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1 Samuel 15. We spent several 
weeks in this particular passage. You'll recall in the first section 
we dealt with an ethical challenge, specifically verses 1 to 9, God's 
commandment to Israel, specifically to Saul, to go and to utterly 
destroy the Amalekites. We noted that sometimes people 
have a problem with that particular passage, both inside the church 
and outside the church. And we sought to give some advice 
or encouragement on how to deal with that ethical challenge. 
Then we dealt with a theological challenge, because in the passage 
in 1 Samuel 15 at verse 11, and then again at verse 35, it says 
that God relented or regretted that he had made Saul king over 
Israel. And in verse 29, it says, the 
strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. for he is not a man 
that he should relent." So we dealt with the doctrine of divine 
impassibility as a theological challenge, or sometimes people 
look at this passage and they have a problem, and I think the 
doctrine of divine impassibility solves that particular problem. 
Then last week, we returned to the exposition. We'll finish 
it up this evening. Specifically, we'll be dealing 
with verses 24 to 35, but I do want to read beginning in verse 
1. Samuel also said to Saul, the Lord sent me to anoint you 
king over his people, over Israel. Now therefore heed the voice 
of the words of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, 
I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed 
him on the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and attack 
Amalek and utterly destroy all that they have and do not spare 
them. but kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox 
and sheep, camel and donkey. So Saul gathered the people together 
and numbered them in Telam, 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men 
of Judah. And Saul came to a city of Amalek 
and lay in wait in the valley. Then Saul said to the Kenites, 
go, depart, get down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy 
you with them. For you showed kindness to all 
the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt. So the 
Kenites departed from among the Amalekites, and Saul attacked 
the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east 
of Egypt. He also took Agag, king of the 
Amalekites, alive and utterly destroyed all the people with 
the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared 
Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, 
and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy 
them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly 
destroyed. Now the word of the Lord came 
to Samuel, saying, I greatly regret that I have set up Saul 
as king, for he has turned back from following me and does not 
perform my commandments. And it grieved Samuel, and he 
cried out to the Lord all night. So when Samuel rose early in 
the morning to meet Saul, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul 
went to Carmel. And indeed, he set up a monument 
for himself. And he has gone on around, passed 
by, and gone down to Gilgal. Then Samuel went to Saul, and 
Saul said to him, blessed are you of the Lord. I have performed 
the commandment of the Lord. Samuel said, what then is this 
bleeding of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen which 
I hear? And Saul said, they have brought them from the Amalekites, 
for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen to 
sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have utterly 
destroyed. And Samuel said to Saul, be quiet, and I will tell 
you what the Lord said to me last night. And he said to him, 
speak on. So Samuel said, when you were 
little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of 
Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel? 
Now the Lord sent you on a mission and said, go and utterly destroy 
the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until 
they are consumed. Why then did you not obey the 
voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the 
spoil and do evil in the sight of the Lord? And Saul said to 
Samuel, but I have obeyed the voice of the Lord and gone on 
the mission on which the Lord sent me and brought back Agag, 
king of Amalek. I have utterly destroyed the 
Amalekites. But the people took of the plunder, sheep, and oxen, 
the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, 
to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal. So Samuel said, 
has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices 
as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better 
than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion 
is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity 
and idolatry. Because you have rejected the 
word of the Lord, he also has rejected you from being king. 
And Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned, for I have transgressed 
the commandment of the Lord in your words, because I feared 
the people and obeyed their voice. Now, therefore, please pardon 
my sin and return with me that I may worship the Lord. But Samuel 
said to Saul, I will not return with you, for you have rejected 
the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being 
king over Israel. And as Samuel turned around to 
go away, Saul seized the edge of his rope, and it tore. So 
Samuel said to him, the Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel 
from you today and has given it to a neighbor of yours who 
is better than you. And also the strength of Israel 
will not lie nor relent, for he is not a man that he should 
relent. Then he said, I have sinned, yet honor me now, please, 
before the elders of my people and before Israel. and return 
with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.' So Samuel turned 
back after Saul, and Saul worshipped the Lord. And Samuel said, bring 
Agag, king of the Amalekites, here to me. So Agag came to him 
cautiously. And Agag said, surely the bitterness 
of death is past. But Samuel said, as your sword 
has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless 
among women. And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces 
before the Lord in Gilgal. And Samuel went to Ramah, and 
Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul. And Samuel went 
no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless, 
Samuel mourned for Saul, and the Lord regretted that he had 
made Saul king over Israel." Amen. So having dealt with the 
ethical and the theological challenges, again, we're sticking strictly 
to the exposition of the passage. Remember in verses 1? to 9, the 
command to destroy the Amalekites. And when this command was given, 
it was comprehensive, it was complete, it was total. Notice 
in verse 3, go and attack Amalek, utterly destroy all that they 
have. Do not spare them. Kill both man and woman, infant 
and nursing child, oxen, sheep, camel, and donkey. That is precisely 
what Saul did not do. They go into the land and they 
spare Agag and they spare some of the best of the sheep. Notice 
in verse 9. Verse 9 is important because throughout the remainder 
of the chapter, Saul continues to try and shift the blame. But 
the narrator tells us specifically in verse 9, Saul and the people 
spared Agag, the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, 
the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly 
destroy them." Notice, everything despised and worthless, that 
they utterly destroyed. A hint of greed or a hint of 
a desire for stuff is certainly suggested by the author. in this 
particular passage. So the text tells us Saul and 
the people. So when we read henceforth that 
Saul is trying to shift the blame, we can see through that and we 
know that he is not being true, he is not being accurate. And 
then as we move through the passage just by way of review, we get 
to this confrontation between Samuel and Saul. Saul, again with self-deception 
in his heart, thinks that he actually obeyed God. Verse 13 
is a real howler, to use a Dr. Renahan-ism. Notice, Then Samuel 
went to Saul, and Saul said to him, Blessed are you of the Lord, 
I have performed the commandment of the Lord. He most certainly 
had not. Agag is still breathing, as are 
much of the livestock. That is precisely what Samuel 
says in verse 14. What then is this bleeding of 
the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? As Gil said, they preached against 
Saul. The bleeding of the sheep and 
the lowing of the oxen were actually preaching against the lawlessness 
and the sinfulness and the disobedience of Saul in this particular instance. Samuel reminds Saul that God 
had called him. He was little in his own eyes. 
Verse 17, he was the head of the tribes of Israel. Did not 
the Lord anoint you king over Israel? You are the king. You 
are not subject to the people. If you go back for just a moment, 
notice in verse 15, there Saul shifts blame. They have brought them from the 
Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and the 
oxen. Well, if indeed that was the case, verse 9 tells us otherwise, 
but if indeed that was the case, Samuel reminds him, according 
to verse 17, did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel? 
You are the man in charge. You are the one responsible. 
You have the authority. You sit on the throne of Israel. 
You do not listen to the people. Rather, you lead the people in 
obedience to God the Lord. And then Samuel indicts. Why 
then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop 
down on the spoil and do evil in the sight of the Lord? Again, 
Saul says to Samuel, but I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. 
It's truly amazing, isn't it? Self-deception is a reality. Persons can actually think that 
they are doing good in the sight of God, and all the while they 
are in disobedience and in rebellion. We made the application last 
week. that 90% obedience is still disobedience. If we are nourishing 
10% or we are nurturing 10% disobedience, there's sin or patterns in our 
lives that we're not dealing with. We have no right to say, 
but I am obeying God. I am being faithful. No, we'll 
never be perfect. We'll always have sin. But there 
is a difference between nurturing it, harboring it, treating it 
kindly, or seeking to deal with it, resist it, and pray to God 
for the grace to be killing sin. Owen said, if we're not killing 
sin, sin will be killing us, and certainly Saul is a great 
illustration of that. It's on the heels of this that 
Samuel gives him this question, assertion, comparison, and condemnation. Notice in verse 23, has the Lord 
as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying 
the voice of the Lord? Certainly the question assumes 
an answer. And the answer is, the Lord delights 
in obedience. And that is precisely the assertion. 
To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. 
Note this comparison. Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. We made that observation last 
week. Many in the church probably would 
never visit a witch. Many in the church would probably 
never go see a fortune teller. They wouldn't have their palms 
read or their tea leaves read. I don't know how tea leaves in 
your cup could tell you anything about anything, but sometimes 
persons do that, though I doubt professing Christians do that. 
I like to think professing Christians do that. But we all rebel in 
a whole host of ways. We won't visit witches, but we'll 
rebel in other specific ways. And notice what Samuel says. 
Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity 
and idolatry. And then the condemnation follows. 
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he also has 
rejected you from being king. Now we pick up with the rejection 
specifically of Saul by the Lord in verses 24 to 35. Note first 
the repentance of Saul. In my notes, you can't see it, 
but I have repentance in quotation marks. Because I do not believe 
he is genuinely repentant. Notice, verse 24, Saul said to 
Samuel, I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment 
of the Lord in your words. So far so good, right? That's what we hope. When people 
are found out in sin, they say, I have sinned, for I have transgressed 
the commandment of the Lord and your words. That is precisely 
the indictment that Samuel has leveled at him. If the verse 
stopped there, we would have good reason to believe that Saul 
was, in fact, a repentant man. But the remainder of the verse 
and the remainder of the chapter indicates that what we have here 
is a fake. I have sinned for I have transgressed 
the commandment of the Lord and your words because I feared the 
people and obeyed their voice. Because I feared the people and 
obeyed their voice. He doesn't say, I have sinned 
and have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because 
I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words. You 
see, he's still trying to blame it on others. But again, verse 
9 will not allow this. Verse 9 tells us, Saul and the 
people spared Agag and the best of the sheep. You can always 
tell genuine repentance, because genuine repentance or the genuinely 
repentant own their own shame. They own their own transgression. They own their own sin. They 
don't try and say, well, you know, I was pressured into it. 
I was coerced into it. I feared those people. No, they 
take responsibility for themselves. And even if this was accurate, 
which I highly doubt, if he feared the people and obeyed their voice, 
That in and of itself was great transgression because he's the 
sitting king over Israel. He's been given a command by 
Yahweh himself to go in and do a specific task and he is fearful 
of the people. He bows down to their particular 
whim. or to their particular desire, 
Saul's repentance is fake. He is not owning his sin, he 
is not dealing with his sin, he is not for real when it comes 
to this whole issue. And again, I think the rest of 
this particular chapter does indeed bear this forth. But the 
very essence of this passage is because I feared the people. 
It's almost like they were too strong for me, or they were too 
mighty, or they were too loud, or they were too this. No, just 
own your sin. It's a general rule, brothers 
and sisters, when someone points out a particular sin, own it. 
There's a marked difference between this confession and David's in 
2 Samuel chapter 11. In 2 Samuel chapter 11, when 
David is found out through the preaching of Nathan the prophet, 
all we read in verse 13, David said to Nathan, I have sinned 
against the Lord. That's it. I didn't sin because 
I feared. I didn't sin because I'm a red-blooded 
Israelite. I didn't sin because Bathsheba 
was in full view and she was naked. I have sinned against 
the Lord. That is owning one's sin and 
confessing it righteously and dealing with it. We know that 
to be the case because Nathan goes on to say, the Lord also 
has put away your sin. You shall not die. You see, the 
issue is, is when we cover our sin, or when we hide our sin, 
we will not prosper. But when we confess it and we 
forsake it, we will find mercy. We aren't in this particular 
path where we ought to try and minimize our sin. And that's 
in all of us, isn't it? When you're found out in sin, 
you probably don't want people to think you're as bad a person 
as you are. I don't. I get defensive when people start 
to see how wicked I really am. The tendency is to say, but really 
I am a nice guy. Really I was set up, or really 
this wasn't my fault. We always want to defend ourselves 
to the nth degree. But when it comes to us and God, 
we can't defend ourselves. He knows us the way we really 
are. He knows everything about us. 
He knows us better than ourselves. He knows far more our wickedness 
than we ourselves even know. So Saul here has at least the 
presentation of a repentance. For I have transgressed the commandment 
of the Lord and your words because I feared the people and obeyed 
their voice. Verse 25, Now therefore, please 
pardon my sin and return with me that I may worship the Lord. 
You see, this is all mercenary. This is all utility. This is 
all, I just want things to get back to normal. There is not 
a shred of genuine religion in Saul, as we have considered his 
downfall. The moment he takes the throne, 
he's already sliding into the abyss. But here, notice what 
he does. Please pardon my sin. But you 
didn't repent. You blamed others. You said you 
listened to the voice. Some would say, well, that in 
and of itself was a sin, which he's confessing. The sin he's 
under indictment for is letting agag continue to breathe. The 
sin he's under indictment for is letting those livestock continue 
to breathe. That's the sin that's in view, 
not your fear of the people. That's a lesser offense. It is 
an offense. It is a sin. You shouldn't have 
done that. But the issue here is the reality 
that Agag is still drawing breath into his lungs. such that Samuel 
himself, a prophet of God, is going to have to inflict the 
death blow upon Agag when the sitting king of Israel wouldn't 
do it. So what this man now says, please pardon my sin, return 
with me that I may worship the Lord. Again, as we move through 
the remainder of the narrative, this is not true worship. What 
can we deduce from this reality? That when there's no repentance, 
there's no worship. When there's fake repentance, 
we can assume there's going to be fake worship. When we say, 
I need to go to the house of God, but I got to clear my conscience 
first. Honey, forgive me, or son, forgive 
me, or whatever, forgive me. But our repentance is fake. We 
can't assume that when we're harboring sin, or when we haven't 
dealt with sin, that somehow God is pleased with our worship. 
I think there is an impetus upon all of us in light of 1 Samuel 
15 and what our Lord says to deal with sin before we go into 
the house of the Lord. You cannot worship if your heart 
is not right. You cannot worship the Lord God 
in spirit and in truth when you are harboring falsehood in your 
soul, when you are harboring sin in your soul. So that's the 
repentance of Saul. Now notice, secondly, the response 
by Samuel in verses 26 to 31. Samuel said to Saul, I will not 
return with you. Doesn't sound like Samuel believes 
Saul's repentance either. Right? When David says, I have 
sinned against the Lord, what does Nathan say? Well, the Lord 
has provided atonement. The Lord has dealt with your 
sin. That's not what Samuel says. Samuel sees right through Saul's 
fake repentance. If verses 24 and 25 were legitimate, 
then Samuel's response is really not very kind. I mean, if Saul 
had repented, if Saul really wanted to worship God, certainly 
the prophet of God should have facilitated this. But Samuel 
says, I will not return with you, for you have rejected the 
word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king 
over Israel. You see, it all comes back to 
that. You have rejected the word of the Lord. This has been Saul's 
downfall all the way, right? 1 Samuel chapter 13. What do we find? We find Saul told very specifically 
that he is to wait for Samuel. Does he wait for Samuel? No. He offers up a sacrifice. 1 Samuel 
14. He makes this rash vow. He is 
a man that does not do what the Lord God commands. What should 
we conclude? Do what God commands as brothers 
and sisters in Christ. Right? Samuel's already said, 
to obey is better than to sacrifice. Now notice the petition by Saul. He seizes the edge of his robe 
and it tore. This is a symbol, a sign, a gesture 
of supplication, importuning, and submission to a superior. Remember that woman that grabs 
the hedge, or the hem rather, of Jesus. Right? She has a petition. She wants to importune him. She wants to make a specific 
request of him. And that's what Samuel or Saul 
does in this instance. Saul seizes the edge of his robe 
and it tore. So Samuel said to him, the Lord 
has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given 
it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you. That would 
be a blow. I mean, again, if his repentance 
was legit, if he was in a worshipful spirit, if he was ready to sing, 
shine Jesus, shine, this had to come as a big blow to his 
ego here. God is taking the kingdom from 
you and he's giving it to a neighbor who is better than you. This 
is the introduction of King David. It's already been stipulated 
in 1 Samuel 13 that the Saulide dynasty is going to fall. It 
is going to be destroyed, which is quite a shame because in chapter 
14 we see Jonathan as a valiant, godly man who would have been 
a great king over Israel. But because he had a louse of 
a father, he is not going to ever take that particular throne. 
So Samuel indicts Saul. Samuel announces to Saul that 
the Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today. He 
has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you. 
Now notice, he says, and also the strength of Israel will not 
lie nor relent. For he is not a man that he should 
relent." It's the doctrine of God, theology proper, the immutability 
of God, founded upon the creator-creature distinction. Saul can know this 
of a truth, that he is being deposed, he is being rejected, 
he is being sent away by God Most High. The throne will be 
taken by David himself, and that will start the Davidic dynasty. 
Now notice, Saul doesn't give up. We at least should give him 
props for continuing to try, right? I mean, he's not going 
to take no for an answer. I've got to tell you, if someone 
said, the Lord has taken the kingdom from you and he's going 
to give it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you, that 
probably would have had me, you know, done. I'd have been like, 
who's better than me in my pride and arrogance? That would be 
a blow, wouldn't it? Well, look what Saul does. Then 
he said, I have sinned. That's good. If the verse stopped 
there, that would be really excellent, wouldn't it? I have sinned. Isn't 
that what you want when you see your child in sin and you rebuke 
them and you reprove them? You want them to say, I have 
sinned. You want them to do that Davidic confession of 2 Samuel 
11. I have sinned against Yahweh. Now notice, then he said, I have 
sinned yet. Honor me now, please, before 
the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that 
I may worship the Lord your God." This is to save faiths. This 
is to maintain stability in the kingdom. This is to maintain 
civil polity. It isn't to maintain true worship. 
It isn't to maintain a pure heart before God. John Gill says, since 
should he be slighted openly by the Lord and by his prophet, 
he would fall into content both with the principal men and with 
the common people. Wherefore, he seemed more concerned 
for the loss of honor and reputation with the people than for his 
sin against God, which is always the case of hypocrites, you see. 
It's another telltale sign of somebody. When you find them 
out in sin, it's what are they going to think? Or what is that 
person going to say? No, what does God say and how 
are you before him? That's the true indicator of 
biblical religion. When we say with that particular 
publican that God be merciful to me, the sinner. Or when we 
say with King David in Israel, have you ever considered that 
statement in Psalm 51, when David says against thee, and thee only 
have I sinned and done this evil. Have you ever thought about that? 
I mean Bathsheba got a pretty raw deal in that whole thing, 
didn't she? As far as we know, she was happily married to Uriah. There's nothing in the text that 
indicates Bathsheba was sort of on the prowl, says she went 
up to bathe. That may have been, you know, 
not the wisest idea when King David was able to see her, but 
there's no indicator that Bathsheba and Uriah had a problem. It certainly 
didn't go well for Uriah when he was sent out to the front 
line of battle in order to be killed, and yet David has the 
ability to say against thee, and thee only have I sinned and 
done this evil? Absolutely. You see, he's not 
negligent of the fact that he caused a great deal of pain for 
Uriah and for Bathsheba, but when a sinner comes to repentance, 
it's between Him and God. You see, that's what's indicative 
of true repentance. Not, yet honor me now, please, 
before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return 
with me that I may worship the Lord your God. Probably Samuel 
is working hard to keep his lunch down by this point. I'm sure 
if we're able to see it dripping the way that we do, certainly 
Samuel knows that he's a fake. And yet he keeps saying, I want 
to worship the Lord, I want to worship Yahweh. Listen to what 
Matthew Henry says concerning this text. He says, many seem 
zealously affected to good ministers and good people only for the 
sake of their own interest and reputation, while in heart they 
hate them. But his expression was very gross 
when he said, I have sinned, yet honor me. I pray thee before 
my people. Is this the language of a penitent? No, but the contrary. I have 
sinned. Shame me now, for to me belongs 
shame, and no man can loathe me so much as I loathe myself. 
That's the cry of the penitent. That's the one who's been humbled. 
That's what grace causes us to declare. I have sinned. Shame 
me now, for to me belongs shame, and no man can loathe me so much 
as I loathe myself. Henry goes on to say, yet how 
often do we meet with the copies of this hypocrisy of Saul? It 
is very common for those who are convicted of sin to show 
themselves very solicitous to be honored before the people. Now notice, the prophet goes 
with him. Isn't that interesting? Look 
at verse 31. So Samuel turned back after Saul, 
and Saul worshiped the Lord. You see, Samuel is not the strength 
of Israel. Samuel can say, I'm not going 
to go with you, and then change his mind and go with him. Samuel 
is a man. Samuel does relent. Samuel does 
follow Saul in this particular instance, perhaps for civil polity, 
perhaps for the sense that there is a structure in place that 
he wants to honor and make sure things go well. Now notice, the 
end of Agag and Saul. The end of Agag and Saul, verses 
32 and 33. Samuel said, bring Agag, king 
of the Amalekites, here to me. So Agag came to him cautiously. That's wise, isn't it? Agag doesn't 
know what's happening here. As far as he knows, Israel spared 
him for a reason. He's not sure quite yet what 
it is. Maybe he doesn't know the harem 
principle and the reality that he should have died in the battlefield. 
Whatever the case, he is cautious as he walks before Samuel. And then Agag said, surely the 
bitterness of death is past. I think he's casting his bread 
upon many waters hoping that this is all going to end well, 
that he'll be able to pillow his head at the end of this particular 
day. Now notice, Samuel said, as your 
sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless 
among women. As we saw when we looked at the 
ethical challenge in verses 1 to 9, when God sent Israel in to 
utterly destroy the Amalekites, it was not the case that the 
Amalekites were a lot of happy, innocent people just doing their 
own thing in the land. They were a wicked people. They 
had rebuffed Israel in previous generations when they were wandering 
in the wilderness. They were a vicious and a vile 
people. Probably one of the only places 
that I know of in the Old Testament where a person group is called 
the sinners. Notice in verse 18, go and utterly 
destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until 
they are consumed. They're wicked. They deserve 
judgment. They deserve punishment. God 
uses not-too-righteous Israel as the means of chastening, disciplining, 
and judging those other not-righteous persons in the land. And so then 
we read, the end of verse 33, Samuel hacked Agag in pieces 
before the Lord in Gilgal. What a scene. Did Samuel wield 
the sword or did Samuel give the order that the sword be wielded? Whatever the case, Agag is dead 
and he's in pieces before Yahweh in Gilgal. What do you think 
Saul thought about this in this instance? I wonder if Samuel 
is going to come after me next. This is probably entering into 
his head here. I mean, he's leveled some very 
serious charges at Saul. So Samuel hacks Agag in pieces 
before the Lord in Gilgal. Now notice verse 34, then Samuel 
went to Ramah and Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul. 
And Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. 
That is the equivalent of being hacked into pieces. I mean, it 
may not be as graphic and as bloody and as smelly and as visually 
appalling as the hacking of Agag into pieces, but a sitting king 
on the throne of Israel with no contact with God's prophet. 
That is as bad as being hacked to pieces in Gilgal before Yahweh. You've got the king of Israel 
who by his sin and rebellion has been rejected by God the 
Lord and the manifestation of the visible token of this is 
that no longer does the prophet of God go to see him. That is 
a bad, bad state of affairs when the king of Israel has no access 
to the prophetic word. And then we notice the end of 
verse 35. Nevertheless, Samuel mourned 
for Saul. It's interesting, isn't it? Samuel 
didn't hate Saul. Samuel didn't despise Saul. Samuel 
didn't disdain Saul. Probably Samuel had an affection 
for Saul. Remember, it was Samuel, or it 
was Saul, when he went out looking for his donkeys, they come into 
contact with Samuel. Samuel has known Saul for these 
many years. Samuel has seen Saul actually 
killing Ammonites until the heat of the day. Samuel has seen Saul 
exercise a degree of godly influence, or maybe not godly, but politically 
advantageous rule in Israel. If you notice at the end of chapter 
14, there's a summary of Saul's reign. If we didn't have what 
preceded it, it would have been the account of a very good king 
in Israel. So Saul, or Samuel rather, mourns 
for Saul and the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over 
Israel. We considered in our study of 
the doctrine of divine impassibility That is an improper predication. It is spoken after the manner 
of men. It does not actually mean that 
God cries or God regrets the way that we do, the way that 
verse 29 tells us that He doesn't. It is an anthropopathism designed 
to evidence to us something about the justice and the holiness 
of God, the sinfulness of man, and what the Lord thinks of that. Now let's conclude by considering 
the reign of Saul as a whole. Now I realize Saul continues. Saul's not dead. Saul is not 
thrown off the throne. Saul fights for the throne while 
David is on his ascendancy. So Saul does not vanish from 
the scene. So on the one hand, to speak 
of the end of the reign of Saul at this point seems a bit premature. But we have to observe that with 
this transition in 16 and 17, The spotlight now comes upon 
David. David is the anointed king, but for various reasons, 
Saul being one of them, David does not sit on the throne initially. 
So what do we learn? First, we learn concerning his 
royal appointment. I think it's important for us, 
before we look at how bad of a guy he is, we ought to look at the privilege 
that he had. We ought to see the privilege 
that he had. I think there is a principle 
in the Bible. Those who have been given much, much is required 
of them. I don't think that's a principle. 
That is a principle in the scripture. When you have been entrusted 
with much, much is required of you, right? Consider that the 
Lord directed Samuel to Saul. It was our brought them together 
through the donkeys. It was the Lord who brought this 
meeting together, and the Lord directed Samuel to anoint Saul 
as the king. Remember, the people cried out 
for a king. We want to be like the nations 
around us. And Samuel had announced to them 
the type of king that they would get. Nevertheless, they want 
the king. And so God says, well, here's your king. And it's this 
young man, Saul. The Lord equipped Saul for service 
in 10.9. The Spirit of God comes upon 
Saul. Now, some would say, well, if 
the Spirit of God came upon Saul, and then the Spirit of God departed 
from Saul, you Calvinists can't be right. Because you Calvinists 
teach that when somebody's saved, they are always saved. Well, 
there's a difference here. You may not follow this completely, 
but I ask you to consider it. that Saul is a king in Israel. The Spirit not only regenerates 
sinners and brings them to Christ, but the Spirit also empowered 
the king of Israel to go and kill Ammonites. The Spirit empowered 
the king of Israel to go and kill Amalekites. The Spirit served 
that particular function and role as well. What Saul received 
in terms of the benefit of the Spirit was not regeneration. It was not being born again. It was this political equipping 
and this leadership so that Saul could effectively take Israel 
from point A to point B and destroy her enemies along the way. So 
the Lord equips Saul for service. The Lord sets Saul over Israel. Remember, after Saul killed Ammonites 
until the heat of the day. You know, I love that turn of 
phrase. Saul was killing Ammonites until 
the heat of the day. He was doing his job. He was 
functioning properly. That set the sign upon him and 
all Israel affirmed and confirmed and said, yes, this is indeed 
our king. And then, of course, the Lord 
granted him early victories, the Ammonites being a particular 
case of that. But then we see the degeneration, 
and we see the abasement, and we see the fall of Saul. And I think about this principle 
in Luke 10. You can turn there for just a 
moment. Luke chapter 10. So you see, Saul has all this 
good stuff in place. is directed to Samuel. God brings 
Samuel and Saul together. God tells Samuel to anoint Saul. God equips Saul for service. God sets Saul over Israel. God grants Saul an early victory 
over the Ammonites. He had all these particulars 
in place, but he didn't have grace in his heart. We need to 
understand that great privilege does not necessarily equate to 
great grace. Do you see that? You'll see, 
people, that it appears that everything is in place. Everything 
looks good. I mean, if you were in the audience 
when Jesus told the parable about two men that went to pray, before 
Jesus got to the end, you would have thought that the Pharisee 
was the champion of the story. Wouldn't you have? Well, we don't 
because we're Protestants and we're on this side of it and 
we know what he's talking about. We've read the end, right? But 
if you were the original audience in Luke chapter 18 and Jesus 
says, two men went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee stood thus 
and prayed with himself, I thank you Lord that I'm not like other 
men. I pray, I fast, I tithe, I'm 
not like adulterers, I'm not unjust, and I'm certainly not 
like this publican or this tax collector. And when the tax collector 
couldn't even look up into heaven, he beat his breast, he says, 
God, be merciful to me, the sinner. I guarantee you, brothers and 
sisters, someone in that audience, when Jesus says, if Jesus would 
have said, guess which one is justified, they would all say 
the Pharisee. He was the shoo-in. He was the 
sure bet. He was the religious one. He 
looked good. He had privilege. He had blessing. He did the right things. That 
poor wretched publican couldn't even look up into heaven. Jesus 
says, I tell you, this one went to his house justified. Now notice 
in Luke 10, 17. Then the 70 returned with joy, 
saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name. 
And he said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 
Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions 
and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any 
means hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice 
in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice 
because your names are written in heaven. Privilege does not 
necessarily mean grace. Who was one of those? Who was 
one there? Judas, right? Judas went on preaching 
tours. Judas went and did things like 
these. Judas had privilege. Judas probably preached. Judas 
probably did the whammy on somebody, cast demons out. But Judas didn't 
have grace in his heart, did he? We go back to 1 Samuel chapter 
15. And as far as we can tell, if 
the narrator hadn't told us all the other particulars, Saul is 
Israel's golden boy. But when we go back to 1 Samuel 
chapter 15, if we just want to consolidate sort of the main 
lines of offense. First, Saul blames others. I tried to bring that out tonight. 
We need to deal faithfully and honestly with our sin. And we 
need to understand that we live among a people that sin. We're 
all going to sin against each other. We're all going to hopefully 
deal with each other in that sin. And when we get confronted 
with our sin, it is best not to try and blame others. You 
know, I didn't do this because I was victimized when I was five 
because some kid took my lunch money. I did this because I'm 
a wretch. Please forgive me. Right? We have a victim mentality 
in the world most certainly. All you got to do is turn the 
news on tonight. You'll see it. We certainly have that victim 
mentality in the church today. You can't hold me responsible, 
you see. You can't blame me, you see. 
And now we're kowtowing to this whole idea that homosexuality 
is somehow genetic. It's not a choice. It's just 
the way it is. No, it is a choice. It is a responsible 
decision that persons have made. And the way to healing is to 
own it. It's to confess it. It's to forsake 
it. The same is true with us in our daily lives. We ought 
not to blame others. Verses 15 and 21, they have brought 
them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of 
the sheep and the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God. It's almost 
like, you know, Saul's just sitting there watching this happen, or 
please don't do that, we're violating God's command. You are the king 
of Israel, stop them. But again, verse 9 tells us it's 
Saul and the people. And then in verse 21, same idea, 
same idea. The people took of the plunder, 
sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been 
utterly destroyed to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal. 
A second thing that we notice with Saul is he's riddled with 
a false piety. Isn't it interesting in Ecclesiastes 
it says, do not be overly righteous. Can we be overly righteous? Yes. We can be Pharisees or we can 
be Saul, right? We can be more righteous than 
God commands. If we get somewhat near what 
God commands, that's most excellent. That's probably the best we can 
ever hope for. To do more than what God commands, 
you're shooting for the stars. It ain't gonna happen. But remember, 
I mentioned it already, chapter 13, instead of waiting for Samuel, 
Saul offers a burnt offering. Davis says concerning this incident, 
God's prophet would give him God's guidance for the Philistine 
war. Samuel was the bearer of Yahweh's 
word and Saul's task was to wait for it. Instead, he proceeded 
without it. For Saul, sacrificial ritual 
was essential, but prophetic direction dispensable. Saul's 
act was an act of insubordination, a failure to submit to Yahweh's 
word through his prophet. By his actions, Saul confessed 
that certain emergencies rendered God's word unnecessary. When 
the chips were down, kingship could function on its own. Again, 
it has the appearance of piety, doesn't it? Samuel, you were 
late, so I went ahead and offered this burnt sacrifice. Samuel 
says, you were supposed to wait. 1 Samuel 14, what happens? Saul makes this rash vow, or 
this rash oath, that nobody was supposed to eat. I mean, militarily, 
a very foolish decision. You feed soldiers so they can 
go out and kill people. You don't deprive them of food 
so that they're limping along wanting to eat. And then he doesn't 
let them rest and wants them to go kill people. I mean, militarily 
it's terrible. But probably what Saul has in 
his noggin is this special religious act. God will see it and he will 
bless us as a result. You see, brethren, when we do 
special religious acts thinking that God's going to bless it, 
we have sinned against the Lord. 1 Samuel 4, they trot the Ark 
of the Covenant out. Why? Because they treat it like 
a holy horseshoe. They treat it like a four-leaf 
clover. They treat it like a piece of 
holy hardware that when God sees it, then He will come to their 
aid. The Lord does not work that way. 
Listen to David Samora on the 14 passage. Saul imposes a fast 
upon the army in an attempt apparently to influence Yahweh by a grandiose 
gesture of self-denial in order to continue securing the Lord's 
help. Obey God. Don't engage in these 
grandiose, just do what you're supposed to do. That's what we 
need to get in our heads. Ellison says on the chapter 14 
section, Saul's oath belongs to those superstitions which 
think that God is more likely to listen if men indulge in unnecessary 
self-denial. Do we actually think God's going 
to look down and say, wow, that guy's sitting on the top of a 
pole. I'm going to give him whatever he wants. Wow, those persons 
have deprived themselves from honey for this amount of time. 
I'm going to give them whatever he wants. Do we actually think 
that God is Baal? Do we actually think there's 
a formulaic approach? We do what we think makes him 
act, and then he acts on our behalf. That is not the God of 
Israel. And we need to learn from Saul that we ought not to 
clothe our irreligion in this false piety. A third observation 
on his wickedness. He is self-deceived. I hope you've 
seen that. I've tried to bring it out. Verses 
13 and 20. I mean, the fact that he says, 
blessed are you of the Lord, I have performed the commandment 
of the Lord. He actually is probably serious. I mean, do you ever notice there's 
certain persons, unfortunately, they find themselves in politics 
nine times out of 10, but they just lie so well that you've 
got the idea that they actually believe their lies. They appear 
to actually believe their lies. No, no. It really is this way. And they seem to have a conviction 
and a steadfastness to that. I mean, I think that's probably 
Saul's attitude. I have performed the commandment of the Lord. 
He's waiting to get a pat on the head from Samuel. I mean, 
notice already in verse 12, he set up a monument for himself, 
the conduct of kings, kings who were victorious, kings who had 
done their job, kings who had been battle proven. They set 
up a monument for themselves to rejoice in their exploits. 
He thinks everything is good. Blessed are you of the Lord, 
Samuel, now give me my kudos, because I have obeyed, or I have 
performed the commandment of the Lord." Self-deception. Verse 
20, Saul said to Samuel, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, 
and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. How could he 
say this with a straight face? How could he say this without, 
you know, collapsing in a mass? He did not do this. He completely 
disobeyed. But again, sometimes even professing 
Christians can get to this place of self-deception. We start down 
a particular path, and we start to engage in patterns, and we 
don't deal righteously with sin, and we start to harbor sin, and 
we start to cuddle sin, we start to play with sin. Remember hearing 
a sermon by Pastor A.N. Martin on Cain and Abel. He talks 
about sin is crouching at the door of your heart. or couching 
at the door of your heart. Isn't that what God says to Cain? And then God, or Al Martin, not 
God, Al Martin uses this illustration that sometimes we are like a 
person that has a kitty cat. We think that sin is like a little 
tiny kitty cat. There's nothing harmful about 
kitty cat, is there? There really isn't. You pick 
them up and you pet them and you let them purr and you cuddle 
them and all that sort of thing. They're just harmless and then 
we put them down and we're done. He says people treat sin that 
way. People think that sin is like a little kitty cat they 
can pick up, they can play with, they can put down at their leisure. 
And then El Martin, if you've ever heard him preach, uses that 
El Martinian voice and says, it's a beast of prey and the 
teeth and the claws go into you, you see. You can't have truck 
with sin and think that everything is going to go well. We are sinners. We have remaining corruption, 
but we confess it. We forsake it. We pray against 
it. The petition in the Lord's Prayer, lead us not into temptation, 
but deliver us from the evil one. We can't pray that if our 
consciences are dirty because we're in sin. You see, brethren, 
Saul thought, probably, really, that he did a good thing in the 
sight of God. And then, of course, finally, 
he engages in this false repentance. Genuine repentance does not look 
like what Saul does in this instance. We learn something of the faithfulness 
of Samuel. I think, at least from my sense, 
at least from my time in the study in Samuel, I've grown to 
appreciate Samuel. I mean, he had to deal with a 
difficult man, didn't he? And I've grown to appreciate 
Jonathan. I mean, these are godly men in an ungodly age. Notice that Samuel faithfully 
declares the word of God. That's the task of the prophet, 
not to coddle the king, not to say you did your best, not to 
say you tried. Good job. Oh, that was a good 
idea. You spared the livestock. I hadn't 
thought of that. Now we can sacrifice. That's 
not what Samuel does. Samuel maintains fidelity to 
the God of heaven and earth. That's what preachers and ministers 
of the gospel must do. They don't kowtow to people. 
They don't coddle people. They don't pat them on the back 
and say, everything's great. You did your best. You tried 
hard. The church is not a little league game. Do you ever notice 
in baseball, if someone doesn't swing the bat, they can be commended 
for good work. You must never have watched baseball. 
Good work. Somebody gets a walk, good work. There's no work involved. Baseball 
is the most affirming sport out there. I mean, hockey players 
lose limbs and teeth and they're all bloodied and, you know, they 
got the death threat of a skate in the head. Baseball players 
show up and they're told, good job. I mean, it's just an amazing 
thing. They're affirmed all the way 
through it. That's not what the church is 
supposed to be. The church is to encourage. The church is to 
equip. The church certainly isn't to 
berate people or to put people down, but it's not to coddle 
people or pat them on the back and say, good job when it wasn't. You need to repent and forsake 
and seek the Lord while he may be found. He sees through the 
blame shifting and the lies of Saul. Samuel isn't stupid. Samuel can't be fooled. Samuel doesn't say, wow, your 
version sounds pretty good, Saul. Samuel hacks Agag to pieces in 
obedience to the Lord. That's hardcore. I mean, there's 
a prophet that has earned his keep in Israel. I mean, of your 
prophets that you should see as heroic persons, Samuel ought 
to rate way up there. And then ultimately, Samuel rejects 
Saul as the Lord had rejected Saul. Of course, in the chapter 
we learn the priority of obedience, the wickedness of disobedience, 
and then we learn, finally, the goodness of God. Note the comfort 
afforded by verse 29. And also, the strength of Israel 
will not lie nor relent, for he is not a man that he should 
relent. There's a world of comfort in 
that verse. That's what that whole doctrine 
of divine impassibility and the immutability of God brings to 
bear upon the believer. You get a good dose of this, 
you get a good dose of the parallel in Numbers 23, a good dose of 
Malachi 3, a good dose of James 1, 17, and the reality that our 
God does not change. The strength of Israel, He will 
not lie, nor will He relent, for He is not a man. There is 
a creator-creature distinction. He is not like us. He is in a 
different category, a different order of being. He is not like 
his creatures. He is stable. He is steadfast. He is the God of Psalm 46. When 
we are told, be still and know that I am God, that is not a 
promise that wavers or fluctuates based on the emotivity of God. It is a promise that is rock 
solid because this God, the strength of Israel, will not lie nor relent. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for your word and we thank you for this account. 
and all that we've learned concerning Saul. And I pray that you would 
keep us from this sort of wickedness, that we would not blame others 
for our sins, and that we would not be self-deceived, thinking 
we are doing well and we are disobeying. And God, help us 
not to try and clothe our wickedness with a false piety. And help 
us as well, Father, to be obedient to the truth of your word. And 
Lord, as I pray these things, I know how impossible it is, 
and how we thank you for the Gospel, how we thank you for 
our Lord Jesus, and how we thank you for the empowerment of your 
Holy Spirit. May you fill us with the Spirit 
of God, and may you cause us to walk in a manner that is worthy 
of your Holy Gospel. Go with us now, we pray, in Jesus' 
name. Amen.