372
T H E
K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
June 1924
(2 ) SAMUEL’S REBUKE, “Wherefore, then, didst thoti not obey the voice of th e L o rd ?” v. 19. Saul failed to carry out God’s command (v. 9) and God sent Samuel to charge him w ith his sin and to pronounce his doom. It w as no t Samuel’s commission, bu t God’s “The word of the Lord came to Samuel” v. 10. God is here represented as repenting, or “ changing His a ttitu d e ” toward Skul. God’s a ttitu d e is always dependent upon men’s actions (Gen. 6 : 6 ; Jer. 18:7-10;*Jon ah 3 :1 0 ). God lays two charges to Saul’s account: (1 ) He had ceased to follow the Lord (Psa. 78:54, 57), and (2 ) He had disobeyed God’s command. Whenever man ceases to follow the Lord he commences to live a life of disobedience. Notice th e steps in Saul’s d ep artu re from the Lord: Hypocrisy, lying, fulsome flattery, half-hearted confession. He sought to lay the blame upon th e people, and then to ju stify thé people’s wrongdoing. Samuel rebukes Saul’s inconsistency and tells him th a t obedience is b etter th an sacrifice (v. 22; Ex. 1 9 :5 ). He accuses Saul of rebellion, and pronounces upon him God’s rejection. There is a lim it to th e patience of God. We cannot play fast and loose w ith Him (Num. 1 4 :17 ). God’s patience w ith Pharaoh ended in his destruction in th e Red Seal His pa tience will some tim e be exhausted w ith the world, and this age will end in judgm ent. God’s righteousness demands vindication. Saul’s w ilfulness marked the point of d ep artu re from God. Once deny God’s rig h t to rule, tak e m atters into your own hands, and a double life commences: ' There may be a show of obedience. “Religiousness” oftén increases as departure from God takes place. Samuel spent th e n igh t in prayer. This gives us an in sight into his character. One m ight th ink he would have been glad because of Saul’s downfall, but on the con trary his soul was filled w ith grief. Saul plays the hypocrite. He assumes a pious a ttitu d e and asserts th a t he has obeyed God’s command. He had erected a t Carmél a monument to commemorate his victory, but th e meeting w ith Samuel takes' place a t G ilg a l'(m e an ing “ death to th e flesh” ). Here th e kingdom had been es tablished, (11 :15 ) and here Saul had been warned and re buked (1 3 :1 3 ). ‘ * Saul was a rebel. He assumed the rig h t to se t aside God’s command and issue his own. He offers four excuses: (1) He craved Agag as a trophy of his prowess. (2 ) He feared the people; (3 ) He- proposed as a sub stitu te for God’s command of u tte r destruction, an offering of th e de voted things. (4 ) He laid the blame upon the people. There was no excuse for Saui’s disobedience. There is never any excuse for disobeying God. God had prohibited the sacrifice of devoted things (Deut. 13:15)'. Samuel gives to Saul (and to us) a heart-searching mes sage: ( 1 ) Obedience is b etter th a n sacrifice. (2) Obedi ence must be full and wholehearted. (3 ) I t m ust be based upon what God says. (4) Disobedience is as th e sin of re bellion and w itchcraft. It is Satanic. When we disobey we are subject to demoniac power. God counts it'aS idolatry. (Deut. 18 :12 ). This is a Solemn lesson. Idolatry is a sin which deserves death. Because of disobedience Satan lost his place, and Adam lost his position. God has magnified His Word above all His name- (Psa. 138 :2 ). He puts a prem ium upon obedience (Gen. 22:18; Jer; 4 2 :6 ). To reje ct th e Word of God is to be rejected by. God. We m u st believe and obey. There is no other way. Every Modernist who sets aside God’s- Word, will be set aside. The m inistry of these infidels is always barren.
Amalek is a type of th e flesh, of wickedness. The flesh is obnoxious to th e Lord. There is no good thing in it (Rom. 7 :1 8 ). God never changes th e flesh (John 3 :6 ). God never improves it. The flesh is God’s enemy. I t is not sub ject to God’s laws. We are to crucify it (Gal. 5 :2 4 ). We are to have no confidence in it (P h il 3:3}. / The Spirit wars against th e flesh. (Gal. 5 :1 7 ). We must count it dead. Saul sought fo r pardon for his sin, and for fellowship w ith Samuel in th e worship of th e Lord, bu t Samuel said, “ I will not re tu rn w ith thee.” The rejection of the Word of th e Lord brought upon Saul his own rejection as king. There can be no sowing w ithout th e consequent reaping (Gal. 6:7, 8 ). Saul had a splendid opportunity, as fine as was Over afforded, bu t he lost out th rough trifling and trickery, and his example is before us as a red flag, w arn ing us of the consequences of disobedience. Samuel was a faith fu l man. Saul had disappointed him. God’S 1 honor was a t stake. Samuel was grieved for Israel for she was now w ithout a faith fu l leader. He loved Saul. He longed for him. Saul’s repentance was too late. Ju d g ment could not be averted. Having refused th e rule of God, his reign was rejected by God. Topics fo r Study (1) Why had God changed His a ttitu d e toward Saul? (2) If Saul had repented would God have spared him? (3) How did 1 God’s fin al'rejection of Saul differ from the first? (4) Did repetition of Saul’s falsehood accentuate his guilt? (5 ) "' Did he help him self any by lying?- ( 6 ) W hat g reat tru th did Samuel enunciate? (7) Is a refuge of lies a safe retrea t? by making an offering before Samuel arrived a little over due (1 3 :8 -1 4 )? The sin of Saul was like th a t of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, recorded in the 16th chapter of Num bers. It was “an attem p t to create a priestly order w ithout the Divine au tho rity ,” for Aaron and his sons, had been set ap art by God to be priests (Heb. 5 :4 ). It was intrusion into the. p riest’s office. It is a terrib le th in g in God’s sight to appropriate an office appointed to God' Himself.¡g-Banks. Therefore in impatience he intrudes his self-will, and waits not for th e Divine in struction ; th is was wrong. He saw no need of a mediator. There is the record of ano ther who attem pted a th ing of the same general order of disorder and disobedience (2 Chron. 2 6 :18 ). God will not let an o th e r in trude into th e holy,: separated and chosen work of the priest. Saul’s was the sin of usurpation and if not usurpation, as in ;the lease-of-Uzziah, then the sin of in subordination. Both a re equally lawless.—Tucker. 13:13 They would have though t of ' “ presumption,” of “ self-will,” of “ d istru st,” and other like term s, bu t scarcely of foolishness. But the prophet’s word is the rig h t 1 one afte r all. It goes to th e root of the m atter. In his view and in th a t of all sacred w riters, the lowest depths of human foolishness— its most astonishing and incredible m anifesta tion—was in disobedience to th e Lord’s commandment.— K itto. 13:14 The phrase " a man afte r God’s own h e a rt” has no reference to th e piety or virtues of private and personal ch aracter; for no mere man in th a t respect has come up to ' the stand ard of the Divine law. It is used solely w ith re gard to official fidelity in the service of Jehovah in Israel From the beginning of the 13th Chapter Saul enters upon a downward career which ends in his suicidal death. His life story is one of the saddest in sacred or any other annals. jrj-Baiiks, Saul had head bu t not h ea rt and his head brought him all his troubles, as th is lesson will show.—-Tucker. • 13 flO, 11. Does it seem too g te at a punishm ent, to rend thè kingdom from Saul because he hurried m atters COMMENTS FROM THE COMMENTARIES V.;V. Morgan
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