathan.
Then we see this incredible narrative of faithful Jonathan and his faithless father.
Saul is camping at the pomegranate cave, and we get this special mention in verse 3 of a priest who is with him. “Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, son of Phinehas, son of Eli.” This priest is of the line that God rejected earlier in Samuel.
So we have a king who has sought out a priest that has been rejected, presumably because Samuel wasn’t willing to be there with him, and both this king and this priest are acting as if God hasn’t said anything against either of them.
Jonathan sees the inaction of his father, and he secrets away to the Philistine garrison with incredible faith. In 13:6, he says, “It may be that the LORD will work for us, for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few.” 7 And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am with you heart and soul.”
This Philistine garrison was a third of the full muster of the Philistines. This was two men with one sword (because remember only Jonathan and Saul had swords) walking with violent intent toward an army of 10’s of thousands of men.
These two men with one sword take out 20 men by themselves, and it causes such panic and uproar in the Philistine camp that the earth literally shook from it.
Meanwhile, back at Saul’s camp, Saul is informed that the Philistines are in disarray, and he decides to inquire of God, but he quickly decides it’s not worth waiting. Look in 14:19. “Now while Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the camp of the Philistines increased more and more. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” He decides it’s not worth waiting to inquire of God and goes on to rally for battle.
He continues to put on a show of religion, then shows that he doesn’t actually care.
But still in 14:23 says that the Lord saved Israel that day, but from here, we see Saul enacting a laundry list of foolish and rebellious decisions.
He makes a vow that anyone who eats food before nightfall will be cursed. And maybe you think that isn’t too big a deal, but in 14:31, it says that they struck down the Philistines from Michmash to Aijalon. Do you know how far that is? It’s 20 miles.
In 14:27-30, Saul’s vow causes Jonathan to sin in his ignorance when he eats honey in the forest. He had been too busy fighting the Philistines to hear his father’s foolish vow from the camp.
And when someone informs him of his father’s rash vow, he responds in verse 29, “My father has troubled the land.” Jonathan’s voice here is pointing back to the warning of God in chapter 12. As goes the king, so go the people. Jonathan sees that his Father’s leadership is causing problems for the people of Israel.
Then in 14:31-35, we see the people. Saul’s vow presses the people into needless desperation, and they sin at the moment nightfall hits by slaughtering animals and immediately eating them with the blood.
Saul does at least tell them to stop, and he builds an altar for proper preparation. But even this seems to have ulterior motives. In verse 35, we see that this is the first altar that Saul has built to the Lord. And we have to ask the question. He has been king for years, and this is the first altar? Why would he do it now? Does he place so low a priority on proper worship? It seems that this altar is more to commemorate his victory than to facilitate worship.
Then in 13:36-46, God doesn’t answer Saul’s inquiry, and he makes yet another rash vow that whoever is at fault will die, even if it’s his own son Jonathan. They use the Urim and Thummim to narrow down who was at fault until it eventually points to Jonathan. Look at verse 43, “Then Saul said to Jonathan, ‘Tell me what you have done.’ And Jonathan told him, ‘I tasted a little honey with the tip of my staff that was in my hand. Here I am; I will die.”
And for the sake of his rash vow and to keep the prestige of his reputation, Saul was ready to kill his son, but the people didn’t allow it.
Do you see how Saul’s heart continues to demonstrate that he isn’t concerned with what would please God?
He is picking pomegranate seeds out of his teeth while his son is fighting the Philistine garrison. He doesn’t take a few minutes to simply inquire of God about what he should do in the battle. He makes a rash vow that presses Jonathan into a sin that came from ignorance, and that same vow presses the people into a sin that came from desperation.
And when the moment comes that he could recognize his foolishness and turn away from his rash vows, he is ready to continue walking down the path of folly as he kills his son. And the only reason he doesn’t is because he thinks the people won’t approve.
What a mess! He is driven by a need for prestige and glory. He is being driven by a desire to be like a king among the nations, not a king after the heart of God.
That’s why we have this section at the end of chapter 14. It feels kind of random until you start to really digest what’s happening in the text. In 14:47-52, we have a summary of Saul’s reign as king. Look in verse 47, “When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he routed them. 48 And he did valiantly and struck the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.”
When it came to battle, Saul was a successful king. He fought and he won. He gained territory. In verses 49-51, we see that he has a secure line of succession complete with commanders for his armies. His army was filled with the most valiant men.
These verses are a record of Saul’s success as a king according to worldly standards.
But after reading this chapter, we should read these verses and feel a deep dissatisfaction. He was successful, but to what end? He dominated the kings around him. He fought. He had armies. He had every measure of success that men can account.
But he didn’t have the Lord’s pleasure. And it doesn’t seem to bother him.
Saul valued the praise of men over the praise of God. He didn’t ultimately care what God thought about him, and in so doing, he showed that he wasn’t the king for Israel.
Oh friend, what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?
What comfort we forfeit when we rush past the pleasure of our Lord, and we rush toward things that we think will bring us greater success or pleasure or prestige.
Yes, you can embrace things now that will be pleasurable, but those things will pass, and what will you be left with?
You can get the praise and accolades of men, but at the end of all things, those will be nothing more than a pitiful paragraph at the end of a chapter. What good is a spot in the hall of fame when you are standing before the justice of the Living God.
You can gain wealth and security that will make your days easy and filled with comfort. You can pass a legacy of wealth and industry and productivity to the next generation, but the fact remains still.
We will all stand before the God of all creation, and we will hear one of two things. We can hear the pleasure of the Lord as he says, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” Or we can hear the same thing that Saul hears in our text. “You have done foolishly. Depart from me, for I never knew you.”
Are you pursuing the accolades that come from God? Or the accolades that come from men? One will last. The other will pass away.
And this brings us to our final point.
The King that God has for His people will:
Share God’s heart and keep his commands (13:1-15a)
Value God’s praise over men’s praise (13:15b-14:52)
Deal with sin and worship in truth (15:1-35)
We have seen this all throughout our text, but it’s drawn out explicitly for us in chapter 15.
The Lord speaks to Saul again through Solomon. He tells him that his patience with the Amalekites has come to an end for how they treated tells Saul is commanded to devote the Amalekites to destruction because of what they did to Israel while they were leaving Egypt.
Now, this command isn’t coming out of nowhere. Do you remember the account where the Israelites are fighting a battle, and when Moses lifts his hands, they win, but when he drops them, they lose? So Aaron and another guy have to hold his hands up? That’s the battle against Amalek. It’s in Exodus 17, and it’s remembered again in Deuteronomy 25. Amalek had come up behind Israel and slaughtered the elderly and all who were at the back of the caravan at the beginning of that battle, and in both Exodus and Deuteronomy, God promises to eventually “blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”
And so God commands Saul to devote them to destruction as retribution for their earlier treatment of his people.
This is God enacting sovereign justice that he had vowed generations before.
Now this is a hard moment for us as modern readers. I’m going to talk about Saul in and my main point in a minute, but we need to address this. This total destruction of the Amalekites should grieve our hearts. In Ezekiel 33:11, God says, ‘As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.”
God’s heart is toward repentance, and in the sovereign will of God, these Amalekites were never going to repent. And they had done horrible violence to his people.
So even as we grieve with the heart of God for this act of judgment, we should also be feeling something else. We should feel protected.
If my children ever come to me at night, and they have heard a noise and they are scared, I want them to know that anything that would harm them in my house will have to come through me. If someone comes into my home and threatens my family, you better believe that I will resort to violence in order to protect them.
And for my children, my zeal for their protection should be a comfort.
How much more should the people of God be comforted by the sovereign God who is perfect in his justice?
Now consider Saul. God commands him to enact the judgment against the Amalekites that he had promised. And Saul goes to enact this total destruction, but he doesn’t follow through. Look in 15:9, “but Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless, they devoted to destruction.”
Saul was obedient to God only insofar as it didn’t cost him potential gain. He doesn’t hesitate to kill, but he spares Agag in hopes of political connections. He doesn’t hesitate to destroy what was worthless, but he spares all of the valuable livestock. Again, we see our second point, that Saul valued things in this world more than things of God.
God promised destruction as retribution for his people. He tasked Saul with accomplishing it, and Saul ignores the command of God. Again.
Then we see verse 10. “The word of the LORD came to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the LORD all night.”
Consider Samuel in this moment. He is submitting to the judgment of God, but he does it with angry tears. Not angry at God, but angry at Saul and his rebellious sin. So much hope and anticipation. It seems like up until this moment, Samuel hoped that Saul might turn and find forgiveness, but Saul’s heart has been entirely exposed.
Samuel goes to meet Saul the next morning. You can imagine it. Exhausted from a night of weeping with that unique mixture of loss and anger and sorrow.
And in 15:13, Saul greets Samuel as if nothing is wrong, “Blessed be you to the LORD. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” And Samuel responds in verse 14, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and lowing of the oxen that I hear?”
And Saul does what he has done throughout the narrative. He does exactly what Adam did in the Garden when God asked him why he ate the fruit. He deflects blame.
It’s these people you gave me! Verse 15, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord our God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.”
And at this moment, Samuel cuts Saul off. “STOP!
And he goes on to recount how Saul ignored what God said, and Saul has the audacity to argue. He doubles down on trying to blame the people.
Look in verse 20. Notice how he shifts what actually happened to make it sound like obedience. “And Saul said to Samuel, ‘I have obeyed the voice of the LORD. I have gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. [Then he tries to shift blame to the people again] 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.”
Saul seems to genuinely think that he can treat sin like it is small, then go through a ritual later on to get God on board with it.
As if the ritual of sacrifice was what God really wanted rather than the obedience that comes from the heart.
He isn’t dealing with his sin. He hasn’t even recognized that he is wrong. He isn’t worshipping in truth. He’s worshipping as an exercise in divine manipulation.
And this is when Samuel gives a formal proclamation over Saul in the poem of rejection in verses 22-23.
“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 listen than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
he has also rejected you from being king.”
And Saul was rejected. This trajectory has been clear since what we saw in chapter 13. Chapter 13 was more private, and it was about a future removal, so Saul seemed to disregard it. But this is a public proclamation, and it’s speaking of the immediate rejection of Saul as King.
And it’s only after this public rejection of Saul that he finally recognizes his sin. Look in verse 24. “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 bow before the LORD.” 26 And 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.”
Saul didn’t care that he had sinned against God. He didn’t believe God’s promises of consequence and judgment. He didn’t recognize wrong when Samuel rebuked him. When he almost killed his Son. When he pressed the people toward starvation.
It was only when he lost the prestige of his position that he turned to the Lord, and Samuel knew it was fake. This confession wasn’t from a heart that loved God. It was from a heart that loved glory.
Then in 15:34-35, Samuel leaves Saul’s presence for the last time as a representation of God’s favor and guidance, finally and fully being removed from Saul. And Samuel grieved over Saul.
Saul will continue to be king until the one after God’s heart is raised up to reign, but we’ll see the same patterns of sin over and over until the day of his death.
As we move toward a conclusion, the failure and rejection of Saul should remind us of two things.
First,
We need to recognize that for all of us, a day is coming when we will stand before God and give an account for every idle word.
A day when every ledger will be opened, and every action will be laid bare.
Saul was rejected as king, and there was no return for him. His heart had hardened in a way that he would never repent. Look at his foolishness. His callousness. His rebellion. And flee from imitating him.
My friends, don’t walk the path of folly. Don’t harden your heart and stiffen your neck. Don’t ignore God’s call to your heart.
Today is the day to turn to the Lord. If you know the Lord and you are walking in rebellion, hear the example of Saul and tremble. Turn to the Lord, and he will turn to you. The conviction you feel is God beckoning you to himself.
If you don’t know the Lord today, he stands ready to lavish you with grace. To cover your sin by the blood of Christ. And to receive you as his own.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 Jn. 1:9)
I said that the failure and rejection of Saul should remind us of two things. This is the second thing.
That Jesus is the King that God has for his people.
Saul is like that disappointing meal that makes you long for the better meal. And Jesus is that better meal.
We’ll see King David get raised up later in Samuel, and he is a king after God’s heart, but he, too, will ultimately fail. And in all of this, we are pointed to Great David’s greater Son– Jesus Christ.
Jesus shares God’s heart and keeps his commands
Jesus is prayerful in his actions and not impulsively willful
Jesus values the pleasure of his Father over the praise of men.
Yet not I but what you will
Jesus fed his people, he doesn’t drive them to despair.
Jesus worshipped His Father in truth, not with outward religious forms.
Jesus dealt with sin finally and fully.
So may we be a people who imitate the true king as we obey from heart, pursue God’s favor, recognize sin for what it is, and worship our Lord in truth.
Let’s pray.
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