Warnings of Saul's Sins

I wanted to enumerate in writing some of the real lessons for our lives from the life of King Saul. We had little time on Sunday (June 6, 2010) to get in to the comparisons of Daul and David and the consequences for their sins. Here are some of my thoughts.




Here is the text and then my thoughts



1 Samuel 13:7-14

Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear. He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul's men began to scatter. So he said, "Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings." And Saul offered up the burnt offering. Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him. "What have you done?" asked Samuel. Saul replied, "When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash, I thought, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD's favor.' So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering." "You acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD's command." read all 1 Samuel 13

Warning 1: Sin Has Temporal Consequences

Saul's sin of sacrificing the burnt offering impulsively cost him the legacy of his throne. He would go on to have a long reign of forty years, but no descendant would inherit his throne. We talked on Sunday about those who wish to use this text to insinuate that one can truly have salvation and then have it taken away because of their arrogant sin. That sort of interpretive work is sloppy and undistinguishing. Can we not see the obvious, that God removed his kingdom, not his salvation? To parablize this or any narrative is certainly creative, but not making distinctions that are clear as day. For when King David after Saul sins in more heinous ways than Saul, he repents of his adultery and murder in Psalm 51. He prays "so not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. " (v11) David had witnessed firt-hand the temporal consequences of Saul's sin. How God had taken His Spirit away from Saul and Saul was no longer gifted to administer well like he was while under the Spirit's enabling. David did not want to experience the same removal of God's enabling power in his kingly activity. Can we say the same? God will not remove His salvation, but can we lose His divine enablement? Can we lose our witness due to our sin? Can we lose the ability to shape and impact this world for His kingdom's sake? I believe the answers to all these questions is yes. We can be so stubborn through our continued or high-handed sin that God divests us of His support in our ministry endeavors or in our secular endeavors. He has not removed our salvation, but our ministry. He has removed our lampstand since we have blown out our lamps.



Warning 2: Restoration is Conditional Based on One's Response to His Sin

There is hope for the believer in Saul's predicament: repent. Turn again your attention and affection back to Jesus, our Lord and Savior. He will again soften that hardened and stubborn heart. He can again reuse that pot that He has reshaped. It may be a different gift than the one you once had. It may be in a different geographic area or in a different ministry area. It may be to a different culture or to a different denomination. God is looking for a man after His own heart, for a person who is pliable, moldable, teachable, humble, who is quick to come to Him, quick to hear from Him, quick to say yes, quick to repent from sin when he has failed. This is what set David apart from Saul. We will see this more clearly in Morning Worship on Sunday, June 13.


Anyway, hope that helps to deepen your understanding of Saul's sin and the consequences thereof. May God bless you as you walk this life with Him!