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Well, you can turn in your Bibles 
to 1 Samuel chapter 15. 1 Samuel chapter 15. In many 
ways, this sermon provides the rationale for what 
we looked at last week in terms of the atonement in Gibeah. Though 
this is not Saul's attack upon the Gibeonites, it does reflect 
his apostasy and his wretched condition, and as well does explain 
why David had to deal with the effects of his sin in his own 
life and in his own reign. Also, several weeks ago we looked 
at apostasy in Hebrews chapter 10, verses 26 to 31. In many 
respects, this sermon this morning could be entitled, The Portrait 
of an Apostate in the Life of Saul. I want to read 1 Samuel 
chapter 15. It's a long chapter, but I do 
want us to have it all before us. When I originally taught 
this material, it was in four lessons, so this will be abbreviated 
if anyone's interested in further argument or in more of a detailed 
explanation. I believe those lessons are online. But beginning in 1 Samuel 15, 
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 Tulam, 200,000 
foot soldiers, 10,000 men of Judah. And Saul came to a city of Amalek 
and lay in wait in the valley. And 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 has not 
performed 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. 
And Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, Blessed are 
you of the Lord. I have performed the commandment 
of the Lord. But Samuel said, What then is 
the 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. Then 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, 
the 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 to 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. 
Then Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned, for I have transgressed 
the commandment of the Lord and 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 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. 
And also the strength of Israel will not lie nor relent, for 
it 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 worshiped the Lord. Then 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. 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. Nevertheless, 
Samuel mourned for Saul, and the Lord regretted that he had 
made Saul king over Israel. Amen. Well, let us pray and seek 
the Lord's help. Our Father, we thank you for 
the Word of God. We thank you that it's given by inspiration 
of God, that it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for 
correction, and for instruction in righteousness. And it is our 
desire that you would thoroughly furnish us unto every good work. 
We would ask that the Holy Spirit would be at work in our minds 
and in our hearts, that we would know His presence and His power, 
that you would indeed forgive us for all of our sins and our 
transgressions, that you would cause us to receive with thankful 
hearts the Word of Truth, And for any and all who have come 
here this morning outside of Christ, we pray that today would 
be the day that they confess that Jesus is the Christ, the 
Son of the living God. We don't look to their ability. 
We don't look to their free will. We look to the God of heaven 
and earth who has revealed this, to sinners who does reveal this, 
and who gives them eyes to see and hearts to receive the truth 
as it is in Christ. Do this for your glory. Do this 
for the good of souls. And we pray through Christ our 
Lord. Amen. Well, as I said, Saul is certainly 
a portrait of apostasy. And that apostasy begins prior 
to chapter 15. I think what we have in chapter 
15 is his point of no return. But if you go back to chapter 
13, you already see indications that things are not well with 
Saul, specifically in chapter 13, verses 8 to 15. Saul was 
told by Samuel to await Samuel's arrival in Gilgal. Samuel is 
late, so Saul undertakes to offer up a burnt offering to the Lord. 
And this was wrong. He rejected the Word of God as 
it came through the prophet Samuel. Note what Saul says in chapter 
13 at verse 12. Then I said, the Philistines 
will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication 
to the Lord. Therefore, I felt compelled and 
offered a burnt offering." Brethren, the Word of God always trumps 
our feelings. We are not to act upon our hankerings, 
or our longings, or our desires, but we are to obey the word of 
the living God. If the prophet of God tells you 
to wait, and you do not, and you undertake to offer up sacrifice, 
no matter how noble or how pious your appearance may be, you've 
rejected the word of truth. The same thing holds in chapter 
14. You'll remember specifically, they're going to battle against 
the Philistines, and Saul imposes a fast upon Israel in chapter 
14, verses 24 to 30. Now, from a military standpoint, 
this is absolutely folly, because these are men engaged in battle. 
Don't deprive them of food, and don't deprive them of rest. Make 
sure they get both, so they can indeed kill Philistines. But 
spiritually, probably Saul is thinking somewhat along these 
lines. If we fast, then the Lord will bless us. If we engage in 
this formula, then God will spit out the blessings. It was a superstition. It was to treat Yahweh as if 
He was Baal. We do enough religious good, 
and God will return blessing upon our head. No, again, we 
need to obey God. When God imposes a fast, we need 
to submit. We don't need to concoct things, 
religiosity, in order to impress God so that He will give us things. 
Yahweh is not Baal. We don't approach Yahweh as if 
He is Baal. We don't go through formula in 
order to manipulate Him to pour out blessings upon us. Most likely, 
that's what's happening in this imposed fast by Saul. So we see 
already traces that Saul has a problem with the Word of the 
living God. We get to chapter 15 and that 
comes to a crescendo or to a high point. And I want to break down 
this chapter into three considerations. First, the command to destroy 
the Amalekites in verses 1 to 9. Secondly, the rebellion of 
Saul against the Lord in verses 10 to 23. and then the rejection 
of Saul by the Lord in verses 24 to 35. But note in the first 
place the command to destroy the Amalekites. 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. That's Saul's marching order. 
That's what he's supposed to do. As we seek to paint the portrait 
of an apostate, the person who fits that profile is somebody 
who disregards God's Word. It's somebody who knows what 
the Word says and yet rejects it for whatever reason. Again, 
Saul felt compelled to offer up sacrifice. Saul felt compelled 
to impose a fast. Well, here Saul feels compelled 
to disobey God in the manner of the Amalekites. So what Samuel 
does is remind him of his accountability before Yahweh. Very specifically, 
you are to heed the voice of the words of the Lord. Remember 
the first order of business for the reigning king of Israel. 
According to Deuteronomy 17 and the law prescribing what kings 
were supposed to do, the first order of business wasn't to select 
their cabinet. The first order of business wasn't 
to have a celebration. The first order of business wasn't 
to display themselves in pomp and glory. The first order of 
business for Israel's king was to write in his own hand the 
law of the Lord. He was to keep it with him. He 
was to meditate upon it. He was to walk in obedience to 
it. And so Samuel reminds Saul what 
is imperative in terms of this particular chapter. And then 
he highlights that Saul's particular mission is to go and utterly 
destroy the Amalekites. And there are reasons for this. 
Amalek ambushed Israel on the way when he came up from Egypt, 
Exodus 17, Deuteronomy 25. The particular manner by which 
Saul was to engage in this is what's called the harem principle. 
There were things that were devoted to destruction. There were things 
that were under a ban. And when the Lord God said to 
deal with it, He said to deal with it completely. Get rid of 
them. Now, I know that this is a shock 
to many in our day, because the way we fight wars is completely 
different than the way ancient peoples fought war. Ancient peoples 
fought war to win. And winning in war means killing 
people and breaking things. You can't help it. That's the 
way it goes. And so the Lord God stipulates 
that when you deal with Amalek, you deal with him according to 
that particular principle. Now, moderns can't stand this 
whole concept concerning God telling Israel to go in and conquer 
other peoples. It's an offense, and unfortunately 
it's offense to some in the church. We need to remember, however, 
certain atheists use this as an argument to try and disprove 
the ethics of the Bible. Atheists are in no position whatsoever 
to speak about good and evil. There is no moral standard. If 
there is no objective standard, then what's right for you may 
not be right for me. If I want to go and exterminate 
Canaanites, who are you to tell me otherwise? If we're just a 
random collection of atoms and molecules and particles, what 
difference does it make? So if an atheist lodges this 
complaint, he has no basis upon which to stand. If a Christian 
does, he ought to repent, because whatever our God reveals in Scripture 
is for us, for our edification and our instruction. As well, 
we need to remember the Lord God is sovereign over all of 
life. It's not murder for God to command Israel to go in and 
destroy Canaanites. God is sovereign, 1 Samuel 2, 
6. He kills, He makes alive. As well, the punishment of sin 
by a holy God is a necessary consequence in His moral universe. 
It's always amazed me when people say, well, I don't like those 
ethics in the Old Testament. I don't like the thought of Israel 
going in and conquering the land. It seems offensive to me. You 
ask that person, what should we do with a child molester? 
What should we do with a rapist? What should we do with a serial 
murderer? Well, he ought to be punished. 
He ought to get what's coming to him. Exactly. God didn't send 
Israel into the land of Canaanites to dispossess the land of the 
Canaanites because the Canaanites were innocent, law-abiding people. They were wretched. They were 
wicked. They were abominable. This is 
why God explains or gives us His rationale in Leviticus 18. 
When Israel occupies the land and they conduct themselves like 
Canaanites, God raises up Assyria and then Babylon to drive them 
from the land. There's no capriciousness on 
the part of God. There's no arbitrariness on the 
part of God. His law is violated and it's 
just and righteous for Him to punish those who violate it. 
As well, the vengeance of God is a blessed reality for the 
people of God. This isn't simply an Old Testament 
concept. Vengeance is mine. I will repay, 
says the Lord. Romans 12, 19. Of course, citing 
the Old Testament Scripture. But Paul's argument is, don't 
avenge yourselves, but give place to wrath. Paul doesn't say wrath 
is wrong. Paul says you're not to implement 
it. Leave it into the hands of God. 
He's got the monopoly on the execution of wrath. He will pay 
back with tribulation those who try you. 2 Thessalonians 1. The 
saints under the altar in Revelation 6. Oh, how long, oh Holy Lord? Do you avenge our blood? When 
Babylon the Great is judged in Revelation 19, how does heaven 
respond? With a fourfold hallelujah! The church has lost something 
of the righteous judgment of God Most High inflicted upon 
her enemies, probably owing to the fact that we don't sing enough 
psalms. We don't sing those themes that David records for us in 
the songs of Zion concerning God, bringing justice to bear 
upon the enemies of the church. That's a blessed and a wonderful 
theme, brethren, that we in some sense have lost. And then as 
well, God commanded holy war, Deuteronomy 7, 1-5. And he said, 
when you go into the land, have no truck with the inhabitants 
of the land. Kill them. Destroy them. Do not enter into 
social alliances. Don't marry with them. Do not 
enter into political alliances. Don't have government with them. And certainly don't enter into 
religious alliances. Tear down their altars. What 
does God know about humanity? He knows that it's not likely 
the case that we're going to go into Canaan and affect it 
for good. He knows it's likely the case 
that we're going to go into Canaan and they're going to affect us 
for bad. And so God says, deal with the sin in order to pursue 
that calling to be a holy nation, a royal priesthood, a chosen 
possession of our God, wherein you mediate the blessings of 
the covenant around the nation. So this is the rationale behind 
the instruction here. While it may seem a bit harsh 
to us, It is nevertheless what Scripture says, and I hope that 
at least some of these things will serve as rationale as to 
why it's good, why it was righteous, why it was necessary. So basically 
we have Saul assembling the troops, and then notice in verses 7 and 
9, we won't get into the whole Kenite thing. Again, four lessons, 
somewhere online you can find it for more detail. But notice, 
with reference to the actual attack itself in verse 7, And 
Saul attacked the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, 
which is east of Egypt. Again, we need to go back and 
remind ourselves of verse 3. 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. We get back here, verse 7. 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. That wasn't part of the instruction. 
Certainly if God is bringing judgment to bear upon Amalek, 
He is included in the kill them all. You're not supposed to spare 
Agag. You're not supposed to change 
it up. You see, this is the problem 
with creativity or innovation in the creature. We see it in 
worship. Saul felt compelled to offer 
sacrifice to God. I don't care what you feel compelled 
to do. You need to obey God. In terms 
of politics, in terms of the king of Israel, I don't care 
that you think you should spare Agag. This is the whole emphasis 
in the passage. Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. For whatever reason, Saul, why 
you thought to spare this man and to spare livestock was a 
direct affront to the word of the living God. Ours isn't to 
shape the message. Ours isn't to make it more palatable. Ours isn't to make it more culturally 
relevant. Ours is to preach. Ours is to 
declare. Ours is to hold fast the truth 
of God's Holy Word. Whatever He says, how He says 
it, we need to submit. And we could do a whole message 
on this whole idea of, I felt compelled in worship to do whatever 
it is that the church does in worship today that is strange 
fire and is an affront to a holy God. Do you realize God killed 
Nadab in a bayou when they offered up strange fire? And probably 
right now, all throughout the earth, strange fire is wafting 
up into the presence of God Most High, and people actually question 
whether God's patient. Whether God's long-suffering, 
the fact that He hasn't wiped out a nation full of idolaters 
is a great expression of His patience and of His long-suffering. But back to our text. Notice. 
Verse 8, 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. If it wasn't that 
good, why not get rid of it? Do you see the fundamental problem? 
This wasn't the instruction. Does everybody get that? You're 
alive, you're with me, it's 11.45, we're still together. Saul sinned, Saul rejected, Saul 
rebelled. As we consider the portrait of 
an apostate, notice that Saul doesn't just wake up one day 
and there he is, the portrait of an apostate. There's steps 
involved. This is what concerns me at times, 
for my own heart and for us. There's steps involved. You're 
not going to wake up on Thursday utterly renouncing Christ. It's 
going to start by, I felt compelled to do it another way. I felt 
compelled to approach you with this superstition and this desire 
to strong-arm you and manipulate you so you would spit out blessings. I didn't think that it was legit 
to kill everybody. I mean, there was livestock there, 
and it was nice, and, you know, egg eggs, not so bad after. It 
typically happens by steps. There's a progression. You cut 
corners. You shave off edges. You don't 
come to church. You don't read your Bible. You 
don't pray. You don't take the covenant meal 
that the Lord God, the householder, sets before His weary pilgrims. 
Why is it that we don't eat that feast that God provides for us? 
Well, these are the steps that go into apostasy. Again, it could 
happen, you wake up on Thursday, an atheist, utterly renouncing 
all things Christ, but usually it happens in steps. And it's 
the case that Saul actually thinks he's doing the right thing. Self-deception 
is a horrible, horrible thing. Now notice, verses 10 to 23, 
the rebellion of Saul against the Lord. Verses 10 and 11. Now this passage speaks to or 
contributes to the discussion of the doctrine of divine impassibility. Verses 10 and 35 are what's called 
improper predications for those of you up on the discussion, 
and verse 29 is a proper predication. So if you want more information 
on that, you can email Pastor Porter. Notice the response of 
the parties involved. Verse 10, 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 has not 
performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel and he 
cried out to the Lord all night. This is the result of the prophet. It's a horrible thing when a 
man preaches the word and sees people absolutely positively 
disobey it. And this is the heart of a shepherd 
that we have here in Samuel. It grieves him. He's not some 
peddler. He's not some merchant. He's 
not just doing what he does. He doesn't just come up and preach 
and do his thing and go live unaffected. It affects the prophet 
of God when the people of God don't do what they're supposed 
to do under God. And this is precisely what we 
have. Notice that he then confronts Saul. Verse 12, 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. 
Saul was pleased with his performance against Amalek. This setting 
up a monument for oneself was the practice of a king. It's 
sort of the equivalent of a love me wall. a love-me wall, all 
my plaques and all my certificates and all the things that I've 
accomplished, it's a love-me wall. You want people to come 
into your house and look at that wall and say, you are a great 
guy, you are wonderful, you are awesome. Well, that's what's 
happening. Saul sets up this monument, Samuel 
hears about it, and now Samuel goes to confront him. Verse 13, 
Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, Blessed are you 
of the Lord, I have performed the commandment of the Lord. 
It's one of the marks of apostasy, or the marks of at least the 
steps of apostasy, or of false religion as a whole. It's deceptive, 
isn't it? We think we're doing the right 
thing, and we're not. Well, I went to church, so I must be okay. I have a Bible, so I must be 
okay. Those of you who have ever gone 
out and passed out tracts, you meet this with people. Well, 
my uncle taught Sunday school, so I must be okay. It doesn't 
look at things rightly. It doesn't survey the scene honestly. It doesn't look at what is. It 
rather looks at what it wants it to be. And this is the problem 
with Saul. Now notice, in verse 13, Samuel 
went to him. He says, Blessed are you of the 
Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord. Note what Samuel 
says in verse 14. Samuel said, What then is this 
bleeding of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the ox in which 
I hear? You know what Samuel means, right? If you haven't 
been paying attention, here's what Samuel means. If you did what 
you were supposed to do, I shouldn't hear animals. If you did what 
God says in terms of the harem principle to utterly destroy 
all of the occupants in the land, including the livestock, why 
am I hearing livestock? Right? These animals became preachers 
of righteousness and they condemned Saul. John Gill says, these questions 
he put to convict him of the falsehood he had delivered, the 
bleating and lowing of these creatures proved him a liar and 
were witnesses of his breach of the divine command. And one 
would think every bleating and lowing of these must alarm his 
conscience unless dreadfully stupefied. Now note Saul's response 
in verse 15, Now you need to appreciate what the author's 
already told us. Note what it says in verse 8, He, Saul, also took Agag, king 
of the Amalekites, alive. Note verse 9. But Saul and the 
people. Intriguing. We drop down now 
to Saul's response, and he says, they and the people. What's he 
doing? He's doing what those on the 
way to apostasy will most certainly do. He shifts the blame. Well, 
it's me. He understands that Samuel's 
mad by this point, or, I don't know if mad is the word, but 
I don't know how Samuel could have calmly reasoned, why am 
I hearing these animals? I'm sure that Samuel may have 
projected some sort of an edge wherein Saul concluded that Samuel 
was not happy with it. What's he do? He does the opposite 
of Proverbs 28, 13. Whoever confesses and forsakes 
his sin will find mercy. He's a coverer of it. He blames 
the people. He's Adam in the garden, first 
projecting it upon God. The woman whom you gave me. God, 
if you hadn't have given me her, I wouldn't be in this mess. How 
many of us men complained thus before God? If it wasn't for 
her, I would be so much holier. I'd always be on time for church. 
I wouldn't be this. I wouldn't be that. Lord God, 
had you just given me a better spouse, And then we actually 
blame her, like Adam does. She gave me to eat. Oh, really? So, sin is out there 
now. It's all external. It's what 
they did. I would just be perfectly holy, 
harmless and undefiled if it weren't for the rest of these 
slobs. This is what Saul does. They took. They did. The people. Why? Because he doesn't 
want to face God's prophet when he's rejected God's Word. Saul's 
a wretch. I think there's a bit of Saul 
in all of us. I don't want to sound psychologically engaged 
and babble here, but there's a bit of Saul in all of us. Do 
we lockstep with the truth of God? Do we march according to 
orders? Have we received it not as a 
suggestion for a better life, but as marching orders from the 
King of Kings and Lord of Lords? I suspect if we received it as 
the latter, our lives and our churches would look different. 
The ambiguous they versus the specific Saul and the people. 
And note, here's again what an apostate or on the road to apostasy 
will bring. Verse 15, 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. You see, 
our motives were driven by the end result. If it's to sacrifice 
to the Lord your God, well, then everything's okay, isn't it? 
This is the problem in modern worship. Our desire is to worship 
God. Then get the puppets and ponies 
and programs out, because He hasn't commanded them. God does 
not want creativity in worship. Go create all you want at the 
beach. Go create all you want in your 
spare bedroom that's set up for such things. But in worship, 
do you know what the church is supposed to do? Obey. Creativity and innovation are 
frowned on by headquarters. But we did this to sacrifice 
to the Lord. Let's see how this goes for him. 
Notice, verse 16, Samuel said to Saul, 
be quiet, I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night. 
And he said to him, speak on. So Samuel recounts or rehearses 
his humble origin, his royal authority, the specific mission, 
he rebukes him, and then Saul responds. Again, we have to abbreviate 
this. If you want further development 
and detail, go to sermonaudio.com. But a few things we ought to 
be concerned about. Notice, verse 19, here's the 
issue. 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? So in other words, 
what Samuel says by his response, which he's going to spell out 
in more detail in just a moment, is that you've disobeyed. It 
doesn't matter that you thought you were sacrificing to the Lord. 
Do we all get that? God's not only concerned with 
the what, but He has defined the how. He's the householder, 
so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in 
the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the 
pillar and the ground of the truth. Paul does not write to 
Timothy and say, I want you to feel compelled, I want you to 
hanker, I want you to go meditate on a mountain, and whatever you 
feel is best, I want you to introduce that into the worship of God. 
That's never been the approach. Where to approach God, according 
to Hebrews 12, in an acceptable manner. Now, how the world or 
the church in the world today has defined acceptable manner 
as defined by the world is beyond me. Well, if we have long sermons, 
they won't like that. If we preach fire and hell and 
wrath and brimstone, they won't like that. It has to be relevant. It has to be palatable. We have 
to appeal to them and get them to hear, but we don't want to 
drive them off or alienate them. We want to have a nice band, 
and we want it to be aesthetically pleasing, and we want it to be 
acceptable to the world. That's not what the Apostle means 
in Hebrews 12 when he says we are to approach God in an acceptable 
manner. Who defines what an acceptable 
manner is in terms of approach to God? It's God. Just ask Nadab 
and Abihu. They thought to offer strange 
fire before the Lord. Most likely, they thought to 
enter into the Holy of Holies. Most likely, they took upon themselves 
a position that God did not authorize. So what does He do? He sends 
fire down and He consumes them. How in the world has it ever 
become the case that the church thinks the world gets to define 
what acceptable worship is? And we're the nutjobs because 
we affirm the regulative principle of worship? We're weird, we're 
wacky, we're strange, we're odd, because what God commands, what 
God stipulates, what God demands is what we want, by the grace 
of God, to try and do? As Johnson says, we preach the 
Word, we read the Word, we sing the Word, we pray the Word, and 
we see the Word in the sacraments of the church. That's it. Or 
as Pastor Albert N. Martin says, the regulative principle, 
nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else than what God has 
commanded in worship. You see, Samuel, or Saul, is 
trying to hide his apostasy under religion. But we did it to sacrifice. Now notice, what he does, he 
digs his feet in. Verse 20, And Saul said to Samuel, 
But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. No, you haven't. How 
come it is that everybody else can see this but not the guy 
that's deluded? Mark Sarver was right. He said 
once that pride is like bad breath. Everybody knows you have it but 
you. Everybody knows you have it but you. You walk in and you 
start knocking people down and they know what your issue is. 
Well, pride, rejection of the Word, being a Saul who has obviously 
and clearly disobeyed, and the prophet of God is calling him 
upon it and he says, but I have obeyed the voice of the Lord 
and gone on the mission which the Lord sent me. brought back 
Agag king of Amalek, I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites." Note 
the blame shifting again in verse 21, "...but the people took up 
the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which 
should have been utterly destroyed, the sacrifice to the Lord your 
God in Gilgal." You see what he's doing? He's hardening his 
heart. He's trying to defend his position. These are the most scary people 
on the face of the earth, those who want to defend themselves 
when they're wrong. You're never 100% right. Be quick, willing and able to 
admit you're wrong. Join the rest of the ranks of 
humanity that can say, I was wrong. See, this is a fundamental 
difference between David and Saul. It's not that David was 
a sinless man and Saul was a sinner. They're both sinners, but Saul 
has no place for faith and repentance. David, however, rejoices in Yahweh, 
who does not impute iniquity. David rejoices in Yahweh, who 
has provided atonement in David's greater sin. He's a man that 
says, I have sinned against Yahweh. He doesn't say, oh, no, it wasn't 
me. I didn't do it. This is Saul. Oh, no, it wasn't 
me. I didn't do it. Twice now. You see this, the progression 
in the text? Samuel's already asked him. He said, I've obeyed. 
Samuel asks him again, even more directly. Oh, I have obeyed. 
It's those people. If those people hadn't have done that, you wouldn't 
have been upset, Samuel. It's terrible. Absolutely terrible. 
Now, note. the condemnation of Saul in verses 
22 to 23. We see a question, a declaration, 
comparison, and condemnation. Note the question, has the Lord 
as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying 
the voice of the Lord? Now, some take this and say, 
well, God doesn't want sacrifice. No, that's not the point. God 
wants sacrifice from a pure heart It's like in Malachi's day. The 
problem wasn't the sacrificial system. It's the fact that they 
took the worst animal in their flock or they stole one from 
a neighbor and tried to present that or pawn that off to Yahweh 
as a sacrifice. It's not a sacrifice if it doesn't 
cost you anything. It's not a sacrifice if it doesn't 
hurt. The word sacrifice, by definition, 
involves pain, doesn't it? So in Malachi's day, God's not 
saying the Levitical system of approach to God through the sacrificial 
system is wrong. No, it's that you are bringing 
these mangy creatures to the living and true God. That you're 
bringing this stolen creature to the living and true God. This 
is why God says, present it to your governor and see if he would 
be pleased with you. In other words, try and pay Revenue 
Canada what you owe them with the kinds of stuff you pawn off 
in service to God. See if Revenue Canada will be 
pleased with you. See if the Governing Prince is 
going to say, oh yes, thank you for giving me the worst Forgiving 
me the least, forgiving me that which does not matter is unimportant. That's the point in Malachi. 
The object here is not to say or to suspend the sacrificial 
system or the cult of Israel. It says, Has the Lord as great 
delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the 
voice of the Lord? And then note the assertion or 
declaration, Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and 
to heed than the fat of rams. Again, it's idiomatic. He's not 
saying don't bring sacrifice, but he says bring sacrifice and 
the heart. That's the point. That's the 
issue. That's what's underscored. True 
religion has never been external only. True religion has never 
been about the formalism involved. There are externals. You've got 
to show up, you open the books, you listen. There's an externalism 
to Christianity. But Christianity, now and then, 
has always been a matter of the heart. You bring your sacrifice 
to God and your heart is a-whoring from Him. God says, isn't it 
better to obey rather than to sacrifice? Now, note the comparison 
that he draws out, which, ironically enough, will be fleshed out in 
the later chapters of 1 Samuel. Notice in verse 23, "'For rebellion 
is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity 
and idolatry.'" What does Saul do when he doesn't have a word 
from the Lord prior to his final battle with the Philistines? 
In 1 Samuel 28, Saul seeks the counsel of the witch at Endor. Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. Think about that the next time 
you want to go violate the law of God. The next time you want 
to click on a porn site. The next time you want to drink 
too much. The next time you want to smoke something you shouldn't. 
The next time you want to be insubordinate to your husband. 
The next time you want to dishonor your parents. Think of what the 
prophet Samuel says, under the authority of the living God, 
that rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. All over the church 
today we condemn witchcraft, don't we? And yet we engage in 
a form of witchcraft when we offer up strange fire to the 
Lord. It's absolutely amazing the way we rationalize and try 
to justify rebellion. Oh yes, we will condemn the witches 
at their coven, but we'll come in and just proffer up whatever 
old thing we hanker to do. No. Rebellion is as the sin of 
witchcraft. Listen to what Matthew Henry 
says. He says that nothing is so provoking to God as disobedience, 
setting up our wills in competition with His. This is here called 
rebellion and stubbornness and is said to be as bad as witchcraft 
and idolatry. It is as bad to set up other 
gods as to live in disobedience to the true God. Do you get that? Well, I don't have idols like 
they do, but you're disobeying God. Why are you better? Why 
am I better? Why are we somehow more appealing 
to the living? Now, obviously, if we're justified 
by faith and its remaining corruption, I hope you assume that theological 
context. But note what Henry says. He 
says, those that are governed by their own corrupt inclinations, 
in opposition to the command of God, do, in effect, consult 
the teraphim, or the diviners. It was disobedience that made 
us all sinners, and this is the malignity of sin, that it is 
the transgression of the law, and consequently it is enmity 
to God. Saul was a king, but if he disobeyed 
the command of God, his royal dignity and power will not excuse 
him from the guilt of rebellion and stubbornness. It is not the 
rebellion of the people against their prince, but of a prince 
against God that this text speaks of. And then note the condemnation, 
the end of verse 23. Because you have rejected the 
word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king. That brings us quickly, really 
quick, to survey just this last section, verses 24 to 35, the 
rejection of Saul by the Lord. But Saul repents, doesn't he? 
No, he doesn't. Look at verse 24, 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. That's not repentance. That's like somebody saying, 
and people do this, believe me, to use an overworked phrase or 
word in the media today. It's like saying to somebody, 
you know, I wouldn't have done this if you weren't such a horrible 
person. Wow, thanks for that apology. Wives or husbands might do this. 
You know, I wouldn't have been late if you hadn't have done 
that. That's not an apology. That's not repentance. That's 
not owning sin. That's not forsaking. David acknowledges 
in 2 Samuel 12, after having been approved by the prophet, 
he says, I have sinned against Yahweh. Some say, well, that's 
it? That's all he has to say? It's 
not a magic phrase, but what he does is he acknowledges, God's 
right, I'm wrong, what else have I to proffer? Not Saul. He says, I feared the people 
and obeyed their voice. God doesn't care why you sinned, 
He doesn't ask you to explain the rationale behind your transgression. Well, you know, I wouldn't have 
done it if blah blah blah blah blah. This isn't repentance. And the fact is, as we move through 
the passage, he says to Samuel, honor me before the people. You've 
got to remember, there's a political current running through this. 
Samuel should honor the reigning king so that the reigning king 
does not lose the esteem of the people. Certainly, Yahweh has 
rejected him. Certainly, Yahweh is angry with him, but he still 
has to maintain a respect for the reigning king at this particular 
time. But Saul's desire is not the face of God, it's the face 
of men. That's what the text specifically 
indicates. Notice, he says what he says. In verse 26, 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 sees the edge of 
his robe, a type of a petition, something that that woman did 
when she grabbed the hem of Jesus' garment. And then he says, the 
Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today. First 
Kings 11, this will be evident in the division of the kingdom. 
This is an acted parable or a description of what God is doing in terms 
of Saul. 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. Why is David better? Because 
he fears Yahweh. We've studied, we've gone through. 
This account all the way up now presently to 2 Samuel 22. Is 
David a perfect man, brethren, that are there on Wednesday night, 
or any brethren that have ever read 1 and 2 Samuel? No. David does some horrific 
things. David commits murder and adultery. David in many respects is just, 
you know, it's shocking at times, isn't it? I mean, we get to 2 
Samuel 11 and 12, and I think that the saint of Christ is yelling 
at the tax, saying, David, don't. As if we could somehow change 
events by yelling at him and saying, go out to battle. Don't 
send Joab, David. You go out. Please, David, don't 
go up on your roof. Because I know when you go on 
that roof, you're going to look at Bathsheba. And I know when 
you look at Bathsheba, you're going to violate the very psalm 
that you would write. The psalm that says, put no worthless 
thing before my eyes. And David does that very thing, 
and David seeks her, and he takes her, and he goes into her. And 
then instead of manning up, David covers up. And David has Uriah 
killed on the front line of battle, and others with Uriah. The prophet 
has to come to shake him out of his stupor. He tells him the 
story about the man who had the ewe lamb. The other man who wants 
to come and take the ewe lamb and barbecue it because his friends 
are visiting. And David gets incensed and he 
gets outraged and he says, I cannot believe this. And Nathan says, 
thou art the man. And God, through the prophet, 
says, I've given you everything. I've given you houses. I've given 
you wives. I've given you everything. And 
if that wasn't enough, I would have given you more. So we've 
seen David in the pit. You hear David in the psalter. 
What does he say? Why are you cast down, O my soul? Hope thou in God. David's not 
a perfect man. David's not a sinless man. But 
David's a better man because he's justified by faith in Christ. That's why. And when he sins, 
by God's grace he repents. When he sins, he appeals to the 
mercy of God in Jesus. When he sins, he doesn't harden 
his heart and stiffen his neck. Just the opposite of Saul the 
apostate. Verse 30, I have sinned. Yet 
honour 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 worshipped, and Saul worshipped 
the Lord. Again, every time the Bible says 
somebody did something, it doesn't necessarily mean it was true. 
Well, but he worshipped the Lord. He did what was right. Brethren, 
how can you conclude that after seeing all that has happened 
in this passage? It's like looking at 2 Kings 
17 and seeing the Assyrians coming into the land and the people 
of Israel, you know, worshipping Yahweh along with these pagan 
gods. Where does God ever say that 
He has truck with other gods? You're supposed to understand 
irony. Oh, really? They didn't really 
worship there? No. And neither did he. He's 
trying to save faiths. He wants to make sure that the 
people still esteem him and respect him. And again, the political 
undercurrent suggests that this was a good move on the part of 
Samuel at this particular time. And Samuel is not God. He is 
a man and he does change his mind. Notice. We just should 
pick up at least what happens with this fellow called Agag. 
Verses 32 to 35. Well, I think you know. And by 
the way, this is another argument for that righteous command of 
God to go and destroy the Amalekites. Notice that Agag isn't, you know, 
father of the year, husband of the year, king of the year. He 
doesn't have a coffee cup awarded to him by the local provincial 
government saying, great guy of the year. Agag was a wretch 
who led a wretched people. Note what he says. Surely the bitterness of death 
is past, verse 32. I think Agag's engaged in some 
wishful thinking here. He got enough of your own internal 
problems, maybe I can just slither out the back door and, you know, 
return unto the place from which I came. But Samuel said, as your 
sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless 
among women. You see, he's not dealing with 
an innocent man. Agag's sword has made women childless. And then verse 33b, Samuel hacked 
Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal. He carried out the 
harem principle. He did what was supposed to be 
done. He obeys God. And then note, verses 34-35 tie 
up, summarize, and conclude this particular event. 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. Don't miss that. What are we supposed to understand 
when the prophet of Israel doesn't visit the king of Israel? That's 
not a good sign. That's not good, brethren, when 
the prophet of God doesn't come to speak to the King of God. 
What is it saying to us? That all that has been promised 
in the text has come to pass. Saul rejected Yahweh, Yahweh 
rejected Saul. Verse 35. B. Nevertheless, Samuel mourned 
for Saul. There's that pastor's heart. 
And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel. 
You see, it wasn't just Agag who was hacked in pieces at the 
end of this particular chapter. So was Saul. It was a spiritual 
hacking, it was a cutting off, it was an abandonment, it was 
a having given over. You see, when you reject the 
living and true God, or to use the language in Hebrews 10.26-31, 
when you trample underfoot the Son of God, when you count as 
a common thing the blood of the covenant by which Christ was 
sanctified, and when you insult or you spit in the face of the 
Spirit of grace, you will be rejected." You see, Saul is indeed 
the portrait of an apostate. Well, brethren, in conclusion, 
there's a lot here concerning the doctrine of God. Again, I've 
mentioned that the teaching concerning divine impassibility necessarily 
must take into account 1 Samuel 15. You have two statements, 
verses 11 and 35. God said, I greatly regret that 
I have set up Saul as king. Verse 35, the Lord regretted 
that he had made Saul king over Israel. And then you have this 
statement in verse 29. And also the strength of Israel 
will not lie nor relent, for he is not a man that he should 
relent. In the first place, we need to understand that we're 
not smarter than the author of this particular page. In other 
words, we can't say, well, didn't he see that, that that seems 
contradictory? On the one hand, he says God 
regrets, God relents. And on the other hand, he says 
he doesn't. Maybe the author went and got a cup of coffee 
at a time and he came back and he sort of forgot what he wrote. 
There's no contradiction here. Again, there's a whole way to 
go about the explanation of this particular passage, but in terms 
of the character of God, he is immutable. That means he is unchangeable. And that then implies, necessarily, 
that he is what's called impassable. He's not affected, he doesn't 
have emotion, he isn't filled with passions the way men are. 
But at times, the scripture uses the language of men to communicate 
truth to men. And I submit that verses 10 and 
35, in the precise language, are improper predications. That means it's an analogical 
way of telling men who don't have the brightest bulbs in the 
chandelier what God is like in His character. Verse 29 is rather 
a proper, or it tells us something specifically concerning the being 
of God. Again, this can be developed 
further and has been in the sermons on this passage before, but just 
to make this observation. Secondly, we ought to appreciate 
the reign and subsequent apostasy of Saul. It's very intriguing. 
I didn't outline all of this data prior, but notice in chapter 
9, the Lord directed Samuel to Saul. Chapter 10, the Lord directed 
Samuel to anoint Saul. Chapter 10, the Lord equipped 
Saul for service. Chapter 10, the Lord set Saul 
over Israel. Chapter 11, the Lord granted 
Saul an early victory over the Ammonites. Remember that statement, 
they were killing Ammonites until the heat of the day? What we 
ought to conclude before we proceed and look further at the anatomy 
of an apostate, great privilege does not necessarily prove true 
grace. Great privilege does not necessarily 
prove the existence of grace. Remember that scene in Matthew 
7. Not everyone who says to me on 
that day, Lord, Lord, didn't we cast out demons in your name? 
Didn't we do mighty miracles in your name? Jesus never denies 
that they did it. Can you think of one particular 
person that really did do those things, but wasn't really converted? Judas. Judas went on the preaching 
tours. Judas had a degree of that apostolic 
authority. Judas went about, probably witnessed 
and saw and participated in these very things. But that's not the 
will of God. The will of God is that you believe 
in Him whom He sent, John 6, 40. And those who haven't believed 
in He whom He sent have not obeyed the will of God. You see, great 
privilege, growing up in a Christian family, going to a Reformed Baptist 
church, having a sermon audio app on your phone, or, you know, 
the Cambridge New King James, which is the Cadillac of Bibles. 
All these great privileges do not confirm the existence of 
grace. In fact, Jesus taught His disciples 
this in Luke 10. They come back from the preaching 
tour, and they say, Lord, we went out, we did these mighty 
things, we saw these things happen, we cast out demons, we healed, 
we did wonderful things. And Jesus says, don't rejoice 
in this, but rather rejoice that your names are written in heaven. 
See, we like to capitalize on what we do for Christ. No, we 
ought to do for Christ. But we ought to praise God for 
what we are in Christ by grace. We ought to praise God that He 
chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. We ought to praise 
God that the Savior lived, died, and rose again for guilty, vile, 
helpless sinners. We ought to praise God that He 
gave us the graces of faith and repentance so that we could close 
with Christ. Yes, we ought to go out and do 
for God. But what are we ultimately joyful 
about? It's that God has done for us. It's that Christ has reconciled 
us. It's that He gave Himself for 
us. That's what makes the believer 
happy. Well, in terms of Saul the apostate, 
we ought to observe that he blames others. I think we've brought 
that out. It's the people, it's the people, it's the people, 
it's the people. And the narrator tells us, it's Saul, it's Saul, 
it's Saul, it's Saul. Secondly, he is riddled with 
false piety. riddled with false piety. That's 
how we know, like in, say, Hebrews 10, 26 to 31. He's dealing with 
people that have come into contact with the Christian faith. He's 
not dealing with the heathen and the pagan out there. These 
are the people that trample underfoot the Son of God. These are the 
people that count as an unclean thing or a common thing the blood 
of the covenant by which He was sanctified. These are the people 
who insult the Spirit of grace. The same with Saul. He is riddled 
with false piety. I felt compelled to offer sacrifice. I felt compelled to impose this 
fast so perhaps Yahweh will bless us. And I felt compelled to spare 
Agag and to spare those animals so that we could sacrifice to 
the Lord. Apostasy doesn't typically come 
through the door wearing a red cape and having horns and a pitchfork. Sometimes it comes wearing a 
three-piece suit, a tie, and a fresh new haircut. Isaac commented 
yesterday, wow, you got a haircut since Wednesday night. Yeah, 
guys with new haircuts can even be apostate. I hope I'm not saying 
I'm an apostate. I think I'm looking unto Jesus. But I think we have this image 
in our head, the apostate is at home today, smoking crack. The apostate could very well 
be among us rejecting the Word of God. The apostate is, he's at the 
lake today. He's water skiing today. He may be in a whole host of 
churches and he's hardened his heart to the truth of God's Word. 
See, that's foundational to this. Trampling underfoot the Son of 
God, counting as a common thing the blood of the covenant, and 
insulting the Spirit of grace. What's the underlying current? 
We reject Scripture. Thirdly, he is self-deceived. 
I mean, in some senses it's sad, isn't it? Really, you're not 
obeying God. Samuel is bringing you along. Samuel is teaching you. Samuel 
is instructing. Everybody can see, Saul, you're 
not obeying God. These animals are testifying 
that you're not obeying God. Lay down your arms and surrender. Wave the white flag and stop. 
Don't engage in this self-deception. As well, he engages in a false 
repentance. He wants to look good before 
men, but not before God. Now, when we leave this particular 
chapter, in chapter 16, God identifies the man after his own heart. 
The Spirit comes upon this particular man, he goes out and he wins 
a spectacular battle in the Valley of Elah, and then from chapters 
18 to chapter 26, Saul tries to murder him. See, this is what 
apostasy ends up as. It may come with a fresh new 
haircut, may sit in the church instead of being a crack dealer 
somewhere. But it ends in the actual commission 
of grievous sin. David was the man of God's own 
choosing and this man Saul wanted to terminate him. And then he 
consults a witch in order to receive direction concerning 
a battle with the Philistines in chapter 28. He ultimately 
dies on the battlefield as an apostate before God. As I've 
said, as I hope you've gotten, foundational to all of this is 
his utter disregard for the Word of God. It's interesting, in 
our church we always come back to that, don't we? It always 
is a matter of what Thank ye of God's Word. And I think that's 
a good place to end up. I think that's a good emphasis 
to sound. Do you know what, brethren? When everything is said and done, 
whatever feelings we have, whatever desires we have, whatever emotions 
we have, whatever it is we want to accomplish, we always need 
to be governed by, disciplined by, ruled by, and watched over 
by God's Word. It's unfortunate. Somehow, somewhere 
along the line, well, it started in the garden, we actually thought 
we could do it without God's Word. We actually think that 
we can do church, we can do family, we can do home, we can do life, 
we can do whatever it is we want apart from God's revealed Word. 
No, we can't. Not in Please God. We must be 
dependent upon the Scriptures. And then finally, I hope that 
this survey of Saul the apostate With a special emphasis on Samuel's 
words in verses 22 to 23, we'll underscore for the people of 
God the priority of obedience. Note that I said, for the people 
of God. If you are not a believer here 
today, if you have not come to the Savior, if you have not looked 
and lived, look and live. My instruction is not to you 
to go out, do everything you can in order to get saved. No. You will never be able to 
do everything you can perfectly, exactly, entirely and perpetually. You can't do it. You have sinned. You have fallen short of the 
glory of God. You have transgressed. You have rebelled. You haven't 
loved God as you ought. You haven't loved your neighbor 
as you ought. And the only hope and the only remedy for your 
ruin is Jesus. Christ, believe on Him and you 
shall be saved. Paul outlines this in Ephesians 
2, 1-3. He sets before us our ruin. And then in verses 4 and following, 
provides for us the redemption or the remedy. And it's faith 
in Christ Jesus. But for the people of God who 
are justified by faith alone, that faith is never alone. But 
it's accompanied by all other graces and obedience is manifest. The priority of obedience in 
the life of God's people is absolutely crucial and needs to be thundered 
in an antinomian age. Jesus said, if you love me, go 
hankering after me wherever you want. No, if you love me, you 
will keep my commandments. The Apostle John says his commandments 
are not burdensome. They're not grievous. They're 
not a pain. I mean, just get this collective 
eye roll when we mention certain things, maybe not here, but elsewhere. 
You just get this antipathy to the revealed will of God. You 
mean God wants me to actually do this? Yes, if He says it. You mean God actually wants me 
to destroy all of the Amalekites? Yes, it's what He commanded. 
You don't have the right to shape the message, to tailor the message, 
to massage the message. You need to obey the message. 
At what point do we get that as God's people? Now, praise 
Him that there is forgiveness in Christ. Praise Him that there 
is mercy to be had. Praise Him that the same God 
over Saul is the same God over David, who, when he sins, confesses 
it, forsakes and finds mercy. Now, I trust that this sermon 
will hopefully be an encouragement to those who, by the grace of 
God, are trusting in Jesus and seeking to be faithful. I hope 
we'll all take it as an exhortation, as an exhortation to pursue those 
things that are pleasing to God. But as well, I hope there's some 
balm in the Gilead of the Gospel. I've been thinking about this 
recently. One of the most difficult things to convince people of 
is the forgiveness of sins. You get a sinner, somebody who 
hasn't come into contact with Jesus, somebody who hasn't believed 
the Gospel. And they're actually convicted, 
or they have this sense of their own guilt before God. They have 
this sense of their own unworthiness before God. It just weighs on 
them. And you preach the fullness of 
the Gospel to them, and you tell them, there is salvation in Him. There is forgiveness in Christ. 
It's hard to convince people of that. Now, obviously, we need 
the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit with the sinner. 
But even with the redeemed sinner, Isn't it hard for us to believe 
in a Davidic moment where we've done some awful things, that 
us saying, I have sinned against Yahweh, Yahweh will forgive us? It's hard, isn't it? Maybe this 
is why the Apostles' Creed includes the statement, I believe in the 
forgiveness of sins. I think the Church needs to parrot 
that and to confess that more and more and more. I believe 
in the forgiveness of sins. Saul was an apostate. There's 
no hope for him. But when we look to the pages 
of David, he sinned, he did horrible things, but he's trusting in 
the blood. He repents by the grace of God. He knows the forgiveness 
of sins. He pens the 130th Psalm where 
he says, If thou, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who 
could stand? but there is forgiveness with 
thee that thou mayest be feared. That's the man after God's own 
heart. He's not sinless. He's not perfect. 
He's redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. So, brethren, if 
you find that you have been less than stellar in your obedience 
to the truth of God's Word, confess it, forsake it, and you will 
find mercy. Let us pray. Our God, we thank 
You for the Word of Truth, and we thank You for these portraits 
that we have in Scripture, and we ask that You would help us 
to guard our own hearts, help us to be looking unto Jesus, 
the author and finisher of faith. Help us, God, to walk in those 
things that You call us unto, and help us to have a reverence 
for and a respect for Your Word. As we hear the declarative voice 
of God coming to us through the Old and New Testaments, may we 
not seek to manipulate it, may we not seek to shy away from 
it, but may we embrace it. And may you empower us by your 
Holy Spirit to do those things pleasing in your sight. Go with 
us now, we pray, and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.