Ⅳ
Saul was chosen by God and anointed by Samuel to be the king of Israel—1 Sam. 9:1-2, 17; 10:1, 24:
A
Saul disobeyed God's word at least twice so that he lost his kingship and his kingdom (13:13-14; 15:19, 23; 28:17-19); when Saul disobeyed God in 1 Samuel 15, he actually rebelled against Him.
B
In this chapter Samuel told Saul, "Rebellion is like the sin of divination, / And insubordination is like idolatry and teraphim" (v. 23a); to practice divination is to have contact with evil spirits; what Saul did in rebelling against God was like this sin of divination; he was not subordinate to God and in fact became an enemy to God; as a result, he lost his kingship.
C
Saul's tragic end was altogether due to his not being properly related to God's economy; God, wanting to build up His kingdom among His chosen people, had brought Saul into His economy, but instead of participating in God's economy and cooperating with it, Saul was selfish and usurped God's kingdom to build up his own monarchy; he was filled with thoughts of the kingship, including thoughts about how his son would succeed him—20:31.
D
In this, Saul was selfish and wrong to the uttermost; eventually, God gave Saul up and cut him off, tearing the kingdom away from him (15:28); because Saul was given up by God, he was left alone, like an orphan, having no provision of help when trouble came.
E
Because of Saul's selfishness, the people of Israel suffered defeat and were slaughtered in the fight against the Philistines, and Saul and his sons were killed; Saul's ambition to have the kingdom for himself and for his son, with his jealousy of David, confiscated and ended his enjoyment of the good land promised by God—20:30-34.
F
The collective death of Saul, his three sons, and his armor bearer was God's fair judgment on the one who had rebelled against Him, had usurped Him, and had become His enemy (1 Chron. 10:13-14); from Saul's tragic end we should learn the lesson of crucifying our flesh and denying our selfishness—our self-interest and self-seeking (Gal. 5:24; Matt. 16:24; Phil. 2:3).
G
The record of Saul's terrible end is a strong warning to all who serve in the kingdom of God not to do a separate work within the kingdom of God or to abuse anything in the kingdom; we should not be like Saul, trying to build up a "monarchy" for ourselves; rather, we should all do one unique work to build up the kingdom of God, the Body of Christ—1 Sam. 31:1-13.
Morning Nourishment
1 Sam. 15:23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and insubordination is like idolatry and teraphim. Because you have rejected the word of Jehovah, He has also rejected you from being king.Gal. 5:24 But they who are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and its lusts.
Matt. 16:24 …If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
Saul was chosen by God and anointed by Samuel to be the king of Israel (1 Sam. 9:17; 10:1, 24).
Saul disobeyed God’s word at least twice so that he lost his kingship and his kingdom (13:13-14; 15:19, 23; 28:17-19). When Saul disobeyed God in chapter 15, he actually rebelled against Him. Thus, in this chapter Samuel told Saul, “Rebellion is like the sin of divination, / And insubordination is like idolatry and teraphim” (v. 23a). To practice divination is to have contact with evil spirits, something that is utterly contrary to God’s principle. What Saul did in rebelling against God was like this sin of divination. Saul was not subordinate to God and in fact became an enemy to God. As a result, he lost his kingship. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, pp. 129-130)
Today’s Reading
From the tragic end of Saul we can learn many things concerning God’s economy. The tragedy suffered by Saul was altogether due to his not being properly related to God’s economy. God is carrying out His economy on earth, and He brought Saul into His economy. Instead of participating in God’s economy and cooperating with it, Saul was selfish. God wanted to build up His kingdom among His chosen people, but Saul usurped God’s kingdom to build up his own monarchy…. After Saul was appointed to be the king, he was immediately filled with thoughts of the kingship, including how his son would succeed him (1 Sam. 20:31). In this Saul was selfish and wrong to the uttermost.Eventually, God gave Saul up and cut him off, tearing the kingdom away from him [cf. 15:28]…. Because Saul was given up by God, he was left alone, like an orphan, having no provision of help when trouble came. Even though David was the most skillful and experienced fighter, he was of no use to Saul because of Saul’s selfishness and envy. Actually, because Saul wanted to do away with him, David was forced to go to a country that was Israel’s biggest enemy (27:1-2).
When the Philistines gathered their camps to fight against Israel, David, who had become the bodyguard to King Achish, was in a dilemma of being one with the Philistines to fight against Israel. This dilemma was the result of Saul’s selfishness. The people of Israel suffered defeat and were slaughtered also because of Saul’s selfishness. But God in His sovereignty came in to deal with Saul and to rescue David from his dilemma.
We need to muse upon every aspect of this story, for it contains some lessons that we need to learn. First, from this story, this illustration, we should learn the lesson of crucifying our flesh. Next, we should learn to condemn our selfishness—our self-interest and self-seeking. Furthermore, Saul was full of self, and from his tragic end we must learn to deny our self. As the Lord Jesus said, if we would follow Him, we must deny the self and take up the cross (Matt. 16:24).
The record of Saul’s terrible end is a strong warning to all the serving ones in the kingdom of God not to do a separate work within the kingdom of God or to abuse anything in the kingdom. In the Lord’s recovery we must be in fear and trembling, always working for God’s kingdom and not for our own work. Saul’s tragic ending should warn us not to play with God…. We are all here to build up the kingdom, the Body of Christ…. No matter where we may be, we have only one work. We should not be today’s Saul, considering only the work in our region and trying to build up a monarchy for ourselves. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, pp. 113-114, 125, 119)
Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 34, “The Glorious Church,” ch. 3