Wednesday, March 11, 2026

The Life of Samuel Series - Study #8

“Samuel’s Last Prophecy”

1 Samuel 28:3-19

Study #8 in The Life of Samuel Series

INTRODUCTION:

“Famous last words.” You have heard that expression. Often the term is mumbled after someone makes a statement expressing undue optimism, particularly about some task they plan to undertake. The person to whom the quote is attributed may or may not have been near death when the quote was supposedly uttered. “Famous last words” quotes are often expressed in the form of a joke. Here are a couple of interesting “famous last words.”

Ø Lord Kelvin, then president of the Royal Society in 1895 said, “Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.”

Ø At the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, May 9, 1864 Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick, U.S. Army leaped up on the breastwork to urge his men to advance against the enemy. In a loud voice he shouted to his men, “They couldn’t hit an elephant at this dist…” just before being fatally shot.

Ø “No flying machine will ever fly from New York to Paris.”—said Orville Wright.

Ø John Lennon’s Aunt Mimi gave her nephew this wise bit of advice: “A guitar’s all right, John, but you’ll never earn your living by it.”

I love good books. A while back I read David McCullough’s award-winning book about John Adams, which was published in May 2001. John Adams represented Massachusetts as a delegate at both the first and second Constitutional Conventions and played a significant role garnering European support for the American Revolution. He represented the United States during peace negotiations with Britain, served as George Washington’s Vice-President, and was elected as the second United States President. Following his presidency, he retired to his farm in Quincy, Massachusetts and began a lengthy correspondence with his friend, Thomas Jefferson, that would last over twenty-five years. Although in his nineties and gravely ill, he resolved to live until the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1826. That morning, he was awakened by his servant who inquired if he knew what day it was. “Oh, yes,” Mr. Adams replied, “it is the glorious fourth of July. God bless it. God bless you all.” He then lapsed into unconsciousness. Later that afternoon, he awakened briefly to mumble, “Thomas Jefferson still surv…” before dying. Amazingly, his dear friend, Thomas Jefferson had died earlier that very same day, but Adams had not been told of his friend’s death.

TRANSITION:

Today we are going to hear the prophet Samuel’s last recorded words. They were not deathbed words, however. In fact, they were his words spoken after his death. Yes, you heard me correctly. Let’s look at the story in 1 Samuel 28, starting at verse 3.

NOTES on the Text:

Verse 3: Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his own town of Ramah. Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land.

This was one of the good things that Saul accomplished during his reign. He set out to rid Israel of the pagan and occultic practices that had crept in from the ungodly nations roundabout them. Leviticus 20:27 gave him all the authority he needed: “Now a man or a woman who is a medium or a spiritist shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones, their blood-guiltiness is upon them.” Witches, wizards, sorcerers, necromancers, fortune-tellers, etc. were to be eradicated from the land of Israel. God made it clear that their occultic practices were an abomination, and an insult to Him.

Verses 4-7: The Philistines assembled and came and set up camp at Shunem, while Saul gathered all the Israelites and set up camp at Gilboa. ⁵ When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart [lit. his heart trembled greatly]. ⁶ He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams, or Urim [i.e., lot casting], or prophets. ⁷ Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.” “There is a woman [who has a familiar spirit] in Endor,” they said.

The Philistines camped near the village of Shunem on the northern side of the Jezreel Valley. The Israelites camped on the south end of the valley up in the foothills of Mount Gilboa. From there Saul could look north across the valley and see the size of the enemy camp and calculate the size of the army, and what he saw scared him big time.
Saul’s fear led him to try and connect with God by every means at his disposal, but nothing worked; his prayers were hitting the ceiling and bouncing off. The heavens were brass, and his messages were not getting through. His sin and rebellion had cut him off from God and the Lord was not speaking to him, much less giving him any good news about the coming battle. What we see here is the practical application of Psalm 66:18 – “If I regard [i.e., harbor] wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” Likewise, Psalm 18:41 – “They cried for help, but there was none to save; even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.” Or in Isaiah 1:15 – “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you. Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of bloodshed.” Saul wanted God’s help, but he wanted it on his own terms, and he was still not willing to repent and come clean before God. If he had humbled himself and truly repented, I believe that the Lord would have listened to him, but there is no indication that Saul did that. He was just trying to manipulate the Almighty into giving him victory in battle once more.
If Saul had been on speaking terms with the Lord, he would not have been terrorized. The Bible says, “Perfect love casts out fear.” After all, it was in that same area where, with the Lord’s help, Barak had defeated a superior Canaanite force. And it was in that very same valley where Gideon fought and defeated the hosts of the Midianites. If God were with them, He could once again give Saul and his army victory over their enemies, even though the Israelites were greatly outnumbered by the Philistines.
How his servants knew of the existence of the spiritist medium at Endor is anybody’s guess, and Saul did not stop to ask questions. Endor is about eight miles northeast of where Saul’s army was camped, and the way is very rough and treacherous.

Verse 8: So, Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes and at night he and two men went to the woman. “Consult a spirit for me,” he said, “and bring up for me the one I name.”

This makes it sound so easy, like they just walked across the street to her house. Saul and his two servants made that eight-mile journey at night, coming dangerously close to the Philistine camp to get to the witch’s house.
Saul was no fool. He took off any clothing that would make him look like a king. He probably had to borrow some clothes to disguise himself. But evidently it worked because no one stopped them and even the witch did not recognize him.

Verse 9: But the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why have you set a trap for my life to bring about my death?”

This woman was spooked and gun-shy. Saul had done a good job of exterminating most of the witches, spiritists, fortune-tellers, and necromancers. She was a survivor and wanted to stay that way. So, she was nervous about agreeing to help these three night-time guests.

Verse 10: Saul swore to her by the LORD, “As surely as the LORD lives, you will not be punished for this.”

This shows two things: (1) How desperate Saul was; and (2) How little “fear of the Lord” was in him. He swore by the Lord that she would not be punished, that he would not turn her in for helping him. I believe that Saul’s vow to the woman falls into the category of “taking the Lord’s name in vain.” Saul had gotten no help from the Lord, so he turned to the devil for answers. This just shows that his relationship with God was only skin-deep.

Verses 11: Then the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” “Bring up Samuel,” he said.

Obviously, Saul believed that this medium really had the power to call Samuel back from the dead, and the woman might even have believed it too. But did she? Could she really do it? This whole subject is troublesome because we must look at it from two different directions.

1. First, it is my contention that no human has the power to call someone back from the dead, although many have claimed to be able to do it. For us today the Bible is clear that when a believer dies, he goes directly to be with the Lord. The Word says, “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” However, before Christ’s resurrection believers went to a place the Bible calls Paradise or Abraham’s Bosom. Unbelievers, on the other hand, then and now, go to Sheol, also called Hades, a place of darkness and torment where they are held until the Day of Judgment when they will be cast into Hell, also called The Lake of Fire. In any case, dead people do not float around as disembodied spirits, or ghosts, or specters, or phantoms, or anything of the kind. The only spirits floating around, back then or now, are evil demonic spirits who often masquerade as dead humans in order to draw people deeper into occultism by making them think that it is possible to communicate with their dead loved ones. The Hebrew word, אוֹב (obe) used in verses 3, 7, and 9 and translated as “medium” literally means, “one that has a familiar spirit, necromancer, one who evokes the dead.” A “familiar spirit” is a divining demon that takes up residence in the body of a person who can conjure the demon up at will. It is a type of demon possession where the demon and the medium work in partnership. English Bible translators took their cue from Jerome’s Latin Vulgate that translated this Hebrew word with the Latin word, familiárus, meaning a servant belonging to a family. The word “familiar” has two senses: (1) The demon was familiar in the sense that the medium was intimately acquainted with the demon, although probably thinking that she was dealing with the spirit of a dead person, not a demon; and (2) These demons are often passed down through the generations from one family member to another.

2. The other side of the coin is this… I said that no human (and no demon either) has the power to call up the dead, and that is true. However, God has the power to do just that. (1) Jesus called Lazarus forth from the grave after he had been dead for four days. (2) The Bible says that Jesus Himself, after the crucifixion, descended into Hades and declared His victory over Satan, and death, and the grave, and He “led captivity captive.” (3) At the transfiguration God called forth Elijah and Moses to minister to the Lord Jesus in preparation for His coming ordeal. Where did they come back from? They had both been dead for hundreds of years! And at that time, they both had physical or virtual bodies that were fully visible to Peter, James, and John. How do you explain that?

3. I do not believe that the witch of Endor called Samuel from the grave. She may have thought she did; and it appears that Saul thought she did. But in truth she had no power to do so. But I believe that God sent Samuel back from the dead on one final mission, with one final message, a frightening message of death and destruction for Saul.

Verse 12: When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”

All at once the pieces of the puzzle came together for the woman. She saw Samuel, something that she obviously was not expecting. It scared the bejeebers out of her, scared her so badly that she literally screamed in terror. In that moment she realized that she was not in control of what was going on.
It was the view of the ancient rabbis that the spirit of Samuel truly appeared. The same view was held by Justin Martyr, Origen, and Augustine. On the other hand, Tertullian and Jerome maintained that the appearance of Samuel was a diabolical delusion. However, most orthodox scholars today agree with the ancients, that this was really Samuel that God brought back for one final prophecy.
Why did the witch not recognize Saul before this moment? It is difficult to understand why she had not recognized the tallest man in Israel right away. Perhaps he hunched himself over and shuffled like an old man, or perhaps the darkness hid him from her view. We just do not know.

Verse 13: The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?” The woman said, “I see a spirit coming up out of the ground.”

I believe that her fear was twofold: (1) She was afraid of Saul, thinking that he had set her up and that now he would kill her or have her killed; and (2) She was terrified at what she was witnessing as she saw Samuel approaching. Up to that point apparently Saul had not been able to see or hear Samuel.
Modern orthodox commentators are almost unanimous in the opinion that the departed prophet did really appear and announce the coming destruction of Saul and his army. They hold, however, that Samuel was brought up not by the magical black arts of the witch, but through a miracle wrought by the power of God.

Verse 14: “What does he look like?” he asked. “An old man wearing a robe is coming up,” she said. Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.

Upon hearing a description of the man, Saul knew that it really was Samuel. His reaction is interesting—he immediately prostrated himself on the ground. Think about it… this is the king of Israel, flat on the floor inside the witch’s house.

Verse 15: Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” “I am in great distress,” Saul said. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has turned away from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So, I have called on you to tell me what to do.”

Samuel immediately spoke to Saul but there was no “small talk,” no warm words of greeting. Samuel was not happy about being disturbed. Would you be? My understanding of what awaits the believer after death leads me to believe that it is much better than anything we experience in this life. Samuel was pulled away from a place of peace and joy and absolute contentment to come back here and express one more time what he had already told Saul.
The text does not make it clear if Samuel spoke to Saul in an audible voice or if he communicated with him in some other manner. Personally, I do not believe that the woman was used as an intermediary. The text leads us to conclude that Samuel spoke to Saul directly. Whether the woman could hear Samuel’s voice we do not know. I would point to the Acts 9 story of the interchange between Saul of Tarsus and the risen Christ on the road to Damascus. On that occasion the Lord spoke to Saul in an audible voice and Saul responded, but the men who were with Saul heard none of that conversation. They only saw the blinding light but could not make out the words.
Saul tells Samuel that he is in great distress for two reasons: (1) His enemies are getting ready to kick the tar out of him and his army; and (2) God is not taking his calls. They are all going straight to God’s voice mail. All Saul hears is a message with God’s voice saying, “I cannot take your call right now. Please leave a detailed message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. All except for Saul… Saul, I won’t be returning any of your calls, no matter how many messages you leave, so stop calling Me!”
Saul says, “Samuel, you are my only hope. Surely you must have some influence with God. Can’t you do something?”

Verses 16-19: Samuel said, “Why do you consult me now that the LORD has turned away from you and become your enemy? ¹⁷ The LORD has done what He predicted through me. The LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors, to David. ¹⁸ Because you did not obey the LORD or carry out His fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the LORD has done this to you today. ¹⁹ The LORD will hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also hand over the army of Israel to the Philistines.”

Samuel’s words are biting and to the point. They carry no comfort, no encouragement. He makes it clear that this is happening to Saul because of his disobedience, dating clear back to the events recorded in 1 Samuel 15 when Saul failed to carry out the Lord’s command to wipe out the Amalekites. Instead, Saul saved back the best of the loot and spared their king. Here we see that he paid a heavy price for his stubborn disobedience. It is a practical lesson illustrating that, “the wages of sin is death.”
I find it interesting to note Samuel’s words that “tomorrow you and your sons will be with me.” Will they join Samuel in Paradise or merely join him in death? That is the question.

CONCLUSION:

So, in the end if it was really God who brought Samuel back to deliver one final message to Saul, how did God feel about Saul doing what he did in calling on the witch of Endor? We read in 1 Chronicles 10:13-14, “Saul died because he was unfaithful to the LORD; he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance, ¹⁴ and did not inquire of the LORD. So, the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David, the son of Jesse.”

This is a difficult and controversial portion of Scripture. Scholars have argued over it for centuries. The main questions are these:

Did Samuel really come back from the dead? I believe that he did. If not, how do we account for what Saul and the witch saw? I believe that it really was Samuel that Saul spoke with, not some demonic Samuel impersonator. However, one of my favorite Bible teachers, good old Dr. J. Vernon McGee, adamantly says that this was not really Samuel who appeared, but some sort of demonic apparition. I respectfully disagree with him.
By what power was Samuel brought back– demonic or divine? I believe that in this story we are once again seeing God’s divine power at work. I believe that the witch had nothing to do with what took place. I believe that God capitalized on Saul’s belief and used the occasion to pronounce a final sentence on Saul for his earlier disobedience, as well as his present sin of calling on a witch for guidance.
Was Saul truly a saved man who was just sadly mixed up, or was he an unbeliever in the skin of religious person? I have wrestled with this question, examining it from every angle. But after much thought I have concluded, albeit reluctantly, that I believe that Saul was a saved man. I believe that he was seriously flawed and weak at the core, but I believe he loved God, even though he was not fit to be king and even though he was a poor example of a God-follower.
Did Saul go to be with Samuel in Paradise, or did he go to Hades to await the Day of Judgment? Based on Samuel’s words in verse 19 I believe that one day we will meet Saul in Heaven. I believe that he is an example of how badly we can screw up and yet still be loved by God. In the same way, I believe we will probably see Ananias and Sapphira in Heaven, even though God struck them both dead for lying (Acts 5).

The Life of Samuel Series - Study #7

“Samuel Anoints a New King”

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Study #7 in The Life of Samuel Series

INTRODUCTION:

We are drawing near to the end of this 8-part series on The Life of Samuel. There will be just one more after today.

Turn with me to 1 Samuel chapter 16. At this point in Samuel’s life, he is already an old man. His hair is white, and he walks slower than he used to. He has some aches and pains that he did not have when he was a younger man. His voice is not as strong as it used to be, and he knows that his life and ministry are coming to an end.

TRANSITION:

Yet if anyone looked closely in his eyes, they would see immediately that his mind was still sharp. His relationship with God was still fresh and growing stronger each day. He was still the priest and prophet of the Most High God and he still had that same spiritual authority that came from being God’s chosen man.

He was finishing strong. He had served long and well, but his work was not yet over. God still had one more important job for him to accomplish before he went into retirement.

NOTES on the Text:

Verse 1: The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

Samuel mourned for Saul because he loved him, cared about him. You do not mourn for somebody you do not care about. Saul’s story was a sad one—a man with so much potential, who looked so good on the outside, yet he was hollow in the middle.
But God reminds Samuel that it is useless to mourn over something that God has already determined. It is time to move on. In Ecclesiastes chapter three we read, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven… ⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” God is saying that the time for mourning is over. Now is the time for action, and for joy, because He is sending Samuel to anoint the new king of Israel, a “man after His own heart.”
Samuel is told to fill his horn with oil because he will need it to anoint the new king. Moreover, God gives Samuel specific instructions about where to go and who to look for. This reminds us of the words of Scripture in Psalm 37:23, which says, “The steps of a good man are ordered [i.e., established] by the Lord, and He [God] delights in his way.” And Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways acknowledge Him [as God], and He will make your paths straight.” That is exactly what God was doing for Samuel.
Notice too that David was from Bethlehem, the very place from which the Messiah was to come forth many years later. We can see that God was already orchestrating the events way back then, so that every detail of the prophecy concerning Christ would be fulfilled perfectly.

Verses 2-3: But Samuel said, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me.” The LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ ³ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for Me the one I indicate.”

This is kind of funny when you think about it. Samuel is having a face-to-face conversation with the King of the Universe and the Creator of all, and he is worrying about what puny little Saul can do to him. Sometimes we worry about the dumbest stuff!
But God is patient with His servant Samuel. He tells Sam exactly what to do. God says, “Invite Jesse to a barbeque! There’s nothing threatening about that!”

Verse 4: Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”

Samuel had the good sense to shut up and obey the Lord. There is a lesson there for us too, is there not?
Why were the elders of the town fearful when they saw Samuel arriving? He wqs just a little old man with a white beard dressed in a long robe. What could he possibly do to them? I think there are two possibilities:

They might have been worried because he was the judge, and they might have thought he was coming to hold court and to punish their offenses. Remember back to 7:15-16, “Samuel continued as judge over Israel all the days of his life. ¹⁶ From year to year he went on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah, judging Israel in all those places.”
However, the second reason is that they may have feared him because of his well-known direct connection to God. The people of Israel loved Samuel, but I think they were also a little bit afraid of him because he spoke with God directly, face-to-face, the way a man talks to his friend. They thought he might be coming with a hidden agenda.

Verse 5: Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

Samuel set their minds at ease and invited them to join him in making a sacrifice to the Lord. Jesse, being a well-known man of the community, was invited as well, along with his whole family.

Verse 6: When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.”

When Samuel laid eyes on Eliab, Jesse’s firstborn son, he thought that he was looking upon the new king of Israel. Eliab looked like a king. He smelled like a king. He walked like a king. He dressed like a king. He even talked like a king. Samuel thought to himself, “Surely he must be the one.” But he was not the one God had chosen.

Verse 7: But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

God calls Samuel up short. After all, he thought all these same things about Saul, and Saul turned out to be a big loser. So, God lets Samuel in on a little secret: greatness has nothing to do with appearances, and noble character cannot be seen with our physical eyes.
God says that He has rejected Eliab, but not because there was anything wrong with him. Eliab was probably a great guy, a fine son, and an all-around nice fellow. The only problem was… he was not the one God wanted.
What you have here is the human way of judging things, versus the divine way of judging things. This verse explains a lot of things. As humans we tend to be impressed by powerful people, rich people, smart people, good-looking people, tall people, well-educated people, people who dress well, smell nice, and use good manners. We gravitate toward people who know how to use command presence, who have deep and melodious voices, who drive expensive cars, and who live in attractive houses. However, none of those things impresses God. He looks at the inner man, at the character, at the secret thoughts and intentions of the heart. This goes along with what Samuel said to Saul back in 15:22— “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” Outward looks and religion for show do not cut any ice with God. He is not impressed by outward manifestations that have no inward substance. It is not what we say in a testimony; it is whether we are obeying Jesus. The Christian life is one of reality. It is not a life of “put-on” and pretense. When God looks at us, He looks at us from the inside.
1 Corinthians 1:25-29 sheds some light on this for me: “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. ²⁶ Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before Him.” That is why God still calls into His service people that the world would never choose, would never foresee as achieving anything great, or noble, or mighty.

Verses 8-11: Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.” ⁹ Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the LORD chosen this one.” ¹⁰ Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The LORD has not chosen these.” ¹¹ So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered, “but he is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”

This fashion show went on and on. Finally, it began to be a little embarrassing for everyone. Jesse was embarrassed because none of his boys was good enough to satisfy the holy man. Samuel was getting embarrassed because he had to keep saying, “No, sorry, this isn’t the one.” The brothers probably thought to themselves, “What’s going on here, for crying out loud. What’s wrong with me? I’m not exactly chopped liver you know.”
Seven brothers passed before Samuel, and every time the Lord whispered in his ear, “This is not the one. NEXT!” Eventually Jesse ran out of sons, so Samuel said, “Is this all you’ve got?” Jesse finally admitted that he had one more—the youngest, the runt, the kid out in the field watching the sheep. Samuel says, “Go get him.” And sure enough, wouldn’t you know it; he was the one the Lord wanted all along!
Why didn’t God just tell Samuel, “I have chosen Jesse’s youngest son, David. Go anoint him.” Wouldn’t that have saved time and wear and tear on the prophet? Isaiah 55:8-9 reveals the answer to that question: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. ⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” God has His own way of doing things and the sooner we wise up to that and stop trying to second guess Him, the happier we will be.

Verse 12: So, he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; he is the one.”

Jesse had someone, maybe a servant or one of the brothers, go out and bring David back in so that Samuel could meet him. Here we get a little bit of information about what David looked like. To us this term, “ruddy” usually means reddish. In the Old Testament it is only used to describe Esau and David. It does not necessarily mean, however, that David was a redhead with freckles; in that culture where everyone tended to be of dark skin tone, David stood out as being of lighter skin and hair. NASV says, “Now he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance.” But in a way it is not important because God already told us that David was not chosen because of his appearance. On the other hand, God does not despise that which is beautiful. God can use beauty. He is the Creator of beauty. The Bible makes it clear that David was a handsome young man, but God did not choose him for that reason. God knew his heart. He was God’s choice. In years to come, although David failed, down underneath was a faith that never failed. David loved and trusted God. He wanted to walk with God. The Lord took him to the woodshed and punished him within an inch of his life a few times, yet David never whimpered or cried aloud. He wanted that fellowship with God, and God loved him. He was a man after God’s own heart.
The Lord gave Samuel immediate direction: “Get up and anoint him, NOW! He is the one I want.”

Verse 13: So, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah.

Samuel responded with instant, unquestioning obedience. Here is another lesson for us.
What must David’s father and brothers have thought of all this? They may have understood by the anointing that David would become a disciple of Samuel, or that in time he might become the prophet that would take Samuel’s place. But I do not think they understood that he was to be the next King of Israel that would replace Saul. Moreover, I am not sure that David fully understood what was going on. There is no indication here that Samuel took him aside and explained it all to him. Samuel and God knew what this was all about, but I do not think that Samuel spilled the beans. So, they must have all been a little perplexed by the whole thing.
God often reveals His will to us one little piece at a time. And frankly, I am glad He does it that way. If He dropped the whole load on us at once we would panic and run. But God never gives us more than we can handle at the moment, with His help. That is true of temptation (1 Cor. 10:13), as well as trials.
One thing did change on that day—and it was something wonderful. David was a young man, probably still a teenager. He was still a shepherd. He still lived under his dad’s roof, among his same brothers. Yet David was different from that day forward. Look at the text again: “And from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power.” The NASV says, “And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.” That day was a turning point for David. I do not think he understood it completely, but I am certain that he knew that something big had taken place in his life when Samuel laid his hands on him and poured the oil on his head and prayed over him. From that day forward he knew that God was real, and that God was with him.
This is especially interesting if you read ahead in the text, for in the very next verse it says that the Holy Spirit of God departed from Saul, apparently at the very same time.

CONCLUSION:

What are some principles we learn from these verses? Here are four (4) spiritual lessons I glean from this text:

1. Although Samuel was an old man, he was still not too old to be used by God. We never get too old for God to use us. If you can still breathe air, you can still serve God.

2. Though Samuel was a wise and godly man, he still needed to be taught by God to not be fooled by outward appearances. We never get so wise or so spiritual that we graduate from God’s classroom.

3. We need to be careful not to judge people by outward appearances. We should not be taken in by those who look good; nor should we reject those who do not match up to our preconceived expectations. God uses all kinds of people, so long as they are humble, obedient, willing, and in love with God.

4. We need to allow for time in the process of people-development. Even though David was anointed to be the next king he had a long way to go before he would be qualified for the throne. We need to look for potential in people and then help them become what God wants them to be. That is the ministry of disciple-making, and it requires time.

The Life of Samuel Series - Study #6

“Samuel, the Avenging Angel”

1 Samuel 15

Study #6 in The Life of Samuel Series

INTRODUCTION:

After Adam and Eve sinned against God in Eden they were cast out of the garden and forbidden to return. In Genesis 3:23-24 we read, “So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. ²⁴ After He drove the man out, He placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim [i.e., powerful angels] and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” This picture has given rise to the concept of the “avenging angel,” sent to right wrongs and take a stand for God, protecting His interests.

Although not an angel, Samuel was such a man. He lived for God. He spoke for God. He defended God’s honor. He carried God’s message. He was like an avenging angel.

TRANSITION:

But Samuel did not volunteer for the job. He was pressed into the Lord’s service many years before. He had spent his entire life as the prophet of God, speaking the truth to God’s people, Israel, even when they did not want to hear it. And in response to the selfish, stupid demands of the people God had commanded Samuel to anoint for them a king. God told him to warn the people about what would happen—that it would not turn out well. But despite that, Samuel was optimistic and had high hopes that somehow King Saul would turn out to be a winner, that he would straighten out and become truly a man of God. However, that did not happen. Saul made one stupid decision after another, showing his true colors not only as a man lacking in integrity, but also as a king lacking in many other vital areas. 1 Samuel 15 records the sad story of King Saul’s partial obedience to God’s clear commands and the high price he paid for his stubborn disobedience. Moreover, it is filled with valuable life lessons for us if we will but take heed and learn from his mistakes.

NOTES on the Text:

Chapter 15 begins with Samuel reminding King Saul that he was the one whom God had sent to anoint him as king over the people of Israel. In verse 1 he went on to say: “Now therefore listen [i.e., pay attention, give heed] to the words of the LORD.” Then God, through His prophet commanded Saul to go and take up arms and go to war against the city of Amalek, one of the major population concentrations of the Amalekite nation.

Verses 2-3: “This is what the LORD Almighty [LORD Sabaoth = LORD of Hosts, or LORD of the Armies] says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. ³ Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels, and donkeys.’”

So, who were these Amalekites? And what had they done to have God so mad at them? Answer: They were descendants of Esau. Amalek was the son of Eliphaz, the grandson of Esau, the great-grandson of Isaac. He was the founder and chief of a large clan of fierce nomadic desert warriors known as the Amalekites who bitterly fought the Israelites’ entrance into Canaan and were constant enemies of Israel ever after. (N.B., Amalek’s genealogy is found in Genesis 36:12, 16.)

In Saul’s day the Amalekites lived in the area to the south of Israel, from the end of the Dead Sea south into the Negev Desert. Their region bordered that of the Amorites to the east, another of Israel’s enemies. They made frequent raids on Israeli towns and villages—killing, raping, stealing, and destroying with impunity.

We first hear about the Amalekites back in Exodus 17:8-16, which tells of their treachery to the people of God at Rephidim after the children of Israel left Egypt headed for Canaan. In Deuteronomy 25:17-19 Moses recounts the story of what happened and reminds the Israelites of God’s mandate to eventually carry out the Amalekites’ death sentence.

“Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. ¹⁸ When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and cut off all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God. ¹⁹ When the LORD your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land, He is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!”

The Hebrew word in 15:3 of our text translated “totally destroy” is the word herem and means “to devote fully.” God said that the city was “devoted” to Him, meaning that everyone and everything in it was His, and was reserved for judgment as His way of wiping their filthiness from the face of the earth.

The same concept can be seen back in Joshua 6 in the story of the Battle of Jericho. God told Joshua that they were to take none of the spoils. The city was under God’s curse [ban] and He wanted them destroyed utterly. Joshua 6:17-18 says, “The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD… ¹⁸ But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise, you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it.” Of course, you remember what happened. Achan took some of the forbidden items and hid them in a hole under his tent, thinking that no one would ever know except for him and his family members. But God knew, and that story ended with the defeat of the Israelites at Ai and the execution of Achan and his whole family for their disobedience against the clear instructions of God through His prophet. God takes this stuff very seriously!

1 Samuel 15 is repugnant to many people, even to many Christians. It offends us. It saddens us. It angers us. It perplexes us. We want to read it through the lens of our modern human sensibilities about “right” and “wrong” and “fair.” The word “genocide” quickly comes to mind. We think that there must be some mistake here. Clearly the loving God that we know would never order the slaughter of every man, woman, and child of an entire nation. God would not demand the blood of every innocent animal in their country. The God that we know, and love, would never order His people to utterly wipe out an entire race of people… would He?

Remember, God sees the beginning and the end. He sees into the heart. He knew the depth of wickedness of these people. He also knew that if they had been permitted to live, they would have caused more trouble in the future than is imaginable. Moreover, we learn later in Esther 3:1 more about why God was so intent on wiping out this race of evil people. Because of Saul’s partial obedience and allowing some of the Amalekites to live, one of the descendants of the royal line of Amalek, Haman, tried to wipe out the Jews entirely, and would have succeeded had not God intervened. His evil plans were thwarted by Queen Esther thanks to God’s intervention. But Haman’s lineage traced back to the king of the Amalekites, the very one Saul failed to kill. How interesting! When we begin to get God’s perspective, we start to understand His orders given to Saul. It is important to keep in mind that since you and I are not God and are not qualified or obligated to make God’s decisions, we have no right to pass judgment upon Him.

So, God told Saul to exterminate all the Amalekites. However, we will see here that Saul did not finish the job that he started. As a result, a remnant survived for many years, until the time of Hezekiah (cf. 1 Chronicles 4:43), when they were finally destroyed near Mount Seir. But for all those years the Amalekites were a constant thorn in the flesh of the Israelites, and responsible for the deaths of countless Jews, all because Saul failed to do what he was told by the God who sees the end from the beginning.

In verse 6 we read about another group of people, the Kenites, who were living among the Amalekites. Who were they? Descendants of the Midianites, they were a nomadic tribe of copper and metal smiths. We learn about them in Numbers 10:29-32. Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, was a Kenite and he and his people assisted the Jews greatly in the period of wanderings. Ever after there had always been a friendship between the Kenites and the Jews. These people had accompanied Israel to Jericho and then gone to dwell with the Amalekites in the desert south of Judah. Apparently, Saul found out that there was a community of them living in the city of Amalek, so he sent word to them to get out of Dodge before the shooting started, which they did immediately according to verse 6.

Verse 7: “Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, to the east of Egypt.”

Up through verse 7 Saul was doing OK. He was obeying the Lord. He led his armies to strike the main city of the Amalekites, Amalek, the center of their government and the home of their king. Then they continued the fight southward, wiping out as many of the Amalekites as they could find. So far, so good.

However, things start to go wrong in verses 8-9: “He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. ⁹ But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves, and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.” Saul thought to himself, “What a shame to destroy all this good stuff. Surely the Lord did not mean that, did He? That would not make sense.”

So, he saved the king of the Amalekites, for what reason I cannot guess. By the way, “Agag” was not the guy’s name, but rather, his title. He was The Agag, the king of the Amalekites, like Caesar was for the Romans, Pharaoh for the Egyptians, and Candace for the Ethiopians. But Saul had no right to spare him any more than he had the right to spare the humblest peasant or soldier among these people. The Amalekites were wholly given to evil and the utter destruction of Israel, and the king, above all others, should have been killed, just as the Lord had declared. Moreover, Saul did not have the right to save the best of the cattle and sheep from destruction. It appears that he made his attack for the purpose of obtaining booty and spoil, and God had expressly forbidden him from doing that. In this case, the Israelites were Almighty God’s hammer for bringing judgment upon the Amalekites.

Verses 10-11: “Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel: ¹¹ ‘I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from Me and has not carried out My instructions.’ Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the LORD all that night.”

God was grieved. Samuel was grieved. This was a sad situation. Twice in this chapter it says that God regretted having made Saul king over Israel. What are we to make of that? Does God really grieve? Yes. Did He not know how this would all turn out? Yes. Does God ever change His mind? No. His repentance is not to be understood as his regretting His action, nor is it a sign of changeableness. Rather, it is an expression of His sorrow over man’s disobedience. Also, we need to keep in mind that His promises and threats are often conditional. For example, in Jeremiah 18:7-10 notice the If-Then statements the LORD makes: “If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, ⁸ and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. ⁹ And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, ¹⁰ and if it does evil in My sight and does not obey Me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.”

After a sleepless night Samuel got up and went looking for Saul. He found out that Saul had set up yet another monument to himself at Carmel and then headed off to Gilgal. Samuel took off after him. When he caught up with Saul the first thing Saul did was to start lying. In verse 13 Saul said to Samuel, “The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.” What a stinkin’ liar!

But Samuel knew what he knew. He said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?” Seeing that his lie had not worked, in verse 15 Saul switched tactics and tried to shift the blame. He said, “The people brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.” What a spineless, feckless wienie! He accepted no responsibility.

Samuel was ticked! He stopped Saul in mid-sentence and said to him: “¹⁶ Stop! Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night. Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. ¹⁸ And He sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.’ ¹⁹ Why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the LORD?”

Saul responded in verse 20 with a second big lie: “But I did obey the LORD! I went on the mission the LORD assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king.” Do you see it? That is a contradiction.

And in verse 21 we see his second big blame shift, once again trying to weasel out of taking responsibility: “The people took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”

Verses 22-23 contain perhaps the most important lessons of this whole unfortunate incident. You can hear the pain and sorrow in Samuel’s voice as he says to Saul, “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. ²³ For rebellion is like the sin of divination [i.e., witchcraft], and arrogance [insubordination] like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.”

You can see here that God equates disobedience with rebellion. To Him they are the same thing. Moreover, to God the sin of disobedience and rebellion is just as bad as the sin of witchcraft because both are rejections of God’s sovereign right to rule our lives. And he says that insubordination is every bit as sinful as idolatry, because both seek to push God off His throne and put man on it instead. What does this mean? — “to obey is better than sacrifice.” Someone might say, “I thought God liked animal sacrifices. Was it not His idea in the first place?” But the sacrifices were always about love, and devotion, and obedience; never about the sacrifices themselves. They were just a type, a foreshadowing of Jesus, the One who would one day come to be the Sacrificial Lamb. (N.B. To get a better understanding about how God feels about empty religious rituals read Isaiah 1:10-15.)

At this point Samuel drops the atomic bomb on Saul. He tells him that God has rejected him from being king. Saul already heard this once before, back in 13:14 after he deliberately disobeyed Samuel and offered up a burnt offering sacrifice, which he had no right to do, because he was not a Levite or a priest.

Saul finally admits a little bit of culpability. In verse 24 he says to Samuel: “I have sinned. I violated [i.e., transgressed] the LORD’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people [= Oh poor me, I was afraid, boo hoo.] and so I gave in to them [= what else could I do?] ²⁵ Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD.” In other words, “I may have crossed the line just a little bit, but really, it’s no big deal, right?” The big phony! He did not care about worshiping the Lord. He just wanted to make nice with Samuel and move on. I do not believe for a minute that this was genuine repentance. There is a big difference between being sorry and sorrowful that you got caught and being genuinely remorseful for the evilness of your sin and rebellion. Look how quickly he changed subjects away from his sin.

Samuel could see through this deception. He could hear the insincerity in Saul’s voice. As much as he loved Saul personally, he knew that Saul was a lying weasel and was turning out to be a total loser. His response to Saul is in verse 26: “But Samuel said to him, ‘I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you as king over Israel!’”

At this point we can see that Saul is starting to get desperate. Evidently Samuel turned and started to walk away from him. Verse 27 says, “As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore.” Samuel used the opportunity as an object lesson. He said: “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors [i.e., to David, the son of Jesse]—to one better than you. ²⁹ He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.”

This brings up an interesting question. Won’t God forgive any sin? If Saul were genuinely repentant and sorry for his sin, would God not forgive Him? The answer is yes; God would have forgiven him. God is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness if we will but confess our sin to Him. But that does not mean that He will go back on His word or release you from the consequences of your sin. God would have personally forgiven Saul, but He would not go back on His decision to remove him from his office. Saul had proven to be incompetent and unworthy and had caused too much damage.

Besides, it is a moot argument because Saul was not genuinely remorseful. Look at verse 30. Saul pleaded with Samuel: “I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD your God.” How strange! He was just worried about how he would look to other people. He was trying to keep up appearances so that the people would still think he was cool. And how strange it is that Samuel obliged his request. I think maybe it was more for the people’s benefit than for Saul’s.

But there was still some unfinished business, namely the little question of what to do with the king of the Amalekites. Verse 32 says, “Then Samuel said, ‘Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.’ Agag came to him confidently, thinking, ‘Surely the bitterness of death is past.’ ³³ But Samuel said, ‘As your sword has made women childless, so will your mother be childless among women.’ And Samuel put Agag to death before the LORD at Gilgal.” Did he ever! The translators of the NIV did not have the stomach to translate this literally. What the Hebrew text really says is that “Samuel hewed Agag to pieces before the LORD” (cf. NASV, KJV, etc.). Like the old saying goes, “Sometimes when you want a job done right you have to do it yourself.” Samuel got the job done right; the way it should have been done in the first place.

The chapter ends with Saul and Samuel parting company—with Saul acting as though nothing had happened, and Samuel going home with a broken heart. Verse 35 says, “Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the LORD was grieved that He had made Saul king over Israel.” This is the second time in this chapter that we hear these words. Although God knew everything before it happened, He was still saddened at Saul’s failure and the repercussions it would bring.

CONCLUSION:

In this chapter we can learn many important lessons:

God has a long memory. He remembers His friends (the Kenites), and He remembers His enemies (the Amalekites). When God says He will do something, you can count on it getting done sooner or later.
Sin grieves God. It saddens Him. It angers Him. It offends Him. The question is… does it offend, grieve, anger, and sadden us?
It does not matter how important or powerful you are, you cannot get away with sin indefinitely. “‘I will repay,’ saith the LORD.”
Partial obedience is just as bad as full-blown disobedience. We cannot go halfway and think that will get us off the hook with God. (Dad says, “Today after school, please mow the lawn.” Later, Junior whines, “But Dad, I mowed the back yard. I thought that would be enough.”)
Two good deeds do not cancel out one bad deed. You cannot buy God off that way.
God does not determine His behavior based on our sensitivity, ideas of fairness, or concept of justice. He is not a tame Lion. He is an awesome, powerful God who hates wickedness and loves righteousness.

The Life of Samuel Series - Study #5

“Saul Steps on the Ball”

1 Samuel 12-13

Study #5 in The Life of Samuel Series

INTRODUCTION:

“Ele pisou na bola.” This is a Brazilian saying that means, “he messed up.” Translated literally it says, “he stepped on the ball.” Soccer is the national sport of Brazil, as it is in most of the world. In Brazil it is called “futebol.” As a 5-time World Cup Champion, Brazil’s players are admired around the world for their fluid movements on the field and their ability to score goals under any conditions. I knew virtually nothing about soccer when I went to Brazil as a missionary in 1978. But I learned to love the sport and especially enjoyed watching it with Brazilian friends because they are always so passionate about it.

One of the things that occasionally happens in soccer, even with professional players, is that a guy will get to running too fast, moving the ball down the field. Trying to turn or stop the ball, the player will accidentally step on the ball. This often results in him taking a tumble and the ball being taken over by the opposing team. Fans will groan, “Oh no, ele pisou na bola, he stepped on the ball!”

That expression has come to be used in many different situations, but it always means, “he really screwed things up.”

TRANSITION:

All of us at one time or another have stepped on the ball. All of us have made blunders that hurt ourselves and others. Every one of us has been guilty of errors in judgment, and lapses in character. Sometimes, we merely act stupidly. Other times we clearly act out of sinful motives. Regardless, these illustrate the truth of Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God.”

The Bible makes it clear that we are all sinners, both by nature and by choice. It is not sinning that makes us “sinners.” Rather, we sin because we are sinners. That is an important difference and distinction we must grasp.

Today we continue with our study of the life of Samuel. In our last study we looked at 1 Samuel 8-11 that tell the story of Saul’s rise to prominence and his anointing as the new King of Israel. We ended with these verses found at the close of chapter 11: “Then Samuel said to the people, ‘Come, let us go to Gilgal and there reaffirm the kingship.’ ¹⁵ So all the people went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king in the presence of the LORD. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before the LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites held a great celebration.” I mentioned that it is sad that Saul’s story does not end here, because in the very next chapter Saul stepped on the ball, big time! He messed up in a big way, so big in fact that it could not be fixed. As a result, God declared that the kingship would be taken away from him and another would be put in his place. Let’s look at how all this unfolded.

NOTES on the Text:

Gilgal was a special place for the Jews. When they first came into Canaan, the Land of Promise, after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, Gilgal was the first place they camped after crossing the Jordan River. There they made a covenant with the Lord and erected a memorial to remind them of God’s faithfulness to them. Now Samuel calls the people together again at Gilgal to reaffirm Saul’s kingship. 1 Samuel chapter 12 begins with Samuel addressing the people as their long-time spiritual leader.

He begins by reminding them in verses 1-5 that he has always been square with them in the past and has served them and the Lord faithfully. He invites anyone who has a complaint against him or proof of any unfaithfulness or dishonesty to step forward. But they all agree that he has been an exemplary spiritual leader and a just judge. I find this remarkable. After all those years not one voice could be raised against Samuel. He had lived his life in a fishbowl, visible to everyone, yet no one could find fault in him. Here he was at the end of his life and ministry—this was his “swan song”—yet he was finishing strong, with his testimony and integrity intact. He was quite a man!

Then Samuel retells their national history, reminding them of some things they might have conveniently forgotten. Starting in verse 6 we read: “It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your forefathers up out of Egypt. ⁷ Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with evidence before the LORD as to all the righteous acts performed by the LORD for you and your fathers. ⁸ After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the LORD for help, and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your forefathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. ⁹ But they forgot the LORD their God; so, He sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them. ¹⁰ They cried out to the LORD and said, ‘We have sinned; we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ ¹¹ Then the LORD sent Jerubbaal [i.e., Gideon], Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel, and He delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, so that you lived securely.”

Samuel is reminding them that Yahweh, the LORD, has been a great King for them if they remained faithful to Him.

Then in verse 13 he shifts gears to talk about their recent history of rebellion: “But when you saw that Nahash, king of the Ammonites, was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we want a king to rule over us’—even though the LORD your God was your King. ¹³ Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the LORD has set a king over you. ¹⁴ If you fear the LORD and serve and obey Him and do not rebel against His commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God—good! ¹⁵ But if you do not obey the LORD, and if you rebel against His commands, His hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.”

It was never Samuel’s idea to anoint a king over the people. However, he was the guy caught in the middle. But he knew better than anyone that the Lord was acceding to the people’s request under duress. So, he uses this opportunity to put the fear of God in them. He lays out what happened to their forefathers when they rebelled against the Lord. He makes it clear that the same or worse could happen to them. He is calling them to own up to the fact that what they have done is wrong. He is calling them to repent.

To drive home his point, he uses his prophetic authority to perform a miracle to show them that he is telling them the truth. It is interesting that he shows no doubt or hesitation that God will back him up with a show of supernatural force. Look at verse 16 and following: ^“16 Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes! ¹⁷ Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call upon the LORD to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the LORD when you asked for a king.”

The time of wheat harvest is the dry time of the year at the end of summer. It seldom rains then. “¹⁸ Then Samuel called upon the LORD, and that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain. So, all the people stood in awe of the LORD and of Samuel. ¹⁹ The people all said to Samuel, ‘Pray to the LORD, your God, for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.” Samuel called on the Lord to send a real gully-washer to validate his message. And the Lord came through in a big way. It scared them half to death, because then they realized the weight of their sin and of God’s disapproval.

But then notice how Samuel offered them hope. “²⁰ ‘Do not be afraid,’ Samuel replied. ‘You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD but serve the LORD with all your heart. ²¹ Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. ²² For the sake of His great name the LORD will not reject His people, because the LORD was pleased to make you His own. ²³ As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. ²⁴ But be sure to fear the LORD and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you. ²⁵ Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king [i.e., Saul] will be swept away.’”

These verses offer both a promise and a threat. Samuel reminds them that God loves them and has chosen them to be His own people.

Ø You do not need to be afraid of Him. (“Perfect love casts out fear.”)

Ø Do not turn away from Him even though you have sinned. Rather, pull in closer to Him.

Ø Serve Him with your whole heart.

Ø Do not go after idols. They are a cheap substitute for the real thing, and they will do you no good.

Ø Remember that He has chosen you for Himself, for His name’s sake.

Ø So, reverence Him and serve Him wholeheartedly.

Ø Never forget all the wonderful things that He has done for you.

Ø WARNING: However, if you choose the path of evil and rebellion, then both you and your king are goners. He will sweep you out like the dirt off the floor. He will wash you out to sea.

Before we move on into chapter 13, I want to look again at verse 23: “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.” Samuel recognized that he had a vital ministry of prayer for the people of God. Furthermore, he regarded failure to pray for Israel as a personal sin against God. I believe that prayer for one’s nation remains an obligation for a believer. Each one of us has a prayer responsibility—to pray for our family, our unsaved friends and acquaintances, our church, our leaders, etc. If I do not pray for them, who will? We ought to pray for one another. There are many needy people. God forbid that we should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for one another.

In chapter 13 the true nature of Saul begins to show. I told you in our last study that I am not convinced that Saul was a converted man. I do not know if he had a personal relationship with God. He was a religious man, like so many people in the world today, but was he a godly man? Moreover, he was not really a king, at least not on the inside. He looked like a king. He talked like a king. But underneath he was no king at all. He was a phony.

We read in 1 Samuel 13:1-2 that when Saul began his official reign one of the first things that he did was to put together a standing army of about 3,000 armed men. He had 2,000 of them under his direct leadership, and he put his son, Jonathan, as commander over the other 1,000 men. In verse 3 we read that Jonathan led his men into battle against the Philistines encamped at Geba, winning a great victory. Verse 4 says: “So all Israel heard the news: ‘Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel has become a stench to the Philistines.’ And the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.” When the word got out, apparently Saul’s name got substituted for Jonathan’s as the winning general. Was that a coincidence?

But winning a battle is not the same as winning a war. Apparently, all they did was to stir up a Philistine hornet’s nest. If I read it right, verse 5 tells us that the Philistines had 36,000 men against Israel’s 3,000. To do the math, that means that in a face-to-face battle each Jew would have to kill 12 Philistines. Apparently, many of the Jews were good at math too, so they headed for the hills, muy rápido. Verse 6 says: “When the men of Israel saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns. ⁷ Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear.”

Fear will do strange things to you. Fear will cause your knees to knock, your hands to sweat, and your voice to tremble when you must stand in front of an audience. Fear will cause you to cut and run when you see a bear coming after you. Fear will cause you lose your perspective and forget that “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” Or, in the words of the prophet Elisha to his servant in 1 Kings 6:16, “Don’t be afraid…Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” I am not saying that fear is an unnatural response. In fact, from a human standpoint, given the odds it only made sense to conclude that this war was lost before it even began. The Jews were in for it now.

But it is in times like this that we find out what a person is really made of. Character is forged through trials and adversity. Samuel had given clear instructions to Saul to wait seven days for him in Gilgal (cf. 10:8). Saul understood the instructions. There was no misunderstanding. Samuel had promised to come and offer up a sacrifice to the Lord before they went into battle. But as the time passed, Saul got increasingly nervous. Finally, the seventh day arrived, and Samuel had still not shown up, so Saul took matters into his own hands, ignoring the clear instructions of the prophet. “⁸ He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. ⁹ So he said, ‘Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.’ And Saul offered up the burnt offering.” Apparently, he concluded that being the king gave him the right to not only ignore Samuel, but also to ignore God’s clear instructions that only a priest from the tribe of Levi could offer a burnt offering.

There is a little verse in the Bible that says, “Be sure your sins will find you out.” It means that God has a way of bringing our hidden sins to light.” Sure enough, just as Saul was finishing up the sacrifice, Samuel came walking up. Samuel’s first question was, “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?” But rather than admitting his guilt Saul immediately began making excuses. Saul replied in verse 11, “When I saw that the men were scattering [i.e., his soldiers were at fault], and that you did not come at the set time [i.e., it was Samuel’s fault], and that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash [i.e., it was the enemy’s fault], ¹² I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD’s favor [i.e., it was God’s fault].’ So, I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering [i.e., it was fate’s fault/I am a victim of circumstances].” Literally Saul said in verse 12: “So I forced myself to offer the burnt offering.” This is all a pattern of rationalization to cover up his bad behavior. He was lying and being falsely pious. The truth is he just took matters into his own hands. Saul was told in the beginning that if he obeyed God, he would be blessed; but if he disobeyed, there would be judgment. The ruler must obey the Lord.

Samuel pronounces God’s judgment on Saul in verses 13-14: “‘You acted foolishly,’ Samuel said. ‘You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, He would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after His own heart and appointed him leader of His people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command.’” To disobey Samuel was to disobey God because the Lord spoke through him. Now Saul hears for the first time that his kingly line will not endure, and that God already has someone in the wings who in due time will take his place as king. Although Samuel is saying this by way of revelation, even he does not yet know who this person will be. Only later does God lead him to David, the son of Jesse who will be the next king, and is called, “…a man after God’s own heart.”

I find it interesting to note that even after being confronted with his sin that Saul showed no remorse or repentance at all. It appears that it did not even phase him. I do not think he was able to take in the fact that what he had done was really that important. But isn’t that how we all are? We can easily recognize sin in someone else’s life, but we can become so blind that we overlook sin in our own life.

CONCLUSION:

We are going to leave the story hanging right here until a later date. The Israelites are outnumbered 12 to 1. They are surrounded. They have inferior weapons. And to make things worse, God is mad at their newly appointed king. Could things get any worse?

In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 we read that, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” And in 1 Corinthians 10:6, 11 the apostle Paul, speaking of the sins of the ancient Israelites, tells us: “Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did… ¹¹ These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us.” If that is true, and we know that it is, then what does God want us to learn from this story? What life lessons can we glean from this passage?