“SAUL----ISRAEL GETS A KING” (1 Sam 9:1-12)
Jan 4th, 2012
Int. Never did a young man give fairer promise than did young Saul.
1. Saul could be easily distinguished from other young men in several different ways.
I. HIS PHYSICAL SUPERIORITY (Vr. 1) “Power or Valour”
A. HE WAS A CHOICE YOUNG MAN. (Vr. 2)
1. Churches today look for these qualities instead of a man “filled with the Spirit.”
2. The Scriptures speak of a “Choice Vine, choce gold, choce silver,choice sheep, choice fir trees, choice cedars,”
3. I hope and pray that our country will use some discretion in our upcoming election this coming November.
B. HE WAS “GOODLY” YOUNG MAN. (Vr. 2)
1. The Hebrew renders this word “goodly” several different ways...
a. “Graciously, joyful, kindly, kindness, liketh (best), loving, merry, X most, pleasant, + pleaseth, pleasure, precious, prosperity, ready, sweet, wealth, welfare, (be) well ([-favoured]).”
2. (Gen 27:15) "And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:"
a. The "goodly rainment" was the outer garment worn by the Oriental.
b. (Gen 39:6) “....And Joseph was a goodly person and well favoured.”
c. Moses was called a “goodly child” (Ex 2:2)
d. (Heb 11:23) "By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment."
e. (1 Sam 16:12) "And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he."
C. HE WAS A STRONG YOUNG MAN. (Vr 2)
1. From the shoulders & up.
2. Pulpit C. says: “He was in the prime of manhood, and of lofty stature and great warlike beauty (ver. 2).
3. (1 Sam 10:23-24) "And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. {24} And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king."
4. (Luke 11:21) "When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:"
II. HE POSSESSED A COMMENDABLE DISPOSITION.
A. HE WAS A MODEST YOUNG MAN. (Vr. 21)
1. (1 Sam 10:21-22) "When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found. {22} Therefore they inquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff."
a. Willie Overton: "Modesty is not something that is promoted, but sometimes welcomed"
b. This word “Modest” is only found one time in Scripture, probably because it is so rare.
B. HE WAS A PATIENT YOUNG MAN.
1. (1 Sam 10:27) "But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace."
2. (Lev 10:3) “And Aaron held his peace” as he saw his two sons lying on the floor of the Tabernacle. (They had offered strange fire on the altar & God killed them)
3. When questioned by the High Priest, “Jesus held his peace” (Mt 26:63)
C. HE HAD A GENEROUS SPIRIT.
1. (1 Sam 11:13) "And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for to day the LORD hath wrought salvation in Israel."
2. Consider this sentence: "He could have demanded death, but he was another man with another heart."
D. HE WAS CONSIDERATE OF HIS FATHER’S FEELINGS.
1. (1 Sam 9:5) "And when they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us."
E. HE WAS A YOUNG MAN OF GREAT COURAGE.
1. (1 Sam 11:6-11) "And the spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly. {7} And he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent. {8} And when he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. {9} And they said unto the messengers that came, Thus shall ye say unto the men of Jabeshgilead, To morrow, by that time the sun be hot, ye shall have help. And the messengers came and showed it to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad. {10} Therefore the men of Jabesh said, To morrow we will come out unto you, and ye shall do with us all that seemeth good unto you. {11} And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch, and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they which remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together."
F. HE HAD A CAPACITY FOR STRONG LOVE.
1. (1 Sam 16:21) "And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer."
G. HE WAS AT FIRST AGAINST SPIRITISM.
1. (1 Sam 28:3) "Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land."
2. Merrill F. Unger: "Demons in the World Today" (Entire volumn)
Ill. Fortune Tellers of today.
III. SAUL WAS UNIQUELY BLESSED BY THE LORD.
A. THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD CAME UPON HIM.
1. (1 Sam 10:6) "And the spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man."
B. IT IS SAID THAT GOD GAVE HIM ANOTHER HEART.
1. (1 Sam 10:9) "And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day."
C. HE IS SAID TO HAVE BECOME “ANOTHER MAN”.
1. (1 Sam 10:6) "And the spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into ‘another man.’"
D. HE IS SAID TO HAVE EVEN POSSESSED THE GIFT OF PROPHESY.
1. (1 Sam 10:10) "And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them."
E. HE WAS GIVEN A BAND OF MEN WHOSE HEARTS THE LORD HAD TOUCHED.
1. (1 Sam 10:26) "And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched."
F. HE BEGAN HIS KINGSHIP WITH A SPECTACULAR MILITARY VICTORY.
1. (1 Sam 11:12) "And the people said unto Samuel, Who is he that said, Shall Saul reign over us? bring the men, that we may put them to death."
Note: With these unusual gifts, he ascended the Throne and didn’t show any signs of vain glory.
IV. NOW WE NOTICE HIS LATER DECLINE.
Int. Consider what was expected by the King of his people.
1. (Deu 17:14-20) "When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; {15} Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. {16} But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. {17} Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. {18} And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: {19} And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: {20} That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel."
2. J. S. Baxter says: “His early promise was like a morning sky that shined brightly, but soon overcast with a dark cloud.
3. There are four words that best describe the downfall of Saul.
a. Defection, declension, degeneration, and disaster.
b. These set in until this giant hero drops as a haggard suicide into an ignominious death.
A. NOTICE HIS FIRST DEFECTION. (Ch. 13:1-9)
1. There was first, irreverent presumption.
2. He was rebuked by the Prophet Samuel. (1 Sam 13:13-14) "And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. {14} But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee."
3. Notice the stock from which he came —the geneology of Kish.
a. The word “kish” means "a bow"
b. Pulpit C. says: "Saul the son of Kish, a wealthy Benjamite, and remarkable for stature and goodliness,....."
B. NOTICE HIS SECOND DEFECTION. (Ch. 14)
1. He rushes his men into battle without waiting for word from God through Jonathan.
a. (1 Sam 14:19-20) "And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand. {20} And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture."
2. He also rashly imposed death on any man who should eat food that day.
a. (1 Sam 14:24) "And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food."
3. His men, as a result, were too weak to follow up victory that day.
a. (1 Sam 14:30) "How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for had there not been now a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?"
4. This pressed the hungry army into eating flesh with blood.
a. (1 Sam 14:32) "And the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground: and the people did eat them with the blood."
5. His own son comes under the death sentence through ignorance. (Vr. 27)
a. (1 Sam 14:27) "But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened.”
6. He is rescued by the army of Saul. (1 Sam 14:45) "And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not."
C. NOTICE HIS THIRD DEFECTION. (1 Sam 15:2-9)
1. He failed to carry out the orders of God through Samuel in utterly destroying Agag.
D. NOTICE HIS FOURTH DEFECTION IN (1 Sam 18:10-29)
1. He threw a javelin at King to be David.
E. NOTICE HIS FIFTH DEFECTION IN (1 Sam 19:6-16)
1. He once again tried to murder David while David was supposed to be sleeping.
2. David’s wife, Michael let him down through a window to escape Saul’s hand.
F. NOTICE HIS SIXTH DEFECTION... (1 Sam 28:6-7)
1. He turns to “Witchcraft” which he had once fought against.
2. (1 Sam 28:6-7) "And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the[2] LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. {7} Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor."
a. Don Fortner: "God's Servants Are Watchmen, Not Watch Women! I know that in this day of feminism, when women want to look, act, and talk like men and men are taught to look, act, and talk like women, people are aghast when they hear it, but hear it you will in this place - No woman has ever been called of God to preach the gospel, pastor a church, or serve as a deacon in a church. The Word of God is crystal clear in this matter. And no other argument or sentiment is of any importance in this matter."
3. This practice was forbidden under the law.
a. (Deu 18:10) "There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,"
b. (Deu 18:14) "For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do."
G. NOTICE HIS FINAL DEFECTION. (1 Sam 31:3-4)
1. He commits suicide.
a. (1 Sam 31:3-4) "And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers. {4} Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it."
Conclusion: Saul’s sin blasted the purposes of his family.
1. His sin involved his son’s in his misfortune, for the sceptre passed away from his house.
2. His family would become extinct.