A Place Of Grace
10-25-26
  • We observe in 1 Samuel 8–15, Israel rejects God as King and demands a king like the nations around them, and God appoints Saul to lead them. Though Saul begins with humility, he increasingly acts on his own terms, disobeying God’s commands and defending his choices. Yet through their rebellion, God remains sovereign—showing patience and grace, holding them accountable, and announcing that He will provide a king after His own heart.
    In 1974 a very popular “king” presented a slogan that still is known today… “This king” declared to the people…

    “Have It Your Way”

    “You have the right to have what you want, exactly when you want it. Because on the menu of life, YOU are “today’s special”. And tomorrow’s. A the day after that. And… well, you get the drift. Yes, that’s right. We may be king, but YOU my friend, are the almighty ruler.”
    While I know this is a fun burger joint ad… I feel they touched on a human heart issue
    Do we want God to rule our life… ???
    Or… do we want Him to give me the life I have already decided I want?
    We need to be very careful what we ask God for…
    As we turn the page from Judges and start peering into Samuel we see a glimpse of the hearts of the people… God may be the King, but but the people “want it thier way”…

    The People’s Hearts

    Israel desires a king on their terms — 1 Samuel 8:4–9, 19–22
    1 Samuel 8:4–9 NASB95
    Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. “Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day—in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. “Now then, listen to their voice; however, you shall solemnly warn them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will reign over them.”
    1 Samuel 8:19–22 NASB95
    Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” Now after Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the Lord’s hearing. The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice and appoint them a king.” So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”
    They have a real problem: Samuel’s sons are corrupt. But their solution reveals their desires.
    They look around at the nations for their pattern.
    They look to a man for security and deliverance.
    Notice how Saul is described…
    1 Samuel 9:2, 10:23-24
    These things will be crucial in a couple weeks
    Also notice the emphasis on the outward things that draw the people’s attention
    1 Samuel 9:2 NASB95
    … Saul, a choice and handsome man, and there was not a more handsome person than he among the sons of Israel; from his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people.
    1 Samuel 10:23–24 NASB95
    So they ran and took him from there, and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? Surely there is no one like him among all the people.” So all the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”
    They refuse to listen to God when He warns them. (middle of chapter 8)
    They want the benefits of God’s provision while rejecting His right to rule them.
    This connects directly to Judges: They are still doing what is right in their own eyes; now they want a king who fits what they see around them.
    From the people’s HEART DESIRE comes a king “they desire”… Oh, how we need to be cautious of what we ask God for. He may just give it to us. In this case God did… He gives the people what they desire, a king like the other nations.

    The King’s Heart

    Saul rules as king on his terms — I want us to see and trace the change we see occur in Saul rather than presenting Saul as arrogant from the beginning:
    Initially, he recognizes his smallness. He questions his importance and credits the Lord with victory. 1 Samuel 9:21, 11:13
    1 Samuel 9:21 NASB95
    Saul replied, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak to me in this way?”
    1 Samuel 11:13 NASB95
    But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has accomplished deliverance in Israel.”
    Under pressure, he justifies taking control. In chapter 13, the scattering army and approaching danger become his explanation for disobedience.
    Under pressure, Saul refuses to wait as instructed. With his army scattering and the enemy gathering, he treats the urgency of his circumstances as permission to disregard God’s command and do the sacrifice himself. When Samuel confronts him, Saul explains why he acted—but his explanation does not make his disobedience obedience. DISOBEDIENCE & EXCUSES 1 Samuel 13:13-14
    1 Samuel 13:13–14 NASB95
    Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, for now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. “But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”
    In victory, he elevates himself. In chapter 15, he builds a monument to himself.
    God says to totally and utterly destroy the Amalekites
    God desired to use King Saul to fulfill His promise He made to Israel in Deuteronomy 25:17-19
    Saul disobeys, he fails to deal with sin fully, he obeys partially 1 Samuel 15:9-12, 22-23
    We cannot reserve the right to decide which parts of God’s commands deserve our obedience.
    1 Samuel 15:9–12 NASB95
    But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed. Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the Lord all night. Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul; and it was told Samuel, saying, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on down to Gilgal.”
    1 Samuel 15:22–23 NASB95
    Samuel said, “Has the Lord as much 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 divination, And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.”
    Under correction, he defends himself. He claims obedience, shifts blame, and appeals to sacrifice. (15:13-15 & 20-21)
    He feared the people NOT GOD… and listened to them (15:24)
    Facing rejection, he seeks public honor. He asks Samuel to honor him before the elders. (15:30)
    The man who was once little in his own eyes becomes increasingly concerned with how great he appears in everyone else’s.
    Religious activity can become a way of defending a heart that refuses to obey.

    Heart Issues…

    The people and thier king are focused on what is outward; God is concerned with the heart—and that heart is revealed through obedience.
    Consider just a few passage of God's Holy Word concerning our hearts:
    Jeremiah 17:9–10 ““The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.”
    Proverbs 21:2 “Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts.”
    Deuteronomy 6:5–6 ““You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.”
    Jesus Christ Himself reiterates this in Matthew
    Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (A Psalm of David)
    We cry out to God to correct our hearts because we should desire to have a heart like His, to be a man or woman after His own heart…

    God’s Heart

    God remains sovereign — God’s heart is revealed in how He responds to the hearts of the people and the king…
    His compassion: He sees His people’s distress and hears their cry—even amid their rejection of Him.
    His patience: He warns, instructs, equips, and calls them to follow Him.
    His holiness: He does not lower His standards to accommodate their preferences. Obedience still matters.
    His faithfulness: He will not abandon His people, for the sake of His great name (1 Samuel 12:22).
    1 Samuel 12:22 NASB95
    “For the Lord will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because the Lord has been pleased to make you a people for Himself.
    His sovereignty: Saul’s disobedience cannot prevent God from providing another king (1 Samuel 13:14; 15:28).
    1 Samuel 13:14 NASB95
    “But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”
    1 Samuel 15:28 NASB95
    So Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you.
    God’s grace does not mean their choices have no consequences.
    Their consequences do not mean God has lost control.
    Sometimes God gives us what we insist on having, and the consequences come with it. Yet He always knows what we need.
    1 Samuel 13:14 anticipates a man after God’s own heart;
    1 Samuel 15:28 announces a better successor.

    There is a Coming King!

    David is the immediate answer. As the biblical story unfolds through the Davidic covenant, the ultimate answer is Jesus Christ.
    Our hearts reveal our need for the King.
    Our rebellion leaves us undeserving of His grace.
    Our faithful God provides the King we could never provide for ourselves.
    Do I want a king who gives me “my way”—or am I willing to surrender my way to… THE KING?

      • 1 Samuel 8:4–9NIV2011

      • 1 Samuel 8:19–22NIV2011

      • 1 Samuel 9:2NIV2011

      • 1 Samuel 10:23–24NIV2011

      • 1 Samuel 9:21NIV2011

      • 1 Samuel 11:13NIV2011

      • 1 Samuel 13:13–14NIV2011

      • 1 Samuel 15:9–12NIV2011

      • 1 Samuel 15:22–23NIV2011

      • 1 Samuel 12:22NIV2011

      • 1 Samuel 13:14NIV2011

      • 1 Samuel 15:28NIV2011

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