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Saul and Samuel - The Book of 1 Samuel · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And Samuel said, What hast thou done?
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  Speaker 1: And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were
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  Speaker 1: scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the
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  Speaker 1: days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash.
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  Speaker 1: 1 Samuel 13.11. Dear God, today I declare that a
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  Speaker 1: new day is upon me. Today I declare that living
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  Speaker 1: a victorious life is my new norm and not my exception.
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  Speaker 1: As the victory over my circumstances increases, I will not
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  Speaker 1: act as Saul in 1 Samuel 13 and allow my
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  Speaker 1: ambition and anxieties cause me to move and act on
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  Speaker 1: things that you've commanded me to wait on. Holy Spirit,
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  Speaker 1: quicken my courage so that I will not let the
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  Speaker 1: appearance of troubles cause me to step outside my character
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  Speaker 1: and God-given peace. I will wait patiently for you and
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  Speaker 1: your instructions as it pertains to the plans for my future.
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  Speaker 1: I denounce negative prideful behaviors and arrogance from my mind.
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  Speaker 1: I declare that I am calm, centered, and clear-headed in
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  Speaker 1: the face of trials. For I know that you are
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  Speaker 1: always with me. I thank you that my resolve has
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  Speaker 1: been strengthened and that my reliance is on my obedience.
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  Speaker 1: which pleases you more than my sacrifices. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 1: Listening to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God.
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  Speaker 1: Continue hearing from the Lord by listening to today's Bible
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  Speaker 1: in a Year. Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Saul and Samuel. In our last story, we witnessed Saul's
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  Speaker 2: rise as king. He led the Israelites into victory over
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  Speaker 2: the Ammonites, and all the people rejoiced over their new leader. However,
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  Speaker 2: a flickering light of pride dwelt within Saul's heart. In
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  Speaker 2: this story, we learn how Samuel sees right through Saul's
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  Speaker 2: strong and noble appearance and confronts him. Inspired by the book.
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  Speaker 3: Of 1 Samuel, Hello, this is Jack Graham with today's
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  Speaker 3: episode of the Bible in a Year podcast. Yesterday we
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  Speaker 3: heard about King Saul's first battle as the leader of
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  Speaker 3: God's people. His heart was focused on God and his
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  Speaker 3: army soundly defeated the Ammonites. Saul gave glory to God
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  Speaker 3: in that moment, recognizing the Lord for delivering Israel from
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  Speaker 3: her enemy. But even in that moment, pride began to
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  Speaker 3: creep in. And in today's scripture, we'll see that God's
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  Speaker 3: prophet Samuel isn't fooled by Saul's outward displays of humility.
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  Speaker 3: The great prophet recognizes the pride that is seeping into
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  Speaker 3: the king's heart. God's man will call out the king,
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  Speaker 3: but how will the young ruler respond? Let's listen now
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  Speaker 3: to find out.
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  Speaker 2: Samuel was old and weary. The people's grumbling for a
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  Speaker 2: king was answered, and Samuel retired himself to the outskirts
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  Speaker 2: of Israel. where he dwelled. Samuel watched over Israel silently,
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  Speaker 2: being attentive to the voice of God. Though Saul was king,
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  Speaker 2: Samuel was still priest over Israel. All matters of worship, prayer,
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  Speaker 2: and speaking for God were solely Samuel's responsibility. Saul had
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  Speaker 2: been ruling for two years and had established himself as
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  Speaker 2: a great warrior king. Saul's tact, strength, and image of
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  Speaker 2: humility made him beloved by the people. After a while,
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  Speaker 2: it was time for Saul to mount an offense against
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  Speaker 2: the Philistines. Saul chose 3,000 of his finest warriors and
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  Speaker 2: took 2,000 to the hill country of Bethel. The other
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  Speaker 2: thousand went with his son Jonathan to the land of Benjamin,
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  Speaker 2: where some Philistines had begun attacking. Jonathan was a young man,
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  Speaker 2: strong and also loved by the people. While Saul wore
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  Speaker 2: humility like a costume, Jonathan was truly humble. With his
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  Speaker 2: men behind him, Jonathan stormed the city where the Philistines
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  Speaker 2: held Israelites hostage and struck them down swiftly. All of
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  Speaker 2: the Philistines caught word of their victory, and their anger
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  Speaker 2: against Israel grew. That day Saul blew the trumpet of victory,
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  Speaker 2: signifying that they had taken back the land of Benjamin.
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  Speaker 2: This riled up the rest of Israel to join Saul
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  Speaker 2: for another battle at Gilgal. Saul was glowing with pride,
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  Speaker 2: and his heart grew addicted to the praise and loyalty
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  Speaker 2: of his people. It did not take long for the
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  Speaker 2: Philistines to retaliate. In the distance, 30,000 chariots and 6,000
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  Speaker 2: horsemen scattered like sand on the seashore. The horizon was
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  Speaker 2: blackened by the soldiers. The Philistine foot soldiers hid in caves, holes,
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  Speaker 2: and rocks nearby in waiting for Israel. It was an
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  Speaker 2: army unlike any of them had ever seen. The vastness
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  Speaker 2: of their people, coupled with the strength of their chariots,
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  Speaker 2: sent chills down the Israelites' spines. If Saul wanted to
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  Speaker 2: fight them, he had to cross below the canyons. Slowly,
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  Speaker 2: the men of Israel walked towards Gilgal. Every sound and
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  Speaker 2: movement startled them. They were all waiting for the Philistine
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  Speaker 2: horde to emerge from the darkness to attack. The sound
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  Speaker 2: of armor shaking echoed through the canyons. They finally came
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  Speaker 2: to a place to camp at Gilgal and waited for Samuel.
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  Speaker 2: For Samuel had told them he would come to make
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  Speaker 2: a sacrifice to God before they went into battle. The
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  Speaker 2: people of Israel had finally found a rhythm of obedience
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  Speaker 2: to God. Before every battle, Samuel would lead them in
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  Speaker 2: worship to ask God for favor. This was a pattern
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  Speaker 2: they had not had in years, and God was very
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  Speaker 2: pleased with their obedience. Yet seven days had passed and
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  Speaker 2: Samuel had still not arrived. Saul grew anxious. He wanted bloodshed.
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  Speaker 2: He wanted the battle to be over with. The people
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  Speaker 2: were growing restless and Saul's men began to depart. Saul,
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  Speaker 2: out of fear people would not trust him, spoke, saying,
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  Speaker 2: Just bring the peace offering to me. I will make
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  Speaker 2: the sacrifice to God. Saul hastily and sloppily offered the
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  Speaker 2: sacrifice and led people in worship. Saul worshipped God with
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  Speaker 2: no reverence, love, or intensity. Instead, he sought as a
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  Speaker 2: chore that needed to be done quickly before they went
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  Speaker 2: into battle. As Saul had finished, behold, Samuel stood behind him.
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  Speaker 2: Saul looked at Samuel's eyes. They shot right through him.
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  Speaker 2: His gaze was piercing and reflected the intensity of God.'
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  Speaker 2: What have you done?' Samuel said to Saul. Saul gave
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  Speaker 2: a nervous laugh and said, The people were growing nervous
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  Speaker 2: because you were late, and the Philistines are ready for battle.
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  Speaker 2: Saul continued to smile and feign ignorance. I had no
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  Speaker 2: choice but to begin the offering. As king, I had
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  Speaker 2: to seek favor from God. Samuel saw right through Saul.
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  Speaker 2: He knew Saul only did it out of compulsion. He
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  Speaker 2: rushed the worship of God to appease his own anxiety.
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  Speaker 2: Not only that, but he was not a priest or
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  Speaker 2: chosen by God to speak for him. You are a fool, Saul,
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  Speaker 2: Samuel said. Your kingdom will be as temporary as your
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  Speaker 2: obedience to God. God has already set his gaze on
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  Speaker 2: another king, a man after his own heart. After saying this,
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  Speaker 2: Samuel vanished, and the people followed Saul into battle.
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  Speaker 3: Our story begins with Samuel, now an aged man. He
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  Speaker 3: is no longer judge over Israel as a new era
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  Speaker 3: has begun and Saul is now king leading the people
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  Speaker 3: of Israel. But Samuel is still God's chosen priest and
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  Speaker 3: his prophet. He is still God's man. While Saul was
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  Speaker 3: in charge of leading the nation and going into battle
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  Speaker 3: as their commander, Samuel was charged with worship and leading
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  Speaker 3: the children of Israel spiritually. In just two years as king,
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  Speaker 3: Saul had gained the people's admiration, respect, and loyalty. They
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  Speaker 3: followed him into battle and God granted them great victories.
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  Speaker 3: If only Saul had remembered his first battle when he
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  Speaker 3: acknowledged that the victory belonged to the Lord, then his
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  Speaker 3: life would have gone in a different direction. But when
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  Speaker 3: everyone around you tells you how great you are, you
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  Speaker 3: begin to believe it. And Saul was hearing a lot
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  Speaker 3: about how great he was from the people. Saul called
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  Speaker 3: up an army to do battle with the Philistines. The
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  Speaker 3: enemy was split into two camps. Saul's son Jonathan defeated
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  Speaker 3: the first of the enemy's units, and the people celebrated
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  Speaker 3: the victory, praising Saul for the win. But there were
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  Speaker 3: other Philistines mounting an attack in Gilgal. This was a
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  Speaker 3: much larger army, and the people of Israel were fearful.
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  Speaker 3: So Saul called on Samuel to offer sacrifices to God
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  Speaker 3: before the battle. It was an act of worship that
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  Speaker 3: pleased God. All was going well until Samuel delayed his arriving.
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  Speaker 3: The frightened Israelites began to disperse and Saul felt his
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  Speaker 3: control slipping. He must have thought to himself, I can
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  Speaker 3: do this on my own. I don't need Samuel. I
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  Speaker 3: don't need God. But he did. He needed God and
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  Speaker 3: God's men. This was a sacred position and it was
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  Speaker 3: Samuel's responsibility and calling. Saul was now impulsive and too
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  Speaker 3: sure of himself. So he offered the sacrifices himself on
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  Speaker 3: his own. This was disobedience. And just like when a
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  Speaker 3: child has acted impatiently and disobeyed a parent, Samuel shows
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  Speaker 3: up just in time to catch Saul in the act.
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  Speaker 3: When Samuel confronts Saul, he hears no contrition or apologies
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  Speaker 3: and sees no repentance. Saul only had excuses. He tried
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  Speaker 3: to rationalize his way out of it. But Samuel, and
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  Speaker 3: of course God, saw right through the facade. And the
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  Speaker 3: cost of his pride and arrogance was impulsively high. Samuel
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  Speaker 3: speaks to Saul in 1 Samuel 13, 14 and says this,
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  Speaker 3: But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has
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  Speaker 3: sought out a man after his own heart, and the
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  Speaker 3: Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people
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  Speaker 3: because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.
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  Speaker 3: Saul forfeits his right to be king because he disobeyed God.
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  Speaker 3: After Samuel confronts Saul, he then went away, leaving Saul
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  Speaker 3: to go into battle. But Saul's story isn't over. So
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  Speaker 3: much needs to happen before the new king comes on
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  Speaker 3: the scene, and we'll hear more of Saul's story next time. God,
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  Speaker 3: may we obey you and not partially but completely. May
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  Speaker 3: we humbly and obediently do what you tell us to
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  Speaker 3: do always. Help us not to seek the praise of men,
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  Speaker 3: but only you. May we be men and women after
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  Speaker 3: your heart. And we pray this in the name of
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  Speaker 3: your son, Jesus. Amen. Thank you for listening to today's
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas.
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  Speaker 3: make a genuine, even eternal difference in their lives. And
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