Saul gave no real evidence that he hated his sin, that he hated the flesh. that he hated evil. Instead of warring against the flesh, Saul warred against the spirit. He did. He did just that.
He didn't fight his own sin. When God tried to grab hold of him, he fought that. And this comes out when David is singing to him, and he chucks spears at David. There's a little bit more to destroy, but not much more. This is Cross Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston.
Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of 1 Samuel. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross-reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching.
Now, here's Pastor Rick with the conclusion of his study called The Anointing of Saul in 1 Samuel 10. Samuel is giving him this prophecy. We don't know how much time elapsed between the confirmations of these prophecies and the formal presentation to the people. Of Saul as king.
Now remember, the scriptures are really not caught up in chronology. They they will give us ch chronological events, but oftentimes they will going a different direction because steam now becomes paramount And we have to look for it. It just takes a lot of work to do it. Verse 8. You shall go down before me to Gilgal, and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings.
Seven days you shall wait till I come to you and show you what. You should do. Evidently, Samuel is establishing a protocol to bring the king to the people, and there's going to be offerings and sacrifice involved. And Samuel is pretty much saying, We're going to make you king in front of everybody, but we're not going to do that without worshiping the Lord with whole burnt offerings. It's beautiful.
moved by Samuel, of course, I don't think this is directly linked to 1 Samuel 13. Where at war with the Philistines, in fact, I'm sure it's not. It's not to think of, I'm not sure, it's to think of I am. in this mind that uh this is not connected to Chapter 13, where he will not wait for Samuel and problems begin to arise. That probably takes place at least two years later or close to two years later.
So let's review some of this. His ascent to the throne. He is anointed here in chapter ten in the land of Zuf. Publicly, he will be proclaimed king to the people at Mizpah. In beginning in chapter 17, this is your king.
But in chapter 11, in the fifteenth verse, he is now crowned the king. in front of the people. This mention of Gilgal, Gilgal significant to the people, should have been. There are places in this nation's history that should be significant to us Gettysburg, Concord, Yorktown. We should understand what something that took place there, other than they opened up some nice ice cream shops eventually.
We should know some of the history.
Well, the same thing with the Jews in Gilgal. That's where God rolled the shame away from Israel's wandering in the desert because of their disobedience. They finally crossed into the promised land. And Gilgal was where they set camp up after crossing Jordan. Eventually, as I mentioned, he will be crowned at Gilgal.
Prin announced at Mizbuck, crowned at Gilgal. He will Offer a sacrifice to God in chapter 13 at Gilgal without Samuel, which is just. Really bad. when we cost him his throne, And there also at Gilgal, Samuel will hack King Agag into pieces. Verse 9.
So it was when he had turned back to go from Samuel that God gave him another heart and All those signs came to pass that day, the spiritual. Confirmation. That he is indeed anointed by God. This is not a man thing, this is a divine thing. But God, it doesn't mean that God's gonna force him.
to serve as a godly king. No more than Jesus Christ forced Judas to serve as a godly apostle. Free will runs on. And The historian does not say he received a new heart, as he received another heart. I'm not saying it was one of the old ones left up on the shelf, and that's not certainly not the meaning.
But it is a distinction. That is not easy to get away from knowing the life of this man. That it is possible to have another view, another experience without it really touching the whole person. And when the Hebrews used the word heart, and even the Greeks, they meant the whole person. We tend to mean our feeling, you know, with all my heart.
It's an emotional thing most of the time. But for the Jew, it was. The feelings It was the brains and it was the will, and that made up the heart. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Your whole heart, not a portion of it.
And So it's significant. Intellectual change. It's just not enough. Jesus said this, remember Lot's wife? She made it out.
And angels came, took her out of the city, prophesied to her: this place is going to burn out. You got to get out of here. Don't look back. That's all we ask. Just don't look back.
And it was too much for her. And there she was turned into a pillar, a monument. of almost out.
So what did Saul do with this? Other heart that he got.
Well, he did sing. He did show that he had the capacity for God. Later Samuel is going to turn his back on Saul because of Saul's disobedience. 1 Samuel 15, and Samuel turned around to go away. Saul seized the edge of his robe and tore it.
All those signs came to pass, That day. Saul's servant is with them the whole time. Verse 14 will tell us that. Why? God is going to put a witness to these things.
Now he doesn't know all that's going on. But he's going to see Saul prophesying.
So Samuel grew And Yahweh was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 1 Samuel 3:19 is happening here in chapter 10.
Now, verse 10. Then they came there to the hill, and there was a group of prophets to meet him. Then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. That's the guys with the flutes, the harp.
Now it's a little harp. It's not the big grand I don't know, do they have baby grand harps? You know, I have a grand harp, a baby grand console harp, upright harp. I'm harping on it, I know. From the instant Saul met Samuel.
till the day of his death. He was encircled by Godly men. Again, verse 10, when they came to the hill, there was a group of prophets to meet him. Then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. These were godly men.
Always Saul could just reach out and touch a godly man. Throughout his life. And he opted out. When he couldn't get godly men to kill the priests, he got Doag the Edomite to do it. Saul gave no real evidence that he hated his sin, that he hated the flesh.
That he hated evil. Instead of warring against the flesh, Saul warred against the spirit. He did. He did just that. He didn't fight his own sin.
When God tried to grab hold of him, he fought that. And this comes out when David is singing to him, and he chucks spears at David. There's a little bit more to the story, but not much more. How do you have these schizophrenic, they would say? Flips.
In the presence of Worship music. Galatians 5:17, for the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But again Saul offered no resistance. Then the Spirit of God came upon him, it says here at the bottom of verse 10, and he prophesied among them, singing songs, praising God. But it was like iron mixed with clay.
It would not stand, it would collapse under its own weight. Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect in the flesh? You know who does the know-it-alls? to know-it-alls in the church.
They start off in the spirit. But then they think they know more than everybody else. They're smarter than everybody else. Things aren't working out for everybody else, but it's going to work for them because, after all, they're smarter than everybody else. And then they think they're going to be made perfect in the flesh.
They think that kind of attitude, God's going to somehow. Be chummy with. And it's not true. Verse 11. And it happened when all who knew him formerly saw That he indeed prophesied among the prophets, that the people said to one another, What is this?
that has come upon the son of Kish. Is Saul among the prophets?
So the people are blown away. You kidding me, this guy? They're surprised. It's out of character with his current behaviour. It appears to be a noble beginning because it is.
Ignoring Saul's ending, we just don't trust anything the guy says. It's like a guy who lies so much that his own dog won't come to him when he calls. But that's solid. And you see any flare up of Okay, maybe he's getting it. Oh, you're setting yourself up for a letdown.
It's hard to minister like that because you've got to always leave the room for God to do a miracle. When, on all likelihood, the person's never going to let God do a miracle. That person has become so in rhythm with wickedness and carnality in the flesh. that they are now irretrievable. In the New Testament, we would still have to.
Guard our hearts from hating a man like Saul. But we would also have to guard wisdom and not allow him to harm us, spiritually especially. Verse twelve. Then a man from there answered and said But who is their father? Therefore, it became a proverb: is Saul also among the prophets?
Well, you couldn't be a Levite or a priest if you just wanted to be, but a prophet, you could join the school of the prophets, so God could speak through you, and you could then become a minister of righteousness in that sense. And so one of the men of Gibe is just saying, Well, you know, the prophets, their fathers were just common people, so it's not surprising to find Saul amongst the prophets. That's fair enough. But again, wisdom is known by her children, so is righteousness. Verse 13: And when they had finished prophesying, he went to the high place.
Again, to sacrifice with the prophets, more than likely. Verse 14. Then Saul's uncle said to him and his servants, Where did you go?
So he said to look for the donkeys. And when we saw that they were nowhere to be found, we went to Samuel. And Saul's uncle said, Tell me, please, what does Samuel say to you? And I don't know if this uncle just I don't like Saul. He's a nephew I never liked.
I don't trust him. I've always catched him just with the enough crumbs around of Or if he's just a nosy uncle. Yeah, we're not told. But he's putting some heat on him. These are reasonable questions.
It would be prudent for Saul to not answer. Unless he's ready to r back it up. A guy like David could back it up. David just had the right comeback. You've come to see the fight.
David could have said, what fight? I don't see a fight. I see a bunch of men shaking in their sandals. He doesn't do that, but he just sort of disregards it. Who is this Philistine?
And everybody's like, boy, this guy is really laying it on Goliath. And it gets to Saul and Let me go forward because we got some other things about Saul on that very note, about his. fears that he had. Saul He leaves out. He's not going to tell.
Verse 16.
So Saul said to his uncle, He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found, but about the matter of the kingdom, he did not tell him what. Samuel had said.
Now, I read that as though there were no quotation marks there. I'll reread verse 16.
So Samuel said to his uncle, He told us plainly. that the donkeys had been found. End of quotes, but about the matter of the kingdom. He, that is Saul, did not tell him what Samuel said.
Well, it would have been a kind of awkward if not laughable.
Well, Uncle Joe, you know, I'm going to be king. Uncle Joe would either bust out laughing or. Have him committed somewhere.
So it's probably wise he doesn't. Remember what happened to Joseph. Yeah, I rose up above all you guys. I mean, they got him sold into slavery. Anyway, I still come away with the feeling.
That The uncle suspected Saul was hiding something 'cause he knew him. And Saul was less wise and more.
something else. I just don't have an easy feeling. If I were watching this, I'd say, I don't know.
Something doesn't seem right, knowing what I know about Saul. But if it were David, I'd be saying, yeah, David's smart. Whatever he says is right. That's kind of a, you just trust the guy. It's like having a good kid, you give them the benefit of the doubt.
And I don't give Saul much benefit of the doubt because there's just not much to give. Then, verse 17, Samuel called the people together. To Yahweh at Mizpah.
Now, this is going to be the public announcement. Mizpah was about two miles from Samuel's home. It's the gathering place. It's been a gathering place for several reasons. Israel gathered there to confess their sins.
They gathered at Mizpah, the tribes in the days of Judges, to pronounce judgment on the tribe of Benjamin for their. Sexual perversity. And their murder. And it was at Ms. Pro that decision was made.
Saul anointed king at Suf and then proclaimed it Mizpah and Here will later be crowned at Gilgal. Verse 18. And said to the children of Israel, Thus says Yahweh, God of Israel, I brought you up out of Egypt and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms of those who oppressed you. But you have today rejected your God, who himself saved you, verse 19, from all your adversities and your tribulations, and you have said to him, No, set a king over us.
Now, therefore, present yourselves before Yahweh by your tribes and by your clans. Samuel takes a moment to say, you know what? I'm going to use my pulpit to bully a little bit here, because you made the wrong choice. God in His grace is going ahead and going to work with you, but you're still wrong. And there's a part of me that doesn't like you for it.
I will pray for you and all that. But This having a king is not God's first love. and not mine too. You're wrong and I'm right. That's how I read it.
How else can you read it? Why else is he bringing it up like this? But anyway, present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes at the bottom of verse 19. The clans, their small elements of tribes. Verse 20, and when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.
Of course, the Urim and the Thurim are probably being used, as Joshua did to locate Achan the lawbreaker in his day. Samuel is doing this to single out in front of the people the man that will be king. And the first Christians They implemented a similar practice by drawing lots. to discern God's will, but discontinued it. After Pentecost, and as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.
And if you are led by the Spirit of God, you are going to experience perplexity and hard times. If you are not led by this period of God You will have the same thing, but it will be worse. such as life, and what distinguishes the Christian is how we respond to these things. We respond like Job, you know, blessed be the name of the Lord. Verse 21.
Chapter 10. When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near, their families, the family of Matri was called, and Saul, and the son of Twelve. Kish was chosen. But when they sought him, They could not find him. How different again from David But God, verse 22, therefore that they inquired of Yahweh further?
Has the man come here yet? And Yahweh answered, There is. Hidden among the equipment.
So God identifies the missing man. Saul is hiding. He knows what this is about. And he's afraid of it. He doesn't want to be spent, it appears.
In contrast to Paul, Second Corinthians chapter 12, And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls, though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved. Then I'd like a picture of Paul's heart. It would be all shredded. One side from the world, the other side from Christians. 80% in current.
What a man. I've almost given up on trying to be like even Paul. I just, you know, man, how did he do this? I know how, but how come it's not working so easily for me?
Well, it didn't work easily for him either. He bore on his body the marks of Christ. Yeah, was he afraid of failing in public, I think. There is hidden among the equipment, I like the old King James reading of this verse. Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff.
I don't want to be that guy. Where are you Christian? Are you serving the Lord? I'm hiding amongst the stuff. What stuff?
Does it matter? It's stuff. The wagons, the carts, the supplies, he's reluctant. This reluctance is born of fear, no doubt about that, and he lacks motivation. There's no fire coming out of Saul for God.
Songs, maybe, but no real. Fire. And of course, the future, what we know of him, robs him of receiving the benefit of the doubt, as said.
Some have treated this as evidence of modesty. I disagree, and so do a lot of other commentators disagree with that approach. This is not a virtuous trait. Modesty that gets in the way of service is not modesty. It's something else.
Obedience is obedience, and modesty must bow to that. How would it be? I'm just too humble to serve. And we hear this sometimes: I'm not worthy to serve. Of course, we knew that.
The cross of Christ tells you you're not worthy. But Saul always feared the wrong thing. Here, he fears his calling as king. In chapter 13 and in chapter 28, he fears the Philistine armies. He fears his own army in chapter 15.
Oh, Samuel, what will the people think of me if you don't come to eat with me? He fears Goliath in chapter 17. He fears David in chapter 18. If there's a coup in chapter twenty two, And In the end. Hearing Samuel's prophecy about death and defeat, he trembles at that too.
David is said to really have had fear twice. Once with Achish the king of Gath, when David cornered himself there because David was foolish in being over there with the Philistines and he had to act like he was crazy to get out of it. And the other one is in 2 Samuel chapter 6, where He just outright feared God. And the many psalms that he has reflects that. The contrast is stark.
Verse 23: So they ran and brought him from there. You know, you're the birthday boy. What are you doing hiding? And when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. He was tallest outwardly, But inside he was not so prominent.
It was another story. Verse 24, and Samuel said to all the people, Do you see him whom Yahweh has chosen? Pause there, and they said, Yeah. They were very excited about this. He was everything forget about that he was cowering amongst the stuff.
They dismissed all of that. All they saw was that he was head and shoulders. He is. is the guy we want. or our king.
And so do you see him who Yahweh has chosen? that there is no one like him among all the people.
So all the people shouted and said, Long live the King. The Lord again. gave them what they were looking for. But did not allow them sovereignty in the process. Verse twenty-five.
Then Samuel explained to the people the behavior of royalty, and wrote it in a book and laid it up before Yahweh. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. Monarch etiquette is what he covers here in verse twenty five, because he does not leave it to the people to make it up as they go along. Just, what a great man. Verse 26.
And Saul also went home to Gibeea, and valiant men went with him whose hearts God had touched. These are the motivated men. likely more motivated than Saul ever was. This is the story of the book of Acts. We'll find men and women just Hearts moved by God.
Valiant men went with him whose hearts God had touched, and tragically, these men would not have a king. who was responsive. And you could put a person in a pulpit and they could, you know. speak the scripture to you and really just not even care about it. You can watch preaching scenes in the movie, and the men seem to be profoundly born again and on fire for God, but they're just acting.
And then, when they finish acting, they're going to go back to being the worldling that they were before. And so these things aren't a surprise to us, and thus we need discernment. Why would we need discernment if we're so smart? Because we're not that smart. We need spiritual discernment.
We need God to help us make Things Official. Verse twenty seven But some rebels said, How can this man save us?
So they despised him, and and brought him no presents, But he held his peace.
Well, having hit already amongst equipment at this point in his life, it's probably good that he held his peace. These might have been some tough guys. It will come back to the story later. But there were those that said He's not my king. Such is life.
Let's pray. Our Father, May we take advantage of the lessons that we get from your word, as always. May it never just become an interesting discussion. May it always be real to us, to your glory. And hopefully, to the strengthening of each other and to the reaching of the loss, we ask you in Jesus' name.
Amen. Thanks for joining us for today's edition of Cross-Reference Radio. This is the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Rick is in the book of 1 Samuel. If you'd like to listen again to this or other messages or share it with someone you know, please visit crossreference radio.com.
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