04. SAUL
SAUL
"When thou wast little in thine eyes...Jehovah anointed thee king over Israel ...Why then didst thou not hearken to the voice of Jehovah?...Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice."
1Sa 15:17; 1Sa 15:19; 1Sa 15:22
Saul, a tall, choice, handsome young man, looked every inch a king. When Samuel at God’s direction anointed him king, he made a good start. Samuel told him several signs that would happen to him. One was that he would meet a company of prophets, "and the Spirit of Jehovah will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man" (1 Sam 10:56). This happened, and was a surprise to all who had known him, for clearly, Saul had not been known for spirituality before this. When he was publicly pointed out as the king God was giving His people, he initially behaved himself in a modest way.
Although the Spirit of God had come upon him, we do not find his heart changed. The Spirit empowers him, and he defeats enemy armies. But to be turned into another man proved to be merely an outward thing with Saul. He could act decisively against the foe. He was religious, too, in a public way, just as many political leaders are today. But true obedience to God and His word was simply not a part of his character. This was his ruin. In chapter 13, he does not wait the full week for Samuel to come to offer the burnt offering, but offers it himself when he sees the people scattering from him. In chapter 14, he begins to consult God, but brushes this aside when he sees the activity in the camp of the Philistines increasing. In chapter 15, against the Lord’s command he spares the Amalekite king and the best of their sheep and oxen, blaming his disobedience on the people. God is still seeking the humble obedience that characterized His Son in all those to whom he entrusts responsibility today.
"Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he committed against Jehovah, because of the word of Jehovah which he kept not, and also for having inquired of the spirit of Python, asking counsel of it; and he asked not counsel of Jehovah; therefore He slew him, and transferred the kingdom to David the son of Jesse."
1Ch 10:13-14 In 1 and 2 Chronicles, God’s review of His earthly people’s history, He gives us Saul’s genealogy but devotes only a chapter to his story. The chapter first tells us how Saul died, and then why Saul died. The first reason given us is Saul’s disobedience to God’s word. Repeatedly he violated God’s direct commands. In Psa 119:4 we are told, "Thou hast enjoined Thy precepts, to be kept diligently." God will not brook disobedience to His word. When Saul did not keep God’s word, God set him aside. Saul refused to accept this. Although he knew that David was the man of God’s choice who would ultimately prevail, he struggled to maintain his throne. Samuel eventually died. God no longer communicated with Saul by prophets, Urim, or dreams.
Saul was facing a desperate situation. Again the Philistine hosts had invaded the land and were set for battle.
[Occultism]
Distressed, Saul found a witch and asked her to bring Samuel back from the dead to tell him what to do. In earlier days he had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land. In direct disobedience to God’s Word in Deu 18:9-14 and Lev 19:31 he now sought help from satanic sources. God - not Satan - answered him in a way that shocked the woman and prostrated Saul with fear.
Unlike many people, the Bible treats the power of Satan, the arch-deceiver, seriously. There is no fellowship between God and Satan, between light and darkness. Dabbling in the occult is not an innocent pastime but a wicked abomination to God and a danger to those engaging in it. Christian, stay away from the occult!