How Not To Choose A National Leader

 Saul Is Chosen As King

Book of 1 Samuel Chapters 9 through 11

Those of us that love the Word of God, love it because we know that it is the truth.

We also know of the great comfort we can get from many of the great passages and the Book of Psalms.

We also get the great history of the creation of this universe.

Another thing we should take great notice in is the warnings that written in God's Word.

God will teach us the costs for going against the Word of God.

Some of those costs are truly severe!

We are placed upon that path of decision and the choices we make in this life will reflect on the way we live here and the glory of Heaven.

Our greatest decision is to decide to follow the Lord Jesus Christ and follow Him as close as we can!

When it comes time to choose a new leader, we must try to avoid choosing an ungodly leader.

An ungodly people will choose an ungodly leader.

Ungodly leaders will lead the people to do more ungodliness!

Any politician who goes against the Word of God is an ungodly leader!

Most politicians make terrible leaders because they have had to compromise all their days to rise in politics.

The most important quality of a good leader is, "does he or she show full obedience to the Word of God".

This is the most important thing in choosing those who will lead the Church.

This is the most important characteristic we should see in choosing national leaders.

This was the intent of our forefathers.

There is a big mistake when certain people say our Constitution guarantees the right of freedom of religion, when our forefathers gave us the right and the freedom to serve the Lord Jesus Christ not all religions.

This is why the settlers came to America for the freedom to be Christians.

Israel had determined that they needed a king.

Not just any king but a king like the kings of those people that had possessed the land promised to them.

They forgot God gave them the Promised Land because of the sin of those people was so great.

We could title this lesson "How Not To Choose A King".

*****1Sa 9:1  Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. 

Kish was a wealthy and powerful man from the tribe of Benjamin. We do not know anything else much of this man and this is not a good trait in choosing a king.

Good leaders do not necessarily come from rich families.

In fact this is seldom ever true.

No doubt this man Kish had his way with the people around his home.

The only other thing we read of him is that he sent his son Saul in search of some donkeys that had strayed from his land.

*****1Sa 9:2  And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. 

All we know about Saul is that he had a noble appearance and a gigantic stature for an Israelite.

He was well suited to impress the average Jew.

We see that physical qualifications, strength, and looks were the most favorable qualities in choosing leaders of that time period.

No one in Israel in that day had similar qualifications that could be seen.

A tall stature was of much value for a king in ancient times.

We should notice that nothing is said of the quality of Saul's mind.

God does not choose His leaders this way and neither should we!

1Sa 16:7  But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. 

As parents we love to see our children as having exciting potential in this world when we should look upon them as having an exciting potential in the service of God.

Those that have an exciting potential to serve God may also be great leaders.

It seems that Saul was a humble man also being tall and some would say handsome.

He also seemed to be trustworthy when dealing with the possessions of his father who appeared to be a leader in the tribe of Benjamin.

What do we know?

We know that appearances can be very deceiving!

Appearances can lead to destruction.

Character and integrity are much better qualifications!

God's Word is noticeably clear on this subject.

We must not judge by appearance.

Joh 7:24  Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. 

As this passage continues, we will see how Jehovah used a bunch of lost donkeys to get Saul in touch with Samuel.

Those donkeys would return to their homeland unharmed but not by Saul.

*****1Sa 9:15  Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying, 

1Sa 9:16  To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me. 

In all his travels Samuel had not known this man so God told Samuel so, Jehovah God introduced Samuel to Saul.

Notice the use of the word "captain" and not the word "king".

We must be able to hear that "still small voice" of the Holy Spirit.

Israel was surrounded by her enemies, but it was the Philistines they dreaded the most.

It was the Lord who chose Saul but remember Israel desired a king who was like the kings of those other nations.

Saul would be that type of king.

Now Jehovah  was not relinquishing His authority over these people.

Jehovah is still God of the universe, and He will always be!

There would always be a remnant of the Israelites who would remain close to the Lord, just as there is today.

Israel is still God's "treasured possession" and the Church is God's children.

What would be this king’s purpose? To deliver Israel out of the clutches of the Philistines.

Though we do not understand why, God so chooses all the leaders of all nations.

In some way they will serve the purpose that God has given to them, and the end result will be the Rapture of the Church, Armageddon, and Israel restored as lead nation of this world before this world sees its end.

**Rom 13:1  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

Each leader will serve a purpose that only Jehovah knows!

Then Samuel saw Saul for the first time.

*****1Sa 9:17  And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people. 

Jehovah had revealed His choice for the first king of Israel to Samuel.

The purpose of Saul was clearly stated; he was to deliver God's people Israel from their oppressive enemy the Philistines.

We read that since the death of Joshua and from the very beginning of the Book of Judges we read that the Israelites had been suffering terrible oppression from the surrounding nations.

This was true because God had told them to eradicate these wicked nations from the Promised Land and they had chosen to compromise and in some cases because of fear.

They had cried out to the Lord and God had prepared for their deliverance.

Part of that preparation was to make Saul King of Israel.

As we have already stated it is God who chooses the rulers and leaders of this world we live in and God has a purpose for each and every one of them!

What we see is in many cases these leaders violate the privilege God has given to them and they will face the Judgement of God and it will be severe.

Dan 2:21  And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: 

Dan 2:22  He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

As God's chosen to be first King of Israel, Saul needed to understand he was to rule according to the Word of God and that it was Jehovah who had called him and God had His reasons. To teach Israel a valuable lesson!

*****1Sa 9:27  And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us, (and he passed on,) but stand thou still a while, that I may shew thee the word of God. 

1Sa 10:1  Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance? 

Again we see that word "captain" and not king.

When we see that word "anointed" we should be looking for "types of Christ".

It was pointed out to Saul that the children of Israel belong to Jehovah God and as God's children he was to be careful how he ruled over them.

He was to rule according to the Word of God.

These things would be the same for the Messiah when He would come to redeem God's people.

No doubt Israel was a peculiar people!

A leader that does not know the Law of God and His anointed Messiah is not fit to rule any people!

Saul could accept the words of Samuel, God's prophet, or he could reject them but the Word of God is always true!

Saul would be given another heart which is a new nature.

1Sa 10:9  And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day. 

Saul was baptized with the Holy Spirit.

1Sa 10:10  And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.

Having just witnessed the coronation of the new King of England we see this coronation of Saul to be King of Israel is still observed by the English people in Great Britain.

Then Samuel called all of Israel to Mizpeh.

*****1Sa 10:17  And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpeh; 

1Sa 10:18  And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you: 

1Sa 10:19  And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands.

Samuel called all those together who had requested a king.

Saul was anointed to be the new leader of God's inheritance.

God's inheritance refers to the people of God and the Promised Land!

Here we see another type of Christ.

What did we learn from chapter nine?

We learn the will of God for all His children.

1) There must be a transformed life. We must be "Born Again"!

2) We are to conquer the trials and temptations, and the problems and difficulties of this life, if we are to victorious Christians over sin and wickedness.

God gives us the power over our enemies and those who try to defeat and destroy us. God gives us the power over death and Hell. 

We must be converted to have this power.

Samuel intended to install Saul as King of Israel as quickly as he could.

Samuel assured Saul that he was God's chosen man to lead Israel.

Samuel also informed Israel that they had rejected the rule of the Lord and Saul would be their earthly ruler.

To ensure the people Samuel began to choose the new king by lot.

*****1Sa 10:20  And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. 

1Sa 10:21  When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found. 

The process of choosing by "lot" is much greater than these few instances that are recorded but these things written by the Holy Spirit give us a condensed version of what actually happened.

Matri was the head of the family of Kish.

Kish was the head of the family of Saul.

If we remember the story of David and Jonathan we will realize that the family of Saul would have ended if not for the Grace of God saving one son named Mephibosheth.

Samuel knew that Saul would be chosen, yet he still went through the motions of selecting Israel's first king by lot.

If Samuel had done this any other way, then Saul could have been rejected.

Saul, seeing that this thing was happening, hid himself.

Saul showed genuine modesty to be selected for such an honor.

It is the Lord who told Samuel where Saul was hiding.

*****1Sa 10:22  Therefore they enquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff. 

1Sa 10:23  And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. 

1Sa 10:24  And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king. 

It is probable that the word "stuff" means that like an army, Israel would have come together being afraid that the Philistines would take advantage of such a gathering.

That stuff would be the things they would use to defend themselves.

As Saul stood beside Samuel it could easily be seen that Saul was a big man. More than a head taller than any other Jew.

Jews tend to be short people, but Saul would have been taller than the average man of most any nation.

We can believe that at this time Saul felt inadequate and unqualified to be the King of Israel.

In typology, Saul is a notable example of those who flee from God's call.

When God's call comes, He has already qualified you to fulfill the purpose He has for you!

His purpose means we are qualified only if we serve with His help!

Many refuse to surrender to the call of God for many varied reasons but being unqualified should not be a reason for none of us are qualified, we must serve in God's power!

We should be more like the Apostle Paul when we hear God calling us.

Php 3:13  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 

Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 

Php 3:15  Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

To reject the call of God is not an option that we should take!

It is after these things are settled that Samuel told the people the manner of the new kingdom.

*****1Sa 10:25  Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. 

We should consider this book Samuel gave to the people as a charter defining the position of a king in relation to Jehovah and to the people.

We know that God allows to make our own decisions, but God always warns us of the outcome of those decisions.

This book is probably similar to the things that Moses had written because God never changes.

Deu 17:14  When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; 

Deu 17:15  Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. 

Deu 17:16  But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. 

Deu 17:17  Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. 

Deu 17:18  And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: 

Deu 17:19  And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: 

Deu 17:20  That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel. 

Then Samuel sent everyone home to think about all that happened that day, but Saul was now King of Israel.

*****1Sa 10:26  And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched. 

1Sa 10:27  But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace. 

There are always those who try to make things work because they trust the Word of God.

There are also those children of the devil who immediately want to start trouble.

The word Belial still means "worthless fellows".

They refused to pay homage to their new king but despised him.

A great trait of any leader is that they do not yield to human weaknesses.

By the way, this is a great trait for every Christian.

Our greatest enemy to being a Christian is our own selves most of the time.

Who is our example again?

It is not Saul!

It is the Lord Jesus Christ!

Mat 26:61  And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. 

Mat 26:62  And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? 

Mat 26:63  But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. 

Mat 26:64  Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 

We cannot allow this world to entice us into sin.

It is the Lord who will take revenge on all those who cause harm to the Church.

Amen

A Humble Shepherd David's Anointing

A Humble Shepherd David's Anointing

Text: 1 Samuel Chapter 16, 1 Chronicles 9

In our last lesson we saw that the kingdom of King Saul was rejected but we know that Saul will finish his reign until the time of his death and we know that to be 40 years.

Act 13:20 And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.

Act 13:21 And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.

After the death of Joshua, Israel had judges for 450 years and then the time of Samuel as judge and then Saul ruled for 40 years until the time of David.

Saul reigned from 1051-1011 BC.

David was born 1041 BC.

We can see that Saul had ruled for nearly 30 years before our lesson takes place today.

It is believed that David was anointed by Samuel in 1023 BC.

Thus David would have been about 18 years old.

Let's begin:

*****1Sa 16:1 And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: "for I have provided me a king" among his sons.

Chapter 16 is a turning point in our story of the first kings of Israel. We will see the process that God uses to remove Saul as Israel's first king and replace him with David as Israel's second king.

1) We have already seen where God said He would raise up a man after His Own heart.

1Sa 13:14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: "the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart", and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.

2) The Bible tells us that God was over joyed that He had found such a man.

Psa 89:20 I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him:

Psa 89:21 "With whom my hand shall be established": mine arm also shall strengthen him.

3) AND, God had now appointed His servant David to be captain over Israel.

1Sa 13:14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and "the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people", because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.

4) And now in our verse God says, He has provided His king.

The Prophesy tell us:

Isa 11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

That "rod" is God's absolute authority on this Earth.

That "rod" will bloom (as the rod of Aaron) into new life, into God's plan of salvation through His Son.

That "stem" was David, Israel's new beginning.

We know that "Branch" as the Lord Jesus Christ, the world's new beginning!

For Israel.

Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

And for the Church.

Zec 6:12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:

But before these things take place we see Samuel is still mourning over the demise of King Saul. Samuel was getting older and he was still afraid that his nation, Israel, would suffer from God's rejection of Saul.

Samuel had already been rejected and his sons had been rejected and Samuel had already broken his own relationship with King Saul.

BUT, God will not allow us to dwell on "what could have been" because He knows what is best for us all!

There are two things we should always remember:

1) Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Pro 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

2) Isa 26:4 Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:

God's wisdom cannot ever fail!

And, Our God has no weakness in Him at all!

There is a time to mourn but now was not the time for Samuel to mourn, he still had a work to do for the Lord!

*****1Sa 16:2 And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD.

1Sa 16:3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee.

Bethlehem was the home of Jesse but little Bethlehem already had a great significance to all of Israel.

Jacob had buried Rachel the mother of Joseph and Benjamin very near Bethlehem.

Ruth had met and married Boaz in Bethlehem and raised up Obed the father of Jesse and grandfather of David.

David would soon make Bethlehem a famous place.

"Bethlehem" means "the house of bread" and we know that the "Bread of Life" would come forth from Bethlehem.

Jesus said:

Joh 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

Samuel was to put all things aside because God had said "fill thine horn with oil".

Samuel had only taken a "vial of oil" to anoint Saul but now would take "a horn of oil" to anoint David.

A horn would be like comparing an elephants tooth to a small flask.

This shows the abundance of gifts God would bestow on David as compared to that of Saul.

Since the Ark of the Covenant had not been returned to Shiloh the worship at the Tabernacle had not been restored, so Samuel as God's prophet, offered sacrifices when he made his visits, so the people of Israel would not neglect the worship of the Lord.

God told Samuel to do this and it would not arouse any suspicion from the people nor from King Saul.

This was also for the confidence of Samuel, as his faith was lacking at this time!

*****1Sa 16:4 And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably?

In chapter 12 we witnessed as Samuel had called on the Lord to bring thunder and lightning which could have or maybe even did destroy some or all of the wheat harvest at least at Gilgal.

These elders trembled because they knew that Samuel had a direct connection into the throne room of God.

The world would tremble now if the Church would get on it's knees and bring back Holy Ghost Power!

The Bible says:

Isa 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?

If these of Bethlehem had had no faults then they would have had no reason to fear the man of God!

But Samuel was no longer their judge!

*****1Sa 16:5 And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.

Peaceably means Samuel came as a friend to this city.

Samuel carried no ill will toward his nation because they had demanded a king.

Samuel said "sanctify yourselves" or wash yourselves and your clothes and come with me to the sacrifice.

It does not say that they came.

It does say that Jesse came with seven of his sons.

*****1Sa 16:6 And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD'S anointed is before him.

1Sa 16:7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

1Sa 16:8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.

1Sa 16:9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.

1Sa 16:10 Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these.

Eliab means "God is the Father", he was the eldest son, Samuel liked Eliab but he was rejected.

Abinadab means "noble and willingness", he was the second born son but also rejected.

Shammah means "astonishment", he was the third born son but also rejected along with four more of the sons of Jesse.

God has a simple rule that He always uses:

"for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart"

According to the Word of God, the Bible, is not only the seat of all "spiritual activity" but for all operations of human life.

In fact "Heart" and "Soul" are sometimes interchanged:

Deu 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Deu 6:6 And "these words", which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

"These words" refer to the Word of God.

There was a scribe in the days of Jesus that knew what the Word of God teaches, as he said these words:

Mar 12:33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

To sacrifice to and for the Lord is not near as important as to "Love The Lord With All Our Heart".

These are the ones that the Lord chooses to be on His team!

*****1Sa 16:11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.

1Sa 16:12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.

Now we get to meet David. This the first time David is mentioned by his name which means "beloved".

David is actually mentioned more times than even Abraham and Moses and any other Old Testament person.

The biography of David takes up 62 chapters in the Bible and is only surpassed by that of the Lord Jesus Christ.

David is described as:

1) Ruddy. This means by the looks of his skin, David was in perfect health. If we remember back to Adam, the name Adam also means "ruddy".

2) Beautiful countenance. This means David was well proportioned in his body. David had the looks of a real man and not some wimp but not overly proportioned.

3) Goodly to look to. This means to the ladies that David was a handsome man and desirable to look upon.

4) This is he. The Lord's choice had already been made. This was the man God had chosen to be the next king of Israel.

Verse 1 says: "for I have provided me a king among his sons" God said "this is he"!

The Bible teaches us with these words:

Psa 78:70 He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:

Psa 78:71 From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.

While the family of Jesse was gathered for the sacrifice they gave little thought to David and he was left in the field with the sheep.

We begin to see that David is a "type" of Christ.

The Bible says:

Heb 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, "that great shepherd of the sheep", through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

Again the Bible says:

Psa 100:3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, "and the sheep of his pasture".

While the world goes its own way, our God concentrates on His sheep!

Note: There is no mention of David's musical talent at this time. David played his music before the sheep before he was allowed to play before King Saul.

*****1Sa 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

In the Bible, only prophets, priests and kings, were anointed and this anointing had to be performed by a person authorized by the Lord.

Samuel had God's authorization!

In the Bible "oil" represents "a type" of the Holy Spirit.

The Hebrew word "Messiah" and the Greek word "Christ" both mean "anointed".

Earlier, the Spirit had come upon Saul in a like manner.

This signals "to us" that David has replaced Saul as God's chosen to be king of Israel.

And we need to understand that without the power of the Spirit of God, we are helpless when it comes to serving Him, to be in His will and to Glorify Jesus Christ.

This anointing of David preceded any action upon King Saul.

*****1Sa 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

1Sa 16:15 And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

This was a tragic day in the life of Saul but he had brought it upon himself.

That word departed means "to keep away from"!

Saul turned off the Spirit of God, so God took away those things that would enable him to carry out God's work as king.

The Bible tells us:

1Th 5:19 Quench not the Spirit.

And this:

Isa 63:10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.

If the Holy Spirit is not within you, then He is your enemy!

In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came and went from each person in accordance to God's purpose and their obedience to Him.

BUT, Because of Jesus these things are different now:

Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you "another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever";

Joh 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; "for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you".

To those that accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord, the Spirit abides within us forever!

Something we should remember is this:

1Co 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

God is not the God of disorder but the God of peace!

1) God will punish sin and Saul had turned away from the Lord in disobedience. God loves all people, including Saul and the Lord will not punish sin unjustly!

A loving God does what is best at "all" times!

2) This passage denotes that through His Spirit, God has chosen David and rejected Saul.

3) This "evil spirit" was probably not a demon or something frightening, because it did not bring fear to Saul's servants and we will later find out that this spirit could be soothed with the right kind of music.

4) This scripture also shows us that it is God that controls the history of man and not man himself.

5) Saul's sinful life has brought "a great depression" into his life. When depression is in the extreme it can sometimes be shown by partial insanity and real grief.

We will soon see that Saul will become jealous, irritable, vindictive, and subject to fits.

Without the Holy Spirit we are all at the will of Satan!

The Bible says:

2Ti 2:26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, "who are taken captive by him at his will".

The Bible also says:

Mat 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.

Mat 12:44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.

Mat 12:45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

When the protective hand of God is overshadowed by His hand of discipline, the true character of Saul will be revealed.

*****1Sa 16:16 Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.

1Sa 16:17 And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.

1Sa 16:18 Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him.

Samuel was probably the only one that knew that God had chosen David to replace Saul as king.

Saul, himself, already knew that he and his heritage had been rejected of God which led to his depression!

What we know is that in creating mankind, God made man with a sensitive heart. A heart that can feel emotions depending on the circumstances he experiences.

We also all know that music is a powerful influence in our lives and it was no different in this time of Saul.

David was first introduced to Saul to help him in his great depression.

What was not mentioned in God's selection of David was his great talent for music.

In fact David influenced much of the music of that time and much of it is recorded in the Bible.

While David was still a teenager he was already well known in Israel for his music. Even the kings servants already knew about David.

David played many musical instruments himself and 59 times we see the words "A Psalm of David" in the Book of Psalms or the Book of Songs.

77 Psalms are thought to be the work of David.

It is also said that it was David who presented the songs of Moses, and Joshua, and many others into the scriptures and into the Book of Psalms.

David made music a part of his life throughout all his days and even passed this on to Solomon who made music a great part of the Temple worship.

Music is still, and should be a great part of our worship services!

Some of David's musical talent was passed to his son Solomon who was also a songwriter who wrote more than 1000 songs:

1Ki 4:32 And he spake three thousand proverbs: "and his songs were a thousand and five".

It does not say that these songs were recorded in the scriptures.

But even before this David was to show King Saul how well he could play musical instruments!

That phrase "play well" means that David could touch that harp in such a way that he did not make noise but he could play an arrangement that may even have been his own!

It means David's music was not only pleasing to the ear but one would say it was beautiful music!

But the real key to David's success is in verse 18 which simply says:

"the Lord is with him"

*****1Sa 16:19 Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep.

Here again we can see a "type" of Christ.

No one wanted to be a shepherd, it was the most hated of jobs.

So David was called from a place of contempt, as also Jesus Christ came from a humble walk of life.

The Bible says

Mar 6:3 "Is not this the carpenter", the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? "And they were offended at him".

But as David was also a shepherd Jesus says:

Joh 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

And as David was first anointed by God and later by the people, Jesus Christ was anointed at His baptism and at His Second Coming, AND, He will be confirmed by His brethren, the Jews and then all nations.

Isa 45:25 In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.

*****1Sa 16:20 And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul.

With Jesse's choice of gifts to Saul, he was showing Saul that he came at the request of the king and not because they were in need of the kings support.

An ass "laden with bread" would mean more bread than one man could eat in one day.

But we cannot miss what is represented here:

1) The Bread, more than a man can eat, means The Bread of Life:

Joh 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

2) The wine, the Blood of the New Covenant:

Mar 14:24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.

3) The kid, The Sacrifice of the Lamb of God:

Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

We should always see Jesus in these things!

*****1Sa 16:21 And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer.

Saul's servants saw this as a means to cause peace in Saul when that evil spirit was at work.

Saul saw this as one of his subjects committing himself to the welfare of the king.

God saw this as a training session for David. David was placed in circumstances in which he might learn the art of warfare, the works of government, and to enlarge his knowledge of human character.

It would not be long before the love of Saul would be changed into envy and fear of David!

*****1Sa 16:22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight.

Though Saul's character was always in question, we see the character of David as a faithful servant who tries to help the king and Saul shows his gratitude at this time to Jesse.

*****1Sa 16:23 And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

Because of David's musical talents, Saul found relief from his great depression.

It is probable that the harp mentioned here was more like what we call a lyre.

A lyre is a stringed instrument which is a kind of harp but more easily carried from place to place.

The lyre was a vertical harp with two arms and proof of their existence extends back as far as 2800 BC.

And we can see that David played it with his hand.

This brought a wellness and a refreshment to Saul during these times and Saul's evil spirit departed from him!

We can understand more about what happened to Saul if we look back at Job and remember that when God removed His protective hedge from around Job, immediately Satan came to cause havoc in Job's life.

David was a cunning musician, a valiant man, a man of war, a prudent man and with all that, he was a handsome man.

He was the perfect choice for Saul and for Israel at this time!

BUT, the Lord Jesus Christ is our perfect choice for eternity!

Questions?

Let's Pray!

A Cowardly Ruler Saul's Disobedience

A Cowardly Ruler Saul's Disobedience

Book of 1 Samuel Chapters 13-15

In last weeks lesson we saw Samuel's last sermon to the nation of Israel. Samuel was bringing his ministry to Israel to a close. King Saul would now lead Israel and also judge Israel for 40 years.

Israel hopes are in the success of Saul as king.

We saw as the Ammonites were defeated but an enemy that still harassed Israel were still a problem. The Philistines still controlled a large portion of Israel.

The Lord had told Samuel that the new king would deliver Israel from the Philistine:

1Sa 9:16 To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, [that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines]: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me.

When Samuel had anointed Saul, he had told Saul that when he was anointed by the Holy Spirit and it was time to take action against the Philistines but Saul had refused up to this time.

1Sa 10:5 After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, [where is the garrison of the Philistines]: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy:

Saul was presented with an opportunity to remove this garrison of Philistines on this day!

In our lesson today we will see these things unfold.

Our lesson today is to know that serving the Lord means doing the right thing, at the right time, and in the right way. God expects all His people to obey His Word and follow His Will!

Disobedience always has consequences!

Let's Begin:

*****1Sa 13:1 Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel,

1Sa 13:2 Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.

According to time lines Saul began his reign of Israel in 1051 BC and David the next king of Israel was born in 1041 BC.

Saul reigned at least two years before he began to establish an army. Over 300,000 men had offered their services to Saul in the battle with the Ammonites.

But, Saul had only chosen 3000 soldiers and then divided them between himself and his son Jonathan.

*****1Sa 13:3 And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear.

We will see this son of Saul's, Jonathan several times in Scripture but we can see the type of this man in this verse, that Jonathan was a brave and victorious soldier.

All these signs will point us to the fact that Jonathan would probably have been a great king had his father not rejected the Lord.

The Philistines controlled Israel at this time and when Jonathan attacked and defeated this Garrison of the Philistines, it was a declaration of war and the Philistines were quick to respond.

This prompted King Saul to gather his troops at Gilgal while the Philistines gathered at Michmash.

Suddenly Saul finds himself in the situation that had been foretold by Samuel, waiting for Samuel to come to Gilgal.

Saul was to wait seven days for Samuel to arrive to offer the appropriate sacrifices.

Even though some time had passed Saul realizes that he was in this situation.

*****1Sa 13:8 And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.

1Sa 13:9 And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering.

1Sa 13:10 And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him.

For what ever reason that Samuel was delayed, and, Saul goes ahead and offers a sacrifice and this

will bring divine judgment from the Lord.

There can only be one King/Priest and that will be King Jesus!

*****1Sa 13:13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.

1Sa 13:14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.

Saul had done a foolish thing and Samuel informed him that because of this, his kingdom would not continue.

Saul is informed that the Lord was seeking a man after his own heart and Saul had failed.

This event began the downfall of King Saul!

*****1Sa 13:19 Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears:

We can see in this verse how the Philistines were denying the children of Israel the ability to defend themselves.

Today in America we call this our second amendment rights. The right to bear arms.

The right to bear arms is not only for hunting and providing food but it also gives the people the ability to defend themselves against an oppressive government.

And, the United Nations is trying to disarm the public in every nation.

The Chaldeans, had a similar policy:

2Ki 24:14 And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.

The Romans also had this policy and many governments since that time, including Adolf Hitler.

Without weapons, the means to defend themselves, the children of Israel were greatly distressed

1Sa 13:6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.

*****1Sa 14:3 And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD'S priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone.

Ahiah was now High Priest of Israel. The High Priest wore the ephod. It was the High Priest that carried the Urim and the Thummim.

At this time in Israel, we have a King whose time is doomed and the representatives of the family of Eli whose priesthood is also doomed.

"This Ahiah is probably the same as Ahimelech who Saul put to death for helping David".

*****1Sa 14:4 And between the passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines' garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.

Jonathan had a plan to go against this Philistine garrison.

That word Bozez means "shining" but it can also mean "ooze" which could indicate a bog or a swamp.

That word Seneh means "bush" and probably a thorn bush.

Jonathan had trouble on the left and trouble on the right and straight ahead were the Philistines.

*****1Sa 14:6 And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: [for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few].

1Sa 14:7 And his armourbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.

1Sa 14:8 Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we will discover ourselves unto them.

1Sa 14:9 If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them.

1Sa 14:10 But if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up: for the LORD hath delivered them into our hand: and this shall be a sign unto us.

In chapter 13 we read that in the face of the enemy, Saul had panicked and not waited on Samuel.

We now see Jonathan, the son of Saul, in this chapter and how much trust and faith he had in the Lord.

There is quite a contrast between father and son!

Jonathan realizes that God is not constrained and can win a war just as easily with a few as with many.

Jesus had these words for all those that believe:

Mat 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

And the Apostle Paul added these words:

Rom 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

Rom 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

*****1Sa 14:18 And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel.

1Sa 14:19 And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand.

This was another rash decision made by King Saul.

The Ark of God was still in the house of Abinidab even though the Tabernacle may have been in Nob at this time.

And Saul still being in a panic, would not wait on the High Priest to make contact with the Lord.

While these things were going on Saul's army were not in the battle and were confused!

*****1Sa 14:24 And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food.

Here again we see another rash decision by King Saul.

Saul was so panicked that he would not wait for his army to eat and prepare for the battle and he made the taking of food a capitol crime requiring death.

The army of Saul became so exhausted for want of food, that they could not pursue their enemy!

*****1Sa 14:37 And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day.

God had already delivered the Philistines into the hand of Jonathan, so the Lord was silent at Saul's request.

AND, it will not be very long before The Lord will cut off all contact with Saul:

1Sa 28:6 And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.

*****1Sa 14:44 And Saul answered, God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan.

1Sa 14:45 And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.

Another reason God had rejected Saul was because of this threat to murder his own son.

Saul had foolishly ordered that no food be eaten by his troops until the Philistines were defeated.

Jonathan, his son, was unaware of this command and had eaten some honey.

The people, however, refused to let Saul carry out this foolish law and saved Jonathan from death.

God saved Israel that day but this was in spite of Saul's stupidity through all these things:

1) Jonathan had formed the battle plan and had shown his personal courage.

2) God had sent an earthquake that caused the Philistines to tremble and be afraid.

3) There came a panic among the Philistines troops and they fled before Israel.

King Saul could not take credit for any of these things.

*****1Sa 14:52 And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul: and when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him.

Now Saul tries to surround himself with the strongest and bravest men of all Israel.

This verse fulfills what Samuel had told Israel about their king:

1Sa 8:11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.

1Sa 8:12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.

Saul began building an army but not with volunteers.

Saul began to rely on the power of the flesh and not on Power of God!

Remember Saul had not proved his leadership skills when he denied his own army the food to keep them strong and this had also denied them a total victory over the Philistine.

*****1Sa 15:1 Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD.

We will see that God did not finally reject Saul until He had given him one more opportunity to fully carrying out His commands.

We need to realize that God takes us all and puts us in certain conditions to see if we will stay obedient to His Word.

The life we now live is like being on probation!

We have the trial of Saul before us "as an example" as God will not hide anything from us!

Saul began as a humble young man who happened to be the tallest man in Israel but also had a great physique.

We will see as these things fade and fail him!

Saul's pride in his own self and defiance of God and even later jealousy and envy take over Saul's life and he becomes a miserable person in himself and a total wreck before his nation.

The Bible says:

1Ti 1:19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:

This first King of Israel became like a shipwreck!

*****1Sa 15:2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.

We can see that the Lord intends to punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as came up from Egypt!

Exo 17:8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

Remember Balaam and what he prophesied only because he was forced to by the Lord?

Num 24:19 Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.

Num 24:20 And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, "Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever".

We now read King Saul's command.

*****1Sa 15:3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

Here is what Moses had already told Israel:

Deu 25:17 Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt;

Deu 25:18 How he met thee by the way, and "smote the hindmost of thee", "even all that were feeble" behind thee, "when thou wast faint and weary"; and he feared not God.

Deu 25:19 Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.

This gives us a better idea of just how cruel the people of Amalek truly were and the reason for God's judgment upon them.

Remember in verse 2, it reads that this was the Lords punishment and when it comes to obeying the commands of the Lord we are to respond without question!

Anything less than total destruction of the Amalekites would be a failure to obey God!

In His holiness and infinite wisdom we are to completely trust knowing that He will never go beyond His own Righteousness and His Own Perfectness.

We do not yet have the wisdom of God and that will only come at the time of the Rapture, when we meet the Lord in the air:

1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, "we shall be like him"; for we shall see him as he is.

It is at this time we will understand all things!

*****1Sa 15:7 And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.

Saul gathered an army of 210,000 soldiers and laid wait in a valley until the Kenites had an opportunity to depart from among the Amalekites.

The Kenites were mostly traveling smiths by trade, some would say gypsies, and normally no ones enemies, though they never worshiped the Lord and always held on to their false religion.

Saul and his army won this battle but we see that Saul did not completely obey the Lord!

We also know that the Land from Havilah to Shur was the same land occupied by the descendants of Ishmael:

Gen 25:17 And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people.

Gen 25:18 And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.

And we know that the descendants of Esau and the descendants of Ishmael occupied the same land.

God had said:

Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

Oba 1:10 For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, "and thou shalt be cut off for ever".

Mal 1:2 I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,

Mal 1:3 "And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness".

We should never forget these words of the Lord for they still hold true today:

Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

God will punish the wicked or He would not be God!

This promise will be kept just as all other promises will be kept!

*****1Sa 15:8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.

Saul missed his last opportunity to preserve his kingdom for his son Jonathan, who we can see and will see could have been a great king.

Saul was showing respect to a king who ruled a people "that destroyed children" and even "those that could not defend themselves with the old" as we saw when they attacked Israel. They were also cowardly and thieves, who took what they could get from the innocent. (Deut 25:18)

The Apostle Paul used this in his sermon to the Galatians:

Gal 4:28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

Gal 4:29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.

Gal 4:30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.

Gal 4:31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

*****1Sa 15:9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

It has already been stated that Saul disobeyed the Lord but we now see that his army also is involved.

Saul had little control of his army and actually feared them as we will see.

This army was also not fighting for the "Glory of God", they were instead fighting for personal profit.

Saul and his army were careful to protect the innocent Kenites but God had said that everything else was "worthless" to Him.

If it was "worthless to the Lord" then it should hold no value to God's people!

God had given King Saul another chance and he was failing miserably!

It would be these same evil people who would bring Saul to his own death.

Listen as King David questions an Amalekite:

2Sa 1:8 And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, "I am an Amalekite".

2Sa 1:9 He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me.

2Sa 1:10 So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord.

Had Saul obeyed the Lord even this could not have happened!

We must realize that when we are not obedient to the Lord it will affect us and our families in the future, as well as today!

*****1Sa 15:10 Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying,

1Sa 15:11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.

God cannot change His mind and still be God!

AND, God cannot go against His own character regarding sin and it's consequences!

God explains His statement by saying Saul had turned back from following Him.

Saul had made the decision to go his own way and reject the Word of God!

Samuel had told Saul earlier these words:

1Sa 13:13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: "for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever".

Saul could have been blessed with a kingdom that would have extended through his family but his own actions would cause his kingdom to end with his own 40 year reign.

Samuel had anointed Saul and we have already seen that in the life of Samuel, no one had found a blemish in his ministry.

It grieved Samuel that Saul had caused this thing to come upon Israel.

It was Israel that had demanded a king and their first king was a total failure!

*****1Sa 15:12 And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.

1Sa 15:13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.

1Sa 15:14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?

Samuel had not slept since God had made His will known to him and in this time Saul "had set up a memorial to himself" in Carmel for his victory.

Saul had ceased in the war with the Amalek with this one victory and proceeded with King Agag and those animals that were not destroyed to Gilgal to make a sacrifice before all of Israel.

Saul seemed very content with himself that he had obeyed the commandment of the Lord and he lied to Samuel about his victory not knowing that Samuel had already been informed by the Lord.

Samuel quickly responds with, "then what is all this noise coming from these animals"?

*****1Sa 15:15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.

Again Saul shows the breaking down of his moral character "by laying the blame upon his army".

Saul indicates to Samuel that these were the best of the animals were only saved for the purpose of sacrifice.

We already know that God had said that these things were worthless for any purpose!

*****1Sa 15:16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.

1Sa 15:17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?

1Sa 15:18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.

1Sa 15:19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?

That word "stay" meant for Saul to stop his lies and to listen to what the Lord had to say and Saul said "say on".

Samuel reminded Saul how he had been a humble man and felt unworthy to be king but was now full of pride and arrogance, doing things in his own way.

Samuel reminded Saul that it was the Lord that sent him to destroy the Amalekites also using the word "sinners" which means God had already judged them and Saul was to be the executioner and to fight against them until "all" were destroyed.

Saul had not been obedient!

Saul had seized the spoil for his own use,"in an act of greed".

Saul had done these things knowing that nothing can be hid from the Lord.

Saul had "purposely" ignored the Word of God!

*****1Sa 15:20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

1Sa 15:21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.

Saul breaks in on Samuel before he finishes, not in agreement with these words from Samuel.

Saul admits to bringing back Agag but blames the taking of the spoil upon his army.

*****1Sa 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

Samuel says it is better to obey the Word of God, then, there would be no sacrifice needed.

We need no repentance or sacrifice for sins we have not committed!

To the Church we have these words:

1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

These are the words of truth but if we stand on the Word of God then we would not have sin to confess:

Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, [that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, "to stand"].

If we stand on the Word of God then we will have less sin in our lives and no sacrifice is needed.

We need forgiveness only for those things that go against the Word of God!

*****1Sa 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

What is the sin of witchcraft? Witchcraft is "divination" or the telling of future events.

It is a false system for trying to find the divine will of God!

Rebelling against God is going our own way!

Pro 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, "but the end thereof are the ways of death".

And being too stubborn is to insist that your are innocent as Saul has done!

Saul was his own idol at this time!

Because he had rejected the Lord, he was therefore rejected of the Lord!

*****1Sa 15:24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

1Sa 15:25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.

1Sa 15:26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.

While Saul was trying to confess his sin, he began making excuses for his sin.

Saul was more concerned about his reputation before the people than in the eyes of God!

This is not an attitude of repentance!

Samuel could not join Saul because it would look like he was still in support of Saul.

Saul was rejected because he had rejected the Word of God!

Why will this earth be punished?

Jer 6:19 Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, "because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it".

We are judged by God's Word and only God's Word!

*****1Sa 15:27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.

1Sa 15:28 And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.

Because of Saul's own evil conduct and bad behavior the kingdom of Saul would end with his reign and be given to another.

We know that this neighbor would be none other than David who would be a man after God's own heart and therefore better than Saul whose heart had turned to himself.

*****1Sa 15:29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.

It is Jehovah who is the true "Strength" of Israel and what God purposes "He will bring to pass".

God will never change His purpose!

What is God's Purpose?

1Ti 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;

1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, [and to come unto the knowledge of the truth].

God will never deviate nor repent from this purpose and those that reject Him will suffer for that choice.

2Th 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; [because they received not the love of the truth], "that they might be saved".

*****1Sa 15:30 Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God.

1Sa 15:31 So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD.

Samuel could not pardon the sin of Saul only the Lord could do that.

It was in the best interest of Israel for their allegiance to remain with Saul at this time, that he be not despised.

And Samuel needed to do what Saul had neglected to do!

*****1Sa 15:32 Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.

1Sa 15:33 And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.

This cruel king who would kill a child, even sacrificing his own children to false gods.

He murdered the old with the young.

He lived an immoral lifestyle.

He rejected the Word of God and hated God?s people.

Yet he now begged for mercy.

There would be no mercy!

*****1Sa 15:34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.

1Sa 15:35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.

Samuel went no more to council King Saul because he had been rejected of the Lord, yet he did mourn for him.

King Saul had lost his dynasty, his character, and his throne and his crown.

He had lost a godly friend in Samuel.

We will soon see David appear on the scene and Saul will loose his self control and his good sense and will soon loose it all including his own life.

This was the decision he had made for himself and the results were that he was judged by the Word of God.

Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

Questions?

Let's Pray!

A Preaching Prophet Samuel's Warnings

A Preaching Prophet Samuel's Warnings

Text: Book of 1 Samuel Chapter 12

We did not get into Chapter 11 last week but Israel, led by their new King Saul had a major victory over the Ammonites.

God in His permissive will had allowed certain things to come to pass. The nation of Israel got what they wanted, a King, but they would now have to live with the result.

We will see as we go further into the Book of Samuel that Israel was not prepared for the outcome of their request.

Israel had been lax in their prayer life and it is important that we as the children of God consider our choices and decisions "through much prayer" to the Lord and God's Word.

Although Israel had sinned and continue to do so, "repentance and confession" will still assure God's forgiveness and God's continued blessings upon them.

To the church we must realize that Jesus not only paid our sin debt with His blood, but "it was the Cross" that opened the door into the throne room of God for our prayers to reach into Heaven.

Remember the Veil was ripped into exposing the Mercy Seat to all that believe!

Repentance, God's grace, and faithful service, are the theme of Samuel's message in this chapter.

This was the message that Israel needed to hear.

This is also the message that the Church needs today!

If we pay attention will see that the term LORD is used 24 times in this passage.

The Hebrew word for Lord used here is "Jehovah" and it is used 6528 times in the Old Testament.

Jehovah means the eternal self existing God, The Great "I Am" of Exodus 3:14.

Jesus said in the Book of Revelation:

Rev 1:8 "I am" Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Let's Begin:

*****1Sa 12:1 And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you.

What we see recorded in this passage is Samuel's last public message to Israel. We will see Samuel do several things in this passage.

1) Samuel will first vindicate his life and his ministry.

2) Samuel will then step aside and turn the leadership of Israel over to King Saul.

3) But Samuel emphasizes that it is essential for Saul and Israel to remain faithful to God.

The fact that Saul had led the Army in a great victory over the Ammonites did not change the fact that their future success rested in trusting in Jehovah, Our Lord.

The Lord had made it very clear that any King of Israel was not to be like the foreign kings Israel had faced in their battles!

*****1Sa 12:2 And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day.

Samuel would certainly not be the last of the prophets but he would be the last of the Judges of Israel. The rule of Israel by Monarchy would begin with King Saul the first king of Israel.

This part of Samuel's work was done!

But Samuel was still Prophet to Israel and would be until his death!

The two sons of Samuel had not been like their father but Samuel had still given them to Israel and Samuel had given his entire life to serve his nation that he loved so much.

*****1Sa 12:3 Behold, here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.

Samuel had, had a long and blameless life.

In our day when the lives of our politicians are spread before the world to see, none of them are found guiltless, but Samuel would have been found innocent of any wrong doing.

No one could find any fault in Samuel!

In many ways from his birth until this day in Gilgal we can see Samuel as a type of Christ.

Remember Gilgal is where Joshua had set up camp and Israel had began to occupy the land and it would be at Gilgal where they would get their new beginning under King Saul.

This should remind us that Jesus Christ is our place of a new beginning. Jesus says we must be born again.

When Luke wrote of the Sermon of the Apostle Peter we find that Samuel had foretold of the Jesus the Messiah.

Act 3:24 Yea, and all the prophets "from Samuel" and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.

Samuel was indeed instrumental in announcing the gospel!

Samuel's childhood looked forward to that of Jesus, and his loyal ministry under Eli the high priest, is an example for all of us in service before our faithful High Priest, Christ Jesus!

Later we will even see where Samuel will anoint King David, "a type" and an ancestor of our great King who will return to judge this world, King Jesus.

And We know that Samuel's prayers could reach into Heaven and was heard of Our Lord:

Psa 99:5 Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy.

Psa 99:6 Moses and Aaron among his priests, "and Samuel" among them that call upon his name; "they called upon the LORD, and he answered them".

Psa 99:7 He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: they kept his testimonies, and the ordinance that he gave them.

Samuel had a great testimony this day and Israel only recognized part of it.

*****1Sa 12:4 And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man's hand.

1Sa 12:5 And he said unto them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. And they answered, He is witness.

Israel admitted before the Lord that they had no grounds for any dissatisfaction with Samuel and they way he had judged them.

The life of Samuel had provided a standard for King Saul and any future king to meet.

Verse five states that Saul had also witnessed this testimony of Samuel.

Again we see Samuel as "a type" of Christ.

You see when we give our testimony, King Jesus is also our witness to the truth of that testimonyand our Advocate before God.

Listen to the words of Jesus in His testimony:

Joh 8:46 "Which of you convinceth me of sin"? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?

Joh 8:47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

Their was not one witness to any sin in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Samuel was giving Israel and King Saul the truth of God, just as Jesus gives us the truth of God's Word.

To the world we live in, Jesus ask this question. Why do you not believe me?

And just like Israel we have no excuse!

*****1Sa 12:6 And Samuel said unto the people, It is the LORD that advanced Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.

1Sa 12:7 Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you before the LORD of all the righteous acts of the LORD, which he did to you and to your fathers.

Now Samuel explains to these people that it was God and not any man, that had done so many great things for them.

It was the Lord who had raised up Moses and Aaron and made them the deliverers of Israel from the bondage of Egypt.

There are those that think they can work there way into Heaven, but if God had chosen us for our good merits, then we would also have the fear that He would casts us away.

Those that believe in works, live in fear of losing their salvation!

But God chose us in Christ Jesus, before the foundation of this world we live in, "For His Names Sake".

HE CANNOT LOSE ANY OF US!

But our Lord does work through humans!

Israel owed it's entire existence to Jehovah God but they also owed Him their blessings and their sincere worship!

We seem to forget proper worship also comes with salvation.

God deserves our praise!

The Lord had given Samuel to Israel from his childhood and he had led them in the ways of the Lord and had not faulted in any way.

We need to remember all those who the Lord has placed in our lives to lead and guide us in the ways of salvation!

The Lord always knows who we need and what we need but He also knows where we need Him!

The Bible teaches us:

Php 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need "according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus".

You see, we all need Jesus Christ to be a complete Christian!

*****1Sa 12:8 When Jacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, which brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place.

Samuel reminds Israel that God had always raised up deliverers in their times of trouble.

They had been made slaves in Egypt.

They had suffered intensely under a tyrant who took all their personal freedoms and had broken their spirits.

But God had heard their cry and sent Moses and Aaron to deliver them.

Moses has led them to the land promised to Abraham and Joshua had led them into that promised land.

But they had soon forgotten again what the Lord had done!

*****1Sa 12:9 And when they forgat the LORD their God, he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.

1Sa 12:10 And they cried unto the LORD, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee.

They had forgotten God's deliverance and had gone back to their old ways of worshiping idols and false gods and again they came under the control of foreign powers.

Many think America is too strong for this to ever happen but they have forgotten "Who Actually Sits On The Throne" just as Israel had forgotten!

Joshua had defeated Hazor, but while Israel fell into false worship, another king, King Jabin came into power and sent Sisera to capture Israel.

BUT, Israel repented again and God sent Barak along with Deborah to deliver them.

God had delivered them many times from the hands of the Philistines.

And, God had delivered Israel out of the hands of King Eglon of Moab.

*****1Sa 12:11 And the LORD sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and ye dwelled safe.

In the time of the Judges, God had sent Gideon to deliver Israel.

God had sent Bedan. No one is sure if this was Samson, Barak, or Abdon but God sent another deliverer.

And, God sent Jephthah who again defeated the Ammonites, and now Samuel had been their deliverer until the time of King Saul.

*****1Sa 12:12 And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us: when the LORD your God was your king.

1Sa 12:13 Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired! and, behold, the LORD hath set a king over you.

Samuel has reminded the children of Israel that it was God who had delivered them all these times, and Samuel drove home the point that it is the Lord who is ultimately Israel's Savior and not any of these men he mentioned.

Israel's security depends on the Lord and not on some human leader. It did then and it does now!

And Samuel says "behold"!

Samuel says since I have reminded you that God shall deliver, look upon your king that you have desired.

Samuel was saying that this king cannot do the things of God!

But because you have demanded him, the Lord has set a king over you.

During the time of the Apostle Paul, he also reminded Israel of this day:

Act 13:19 And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot.

Act 13:20 And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.

Act 13:21 And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.

Paul was telling Israel that they had not changed in their ways all these years!

The Lord Jehovah had chosen to be Israel's king back in the Book of Exodus:

Exo 15:18 The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.

And the Prophet Hosea gave us these words:

Hos 13:9 O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.

Hos 13:10 "I will be thy king": where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes?

Hos 13:11 I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath.

The Lord will be the King of Israel on this earth but that time has not yet come!

King Jesus is coming!

But we can go ahead and sing His Praises now!

The Bible teaches us in the Book of Psalms with these words:

Psa 47:6 Sing praises to God, sing praises: "sing praises unto our King", sing praises.

Psa 47:7 "For God is the King of all the earth": sing ye praises with understanding.

Psa 47:8 God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.

Psa 47:9 The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.

*****1Sa 12:14 If ye will fear the LORD, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the LORD your God:

1Sa 12:15 But if ye will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of the LORD be against you, as it was against your fathers.

Now Samuel gives God's warning to Israel.

Samuel warned the people of Israel against substituting the honor and fear of Jehovah, their true King, with that of a man who was some earthly king.

Saul was just a human, just like everyone that met that day in Gilgal and they were encouraged to never forsake the fear of the Lord because that will always bring the judgment of the Lord!

God would bless Israel "in plain sight of their enemies" but if they forsake the Lord God would also punish Israel "in plain sight of their enemies" and they would be a great price!

AND, History has borne this out!

*****1Sa 12:16 Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes.

1Sa 12:17 Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call unto the LORD, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king.

We know that throughout time Israel has required a sign!

Israel was born out of signs and wonders!

Israel became a national entity when God brought them out of Egypt, with many great signs and wonders that occurred at that time.

The Bible teaches us:

1Co 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

The Jews had always been used to miracles to confirm the word of the prophets!

Samuel knew this and told them he would call on the Lord.

Today we would say that "thunder and rain" was not much of a sign.

But rain usually fell in Judea only twice a year and was called "the former rain" and "the latter rain" but rain never fell on the days of the harvest.

During harvest days the skies were clear and cloudless.

So, Israel did not question that this was a great miracle that could only have come form Jehovah at the request of Samuel!

*****1Sa 12:18 So Samuel called unto the LORD; and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

1Sa 12:19 And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the LORD thy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king.

This was such an unusual thing that came by the prayer of Samuel, that the people of Israel knew it was a miracle came from God.

The power of God has and is often shown in the elements!

God is the Creator and the Sustainer of this universe we live in!

The entire universe is under the control of our Lord!

It was possible that this one storm could have destroyed the entire wheat harvest of Israel.

The Bible does not say that God destroyed that wheat harvest but in that brief moment the people stood in awe of both Samuel and Jehovah God.

But Israel still had a reoccurring problem and the Book of Psalms describes this problem.

Psa 106:12 Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.

Psa 106:13 They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:

Israel believed the Word of God and gave Him Praise, BUT they soon forgot God's "grace" and went back to doing things their own way!

This happened over and over again.

But for us to look upon Israel in judgment would be wrong because we that are saved have this same problem!

We soon forget how good the Lord has been to us in our salvation and many slip back into their old ways and all of us are still sinners being saved only by the "Grace" of God!

*****1Sa 12:20 And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart;

1Sa 12:21 And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain.

There is only one reason God will not abandon this people!

"For His Name's Sake!

Psa 106:8 Nevertheless he saved them "for his name's sake", that he might make his mighty power to be known.

Not because it was true that they were worthy, for they were not.

Not because they were righteous, because they were certainly a rebellious and disobedient people.

But "For His Name's Sake"!

Six times the Bible says that Jehovah God is the God of the Hebrews!

God is still the God of the Hebrews but he is also the God of the Church!

Got had made Himself known to Israel by bringing them out of Egypt and He would not abandon them now because He is still the God of the Hebrews.

The "power of God" is in His grace and His mercy, and in His justice and His Holiness, and in His Almighty power, and in His goodness, and most important in His truth!

It is important for the world to understand that God will save His people!

BUT, Everything we put before God is a vain thing just as any idol.

*****1Sa 12:22 For the LORD will not forsake his people "for his great name's sake": because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people.

We will make mistakes after our salvation but remember God will not abandon His people!

Let's remember these words of Jesus:

Joh 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, "but I have chosen you", and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

Jesus chooses all that believe upon Him to be saved!

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Saints in Rome these words:

Rom 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

Salvation is the free gift of God!

Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

And we have this promise:

Php 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you "will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ":

But Israel also has this promise:

Rom 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

During the time of the Church all that call of the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved.

After the end of church age, or after the Rapture of the church, which is the same thing, Israel will be saved at the Second Coming of Christ.

God took great pleasure in saving us:

Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; "who for the joy that was set before him" endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

And God will take great pleasure in coming after His chosen people, the Church and Israel.

*****1Sa 12:23 Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way:

What we should see here is that we are in sin when we do not pray for all of God's people!

We need to pray for the church, for the church is God's people!

But we also need to pray for Israel as we have just proven, that they are still God's people!

And we must not forget, we must pray for "the lost" that they will come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and become God's people.

It is a terrible sin to not pray!

God had been rejected by Israel and replaced by King Saul.

Samuel had been rejected by Israel and would no longer be judge of Israel but would still be God's called prophet.

BUT, it was still Samuel's job to teach the good and right way to reach the Lord!

And that will also, always be our number one job!

*****1Sa 12:24 Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.

The Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom!

But we must serve the Lord with all our heart.

We must serve the Lord faithfully!

This was true for Israel then and this is true for the church today!

There is no guess work when it comes to serving the Lord!

God gives us His Bible, which is the Word of Truth.

2Pe 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

We are to obey the Word of the Lord for what it says and "not for what we think it says"!

*****1Sa 12:25 But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.

The people of Israel had sinned in desiring a King but God would help them if they feared Him and obeyed Him.

There is no king or ruler of any nation and no government that we should place before the Lord!

Israel had received what they asked for!

Israel would now have to live with the request that they had made!

But God will not ever abandon Israel.

And, God will never abandon His Church!

We will make many mistakes as we serve the Lord!

And God will sometimes give us things that are not in our best interest.

No matter how we fail Him, the Lord expects us to repent, take our chastisement, and get back in the fight because the work of the Lord must go on until He returns!

And He Will Return!

Questions?

Let's Pray!