Selfishness and pride will lead us away from God.   ~~~   What is it, what is motivating King Saul? What makes Saul such a bad leader?There is trouble in the land when the King is motivated by self-exaltation. We see self-exaltation in 1 Samuel 14:24 “Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies.” Verse 24 tells us that the fighting men had been “hard pressed that day.” The fighting had been intense and long, and the men had grown tired and hungry. But Saul lays on them a burden of continuing the fight, chasing the Philistines far out of the country, and also that no one should eat anything until the fight was over. We are not explicitly told what the concern is of Saul and why he wouldn’t allow the soldiers to eat, but I think it is a fair assessment to surmise that his concern was that if the Israelite soldiers stopped to eat, then the Philistines would escape into the night or the victory would not be as dominating as it could be. And all of this is motivated by Saul’s lust of self-exaltation. He wanted his name to be avenged. He wanted his name to be associated with complete victory and domination. What is important to know at this point, especially as we make our way into the David narrative, that fasting before a war, or even during the war, is not unheard of, but the reasons for the fast are different. Saul’s command is for his own good, not the men’s, not in order to keep the men lean and mean. He simply did not want the enemy to escape; he wanted the his name in the headline above the fold. Saul did not start the fight, but rather was content to be lazy, sitting in the shade of a tree, but when he opportunity presented itself to be in the spotlight, he jumped right in, and by doing so, put his army in jeopardy. He was leading with godless rules in order to secure vainglory, and it brought weakness on the people. All of these are works of the flesh; all of these we need to be on the hunt for in our own lives as we walk with the LORD day by day.

Are we moving, living in bold, Biblical faith, or are we standing still in binding fear?   ~~~   Listen to me church. As I survey where we are as a church, we could easily say, “The odds are against us, and the circumstances are not favorable. There is a pandemic; there is this and there is that.” And we could comfort ourselves with this. Who can really be expected to grow during this time? Who could really be expected to be fervent? Who could really be expected to invite friends and families and coworkers to church during this time? That option is open to us. But so is biblical faith. We have right now to press into the word of God, and to live by faith. Now is the perfect time. Who owns the swords? Who shaped the hills? Who gives life and breath? Are you moving, living in bold, Biblical faith, or are you standing still in binding fear?

We can choose to walk in fear, or we can trust the Lord and walk with Him.   ~~~   Last Friday we saw in 1 Samuel 14 where Saul was hiding from a battle because the situation was not right in his eyes, no matter what God’s word said. But also notice the people around Saul. The text tells us in verse 14:3 that “Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the LORD in Shiloh, wearing an ephod,” was with Saul. Why mention all of that description of Ahijah? To remind us of the corruption, of the fact that these people had been cursed by God, and that the LORD was speaking through Samuel now. Saul surrounded himself with people who did not know the LORD, and would not encourage him in the word of God. You will notice in 14:17-18 presumption in Saul. After the battle has already started, it is that point that Saul puts on a show to try and discern the will of God. He calls for the priest to help him discern whether or not they should go into battle. But when Saul sees that the enemy is running, that it looks like the victory is at hand, it is at that point that all this courage flows through his body, and he no longer needs the help of the LORD, and he jumps into battle. Why? Because at that point the odds were in his favor, and the circumstances were right for him to gain personal glory to where he could boast of a great triumph. So the question could be put to us, “Do we hide in fear, abandoning the work of the LORD, until it looks more favorable, to where we emerge from our caves with chest poked out in order to gain personal glory? Or do we walk with the LORD day by day, obediently, no matter the circumstance?”

If we only move when odds are good, we miss the impossible working of the Lord.   ~~~   Biblical faith lives to God’s glory, not personal honor. We see this most vividly in the positioning of Saul, the people around Saul, and the presumption of Saul, all in contrast to Jonathan’s faith in God. Position of Saul Samuel 14:2 tells us , that “Saul was on the outskirts of Gibeah in a pomegranate cave.” In other words, on the day of battle (13:22), Saul was hiding. He was afraid. Fear says, “I won’t move until the odds are in my favor, no matter what God’s word says.” Did you know that fears often times reveal our idols. Saul resorted to hiding because he was afraid of being unsuccessful. Better to hide than risk defeat and be humiliated. So what was his idol? Being seen as successful. Sometimes, we as the people of God do not operate in faith because we fear that we will fail and be humiliated, and we just can’t have that because we care too much about our own reputations. Neither did Saul like the situation or circumstances. They were too difficult. Too risky. The work was going to be too treacherous, too much work. Who wants to scale a slippery or thorny mountain? What is the idol there? Personal comfort and ease. We have become spiritually fat and gluttonous people, that any amount of time or investment requires too much of us. We have lost the sense that work for the LORD is oftentimes hard work, difficult work, work that no one else would even think of doing. But you know what else we forget—we forget that it is not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit. We forget that we are not to live and fight upon on our strength, but on His. And when we only move when the odds are good and the circumstances just right, then we miss out on seeing the LORD work.

We cannot overcome sin on our own, but Jesus can do it for us.   ~~~   If you are listening today, and have been for the last few days, and you are far from God, overwhelmed by the weight of your sin, and the desperateness of your situation, you need to know that none of those can hinder the LORD from redeeming you. Your sin is not greater than God’s grace. The lowliness or bitterness of your situation does not overwhelm God, but it could be the very thing God is using to turn you to Him. So won’t you turn to Jesus today, who cancels the weight of sin by his death on the cross. He became the sin-bearer on the cross so you could be the life-receiver by faith. Will you not come to him today in faith? The odds of you overcoming your sin or atoning for your sin are too much for you. The situation is too bleak for you to overcome. You need a perfect mediator, a righteous representative. And that is Jesus. He came to seek and to save the lost; to be the physician of the sick in soul; to be the burden bearer of the weary, to be the giver of new life to the repentant, and to those who walk with him Day by Day.

Regardless of opposition, God always comes out on top and shows He is always in control.   ~~~ God prefers to have the odds stacked against His people, and the most important, most life-changing occurrence of this is in the life of Jesus. In John 18, we take notice that Jesus is in a garden, but we also take notice of the characters involved. There is Jesus with his band of disciples, and Judas with religious leaders, and Jewish officers, and Roman soldiers with torches and weapons. John doesn’t tells us the number of soldiers, but calls them a band, or a cohort. A cohort could be as much as a thousand soldiers, but sometimes as little as 200 men. What is not an option is to think that this was just a small crowd. The gospel of Matthew says it was a great crowd carrying swords and clubs. Team Jesus, with his band of fishermen, and Team Judas with his band of fighters. This appears, on the surface, to be an unequally matched, unimpressive line up card for a fight. But this is a showdown of power and control. Judas who left the upper room, and the light of the world, to go into the darkness and be led by man’s weak and temporal lanterns. Would that light prove effective in diminishing the Light of the World? This is the showdown So take notice who initiates the action. John tells us that Jesus is the one who steps forward and starts asking the questions. He is the one on the offensive here. Jesus asked the officers, “Whom do you seek?” They answer, “Jesus of Nazareth.” “I AM!” Now right after this statement, notice what the text makes clear to us. It tells us that Judas, the betrayer, was standing with the officers and Roman Soldiers, and chief priests and pharisees, so that we might know whose side Judas is on, and also that what happened next happened to Judas as well. When Jesus said, “I AM,” they drew back and fell to the ground. In this showdown of power, where it looks like Judas and the religious leaders and the soldiers have the upper hand in quantity and weaponry, Jesus shows them that He can overtake them with just the utterance of who He is. In that moment, the entire cast in the garden was put on notice as to who was in charge and who would be running the show. When Jesus opened His mouth, it was as if part of Jesus’ veiled glory was unleashed and burst through, and the soldiers carrying their weapons, and the religious leader carrying their pride, and Judas carrying His greed, were rendered powerless. And once again we see that God stacks the odds against Himself so that all are put on notice as to who is in total control. Some trust in chariots. Some trust in horses. But we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

All things are contained by God’s authority.   ~~~   We read in 1 Samuel 16:14 that the Spirit of God leaves Saul and God sends upon him an evil spirit that torments him. Is your God this big? Is your view of God big enough to handle him sending an evil spirit to torment Saul? As believers in God, as followers of Christ, we must be people who live with both feet planted in two different worlds. We live in this physical earth, with all of it beauty and wonder and even terrifying realities. We are people who enjoy relationships, good meals, good laughs, and we are also people who suffer depression, anxiety, sadness, moodiness. This is the physical world we live in. And one of the amazing features of this earth is all that God has put in it, that has been discovered, for our good, especially over the last several hundreds of years. And many of those discoveries help in easing our physical pain, which should, by the way, only elevate our belief, and strengthen our faith in God, not cause us to abandon God and believe only in the sciences. The very fact that we can make discoveries should not lead us to praise ourselves, but to praise the One who has made himself known in the creation. So one foot is planted firmly in this world. However, our other foot must be planted in another world, another realm, that supersedes and holds sway over his world, and that is the spiritual world. The world of the heavenlies. And that world intersects with this world. That world is ruled by God, as is this world. And sometimes what lies behind the physical pain and sufferings in this world is the providence and sovereignty of God—“an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him?” Is your theology deep enough to have a God who reigns over and even utilizes evil spirits and evil acts for His glory, without being evil himself? That is exactly what we see here, Evil acts may be real attacks against God’s people and God’s glory, but evil acts are not rogue. They are contained within the almighty providence of God to ultimately serve His purposes.

Only God can provide what we truly need.   ~~~   Depth charts are a hot item on football teams, especially at this point in the season. A depth chart is a ranking of all the players at their respective positions. So there may be three or four guys listed under the position of quarterback. Some teams are still working through who their starting quarterback will be. Who will the team listen to and follow? Which one is best at making in-game adjustments? What quarterback is the most effective at knowing and running the playbook? I heard one commentator make the statement once that the right quarterback for your team is worth whatever price you can pay to get him. In our text for study today, we are watching God work down the depth chart of the position of King. In his providential grace and mercy and wisdom, He has let the nation of Israel have the first choice in who they would like their king to be. And in their first round draft choice, they chose a stellar specimen—Saul, son of Kish. All the ladies swooned when he walked through the door, and all the men stood in awe. It was an obvious choice. I mean, he stood head and shoulders above everyone else. But could he lead the nation? Well, he did have a distinct advantage in that he had the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit on his life, and he had divine word of Samuel the prophet in his ear. But after a few plays, it became evident to us that King Saul simply didn’t know what he was doing. He didn’t know the playbook, he didn’t listen to the coach. But what we see in our text is what takes place on the sidelines and in the huddle. We see providential maneuvering and private conversations. And the original audience would be learning of these behind the scenes happenings for the first time as well. You see, they may have known the big events of the history of Israel, the slaying of Goliath, and so on, but these details of how the LORD brought David into the Kingdom would have been novel to them. And the biblical author is teaching them that only by the providence of God did Israel receive a Spirit-obedient King, and only by the providence of God did they realize the unsuitableness of their first choice, King Saul. Only God provides what we need, not us, not the world, and what we need is a Spirit-driven King, a faithfully obedient King. So look to Christ! See Christ! Trust Christ! Follow Christ! Sing the song of Christ!

It is good for us to have accountability with someone to keep us on track with our quiet time.

God provided Jesus for us before the foundation of the world.   ~~~   Now the question becomes for us, what would the first readers, those first Israelites have done in response to this passage? Well, they would naturally know the whole story of David, his reign as king, but they wouldn’t have necessarily known about the conversation between God and Samuel. So now they are reading and hearing about the providence of God and God’s will. Now they are rejoicing at the incredible provision and goodness of God in giving to them someone like a King David, who was the greatest king Israel had ever known. His wisdom, his devotion, his musicianship, his praise, his courage, his humility, his strength. All of these would have been lauded in the mind of the Israelite. As they read this, they would have hearts swelling with pride and joy in their patriarchal king. They would have been encouraged as children of God to trust God and his word. But here is what we must see. The bigger story is that for all of the potential and great inner character and love for the Lord that we find in David, we will discover that he is still just a man. A sinful man who was also in need of another king. David is the great foreshadowing character, he casts a long shadow, but he is not the fulfillment of the promise of the seed who would crush Satan’s head. David couldn’t do it. That would be Jesus, who would also have an anointing ceremony, when the Holy Spirit came down in the form of a dove, symbolically showing that the Spirit had now rushed upon Jesus, and he would be the greater David, the greater King. He is the one whom God the father provided for us before the foundations of the world were set. It would be His heart, His devotion, His listening ear, His courageous resolve, His unbending will to do all the Father told Him to do that would produce a perfect life, a life worthy to become the atonement, the sacrifice that all men need.

God operates according to His plan, not according to our limited sight.   ~~~   1 Samuel 16:6-7 “When they came, the looked on Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him.’ But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.’” The emphasis of this section is trusting the LORD’s sight over our sight. Notice how many times the word group “look” or “see” is used (6, 7—six times in two verses). And when we start reading the text, we are startled to find out that Samuel is about to use the same standards of selecting a king as were used in selecting Saul, that being outward appearance. The first son of Jesse impressed Samuel to the point to where Samuel says, just based on appearance, “Surely this is the one!” But Samuel is instructed to trust what God sees over and above what man sees. Man sees and is impressed with the externals, but God sees the heart. So six other sons of Jesse are paraded in front of Samuel, seven in all, all of them supposedly physically impressive from the sheer fact that Jesse calls them to be in front of Samuel, and that he doesn’t call in the least of the brothers. David, the youngest, the smallest, the most physically unimpressive one of the bunch in terms of stature, is finally called before Samuel. And we know that Samuel is not impressed because God has to tell him, “Anoint this one.” Why this one? God tells us that it is all about God’s heart, or will. We oftentimes think this is talking about David’s heart, but I think the better interpretation here is a reference to God’s heart, or will, as it can be translated. This is what makes God’s choice for king a better choice for us. He sees with His heart and will, and calls us to trust His will. And this was God’s man. The one He had provided for Israel.

God does not need backup plans, because His plan always comes to pass.   ~~~   1 Samuel 16:1 “The LORD said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, go to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king from among his sons.’” God does not say, “I see a promising up and comer. I have found a man that has great potential. Let’s go check him out further. Put him through the vetting process and let’s see what shakes out.” Those are not at all the instructions. This is not a suggestion. This is not to be seen as a great possibility. No. The text tells us that God has provided for himself a King. Make preparations to anoint a new king, Samuel, because I have already provided for myself a king.” The language of the text leads us to this point of providence. “I have provided for myself…” In other words, I chose Bethlehem, I chose Jesse, I chose this particular person. I made the arrangements, I orchestrated the events and times and places to fulfill my will. What we learn from 1 Samuel 16 is that God is not rushing around heaven trying to make lemonade out of lemons. We learn that God doesn’t resort to a plan B or plan C. This is not a game of chess where He is waiting on your next move, or Satan’s next move, before He decides what He will do. He doesn’t have pitchers in the bullpen in case different or unknown scenarios come up. God pushes and pulls history and reality along as He ordains, for His glory and the believers’ good. God keeps, cooperates with, and governs all created things to fulfill and accomplish His purposes. This does not mean that God does evil. It does mean that evil is not outside His preservation or governance.

When the church is unfaithful, ambivalent, or unbelieving, it should grieve us.   ~~~   One of the ways God moves us forward in grief is by reminding us of his providence. God’s providential working in the world is to give the believer hope. Chapter 16 begins the way chapter 15 ends. We don’t really know how much time has passed between the two chapters, but Samuel is still grieving over Saul. And we understand this don’t we. I mean, Samuel is not grieving here because his favorite football team lost a game, or because he couldn’t get that new pair of shoes. He is sorrowful over what Saul has done, what Saul has become. He is grieving over the rudderless state of Israel at this time. She is off course, and her future is not bright in the eyes of Samuel. The king project has turned out to be a failure, and he does not know how it can be repaired or what the future looks like. But let me step in right here and ask, “Do we/you ever mourn like this over the condition of the church? Do you mourn over the unbelief in the church? Do you mourn over the triteness, the triviality that is displayed in people’s lives/your life when it comes to the things of God? The word “grieve” here means to “lament.” The idea is to pour out your heart and soul in anguish. Do you care, are you concerned when people just stop showing up? Does it hurt your heart when you see people going downhill spiritually? Do you mourn? God is going to tell Samuel that the season to mourn must come to an end, but perhaps we haven’t even started.

Quiet time is important even in a busy life with a family.

We should make time to continue quiet time even in the busy seasons of life.

When we read the Bible, we should pray to see God’s work in His Word.

God’s pattern is to have all odds against Him so victory can only be credited to Him.   ~~~   We ended last week by saying that we are to focus on the promises of God and our calling as Christians and not the circumstances. If we survey the Bible, we will over and over where odds and circumstances were stacked against God’s people, and that is just how God likes it. Joseph and brothers—you meant it for evil but God meant it for good. Moses backed up against red sea—facing the red sea looked like nothing but death for Moses and the people of God. It was the end of the road, but the LORD intervened, made a way, and the red sea delivered God’s people but crushed God’s enemy. Esther and Haman—Haman had devised a plan to have the Jews extinguished and especially Mordecai, Esther’s uncle, hung from gallows fifty cubits high. But when the news came to King Artarxerxes that a plan had been hatched to annihilate the Jews, of which his wife was one, the king’s wrath turned against the man who had hatched the plan, Haman. And Haman was hung in the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Job’s ailments, at Satan’s request in order to separate Job from God, bring Job closer to God, not cursing God. Three Hebrew boys and fiery furnace, didn’t die, but burned the servants of Nebudchanezer Daniel and Lions den—Daniel, because of his faithfulness to God, was set up and conspired against by jealous men, and was eventually was thrown into a den of lions. But no harm came to him. God had shut the lions mouth. And when King Darius saw that Daniel’s God had delivered Daniel, he brought Daniel out of the tomb, and tossed in Daniel’s accusers and their families. And before they hit the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces. Paul in prison—you can put bars around his body, but not around his mouth. It was from prison that joy in the gospel spread all around, and eventually delivered him in front of kings. John on Patmos—you can seclude him to try and keep him from influencing others, but God will use that time of seclusion to deliver one of his most fascinating and comforting pieces of the Bible. This is the way of God. This is God’s pattern…to have all the odds against him, all the circumstances against him and his people, so that when overwhelming victory comes, it can be said, “This is God!”  

The Bible fits together to create one important narrative.

When God has called us, we must focus on that, and not on circumstances that may waylay us.   ~~~   We see that not only were the odds not in Jonathan’s favor, neither were the surrounding circumstances. 1 Samuel 14: 4, “Within the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side and a rocky crag on the other side. The name of one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.” The name Bozez can mean “a surpassing white glistening” and may be referring to how slippery the landscape was. And the name Seneh means “thorny.” In other words, there was no easy, advantageous way, strategic way to get an army in position to attack the garrison of the Philistines. The circumstances were not favorable. With all of this against him, Jonathan has incredible, radical faith, and says, “Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few.” And so Jonathan devises a plan, that required a divine sign. And when that divine sign was given, he and his servant struck fast and struck decisively. So overwhelming was the two man attack on the garrison that the word “panic” is used three times in one sentence to describe the response of the Philistines and the earth. Remember our little story about William Carey a few days ago? Well, On March 11, 1812, William Carey was teaching in Calcutta. While he was gone, a fire started in their printing press room where they worked to print bibles in the native language… Despite many hours of exhaustive efforts to fight the fire, the building burned to the ground. Just five pieces of equipment were saved. Carey’s entire library, his completed Sanskrit dictionary, part of his Bengal dictionary, two grammar books, and ten translations of the Bible were lost. Gone also were the type sets for printing fourteen different languages. Vast quantities of English paper, priceless dictionaries, deeds, and account books were all gone. When Carey returned to Serampore and surveyed the scene, he wept and said, “In one short evening the labours of years are consumed. How unsearchable are the ways of God. I had lately brought some things to the utmost perfection of which they seemed capable, and contemplated the missionary establishment with perhaps too much self-congratulation. The Lord has laid me low, that I may look more simply to him.” What could we say? We could say that the odds were against Carey and his team, and that circumstances were absolutely stacked against them. He could have looked at the rubble, he could have started calculating cost and manpower and effort and time as to how much and how long to get back to where he was, and he would have been in despair if that is all he had focused upon. Although he was heartbroken, he did not take much time to mourn. With great resiliency Carey wrote, “The loss is heavy, but as traveling a road the second time is usually done with greater ease than the first time, so I trust the work will lose nothing of real value. We are not discouraged; indeed the work is already begun again in every language. We are cast down but not in despair.” Carey resolved to trust God that from the embers would come a better press and more scholarly translations. Within a few months Carey had set up shop in a warehouse. Little did Carey know that the fire would bring him and his work to the attention of people all over Europe and America as well as India. In just fifty days in England and Scotland alone, about ten thousand pounds were raised for rebuilding Carey’s publishing enterprise. So much money was coming in that Andrew Fuller, Carey’s friend and a leader of his mission in England, told his committee when he returned from a fund-raising trip, “We must stop the contributions.” Many volunteers came to India to help as well. By 1832 (20 years later) Carey’s rebuilt and expanded printing operation had published complete Bibles or portions of the Bible in forty-four languages and dialects! (From The One Year Book of CHRISTIAN HISTORY By E. Michael and Sharon Rustin [http://www.shepherd.to/Excerpts/books/history/carey.htm] If God has called you to it, focus on the calling, not the circumstances. And guess what, God has called all of His people to world missions.

Christ promises to protect, empower, and motivate those who are obedient in the faith.   ~~~   Yesterday we learned that Jonathan trusted the word of God, and not the numbers. Today we see that he also understood the reality behind covenant. Notice what he says in verse 6—“Let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised.” Earlier, he refers to the garrison as the garrison of the Philistines, so why does he here refer to them as “uncircumcised”? Well, to be uncircumcised meant that you did not have the sign of the covenant of God. You were not in relationship with God, which meant that you did not have the protection of God. But Jonathan was under the covenant of God, was walking with God, and could count on the protection of God. So Jonathan is pointing out to his servant that the Philistines have no promise from God and no protection of God, but they did! Seems like a good idea for followers of Christ to remember that we too have promises extended to us in Christ that protect us, empower us, and motivate us to the obedience of faith. Which promise are you depending on today?

We do not need odds to be in our favor to succeed when we are working for the Lord.   ~~~   Here is a line that needs to be highlighted in your bible, memorized in your mind, and carried in your heart. 1 Samuel 14:6—Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few. NOTHING CAN HINDER, OBSTRUCT, HAMSTRING, CRIPPLE, STOP, SLOW DOWN the LORD from saving by many or by few. Biblical faith leans on God’s word, not odds. Our story begins with Samuel leaving Saul. It’s important to note from our study of 1 Samuel 13 that there has been no repentance, no remorse, no confession on Saul’s part concerning his disobedience. He has only blamed other people for his disobedience and fear. As such, Samuel leaves Saul with no word from God. From there we learn that Saul’s men number around 600. Those are the men who have not hidden themselves in caves or tombs or wells. The Philistines, the enemy army, has set up camp in Michmash, just a few miles from Saul, and they are constantly raiding Saul and the surrounding areas. It is very reminiscent of Judges 6, where the Midianites were constantly raiding the people of Israel, and Gideon is hiding in a winepress. So there is the picture. 600 men in the army, many more men hiding in caves, against an army that is just jabbing them to pieces. Those are not very good odds. But the reality of the scene is even worse than that. Not only is the army of Saul outnumbered, they are also out resourced. At some point, the Philistines had not allowed the Israelites to get wind of the technology or the resources on how to forge weapons—swords and spears. The situation was so bad that the Israelites didn’t even have the resources to sharpen their own farm tools. So the army of Saul had no weapons. Not even make shift weapons. Nothing to fight with. So the Philistines were controlling the Israelites access to metal, and controlling somewhat their economy, and also controlling the roadways by freely going out to the pass of Michmash. Those are not very good odds. And this is the great tension of the text. Notice 13:22—“So on the day of the battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them. And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.” What in the world are the Israelites going to do? What in the world will King Saul do? That is the question. What will he do when he has no weaponry, no wealth, and no easy way to attack the Philistines? And it is against these odds that Jonathan, the son of scared Saul, says to his assistant, “Hey! Im tired of sitting around here. Let’s go spy out that garrison of Philistine soldiers. But let’s not tell anyone we are going.” No soldiers, no swords, no spears—let’s go start a fight! But you know what he does have? He does have the word of the LORD. Back in 1 Samuel 9:16 it says about Saul, “He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen my people, because their cry has come to me.” Jonathan has the promise of God that the Philistines will not prevail over the Israelites…that the Israelites will be delivered. Biblical faith says, “I don’t need the odds when I have the word of God. I have all the leverage I need when I lean on LORD commands.” Listen to me church, worldly odds will rarely, if ever be in our favor. But we have the word of the LORD.  

If we expect God to move, then we should walk in anticipation of that move.   ~~~   In 1792, in a sermon preached in a Baptist meeting, William Carey urged his fellow pastors and brothers in Christ to enter the mission field, to support the cause of missions with their money and members. From that sermon came the famous line, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” That sermon is sometimes referred to as the “Deathless Sermon” because it sparked a missions movement that has not ceased to exist. Carey is known as the father of the modern day missions movement, not only lending his voice to promote this movement, but his very life. Just within a year of delivering that sermon, Carey was aboard a dutch ship sailing in secret to Eastern India, along with his wife, his son, and a doctor. What was he doing? He was expecting great things from God, and attempting great things from God. The work in India was anything but easy. Carey started learning the Bengali language, started translating the Bible into Bengali, and preaching to small groups. Seven years later he had his first convert. Carey’s words and life would inspire other missionaries like Adoniram Judson, Hudson Tayler, and David Livingstone. All of this because He believed, he expected God to keep His word of doing great things in the world. What do you expect from God, and then what do you attempt in light of that expectation? With just a quick glance at the daily structures of our lives and what we attempt in the world, it would appear that some us don’t expect much from God. If that is so, we find our selves at odds with many faithful people of the Bible, including the main character of our passage for study over the next few days, Jonathan, King Saul’s son. So join us tomorrow as he begin to look at his attempts.

To walk with the Lord, we must realize that He wants to have a relationship with us.

The call for faithfulness in our lives is only possible because of Jesus.   ~~~   Jesus made it clear that not one stroke of the pen that was written in law would go unfulfilled. He made it clear that He did not come into the world to push aside the law, to shirk the law, or to forsake God’s word, but to fulfill it. Jesus said that he only speaks the words His father gives to him and only does the works His father tells him to do. Jesus never turns from the word of God to the left or to the right. This is why you see over and over in Matthew, particularly at the beginning, “Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophets.” This take the idea of fulfillment even further. Even in events that Jesus had no control over since he was a baby, Matthew is showing us that all of His life fulfilled the word of God. And then at the end of Jesus’s life, in that great high priestly prayer, Jesus prays, “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.” So what are we to say to this? Hooray for Jesus? Good for him? No. Why this is so important for us to see is because our faithfulness to God’s word stems from Christ’s faithfulness. We can trust Christ wherever He may lead us because He is always faithful to God’s word. Whatever He says, we can be certain that it is the will and word of God. And the call for our own faithfulness in this life is only possible of the faithfulness of Christ in me, through me.   even when friends scatter even when enemies gather   Because Jesus was faithful to God’s word, and fearless of His enemy, He went all the way to the cross, the ultimate battle scene. And on that cross, He was slaughtered for my sin, for your sin. All the stored up wrath of God against me, against every believer, was unleashed upon Jesus, and He died. He had finished the work the Father gave him to do. And because Jesus was completely and perfectly faithful to that work, He was raised from the dead, proving himself more powerful than sin, satan, and death. AND has been given all authority as the forever King. His blessing will never be cut off; His throne will never be usurped. His rule will never come to an end. Why would you seek out any other King? Why would we ask for and follow a Saul, when Jesus is being offered to you. No doubt, you need a king. And no doubt, many kings will try to reign on the throne of your heart. But there is only One who has been faithful, who is fearless, and who will reign forever. Seek Him, trust Him, and you will never have to run to the comfort of fox holes again. But because of Him you can be faithful, and fearless, and reign with Him forever.

In Jesus we have a King who is worthy to be followed day by day.   ~~~   God’s word is to be feared and obeyed. He is to be served, and not our own interests. And this is why God says, “The LORD has sought out a man after His own heart.” Now here is where we must be very careful with 1 Samuel, and all of the Bible. This text is not here to show us that we should be the opposite of Saul and to stand tall when others scatter and the enemy gathers. We must fight against that urge to insert ourselves into the position of the hero. Our place in this story are the people hiding out in the caves and cisterns, wondering what the King is going to do to fix this situation. And as we peer out of our hidey holes, we hear Samuel scold Saul and tell him that he will not have a lasting reign. So this must not be the king we need. This may be the king we asked for, but it is not the king we need. And we know this because Samuel says so right here, but also, if you remember your OT history, you will remember that Jacob prophesied about his son Judah, that the scepter would never leave his throne, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. But Saul is of the tribe of Benjamin, not Judah. So we shouldn’t be surprised that Saul is not going to have an everlasting dynasty. So who is the king after God’s own heart? We will find out in the days to come that the short term answer to that question is David. David would be a king after God’s own heart. David loved God and obeyed his word, when the enemy was great, when others backed away from him, it was never a ritualistic thing with David. But we also see in David just a man. A man who needed to repent of sin, and offer sacrifices for his own sin. So we need a greater king than David. And that is what we have in Jesus. Jesus is a king after God’s own heart because Jesus is God’s own Son. And in Him we have a King who is worthy of us to follow him day by day.

Doing things our own way risks the minimization and devaluing of God’s Word.   ~~~   1 Samuel 13:14 “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of teh Lord your God, with which he commanded you. Now your kingdom shall not continue.” Upon reading the text that way, all of our sympathy moves in the direction of Saul, and our eyebrows are raised at the reaction of God. We can see his punishment, the removal of the kingdom, as too harsh, too reactionary, filled with vitriol. It is moments like this that we can start to have this image form in our minds of an OT God that is not loving, not caring, and overly-vengeful. But is that really the case? Remember the warning that was given. “If you will fear the LORD and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, if both you and the king who reigns over you will allow the LORD your God, it will be well. 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.” The word of God is very clear on this, is it not? His voice and His command and His word is to be feared, adhered to, over and above any other voice, including the voice of the fearful who run away, and including the rising shout of the enemy as they draw closer. Do you sometimes find yourself in that very situation? Friends moving away from you and the enemy moving closer? This is what can happen when you are a leader? When you go to war spiritually for those under your care. In order to make this group happy, and to keep that group away, you start making decisions that you think are best. Now at this point, it is important to ask, just what was the command of the LORD that Saul has not listened to. Is it that he, a king, offered a sacrifice and that job is reserved for priests only? I do not think that is the issue here. We are not in the temple at this point, where the priests would serve. What is at issue is that Samuel has instructed him to wait seven days for Samuel to come to him and offer the sacrifices in the right way. And it has been shown to us repeatedly that Samuel speaks the word of the LORD. So Saul has taken it upon himself to break this command from Samuel, which is really the command of God. The reason this is so grievous is because the direction and attitude of the King towards God’s word would greatly influence the direction and attitude of the people toward’s God’s word. This is not your next door neighbor of whom you don’t know their last name. This is THE KING. If the word of God is not good enough for the king, then why should the people care anything about it? If it is displayed that the king’s own personal authority is higher than the word of God, then why would the people listen to the word of God? That is what is at risk here—the minimization of God before the people, the devaluing of God, the striking at the holiness and weight of the glory of God Himself. God was not about to let that happen, when He knew His word is the best thing, the highest authority, for His people. But we have a king who had the authority of God’s word as his ultimate authority in King Jesus. And it is to him we look day by day. And when you look to him, you will not see any minimalization of His father’s word.

As you seek to follow the Lord day by day, remember that it is done through trusting obedience to his revealed word.   ~~~   We need a king who trusts the word: OVER RITUALISTIC CEREMONY 1 Samuel 13:12 tells us that Saul offered the burnt offering, and he says one of the reasons as to why he did this, even though Samuel told him to wait, was, “‘I have not sought the favor of the LORD.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” So get this clear. Saul knew what the command was. He knew he was to wait for seven days on Samuel, but when Samuel didn’t come according to Saul’s convenience, then Saul thought it necessary to offer the sacrifice himself in order to secure the LORD’s favor. Catch that—Saul believed that going about the LORD’s work, but not in the LORD’s way, not according to the LORD’s word, would secure the LORD’s favor. Saul thought that the way the sacrifice was done didn’t matter at all, so long as it was done. What is that? That is a belief in ritualistic ceremony. That is Saul attempting to secure God’s favor and do God’s work, but according to Saul’s ways and authority. Listen Christian, listen up church, we risk the same consequences today when we try to adapt our worship, and our ways to satisfy ourselves, even though they go against God’s clear word, and still expect God’s blessing because, “God knows my heart.” Yes, he knows your heart. Your heart is obviously far from wanting to serve and obey His word. Your heart is telling you that your authority is greater than His word. Your heart is telling you that any old way will do, when God’s word clearly says something different. Do you think God will bless a marriage just because the ceremony took place in a church, when in reality you have no intention of being a biblical wife or husband? Do you think God will bless our church just because we have a worship service, even if we soften up the word of God? All of this, and much more, Samuel would say to us, “You have done foolishly!” So as you seek to follow the Lord day by day, remember that it is done through trusting obedience to his revealed word.

Speaking verses out loud is a great tool for memorizing Scripture verses.

Jesus, in the moment that the enemy surrounds him, time and time again, looks the enemy in the face and shows that he is unflinchingly committed to God’s word.   ~~~   Yesterday we saw that in 1 Samuel 13, Saul disobeyed God’s word when others started running away from, heading for the hills. Another excuse Saul gave for abandoning God’s word was that the enemy was starting to gather around him. We need a king who trusts the word of God: WHEN THE ENEMY GATHERS The text says that the Philistines had 30,000 chariots, 6,000 men on horses, and ground troops that were innumerable, and that they were encamped at Michmash. That is where Saul was previously, and perhaps that is why the Philistines went there initially. But Saul is not there, but he can see the growing tide of Philistines. After all, they were not that far away from Gilgal. I get it. No one likes to stand alone. No one enjoys watching people run away because they do not think you can overcome the situation or because they do not think you know what you are doing. It is usually at this point, when people scatter away from and the enemy starts to gather around us, that we get antsy and feel like we have to do something, anything other than wait on the LORD. So Saul realizes that his forces are getting depleted. His forces are too weak, too scared, for him to be able to do anything about the enemy. And what we see is that Saul’s believes that his reign depends upon the strength of others, the strength and might of the army around him and the weakness of the enemy in front of him. This is what makes David such a better king than Saul, which we will see in 2 Samuel. But I can even do you one better. Jesus is a better king than David. Jesus does not abandon God’s word, even when the enemy gathers around him. One of my favorite words of Jesus comes when the enemy is gathering around him at his betrayal, and Jesus is says, “This is your hour, and the power of darkness.” It may not sound like much, but this is a declaration of power and authority from Jesus. He is telling the enemy that they have fixed amount of time before the power of God reigns down on the power of darkness. Jesus, in the moment that the enemy surrounds him, time and time again, looks the enemy in the face and shows that he is unflinchingly committed to God’s word. What a man, what a Savior, what a King we get to follow day by day.

We should be glad that Jesus didn’t abandon God’s word when others abandoned him.   ~~~   Saul had gathered his army for war, but he had been instructed by Samuel for seven days. Seven days came and went. And this is where Saul’s impatience gets the best of him. He decides to go ahead and offer sacrifices, even though Samuel has not arrived yet. And just as soon as he finishes up the burnt offering, Samuel strolled into town, saw what was goin on and said, “What have you done?” Samuel does not exchange pleasantries with Saul. He doesn’t ask how the family is doing or if he is enjoying his time as king. Two words in the Hebrew language. He wastes no time and no words in getting to the heart of the matter—“What have you done?” So what is the big deal here? Saul wants the Lord’s blessing over the battle that is about to take place. Time was running out. The enemy was moving in. The people needed to have a rally point or else there was going to be no army left. What else was there to do? What would you have done? Im pretty sure I know what I would have done, and it probably wouldn’t have looked a lot different than Saul’s action. We notice that in 1 Samuel 13 11, one of the motivating factors in Saul’s abandoning the word of God for his own authority is when the people start hiding themselves in caves and holes and rocks and tombs and in cisterns. The approaching Philistine army is so overwhelming that men are hiding in above ground caves and underground water tunnels, and others just flat out ran away from the place altogether. Samuel will tell Saul that God desires a man after his own heart. And that man will ultimately be Jesus, who does not abandon God’s word, even when other abandon him. There were many occasions in Jesus’ ministry when people just stopped following him as they once did. The most poignant of those times was on the night of his betrayal, when the disciples ran away as Jesus was arrested. And you and I should be glad that Jesus didn’t abandon God’s word when others abandoned him. It was his devotion to His Father that brought him to the cross.