I Samuel 11-13:14

“Portrait Of The Rejected King”  10.2.07  “Autonomy, Authority & The Man Of God” Session ^#4

Intro.

- Saul has been handed the authority to act as Israel’s King. When last we left him though, there was no Kingdom and no action necessary to take.

- That is until Nahash the Ammonite came to lay seige upon the people of Jabesh-Gilead.

- Saul heard of the threat that was made against them and took swift action.

 I Samuel 11:5-7 : “Now there was Saul, coming behind the herd from the field; and Saul said, "What troubles the people, that they weep?" And they told him the words of the men of Jabesh. Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard this news, and his anger was greatly aroused. So he took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, ‘Whoever does not go out with Saul and Samuel to battle, so it shall be done to his oxen.’ And the fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.”

- Saul went out to battle against the Ammonites and routed them, leaving them scattered.

- Saul had proven himself to be the kind of King that the Israelites wanted, and Samuel took advantage of the moment, calling the people to Gilgal to officially coronate him.

- In I Samuel chapter 12, Samuel calls the people back to the obedience of the Lord.

- The people repent and Samuel charges them specifically in Gilgal with these words:

 I Samuel 12:24,25 : “Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”

- Two years have now gone by and we come to chapter 13. It begins well for Saul, as his son Jonathan beats down a group Philistine garrisons in battle.

- Saul takes the credit for the victory, which was his plan.

- However, the plan seems to have gone awry, as it seems to have been at least ill conceived and at most, sinfully presumptuos!

 I Samuel 13:4-7 : “Now all Israel heard it said that Saul had attacked a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel had also become an abomination to the Philistines. And the people were called together to Saul at Gilgal. Then the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth Aven. When the men of Israel saw that they were in danger (for the people were distressed), then the people hid in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in holes, and in pits. And some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.”

- Talk about an “Uh-Oh” moment!! Somewhere between verse 7 and 8, Samuel communicated to Saul that he was to wait for 7 days. 7 days went by, but no Samuel.

• I Samuel 13:9-14 : “So Saul said, ‘Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.’ And he offered the burnt offering. Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him. And Samuel said, ‘What have you done?’ And Saul said, ‘When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.’ And Samuel said to Saul, ‘You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.’”

- There are a few lessons that plainly stick out as eternal principles that must be heeded.

- There are three sins that put Saul on the road to rejection, and disqualified him as King.

I. The Sin Of Presumption (v.3)

II. The Sin Of Disobedience (v.9,10)

III. The Sin Of Pride (v.11,12)

Text

I. The Sin Of Presumption (v.3)

• I Samuel 13:3 : “And Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, ‘Let the Hebrews hear!’“ : There is a sense here that Saul is willing to stay in Gilgal and let the rest of his people go out and fight the real battles, while he takes the credit for the victory.

- You’ll notice that Jonathan fought, but Saul blew the trumpet throughout the land!

- This is how the story begins and you will notice that there is no mention of Saul calling upon the Lord to direct.

- He is not asked to bless or accompany the people of Israel in battle against the Philistines.

- Saul gives the command autonomously.

- Remember that Saul has had some military success in the past, when he defended Jabesh Gilead.

- Perhaps that is why he acts so brazen here in ordering the attack of a Philistine garrison.

- But it seems that he got way ahead of himself and the Lord.

- What happens when we make a decision that is not covered and rubber-stamped by God?

- We are being presumptous.

- To presume means “to behave so inconsiderately, disrespectfully, or overconfidently as to do something without being entitled or qualified to do it (usually used negatively) to exploit or take advantage of somebody unscrupulously.”

- If this is not presumption here in this awakening of the Philistine enemy, then the next section where Saul offers up an unlawful sacrifice shows it clearly.

- I wonder if David was thinking about Saul’s life in general when he wrote this in

• Psalm 19:9-13 : “The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward. Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression.”

- There is much to say about this, but instead let me quickly give you a few signs that accompany presumption.

- You can call this a sermon within a sermon!

* The enemies of God gain ground; the people of God lose ground. (v.5,6)

* The enemies of God gain confidence; the people of God are fearful. (v.6,7)

* The enemies of God gain a foothold; the people of God have no spiritual covering (v.8)

- When the Lord is with us, we gain ground, we are confident and there is spiritual covering for our activities.

- When we presume to chart our own course, we will inevitably be subject to these problems and more.

- Lord keep me from presuming upon you and making you subject to my own wisdom, or my own vision.

II. The Sin Of Disobedience (v.9,10)

• I Samuel 13:9,10 : “So Saul said, ‘Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.’ And he offered the burnt offering. Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him.” : An uninformed look at this section alone, might cause someone to inquire of the Lord regarding what the problem here might have been!

- All it seems that Saul wants to do is offer something to the Lord.

- What is the disobedience here and is it that big of a deal?

- First of all, the disobedience here is that God had specifically laid out in the law that only the tribe of Levi could serve as priests, and this to the exclusion of all others.

- This is the entire point of the book of Leviticus, which foreshadows Christ, but is principly the instructional manual for how the priesthood would operate before God.

- Saul could not possibly plead ignorance, as according to Deuteronomy 17, he was to have his own copy of the law, that his heart might not stray from God’s command.

- Second, the big deal is that when we give our life to the Lord in service, we are no longer to consider God’s word optional or suggestive, but mandatory, obligatory!

- God’s word, His law, is the highest authority that we bow ourselves to.

- Jesus died to bring us under this authority, not so that we would die, but rather that we might have life and that life might be more abundant!

- Again, it’s the pressure that moved Saul to act as presumptously as he did.

- The enemy is crowding around Him and his people are cowering with him!

- What is amazing in this text, is that the relief that Saul needed from this situation was just around the corner.

- Notice the words “as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering.”

- Most of the time, the pressure will be the greatest just prior to God’s action of deliverance!

- This section should teach us that there is no crisis which is bigger than our responsibility to honor God’s Word!

- The pressure though, reveals to us where our faith truly lies. You might ask the question: Will it (my faith, trust) be in me or in thee?

- Let's take a moment and look at this in light of Jesus, the true King.

- Saul had pressure and decided that the word of the Lord was expendable. Jesus had pressure and said, "Not my will, but Yours be done!"

- Saul saved his life, but lost his position. Jesus, the true King, lost His life, even to the point of the death of the cross, and gained the Name that is above every name!

- I can really relate to Saul's experience, but I want to follow Christ's example.

III. The Sin Of Pride (v.11,12)

• I Samuel 13:11-12 : “And Samuel said, ‘What have you done?’ And Saul said, ‘When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.’” : Samuel asks “What have you done?”

- The smell of the offering is thick in the air, smoke visibly behind Saul who has come out to greet Samuel in what was likely a pre-emptive move on his part to distract from what he had done.

- Samuel, in horrified shock asks this question, knowing what offense has transpired.

- Here, Saul has a chance to do something right, confess his sin and perhaps, be forgiven.

- It is so reminiscent of the garden of Eden, when God comes in the cool of the day and asks where his children were. And sadly, Saul repeats the same folly!

- Saul points to the circumstances surrounding him. “The people were scattered from me…”

- Saul then points the finger at Samuel. “You did not come within the days appointed…”

- Saul continues to lay out the fact that his enemies were surrounding him.

- What is a man to do!? Look at the math, it all adds up doesn’t it?

- Circumstances + No Prophet + Large Group Of Enemies = I must make an illegal sacrifice to God so that He might help me!

- He felt compelled to cover his own sin of presumption and offer something spiritual out of the fleshly mess that he has just made!

- It makes sense, but it is wrong!

- Here he has the chance to humbly place himself under the merciful hand of God, but instead chooses to justify his actions, which are unjustifiable!

- As men under authority, we are subject to God’s law, in spite of our feelings, in spite of the circumstances, in spite of our own logic!

Conclusion

- As we come to the end of this study, we must pause and ask ourselves if we are under God’s complete authority right now.

- Are our hearts right, calling it like it is in our lives or are there little pockets of resistance?

- The same sins are common in our day today.

- Men presumtuously sin when they move ahead of God’s will and plan, looking to satisfy their own desires, or accomplish God’s will in the power of their flesh.

- Men disobey God’s commands daily, thinking that the circumstances will justify them before the Lord or that perhaps their actions make sense to them.

- Then there’s that pride that keeps men from coming to that place of humble submission.

- If any of these are part of your life today, get yourself back under the Lord’s authority.

- The symptoms might be subtle, but the response of the Lord will not be.

- If there is a conviction in your heart, respond, and be clean today!