All of us who are believers, we are still children. We're children of the Lord. What are we going to do with what God has said? You know, that's what God said to Moses when He was raising up Moses to go deliver the Jews from Egypt there on Mount Sinai. And he says to him, What's that in your hand, Moses?
What do you got? God was going to take what Moses held in his hand to show Moses that he could do a lot of things with that which he held, turned it into a serpent right before his eyes. God is still saying to Believers, what's that in your hand? 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. But for now, let's join Pastor Rick in the book of 1 Samuel chapter 13 as he begins a brand new study called Godless Rhythm. We are in Samuel, first Samuel chapter thirteen. The word of God, a lamp unto our feet.
to help men and women and children not to be as foolish as we otherwise would be without God's Word. We humans, we sinners, Are paying attention and listening. His message is entitled Godless Rhythm. And to have a godless rhythm is a life that is not. at peace with God.
Regardless of what it may tell itself, the person can say they have peace with God, but if they are again Going against the word of God, they're not lining up with the will of God, then that's a bogus piece. You can tell yourself anything.
Well, what what does God say? And there is enough of the Bible that is very understandable, enough for us to come away with. This peace that he offers in the presence of a world that can often be very. Very much violent. But A heart out of rhythm is a serious condition.
Anything out of rhythm is not working well if your car's timing is not right. It's spitting and it's making all these noises and it's hurting itself. It won't run the right way. Rhythm is a strong and a regular repeated pattern of movement. My heart is supposed to have this with God.
And even though my life may not match it, my heart, my understanding, my will, who I am, I get it with you, Lord. I know what you want. Can't get there all the time, but I know, and that's the rhythm God is looking for. And Saul, King Saul, If he ever had any rhythm with God, it was short-lived. And we are already just no more than two years into his monarchy, and we find him.
Up to no good, up to his stunts, and And as you look at the life of Saul, you say to yourself, well, if you stick around long enough, you're going to meet people like Saul. Why a Jewish Why would a Jewish family name a son after this king is beyond me? You might as well, you know, name your child. The devil, I uh it's almost that bad. A terrible character in Scripture, but so many lessons come from his life.
And the only rhythm we find, the only harmony is with his own self. In God's name, I should add that. He had a rhythm that was his own, but he used God's name. to cover it. No interest in being in cadence with God.
Neither in his the way he moved about life, the way he thought. For the way he behaved he was an ungodly man. And this Lack of rhythm. This godless rhythm It caused him to be a a guy. who messed up everything.
Everything he touched, it wasn't the midas touch, it was the salt touch, it would sour, it would die. No problem blaming others for his wrong. No intention of being corrected by a man or God. Or he might say it. He wouldn't do it.
No desire to change. It's like he was satisfied with himself. No room for improvement with this character. In fact, when Saul was at home, everybody was happy. I don't want to be this kind of person.
The flesh is personified. In this man, and it is perfected unto the end, in the result of his own self-destruction. His death was disuntimely. It was not heroic, it was shameful. You think of characters such as Samson and Solomon.
They were saved. and I believe you'll see both of them in heaven. But they wasted so much opportunity, so much was handed to them. He's talking with one of the pastors briefly and just said, you know, some people grow up so nicely, just have such a nice upbringing, they don't know what they're missing. They don't know what really bad means.
I didn't say it in these words. We'd like to, what if we took you to some place like Laos or Cambodia and just stuck you there and said, yeah, grow up here now. You'd appreciate what you have. You wish you saw this in Samson and Solomon. You wish there was more appreciation for what they had.
Saul He was a waste. I don't know that he was saved. Samson, a mighty man, who fell to self-will. his sins.
Solomon, a wealthy man, fell to the self will. Saul was an ideal man. Head and shoulders above everybody else. Who could say, who could deny that this was the man that could lead the nation? And yet his self will consumed him.
What would these three men have been if they just trusted God more? Of the three again, Saul is the worst. Each one had a magnificent beginning.
Well look what they did with it. And I read this and I say to myself, okay, what God has given me, what am I doing with it? I can tell you some of the things I'm doing with it.
sometimes I'm not satisfied. I don't Not that he hasn't given me more than I deserve, but I still want more. The flesh is messed up that way.
So it takes steps to intercept that kind of thinking so it doesn't get out of control. And so with that. Overview of this man. Let's look now at verse 1. Saul reigned one year.
When he had reigned two years over Israel, we pause there. There's some difficulty concerning this opening sentence.
Some words appear to be missing when Saul reigned. How many years? One is really not. Accurate. It really doesn't throw anything off except the chronology.
The Hebrew closer to it, literally, Saul was years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years over Israel. He's probably in his forties. We could say that because his son Jonathan is leading a battalion of men. In this chapter, we come to his leaders.
So some time has passed since. Saul had been Coronated king or crowned king, and then delivered the Jews from. The attackers that wanted to take their eyes out.
Some time has passed. Verse 2. Saul chose for himself 3,000 men of Israel. 2,000 were with Saul at Mikmash. And in the mountains of Bethel, And a thousand were with Jonathan and Gibeah of Benjamin the rest of the people he sent away every man to his tent.
Verse two, he now has, what we just read, a standing army of about three thousand men. By today's standard, this is a regiment, an infantry regiment, is not very many. It's a small Not it's not considered an army or a division. But for the Jews, this was their first real standing army. These men would be trained, there would be.
Captains of tens and twenties, and etc., whatever, whatever, however they broke it down. Saul kept two-thirds of these men with him, and the other third. He gave to his son to oversee, as quite a responsibility. Getting a little bit ahead of myself, but can't fight the urge, Jonathan, Saul's son. Is a heroic man, which just tells us you can be born, you can be the son of a fool, and you can still be a hero.
But go the other way too. It always comes down to the individual. There's no getting away from this. This is why there is a throne of judgment in which each individual stands, why there's a beam seat for the Christian. We have some say so.
in things that are about our lives. There are some things we don't.
Well, anyway, Jonathan is old enough to command a battalion. It says the rest of the people he sent away every man to his tent.
So that would be the reserve forces, the militia. They went back to farming. They weren't part of the regular army, but these 3,000, they remained away from their families. and form this This military, which this chapter is going to expose, not very, these guys were not very courageous. It doesn't say they were mighty men.
Verse 3 And Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Giba. And the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let The Hebrews here.
Well, this Jonathan is an aggressive commander. And he begins an uprising. He just couldn't he couldn't help himself. that these Philistines don't belong here among us. They have taken from us the ability to fashion weapons and protect ourselves.
Here we are armed with clubs and slings and arrows, but really no swords. And it just it just irked him.
So he gets an army. And he's he's likely training these men, and so much is left out. And then he goes ahead and he launches. As an attack on the Philistine garrison. The garrison is there to keep the Jews in line.
Lesson again. You may be the son of a fool, but that does not mean that you will be a fool. You got to say so. You have a say-so in this matter. Or you can just be the fool too.
You may be the son of wise parents. But that doesn't mean you're going to be wise. Gotta do your part. These kinds of things, they either scare you into doing the right thing, they bounce off of you and you do nothing. Or Or what?
Fill in the blanks. All of us who are believers, we are still children. We're children of the Lord. What are we going to do with what God has given us? You know, that's what God said to Moses when He was raising up Moses to go deliver the Jews from Egypt there on Mount Sinai.
And he says to him, What's that in your hand, Moses? What do you got? God was going to take what Moses held in his hand to show Moses that he could do a lot of things with that which he held, turned it into a serpent right before his eyes. God is still saying to believers, What's that in your hand? It says here in verse 3, and the Philistines heard of it.
Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear.
So Jonathan sets into motion Israel's deliverance from the Philistines while Saul Toots His Horn. That's the picture, is it not? Look again at the bottom of verse 3. And the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear.
Yeah, but Jonathan is the one doing the stuff. He's the man of action. And he loves the Lord. And I feel defensive of these characters when some Bible commentators gang up on the wrong guy, some gang up on Jonathan, said that he should have sided with David, went off with David would never never would have worked. He would always have been the man that is heir to the first throne, and it just would not have happened.
But we'll get that much later. Verse 4 now.
Now all Israel heard it and said that Saul had attacked the 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, Hmm.
So they're leaving Giba and I've already forgotten a few verses up where the garrison of Saul was. Mikmash. How could you forget Mikmash? McMash, I was taking a bath late on a Saturday night. Oh, that's not Mi'Mash, a splish-splash.
But anyway, back to this. Yeah, I know I should cut a C D or but I'm not going to sign a contract. Where was I? Oh, okay.
So all Israel heard it and said, Saul had attacked the garrison. No, he did not. It's so typical. The report went out, and who's the headline on the marquee? Saul.
And when the credits come up, it's just Saul. There's no supporting caste. Saul, that's his press release. Saul has attacked the garrison. He was nowhere near it.
And it says in that Israel had also become an abomination to the Philistines. You know, when you meet a guy like this in real life, they get away with so much, and you just you know, when is this guy gonna when are people gonna see through this punk? When are they going to see that this guy is not what he is? And you gotta suffer them. Maybe some day you work in a company and the the kid The the owner's kid gets to be the boss and he's a complete mm just Incompetent.
And he's like, you know what, I'm just going to quit the job. I can't I can't take the guy anymore. Why can't anybody else see it? That's what Saul was. And I think Samuel saw it, and all he could do was say, Lord, Why?
Anyway, Israel had become an abomination to the Philistines, odious, I think it says in the Old King James. They have a way with words there. Uh They this was an enormous Group of people, these Philistines. They were really tough customers. They were not.
Pushovers. And they again had iron weapons versus the wooden weapons of the Jews. And the people were called together to Saul at Gilgal. We've covered Gilgal, its importance to the people several times. it would take several days for the militia to gather to Gilgal.
And the bus drivers were still learning their routes, and so they'd make a wrong turn. It would take time, you'd get everybody there. Same with the Philistines, to put men on the field. I mean, to arm them, to feed them, supply them.
So there's this time here moving on, and this is part of the story. Because Samuel He's in Rama. 15 miles away. But he doesn't get to Gilgal right away. And that enters the story, verse 5.
Then the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen. And people, and as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up. and encamped in Mi'kmash. to the east of Beth Aven.
Well What we have here is the ability to communicate. Everybody is rallied. The chariots, the cavalry, the infantry, the archers, all with the latest weapons, and the Jews, there they are, a bunch of farmers, the militia. with their clubs and pitchforks, And this doesn't seem like it's going to be a good fight. For the Jews.
But they g they rally anyway. Verse 6. When the men of Israel saw that they were in danger, for the people were distressed, then the people hid in caves and thickets and rocks and holes and in pits. They saw the Philistines with their helmets on and their shiny buckles and everything. and they ran for their lives.
to hide wherever they could. This is going to include Solves.
Some of his two thousand. Doesn't appear anybody from Jonathan left. Why? Because Jonathan's leadership was such that it invited men to be men. To follow him.
Whereas Saul did ha Saul had none of that. David took it to a whole nother level. But Again, we'll get to that as we move through the Samuels. And then the people in hidden caves and thickets. We all know what it's like to be terrorized.
To suffer dismay. Here's a picture of it.
So, how could this help a Christian?
Well, for me, I redecid, I don't want to be one of these guys. I mean, I don't want to be hacked to pieces on the battlefield either. But I don't want to hide in caves and thickets and rocks and holes and pits. and we'll see that many of these men are the deserters. Of the 2,000, Saul will end up with 600.
What happened to them? They didn't die on the battlefield. No, they ran away.
Some crossed the Jordan. into Gilead. became refugees. Fleeing. The enemy.
And their fear becomes a taunt in the next chapter. The Philistines will taunt. Jonathan and Islam and Barrett, oh, you've come out. Look, the Jews have come out of their caves. And they wish Jonathan's going to lay a beat down on them, they'll never, well, they won't live to remember.
So, anyway, God will turn that taunt in the 14th chapter into a victory. Verse 7 now. 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.
Yeah. This is not an army of sheep led by a lion. This army of sheep led by a fool. And Again, I don't want to be this person. Even in make-believe.
I don't want to, you know, if someone says, hey, we've got a part for you in the play, would you mind playing Saul? You're handsome. No, I would not like to play Saul. I just can't get into that character. But anyway.
Here, some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan, many again fleeing for their lives, and Saul was still at Gilgal waiting for Samuel. This protocol was established earlier, even though the details aren't given to us, they're obvious. And all the people followed him trembling. Symbolic. of the type of leader That Saul was and was not.
Instead of again inspiring courage, He drains it. What kind of leader is that? Just sucks the life out of the followers. There are too many men like that. Too many of them are like that.
And yet, people see him still, he's the king, he knows what he's doing.
Well the ones that fled didn't see it that way. But terror terror characterized his reign. Whereas God and victory characterized David's. Rain. David got to the point where he said, I'm just not going to go to the battlefield anymore.
And of course he got in trouble when he did that. But that is the stark differences of the two kingdoms. Lesson. You can be a drain on your environment and those around you, or you can be a generator. Which will it be?
You can walk into the room and just suck the life out of it, or you can just bring it in with you. David brought it in with him. When he had nothing to do, he wrote a psalm. What to do? Oh, the Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want. And it becomes a hit.
So the lessons again abounding from the life of this man. I guess we should, you know, kind of shake his hand. Thanks, Saul. We wouldn't really know what dumb was, had it not been for you. That wouldn't be that wouldn't go over if the Lord were there.
You'd not want to do it that way. Just kinda anyway, verse eight. Then he waited seven days according to the time. Set by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattered from him.
So There are those good Bible teachers out there that believe this goes back to chapter 10. When Samuel tells Saul, go to Gilgal and wait for me there. But that's two years ago. I don't think so. I think those are independent events.
And my position is And I don't believe I'm alone. But it was a general gathering of the nation at Gilgal for war, and they knew the protocol laid down by Samson, likely since Saul tooted his horn in verse three, counting from that day forward. was the seven-day mark. And um Because it would take time. It would take just weeks, days for everybody to get to Gilgal ready for war.
Continuing in verse 8, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattered from him.
Well, the troops were losing confidence in Saul, so they were deserting. Increasingly so is the is the feel of how it reads, And uh they observed Saul's apprehensions. And said, you know, we're better off without him. Samuel's delay did not make Samuel late. It was a delay.
And we get to the New Testament, of course, we see Jesus use this to... Extract faith of those that were there to witness what he was doing. It Was Samuel's prerogative as spiritual leader to be waited on, not in the sense of a servant waiting on him. But he's the leader. And if he decides I'm going to be late, the people subjected themselves to that because it was worth it, and it was worth it because it was in their interest.
Go back and, well, I'll just read first Samuel chapter nine. This is when. Saul Or and his Servant looking for Saul's father's donkeys, you know, they came to the people, and we hear there's a man of God here, and this is what they say: As soon as you come into the city, you will surely find him before he goes up to the high place to eat, for the people will not eat until he comes. Because he must bless the sacrifice. And then he goes on: Afterward, those who are invited will eat.
He has to bust the troops. Nobody's to move, to wait for Samuel. This was not something that was foreign to anyone. They understood this was the protocol. But Saul Saul didn't like it.
It pressed on his flesh to the point of rebellion. Saul was about Saul. He was now king. And if Samuel couldn't get there on time, he'd just have to take things, matters into his own hands, and that is precisely what he did. And the Holy Spirit says, class, I want you to watch and learn.
This is not how to trust God. You must adhere to the protocols. The scriptures, the commandments, the statutes, the ordinances. And God was using this moment to expose Saul for who he was. A man out of rhythm with God.
Because he didn't want to be. Wasn't lacking something. The innately so. Guess we could say, let me say it a different way. If he was lacking anything, it was his own fault.
which he would never admit. God is giving Saul every chance to trust God. If he's going to be successful as the king of the people of God, then he's going to have to work in rhythm with God. Uh 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.
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