A King Oblivious to God's Own Heart: The Failure of King Saul--Life of David Series

            Have you ever gotten yourself in a big mess because you failed to carefully follow some instructions that were given to you? Maybe your doctor gave you some restrictions after a surgery but you didn’t think they were that big a deal, and you wound up hurting yourself. Maybe you tried something new and thought “How hard can it be?”—so you ignored the advice of experts and created a big problem because of it.

            If you ignore the instructions of another human being, your choice may not be that big of a deal. But if you ignore the clear instructions of God, your rebellion—yes, rebellion!—reveals the presence of a very serious problem in your heart.

            So it was with the very first king of Israel in the Old Testament, King Saul. The children of Israel had wandered away from God’s own heart for them back in 1 Samuel 8 when they demanded a king for themselves. The king they received was a perfect fit because he turned out to be just like them!

            King Saul was blessed by God in various ways, and he had some good moments because of that. But ultimately, his desire to obey God turned out to be half-hearted. When his own mind decided that a different path looked better than the road laid out by God’s commands, he didn’t hesitate to go his own way.

            We first see some rust appearing on the King’s crown in 1 Samuel 13 when Saul downplayed the importance of receiving divine guidance from the Prophet Samuel. Then, in chapter 14, he nearly killed his own son in a silly display of stubbornness.

            Here in 1 Samuel 15 today, we’ll read about the last straw that led God to declare his rejection of Saul’s kingship. What was it that sealed the demise of Saul’s reign? As we will see, it was the presumption to think that he knew better than God.

A Clear Command (vv. 1-3)

            This saga of Saul’s sin begins with a clear command from God to the King in verses 1-3 – a command that left little doubt about what God wanted to see accomplished [READ vv. 1-3].

            Now this command sounds rather harsh, and on one level, it is. Not “harsh” in an angry, sinful sort of way, but harsh in its decisiveness and comprehensiveness and finality. Saul was to leave no Amalekites alive and was to destroy all of their possessions.

            We could spend a fair amount of time talking about this command and how it relates to God’s goodness and love, but for today, let me simply make one observation. Notice that God gave this command in reference to what the Amalekites did to the Israelites as the children of Israel were coming out of Egypt. And what exactly did they do? As the Israelites traveled, the Amalekites attacked their rear and killed the stragglers who were lagging behind the rest of the group. Undoubtedly, this included the elderly, the sick, and women and children.

            That event was 400 years prior to what we are reading about in 1 Samuel 15. Apparently, in God’s eyes, the Amalekites deserved punishment all the way back then. But God chose to withhold their just desserts for 400 years, presumably to give them time to change their ways. Surely that is a sign of God’s love and goodness mingled together with his justice and holy wrath.

            We could say more about this, but for now just note the clarity of the command that was given to Saul, because what we will discover is only partial obedience to the word of the Lord.

Partial Obedience (vv. 4-9)

            [READ vv. 4-9] At this point in the story, we are only told what Saul and the people did – we are not yet given any explanation for why they chose to do it. It is clear, however, that they did not carry out the Lord’s command precisely as he had given it to them. Something convinced them that they had a better idea than what God had laid out for them, and if that seems like a small thing, let’s go on to see the Lord’s reaction to all of this.

Differing Evaluations of Saul’s Actions (vv. 10-12)

            [READ vv. 10-11] We’re not told precisely whom Samuel was angry with. Was he angry with Saul for the King’s disobedience? Probably. Was he angry with the people for insisting on a king in the first place? Perhaps.

            But while the Lord and Samuel were grieving, Saul was doing something much different [READ v. 12]. What irony! While Samuel probably wanted to forget this moment, Saul was setting up a monument to ensure that it would always be remembered!

            Here we see again the blinding effects of sin. We saw it last week in 1 Samuel 8 when the people of Israel refused to heed God’s warning about their demand for a king, and now here it is again. Saul was celebrating the very act that grieved God’s heart. A monument was going up at the same time that Saul’s reign as king was on its way down.

The Buck Stops There! (vv. 13-21)

            When Samuel finally catches up with Saul, he must confront him about his sin. Notice how Saul consistently tries to pass the blame for his actions on to the people of Israel [READ vv. 13-21].

            Ah, blame-shifting! It’s a time-honored tradition among mankind; one of our favorite pastimes, even. It started back in the Garden of Eden when Adam said, “Lord, the woman YOU gave to be with me brought me some fruit, and I ate it!” Well, passing the buck didn’t work for Adam, and it’s not going to work for Saul, either.

            Perhaps the people with Saul did have the first thought to spare the best of the spoil, but as Samuel reminded Saul, he was the king! He was the boss, so even if it wasn’t his idea in the first place, he had the authority to put a stop to it.

            But he didn’t, and perhaps that’s because he sincerely believed that sacrificing these animals to God would be better than simply killing them. That sounds so pious and holy, doesn’t it? But remember, that was not what the Lord requested, so however Saul’s decision may have looked on the surface, at its root was a poisonous and sinister thought – namely, the thought that I know better than God; the thought that says, “Yes, I know what God said, but I know what would be more appropriate for this situation.”

            That thought may come to us with the godliest appearance imaginable, but behind its mask is none other than the Devil himself. It’s just another form of the same old temptation that Satan set before Adam and Eve by telling them that they could be like God, knowing what is good and what is evil. Isn’t that what Saul did? He presumed to know what was truly best in that situation, even though his decision violated the clear command of God.

God’s Verdict on Rebellion (vv. 22-23)

            That’s why we find this verdict against Saul, and against every moment in which we may presume to know better than God. Notice this clarification from Samuel in v. 22 [READ v. 22].

            Now since we’re beginning to study the life of King David, I want to point out that David understood this truth, and more than any other reason, this may be why David is called a man after God’s own heart. For all of his failures, he always understood with the Lord truly desired from him.

            In Psalm 51, which David wrote after he confessed his sin with Bathsheba, he wrote this in verses 16-17: “For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

            God certainly did command the children of Israel to offer sacrifices for their sins, but they were always intended to be expressions of the heart, never a substitute for the heart. Whenever you go through some kind of ritual, there is always the danger that you can do it without having your heart really in it.

            We face the very same danger today with all of our external expressions of our faith in Christ. We can sing hymns without our hearts being truly engaged; we can give an offering – even a large offering – without our gift really being sincere. You may have every Sunday bulletin from your church going back 30 years, but God is not impressed if your heart is not devoted to him.

            When you go through a ritual, you’re always offering something that is outside of you. But when you obey with sincerity, you're offering your mind, that it might be conformed to the way God thinks; you're offering your will, that it might be shaped to do the works of God; you're offering your heart, that your affections might be stirred by the things that God loves. God created you to be his very image, and obedience brings you ever closer to displaying that image in full.

            And why is obedience better than sacrifice? Why is it better than any ritual we might carry out? Well, notice the Lord’s opinion of disobedience as it’s expressed in verse 23 [READ v. 23a]. Divination is the attempt to receive guidance from evil spirits. That could be through witchcraft, sorcery, séances, or even Ouija boards or tarot cards.

            Now we hear that and we think, “Wow! I would never do something like that!” But notice the stark reality that this statement establishes. In one category, we have obedience to God’s commands. In another category, we have – everything else! If I don’t follow God’s commands, then on this level it really makes no difference whether I’m just following my own ideas or whether I’m trying to make contact with demons! The reality is the same – I have turned from God’s commands and thus I have committed rebellion.

            We see the idea of the same categories in the next part of the verse [READ v. 23b]. If I presume to know better than God does, then I have placed something above him in my estimation and thus I’ve committed idolatry. Once again, on this level it doesn’t matter what I exalt above the word of the Lord – whether it’s my own thoughts or thoughts that are coming from some other source.

            This is why it’s so serious to think that we know better than God on any matter. Remember – King Saul’s actions looked so holy and noble, didn’t they? He said he was going to offer sacrifices to the Lord! But his actions came from a heart that brazenly declared that it was a better judge of right and wrong than the word of God. And so, we find this declaration against King Saul at the end of verse 23 [READ v. 23c].

            Saul’s failure opened the door for someone else to become King – someone who was not from Saul’s own bloodline. In the very next chapter, David will be anointed the next king of Israel, though he will still have to wait a number of years before that becomes a reality.

            In the meantime, he would continue to learn what God truly desires from us, and it is a lesson that we must also learn well. What God desires from you is not rituals, but respect; not your wallet, but your will; not your minutes; but your mind.

            Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams! Let us never be so presumptuous as to think that we know better what we should do than God does. May humble obedience mark us at all times as we trust that God’s ways are always right and true.