Yesterday we saw some nuance, but today in one Samuel 13 through 16, there's going to be a little debate about the true character of King Saul. We'll also see David enter the scene... not because man initiates it, but because God recognizes the humility of his heart. Have I mentioned Scripture has a lot to say that applies to our lives and our parenting?! Just in case you need to hear it one more time, these chapters show it!

Today's Reading: 1 Samuel 13-16

Scripture Read or Referenced:

Acts 13:21

1 Samuel 13:10, 13-14

1 Samuel 14:24, 28, 35, 45

1 Samuel 15: 1,2, 8-11, 13-14, 22, 26-28

1 Samuel 16:1, 6-14, 18, 23

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Commentaries Most Referenced: Moody Commentary, MacArthur Commentary

Welcome to The Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries.

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I'm Stephanie Hickox.

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Yesterday we saw some nuance, but

today in one Samuel 13 through 16,

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there's going to be a little debate

about the true character of Kings Saul.

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chapter 13, Begins with some

dating about Saul's reign.

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It's a little confusing, but

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To clarify that Saul reigned 40 years

over Israel, it seems it didn't take

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long for him to begin ruling without

listening and obeying the Lord.

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It reminds me of Adam and Eve's

quick decline in the garden.

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, Speaker 19: In

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Steph: chapter 13, The Philistines are

gathered to fight against Israel again.

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They were excellent with working with

iron, and have a ton of iron chariots.

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they carefully kept this skill

close to the chest so their enemies

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wouldn't be able to replicate it.

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Their iron weapons are stronger

than Israel's bronze ones,

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and Saul is intimidated.

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He is supposed to wait for Samuel to

come and sacrifice the burnt offerings

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before the battle, but after a week,

he gets impatient and does it himself,

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and as soon as he does so Samuel shows up.

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This is no small mistake, as Samuel

tells him, you have done foolishly, you

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have not kept the command of the Lord

your God with which he commanded you

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for, then the Lord would've established

your kingdom over Israel forever.

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But now your kingdom shall not continue.

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The Lord has sought out a man after his

own heart, and the Lord has commanded him

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to be prince over his people because you

have not kept what the Lord commanded you.

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Next, Jonathan, the son of Saul

with his armor bear, has gone to

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defeat some of the Philistines.

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Saul doesn't realize he's gone and

he's away from camp when Saul makes

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a rash oath saying, cursed be the man

who eats food before it is evening,

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and I am avenged on my enemies.

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So none of the people eats.

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If there's anything a mom knows, you've

gotta set your kids up for success.

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If you send them off to do

anything when they're starving,

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it's not going to go well.

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How much more for men who are going

into battle, Jonathan returns and

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seeing some honeycomb eats it.

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He's like, come on, you guys.

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This really helped me.

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But they say no.

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Your father said we'd be cursed if we ate.

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He tells them my dad had a bad idea, and

we'd win by a lot more if he let you eat.

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But even in the midst of Saul's

sin, the Lord is gracious to Israel.

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He sets the Philistines strong

iron weapons into confusion so that

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many actually defeat each other.

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The Israelites are

ravenous after the battle.

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So much so that they take up the

spoil, slaughtering animals and

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eating them in their own blood.

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We know from Leviticus that

they were not to do so.

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Saul's foolishness actually led

his people into sin, but then

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he builds an altar to the Lord.

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It's debatable what his real motives

are, but upon inquiring of the Lord.

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God doesn't answer.

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Saul concludes one of

you must have sinned.

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And it comes to light that it was his son,

Jonathan, And reminiscent of Jeff the

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in the book of judges with the horrible

vow he made regarding his daughter.

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Saul says, I guess Jonathan,

you're gonna have to die.

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but the people will have nothing of it.

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And in 1545 they say, shall Jonathan die?

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Who has worked this great

salvation in Israel?

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Far from it.

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As the Lord lives, there shall not one

hair of his head fall to the ground

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for he has worked with God this day.

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So the people ransom to

Jonathan so that he did not die.

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In chapter 15, Samuel tells Saul that

the Lord has determined to devote

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the Amalekites to destruction for

the way they treated the Israelites

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as they were leaving Egypt.

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Hospitality is so important to our God.

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The Amalekites, were an evil people

and God commanded that every living

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thing, human and animal be destroyed.

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In verse eight, Saul takes

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Speaker 19: egg,

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Steph: egg, the king of the Amalekites,

alive and devoted to destruction all

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the people with the edge of the sword.

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But Saul and the people spared

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Speaker 19: egg,

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Steph: egg.

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And the best of the sheep and the

oxen and of the fat and calves and

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the lambs and all that was good

and would not utterly destroy them.

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All that was despised and worthless.

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They devoted to destruction.

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Unfortunately, everything that

looked good to the eyes, he kept The

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word of the Lord comes to Samuel.

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I regret that I have made Saul King for

he has turned back from following me

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and has not performed my commandments.

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And Samuel was angry and

cried to the Lord all night.

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God's regret doesn't mean that

he didn't know what would happen.

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It means that he will stop giving

Saul favor to rule over the people.

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Samuel goes to Saul, and shockingly Saul

says to him, blessed be you to the Lord.

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I have performed the

commandment of the Lord.

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The word command relates to the

voice of the Lord and the word Shama

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that we studied in Deuteronomy,

meaning to listen and obey.

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So it's perfectly fitting.

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When Samuel issues a word play, as

he says, what then is this bleeding

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of the sheep in my ears and the

lowing of the oxen that I hear?

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Samuel attempts to defend himself

saying they were all for a sacrifice,

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but Samuel silences him.

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Saying, has the Lord as great delight

in burnt offerings and sacrifices

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as in obeying the voice of the Lord.

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Behold to obey is better than sacrifice

and to listen than the fat of Rams.

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Saul admits his sinfulness

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and begs that Samuel will return with him.

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He's afraid for the people to

realize that he has lost the Lord.

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And Samuel's.

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Favor.

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But Samuel denies him saying, the

Lord has rejected you and so do I.

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As he turns to go away, Saul seizes

the skirt of his robe and it tears, and

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Samuel takes the opportunity to tell him

the Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel

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from you this day and has given it to a

neighbor of yours who is better than you.

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And finally, Sal says, return with me

that I may bow before the Lord your God.

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After all this, Saul doesn't

call him the Lord, my God.

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and that's perhaps the most

revealing line we read.

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We have walked through a lot of scripture

so far together, about 300 chapters.

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Is there any doubt in your mind that

God cares about obedience at this point?

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He does want it to come from a love of

him, but he certainly cares that we obey

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and godly parents help their kids do this.

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I know how countercultural that

is right now, but the time tested

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truth of God's word reminds us

over and over that this matters.

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So it's no wonder that the

Lord chooses another king.

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He won't reign immediately, but

he has promised the kingship.

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In 16, one, the Lord said to

Samuel, how long will you grieve

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over Saul since I have rejected

him from being king over Israel?

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Fill your horn with oil and go.

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I will send you to Jesse the

Bethlehemite for I have provided

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for myself a king among his sons.

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And in verse six, when

they came, he looked on.

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A lie up and thought, surely the Lord's

anointed is before him, but the Lord

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said to Samuel, do not look on his

appearance or on the height of his

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stature because I have rejected him.

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For the Lord sees not as man sees.

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Man looks on the outward appearance,

but the Lord looks on the heart.

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Then Jesse called a beda and made

him pass before Samuel and he said,

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neither has the Lord chosen this one.

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Then Jesse made

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Shama passed by and he said, neither

has the Lord chosen this one.

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And Jesse made seven of his sons

pass before Samuel and Samuel said to

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Jesse, the Lord has not chosen these.

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Then Samuel said to Jesse,

Are all your sons here?

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And he said, there remains

yet the youngest, but behold,

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he's keeping the sheep.

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And Samuel said to Jesse, send and get him

for, we will not sit down till he comes

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here and he scent and brought him in.

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Now he was ruddy and had

beautiful eyes and was handsome,

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and the Lord said, arise.

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Anoint him for this is he.

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Then Samuel took the horn of oil

and anointed him in the midst of

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his brothers, and the spirit of the

Lord rushed upon David from that day

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forward, now the spirit of the Lord

departed from Saul and a harmful

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spirit from the Lord tormented him.

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One of Saul's servants recommends

that he have music played for him.

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They say we know a son of Jesse,

who is skillful in playing a

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man of valor, a man of war,

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Speaker 16: prudent in speech,

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Steph: And a man of good presence,

and the Lord is with him.

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And David comes, the chapter

concludes Whenever the harmful spirit

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from God was upon Saul, David took

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Speaker 19: the liar.

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Steph: And played it with his hand.

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So Saul was refreshed and was well, and

the harmful spirit departed from him.

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I've always been told that if I ever sense

spiritual warfare, I should play and sing

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worship music, and I'm wondering if this

is the biblical basis for the fact that

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the enemy hates the praise of the Lord.

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In any case, I know the Lord loves

it, and it's always helped me

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contend for peace in those moments.

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The Lord is looking for a

man after his own heart.

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King David will not be a perfect servant

of the Lord, but the trajectory of his

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life will be a humble pursuit of God.

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Every time I read this, I'm shocked

that his father doesn't even bring

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him in from the fields to appear.

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David was completely

dismissed by his family.

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Not only at that moment, but even as he's

anointed king, he's still sent out to

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Speaker 19: work the fields and

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Steph: be a shepherd.

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God used all of this for his good, but

I'm amazed that even Saul servants are

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aware of the character and skill of David.

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Did this happen after the spirit of

the Lord came upon him, or did he have

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an amazing reputation before that?

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If you've ever felt dismissed by

your family or by those closest to

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you, you know how painful it is.

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But we can tell from David's life

that being rejected, dismissed, or

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overlooked by man has no indication

of your worth before the Lord.

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May we be godly parents that see

the hope and the potential of

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what God wants to do in our kids.

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Let's pray.

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Heavenly Father, we're reminded

today how important obedience is

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to you, that you are honored and

delighted when we take steps to follow

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you especially when it comes from a

deep love and desire to please you.

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We pray we would be quick to follow after

you setting that example for our kids.

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Guide us to be faithful to

require obedience of them in the

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small things so they're ready

to obey you in the big things.

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May we train them to be respectful of

authority because it matters to you,

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and I pray we would live lives of

worship because you deserve all the

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glory and that's where the victory is.

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When we've been overlooked and rejected,

heal the lies and help us to believe

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that your plans to glorify yourself.

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Include us.

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We love you, Jesus, and

we lift your name high.

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Amen.