Defeat and Dishonor, a Cautionary Tale
Thus the first king of Israel perished, with the guilt of self-murder upon his soul. His life had been a failure, and he went down in dishonor and despair, because he had set up his own perverse will against the will of God.
- Patriarchs and Prophets p682
The King Who Had Everything
At the beginning of his reign, Saul had everything. He was tall, he was handsome (1 Samuel 9:1-2), he was filled with the Spirit of God (1 Samuel 10:10). Saul had achieved military victories by God’s power (1 Samuel 11:6-11). (For more on these stories check out Tall, Handsome, and Clueless, Making a King, and You Shall Have Help)
How can someone who started so well end so terribly?
Saul’s Journey: a downward spiral
As mentioned above Saul started off with everything he needed to be a successful king. God had chosen him, he had the support of Samuel the prophet, he had experienced military success by God’s hand. Sadly Saul’s success is short-lived in light of his career as a king.
Saul’s Unlawful Sacrifice
This event is recorded in 1 Samuel 13 and I have a blog post on it entitled “Obedience During Emergencies.” Saul had been told to wait for Samuel who would offer a sacrifice. However, Samuel took longer than Saul had expected and Saul’s men began to leave. In an attempt to keep his troops from leaving Saul offered the sacrifice, and just as he finished Samuel appeared.
Noticing what had just taken place Samuel spoke to Saul saying:
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.
- 1 Samuel 13:13 NKJV
Here we see clearly that God was willing to establish Saul as king. But when Saul should have trusted in God and obeyed he failed. Saul failed because he sought to keep his men from leaving by using religious rites for personal influence and power. Instead of trusting in God to provide him with his military victories, as God has done previously, Saul sought to raise and keep an army by his own strength. In his desperate attempt to keep the men from leaving, he disobeyed God.
When it looks like faithfulness to God will cost you the support of those around you, do you trust in God to provide for you, or do you turn from God in an attempt to secure the support of people?
All Saul had to do was wait for Samuel. At first glance, just waiting is super easy, barely an inconvenience. But upon closer inspection, waiting is incredibly difficult and takes strong faith, especially when you are surrounded by enemies and losing the support of your peers.
However, all was not lost, Saul could still repent, turn to God and seek His mercy. After all, we serve a merciful God. I believe it was Saul’s pride that kept him from receiving the forgiveness that was available to him.
Saul’s son, Jonathan ends up being the one to lead the attack on the Philistines, and God uses him in a mighty way. For more on this story read my post “A Mighty Minority.”
Saul eventually joins in the fight, but he once again misuses and even abuses religion in an attempt of gaining more power for himself. I have a post on this entitled “Abuse and Misuse of Religion”
Saul Rejected as King
Saul does not understand that the religious rites were established in order to help him connect with God. We see no sincere desire on Saul’s part to connect with God, only to manipulate the people for personal gain. Saul only wants to seem religious and pious, while demonstrating no humility before God, no repentance, no true desire to seek and live out God’s will for his life.
In 1 Samuel 15 we read about how Saul spared King Agag and the best of the sheep and oxen which they should have utterly destroyed. (For an in-depth study of God’s command to utterly destroy see my post on God’s Command to Utterly Destroy) Once again Saul behave in a way that not only was contrary to God’s command but one that he hoped would benefit him personally. Allowing his soldiers to keep the best of the spoils made him popular and perhaps would cause more men to want to fight for him. In parading king Agag as a prisoner he could enjoy the glory and honor of having a feared and terrible enemy as his slave.
Saul had not disobeyed because the task was too difficult. He chose to let the king and the best of the animals live. Also, King Saul had not disobeyed because he had compassion for the king or the animals, rather, it was because he hoped to gain more power, support, and influence by doing so.
This is what Samuel had to say to Saul on that occasion:
16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Be quiet! And I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”
And he said to him, “Speak on.”
17 So Samuel said, “When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel? 18 Now the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the Lord?”
[…]22 So Samuel said:
“Has 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 heed than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He also has rejected you from being king.”
- 1 Samuel 15:16-19, 22-23 NKJV
There is more to this story and I have a post on it entitled “Mostly Obedient.”
From this point forward things continue to deteriorate for Saul. David is anointed king, but this is done privately while he is still young (for more on that check out my post “Heart Matter”). But David no only defeats Goliath but also achieves success in all he does (for more on this check out my posts David vs Goliath, The Battle Belongs to the LORD, Behaving Wisely). As it becomes more and more evident that God has left Saul and is now with David, Saul begins to persecute David (check out Persecuted).
What if?
It is not wise to wander into the land of “what if” but I would like to simply ponder one possibility.
What if Saul had humbled himself and accepted that David would be the next king?
The main reason I mention this is because Jonathan, Saul’s oldest son, the crown prince, was best friends with David (Best Friends Forever). If anything, Jonathan is the one who has the most to lose here. David shows no intention of attacking Saul, it seems like the dispute would be fought between David and Jonathan. Yet Jonathan saw David as an ally, a friend. Would it not have been a beautiful thing to develop both David and Jonathan to be great rulers, friends, and not enemies, both seeking God’s will. Both willing to submit to the will of God, Jonathan willingly following David’s leadership.
We have a tendency of looking at life as one winning and another losing, but many times both can be more successful by working together. I have enjoyed leading, but I have also enjoyed working under a leader I respect. If I am convinced that God is using someone, I have no difficulties submitting to that person’s leadership, since it is also my desire to follow the will of God.
For Saul, I wish he had realized that there is wisdom in developing the next generation of leaders, of submitting to God’s will and trusting that God knows what is best. I believe that if Saul had humbled himself and helped develop David into a great king, Israel would have prospered and he would have had a better life, and especially the end of his life would have been more pleasant.
Saul’s Tragic End
Sadly Saul pushed away his best military leader, David, and now was left to fight a combined Philistine Army. The story now picks up probably a few days after the events described in 1 Samuel 28. Saul had just received a major blow by spirit conjured by a medium in EnDor (check out Talking to the Dead?). Saul is about to go into war believing that he will lose. By seeking counsel through a source repeatedly condemned by God, Saul had exposed himself to demonic influences and messages.
I believe that nothing gives the enemy greater joy than to tell people that God has rejected them, that they have gone too far, and that they will die for their sins. If you ever hear that voice in your heart or mind, please recognize its origin. Such messages do not come from God. Yes, there is destruction awaiting those who reject God, but God’s message is one of unconditional love and a call to repentance.
The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.
- 2 Peter 3:9 NASBDo I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord GOD, “rather than that he would turn from his ways and live?
- Ezekiel 18:23 NASB
So how did the fighting go?
We have now arrived at the last chapter of 1 Samuel, and it gives us a brief description of this battle.
Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons. The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers.
- 1 Samuel 31:1-3 NKJV
While David is fighting and destroying the enemies of Israel and setting captives free and bringing back gifts (for more on this story go to The Messes We Make) the men of Israel are fleeing from before the Philistines. There is not much of a battle described in this chapter. In the first verse, the men of Israel flee, in the second verse, three of Saul’s sons are killed, in the third verse Saul is severely wounded by archers. Sadly, Saul is only now realizing what David as always known, the battle belongs to the LORD.
Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
- 1 Samuel 17:47 NKJV
How important it is for us to learn that nothing in this world is worth turning our backs on our God. It does not matter what you think you will gain by going against the will of God, it is never worth it. It may seem like it at the moment, but it is never the right choice, and that becomes abundantly clear as time goes by.
I wish the story ended here, but sadly it continues and gets even worse.
Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me.”
But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it. And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him. So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day.
- 1 Samuel 31:4-6 NKJV
Israel’s first king kills himself after being defeated by the enemy, wounded by archers. His armorbearer follows his example.
It is one thing for you to make a mess out of your life. You can think it your life, your choice correct? In many ways this is true, but it is also not true in many ways. I do not believe anyone can afford to be so selfish. Saul was king, his sins affected a whole nation, how many thousands of men died because of Saul’s sin? His armorbearer followed his example and committed suicide! What kind of example are we to those around us? Before we commit a sin, do we weigh its cost and its impact on the lives around us?
How many young men and women have struggled against incredible difficulties because of their father’s poor choices? The sins of the father are visited in their children (Exodus 34:7) to the third and fourth generation. This does not mean that the children are guilty of the sins of their father, but rather that their father’s rebellion will make their lives more difficult. The same holds true for mothers, how many kids suffer because of the sins of their mothers.
Sin causes more suffering and misery than we imagine. It is not just the sins of the parents. How many parents suffer indescribable pain because of the sin of their children? How many suffer because of the sin of their friends, their spouses, their co-workers, neighbors?
It might be easy to point fingers at Saul since he was a king, but I would argue that it is not too different in our lives. When we choose to rebel against the will of God, we are not only inviting more suffering into our lives, we are also causing people all around us more suffering.
I am not saying that you must, by your own strength, live a sinless life from now on. I am saying that every time you choose to sin, it always affects others. And I’ll let you in a little secret, those who love you most will also suffer most. When you sin, you are not only hurting your relationship with God, you are causing those who love you most to suffer. Maybe they are not suffering today, but it’s coming, and it will happen at the worst time possible.
Dear reader, do not play with sin. Your goal in life should be to live a faithful life to God. God will strengthen you. God will forgive you and guide you. God wants to do amazing things in you, for you, and through you. But you have to choose Him at every step. This takes place daily.
Are you where God wants you to be?
Every now and again I’ll see someone post to social media something along the lines of “You are exactly where God wants you to be!”
And I have to wonder about that. Do we tell ourselves these things to quiet our conscience? I believe that God has a plan for you and can use you exactly where you are, and maybe this is what the authors of those quotes mean to say. But many times we are struggling because of the messes we make. It is not that God wants us there, but if that is what it takes for us to turn to Him and be saved, praise God!
Only God can clean the messes we make. We do not have to stubbornly continue on our own trying to fight by our own strength. Saul’s life shows us how that will end. It does not end well. By contrast, David, who also made plenty of mistakes, chose to strengthen himself in the LORD and God gave him the victory and restored all that the enemy had taken away.
What do you choose?
If you stop to think about your life and realize that perhaps you’re not exactly where God wants you to be, how about you take a moment to ask Him for help? Ask God to save you, ask God to give you victory, ask God to cause you to live your life in such a way that gives honor and glory to His name.
You are not reading this post by chance.
Take this opportunity to confess your sins, and ask God for forgiveness. He is always there for you. You can receive His forgiveness today.
Choose God today.
