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Now, open your Bible and let's join Pastor Skip Heitzig for today's teaching. The Philistines originally started from the islands out in the Aegean Sea. They then took over parts of Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey, but then, and that's what speaks to this text, they decided to leave and migrate along the Mediterranean coast, beginning down in Egypt, and then going up north. And north from Egypt is the land of Israel. And the Old Testament says there were five cities, five principal cities that were Philistine cities: Ashkelon, a coastal city; Ashdod; Gath; Gaza; and Ekron.
Those are the five stronghold cities of the Philistines.
Well, they invade the land. Israel has a hard time fighting them off, and eventually the Philistines capture. Probably the most sacred relic the Jews had, the Ark, the Ark of the Covenant, was stolen, and and apprehended by the Philistines and kept under their watch.
Now, when Eli the priest heard about this, he's 85 years old, he falls over on the stool he's setting, breaks his neck and dies. The last thing he heard is that the Ark has been captured, falls over dead. Not only that, but one of his sons' wives is about ready to deliver a baby, and she delivers the baby. In hearing the news, she went into labor and called the son Ichabod, which is a word that means the glory has departed, because the ark, the glory of God, has embodied in the ark, that sacred relic, had been taken by the Philistines.
So she birthed the son named Ichabod.
Now at this point, as things are getting worse with the Philistines, the people of Israel want a change, a change in leadership, and it's their desire that marks this transition to a new era for Israel: the monarchy, the United Monarchy. One hundred and twenty years of Israel being ruled by a single king. And you know the names of those three kings—not we three kings of Orient are the three kings of the Old Testament: Saul, David, and Solomon. Formed a united monarchy, a 120-year reign of this family of kings.
So, follow the transition so far in all of the Bible. When God established the people of Israel, they were under a theocracy; God ruled. God gave His word; people obeyed, or should have obeyed. They didn't obey, so it went from a theocracy to an anarchy. Every man did what was right in his own eyes.
Now the anarchy has gotten so bad, and there's no real central leader, so it will go from theocracy to anarchy, now to monarchy for 120 years of rule. Chapter eight, verse four. Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. Priest is dead. Everybody respects this guy.
He hears from God. He sees the future. He's their last judge. And they said to him, "Look, you are old." Polite group of people, aren't they? You're old.
And your sons do not walk in your ways.
Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. There's a leadership vacuum, and they're feeling it, and they want a king to be like everybody else. In the world, verse six. But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." So Samuel prayed to the Lord. I think Samuel took this personally.
He's God's representative, and he felt like, man, that must hurt God. I mean, it sure hurts me. He just got so bummed out at this, and didn't know really what to do. But what he did was the right thing. He prayed.
He felt so down and so low when he heard and he saw the the response of the people of Israel in in not wanting to be unique but wanting to be like the world. That he took it to prayer.
So mark that next time somebody says something to you that causes your heart to sink, do the right thing with that. Don't tell your neighbor. Tell your Lord. Tell him all about it. Pour out your heart to him.
He does that. Verse seven, the Lord said to Samuel, "Heed the voice of the people, in all that they say to you. For they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day, with which they have forsaken me and served other gods." So they are doing to you also. Give them what they want.
Do exactly what they're asking for.
Now, why would God tell him that? And it's a good question. In fact, it begs another question: Was a king, an earthly king, was a king the plan of God?
Now, it's a trick question. Because I'm going to answer that by saying no, and yes. No, in that ideally God wanted to reign over them directly, theocratic kingdom. By the way, that will happen one day. We call it the millennial kingdom, the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth.
That'll happen. That's God's original intent, a theocracy. But God also knew that isn't going to happen with sinful people. And so, yes, a king, an earthly king, was God's will. Because in Genesis 49, as Jacob's on his deathbed, he says this: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah until Shiloh, Messiah, comes." So God anticipated a rulership, a scepter.
Scepter is what kings hold; it is their emblem of authority. God knew that. Not only that, but in Deuteronomy 17, God says through Moses to the people of Israel, "And when you come into the land which I am giving you, and you ask for a king to be over you like all the other nations, so God is in heaven going, I can't believe they said that. God is saying, Yep, right on time." And when you ask for a king to rule over you to be like other nations, Deuteronomy 17, be sure, God said, be sure to appoint over you a king whom the Lord your God chooses.
So yes, a king was God's plan, but everything was wrong about this king at this time. What do I mean? Number one, it was the wrong tribe. Saul becomes the king. He's from the tribe of Benjamin.
The prophecy is the scepter will not depart from Judah. It's the scepter of Judah, the rulership of Judah. Number two, it was wrong timing. If they just waited ten years, that's when David comes on the scene and will become king.
So it was the wrong tribe. It was the wrong timing, and it's the wrong terms. They want it for the wrong reason, the worst motive. We want to be like everybody else. Not we want to be the unique people of God.
We just want—we don't want to stand out like a sore thumb. We want to blend in like all the other nations.
So, chapters nine through fifteen, Saul is highlighted. Let's call this third then the rule of a politician. That's the third section of the book of First Samuel. The rule of a politician. Saul becomes the first king.
He's a horrible king. He's a lousy leader. He starts well. You know the story. How does he end?
Well, poorly. He starts right. In humility, chapter nine, verse twenty-one tells us. And Saul answered and said, "When he's getting picked to be the king, am I not a Benjamite of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? Am my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin?
Why then do you speak like this to me?" He's going, "Oh man, I can't be the king. I'm like the worst pick. I'm from a little tribe. I'm not noteworthy. You might have your." Wires crossed.
Now mark this, mark well his beginning. He's humble. That will change. It does not last very long. Let me just sort of sum up what I see in the next few chapters, so we have time to get through the book.
He made several mistakes. Number one, he was arrogant. Saul was arrogant. The Philistines invaded the land. They were to go to battle, and Samuel.
Tell Saul, before you do, let me come to where you are and offer a sacrifice before the Lord. Then go into battle.
Well, Samuel didn't come when Saul thought he should come, so he just whips out the animal, puts it on the altar, and he does the role of a priest himself and offers the sacrifice. When Samuel Samuel comes, said, "Man, what are you doing? You're not a priest. You're a king. You you you transgress rules." But I want you to notice a mark of his arrogance, in chapter thirteen, verse three, it says, "And Jonathan, this is Saul's son, attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Gibeah, and the Philistines heard it.
Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout the land, saying, 'Let the Hebrews hear.'" So I want you to see what's happening. His son invades, but his dad blows the trumpet. He's tooting his own horn. Literally, he's blowing his horn. He's saying, "Look what we did!" He really didn't do anything but watch so far.
But now this is a mark of this man. He can't stand to see anyone around him upstage him.
So he he took credit for it. Pride always destroys what God builds. If God is building something in you and starting to use you, and you you start going, "Wow, I'm amazed that God would even choose me—the foolish things of this world that confound the wise." God wants to use me. Wow, I'm honored. Wow, that's awesome.
Keep that. Keep doing that. This is Connect with Skip Heitzig. Your generosity helps share clear Bible teaching with people who need the truth and hope of God's Word. And as Christmas approaches, we'd love to thank you with two meaningful resources designed to encourage faith in you and the people you love.
The Daily God Journal by Pastor Skip will guide you through Scripture and prayer every day for an entire year. And Nate Heitzig's "Christmas Under the Tree" tells the story of Jesus from the cradle to the cross in a way your whole family can experience together. Keep these resources, or give them as meaningful Christmas gifts, while your generosity helps connect more people to God's Word. Receive both when you give fifty dollars or more to share biblical truth with more people around the world. Request your copies at connectwithskip.com/offer, or call eight hundred nine two two eighteen eighty eight.
Now, here's more from Pastor Skip. It's when you start getting full of yourself. And thinking that it's because of you, rather than in spite of you, that God is using you—that's when you are in trouble. See, the truth is, God picked you because you are a good case study to show Himself off. It's like, yeah, if I use you, then people are going to have to say that was God.
That's how God operates. Don't ever think that God looked at you and stopped and pondered at your awesomeness, and said one day, "Oh my stars, I can't pass this guy or gal up. They're just too anointed, too good." God just said, "Least likely, perfect specimen for me to showcase my glory." At first, he was small in his own eyes, but he gets big. You know, pride is always a problem. It was the first sin.
The first sin. I'm not talking Adam and Eve. I'm talking Lucifer in heaven. He lifted himself up above God, and God put him down. I've always loved the story about the woodpecker who was pecking away at a tree, and then lightning struck the tree.
As soon as he flew away, and he looked back, and he noticed the lightning had split the tree in half. And the woodpecker said to his buddy, "Look what I just did." Well, truth is, all he did is narrowly escape his own death by flying away. But that lightning split the tree.
So he was arrogant. Number one. Number two, Saul was indifferent. On one battle, he reduces the army to six hundred men, and Saul is sitting under a tree watching things happen. Jonathan once again.
Jonathan, his son, isn't a guy to sit under trees. Jonathan says to his armor bearer, "Hey, buddy, come here. Let's go down to the garrison of the Philistines, and let's see if perhaps the Lord will deliver the entire army of the Philistines into the hands of you and me alone, just two against the army." What do you say now? What would you say? You might want to get another armor bearer.
I'm thinking of changing positions and working for another dude. But he says, "Man, if that's in your heart, let's go for it." So I love that. Chapter 14, verse 6. Jonathan said, "Maybe the Lord will work for us. For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few." Now, in the meantime, as they're winning the battle two against an army, in the meantime, Saul the king gives the stupidest order any general could ever give to his troops.
You can't eat a thing until we win the battle. No food, no energy, no protein, nothing. Win the battle first, then we can eat. Anybody who eats, I'm going to kill. How'd you like to have a general like that?
How'd you like to work for a leader like that?
Well, Jonathan was gone; he didn't hear about it. What he did, Jonathan, in this whole episode of winning the battle, is take some honey that he sees, grabs some, eats it, gets the energy that you would get from that kind of rush of sugar. But his dad finds out. Chapter fourteen, verse forty-three. Saul said to Jonathan, "Tell me what you have done." Okay, I'll tell you what I have done.
I did what you didn't do. I won the battle, me and my armor bear alone. Hello. But listen to his dad. Tell me what you have done.
And Jonathan told him and said, "I only tasted a little honey." With the end of the rod that was in my hand, when Saul, his dad, hears this, he goes, "Sorry, rules are rule. Gonna have to kill you." Seriously, he was about to kill him. Verse forty-five. But the people said to Saul, "Shall Jonathan die, who has accomplished this great deliverance in Israel? Certainly not." As the Lord lives, not one hair of his head will fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.
And so the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die. Can you see Saul revealing his true colors here? And the colors here is that he hates to see others around him, even his son honored. He wants to have all the glory, all the accolades.
So he was arrogant. He was indifferent. Third, Saul was disobedient. By the time we get to chapter fifteen, a war is on with the Amalekites, another raiding band of people that were creating problems for the Israelites. God gives an order that all the Amalekites.
Are to be obliterated. All the animals are to be obliterated. Everything. Saul goes to battle, does not obey the Lord. By the way, I just want to mention that for a moment.
Talk a little bit about that. What happens with the Amalekites? Israel wiping them out. You're going to read some of these things in the Old Testament. We've already noticed them.
It seems and sounds to our ears. Strange for a God of love. You've heard people say, "How could a God of love allow that or command that?" What kind of a butcher is God? How unjust is that?
Well, what happened in this instance and in others is what we would designate as a just war. A just war is is something that Augustine, one of the early church fathers. Gave several principles for what is just for a nation when considering warfare. What criteria do they have to meet? And often, those a list of those were biblical.
Was a biblical list.
So, some would say, "Well, this is a harsh treatment of these Amalekites. Why would God allow that?" Listen, this is like extreme surgery. You go to a doctor, and the doctor says. You know, we have discovered cancer in your right leg, and it's so advanced, and we have no way to stop it. The only thing we can do to save your life is to cut your right leg off.
Now, if you were to, at that point, turn to him and say, "Doctor, what kind of a doctor are you? Who do you think you are? What right do you have? Where'd you get your medical degree?" He would say, "I'm a good doctor." I'm trying to save your life. If you don't want me to save your life, it's going to take your life.
The Amalekites were like an aggressive cancer, and if you are wondering why would God want them wiped out, understand this: they weren't wiped out. Saul disobeyed, and now follow the story forward to the book of Esther. And it says that there was a guy in the land of Persia called Haman, who was an Agagite. You know what an Agagite is? A descendant of Agag.
Agag was the king of the Amalekites, and he was one of the people that Saul spared.
So now, almost the entire nation of the Jews would be wiped out by an Agagite, because Saul didn't want to obey God's command and kill Agag, the Amalekite. Chapter fifteen, verse thirteen. Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, "So now it's like a showdown." So you just picture: here is King Saul and the army. Over here on that horizon is Samuel the prophet. They're just sort of walking toward each other, walking toward each other.
Now they meet, and Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, "Blessed are you of the Lord." Ooh, that sounds good. Say, hire this guy on my staff. He's so spiritual. I have performed the commandment of the Lord. He had the right talk.
Samuel said to him, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? Yet don't I remember saying that God said, 'Kill even all the animals; don't take any spoils.' And you are saying, 'Oh, praise God, brother! I've done everything God, our Father, wanted us to do.' Really, why do I hear sheep?" And cows, if you've obeyed God's voice. And Saul said, "They's pointing now to them, this army. 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." Oh wait! Oh God, smells that sheep burnin'. It's the best mutton he's ever smelled. Then Samuel said to Saul, "Be quiet." I love Samuel. He's a man's man.
Not well. That's how you feel. That's not how I see it. Be quiet. Zip it.
Stop talking. And I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night. And he said to him, "Go, speak on." Go down to verse twenty-two.
So Samuel said, "Has the Lord 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, the Lord, has rejected you from being king. Would you let this serve as a warning? We are so quick, as soon as anybody mentions God, to say, "Oh, they love the Lord." They follow God.
They're they're believers. We especially like to do this with famous people, our heroes, our sports heroes, musical figures. You know, they mention God. You know, spirit in the sky or something generic. Is that most be believers?
We just want them to believe, and so we let them join the family of God by almost any kind of admission that God exists. We have to be careful because this man, Saul, has all the right talk. He has no walk whatsoever. We're so glad you joined us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before you go, here's a reminder: when you give fifty dollars or more this month, we'll thank you with the Daily God Journal by Pastor Skip and Christmas Under the Tree by Nate Heitzig.
Keep them for yourself, or share them as meaningful Christmas gifts that encourage faith and point the people you love toward God. And your generosity helps Connect with Skip continue sharing clear Bible teaching with people searching for truth and hope. Request both resources today at Connect with Skip dot com slash offer, or call eight hundred nine two two eighteen eighty eight. See you next time. Make a connection.
Make a connection at the foot of the cross. Catch your burdens on His shoulders. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times. What if your next trip didn't just take you somewhere new, but brought Scripture to life? Join Skip and Lenya Heitzig for an unforgettable tour of Israel, April 5 through 16.
Twenty twenty seven. Walk the streets of Jerusalem. Sail the Sea of Galilee. Stand at the Jordan River. Visit the Garden Tomb and experience the places where Jesus lived, taught, died, and rose again.
Along the way, enjoy powerful teaching, worship, fellowship, and the opportunity to attend the Episenter Summit in Jerusalem, featuring Joel Rosenberg, Greg Laurie, and Graham Lotts, Jack Graham, and other respected Christian leaders. Visit Israel, strengthen your faith, experience the Bible like never before. Learn more and reserve your place today at connectwithskip.com/israel.
