The Zone Gathering

Saul’s Actions:

The Consequences:

Now we can dig deeper into this text and see that it contains greater implications for the big picture of the Old Testament and story of God and His people. One could spend a lot of time devoting greater focus to many of the themes embedded in the story, but I want to zoom in a little and look at what this act of disobedience entailed for Saul on a personal level. I think it is easy to sit back and judge Saul and think to ourselves, ‘How stupid! He had such potential. He gave up a great life and threw away an amazing opportunity to lead his people in the presence of God, but blew it over some stupid sheep.” But that is just it- I don’t think that Saul understood exactly what was happening and what the true consequences of his actions involved. There are definitely some things that we can learn from Saul’s action- things that will help guide us as we strive to stay obedient to God.In order to gain some insight into the root of Saul’s disobedience, I think that we need to look more closely at the text, starting in vs. 10. Samuel is informed by God about Saul actions. The reaction to confrontation is usually a very good indicator of the state of a person’s heart and character, and we get great glimpse of the dialogue that transpired between Samuel and Saul.

Samuel approaches Saul with his message from God*, and before he can even say a word, Saul greets him with a dramatic statement of grandeur: “Blessed are you of the Lord,” as if to set a superficial, positive tone and deflect the true nature of the appointment. Then, the first moment of suspect occurs- Saul proactively lies to Samuel about what he did: “I have carried out the command of the LORD.” Samuel, who had already been informed by God that that was not the case, chooses to speak a line that I like to call Samuel’s “DUH” moment in vs. 14. “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?”

Now I do not claim to be a genius, but please heed this advice- if you are going to lie about something, you might not want to try to lie to a prophet! Secondly, you might want to consider hiding the evidence that is directly in your presence. All joking aside however, I think that this, as well as the flow of excuses that come pouring out of Saul in the verses that follow, are great indicators of his general aloofness toward the entire situation. It is a case of arrogance rather than devious behavior.

What happens next however, is the turning point of the story. As Samuel recounts to Saul all that God has done for him, Saul begins to soften a bit. He goes on to try to defend himself by stating the parts of the command that he did follow (man, how often have we used this line of justification…), as well as shifting the blame from himself to the ‘people’ in vs. 21. (This is actually an indirect admission of guilt). Eventually however, he admits directly that he had sinned against God and begs for forgiveness. We don’t know whether or not God accepts this plea. Most likely He did, and perhaps this sin will not be counted against Saul for eternity, however, it did not reverse God’s decision to strip Saul of the kingdom.

So what happened to Saul? Did God just choose the wrong guy? I think that Saul’s problems were rooted in his identity. Could it be that he had a poor self image before his calling as king? It says in 1 Samuel 10:22 that Saul hid as he was being called. We know that he stood head and shoulders above others in Israel and came from a lowly tribe. Were these two things sources of insecurity for him? In 1 Samuel 15: 17, Samuel says that Saul was ‘little in his own eyes.’ In vs. 24 we see Saul’s fear of ‘the people’ and their opinions. I believe that there is always a potential danger when someone with low self-esteem quickly aspires to a position of power and great stature. Perhaps Saul’s arrogance and disobedience were results of a mere overflow of his attempt to overcome his prior insecurities with his new found fame and popularity. Saul’s identity problems are however, a topic for another bible drill or further study.

I think the most important application of this text, the thing that we can utilize, is to learn to take God more seriously. We are, in our day and culture, not known for our great obedience, especially to authority. But obedience is something that God demands from His followers**. Too often we shrug off the things that God is calling us to. We ignore very detailed and direct instructions. Like Samuel, we experience the distress and grieving that occurs when we do not fulfill these demands of us. Like Saul, we revel far too often in our position as God’s ‘chosen’ and think that it is the end of the road. But it is not only about being called; it is about fulfilling the missions that God puts us on after we are called. It is about fulfilling His purposes and great will! I think that if we would spend some time thinking about the consequences of our actions of disobedience, we might, unlike Saul, be impacted by the great responsibility and work that God has entrusted unto us. And if we are able to humble ourselves to that position, we will be lifted up and become pleasing to God. We will be able to hold on to the true Kingdom forever; avoiding having it stripped from us and given to more worthy individuals. Let us be the ones who are of God’s very own heart.

*Another interesting side note (which would be an entire other Bible Drill comparing Samuel and Saul’s devotion to God) is that after the victorious battle, Saul is building a monument to himself, while Samuel is in prayer and conversation with God.

**We actually learn in vs. 22 that God covets obedience more than sacrifice.

All Scripture references are from the NASB translation