Series: Israel’s 1st King [#5]
THE TASTE OF DEFEAT
1 Samuel 13:1-14
Introduction:
Up to this point, Saul had been obedient and victorious. He defeated the Ammonites and established himself as Israel’s hero and 1st King. In 1 Samuel 13, the Philistines came on the scene and Saul had to deal with them. You cannot live on yesterday’s victories. Unfortunately, Saul began to change. He began to go the wrong direction which led to his defeat, and later his death. Saul took 3 giant steps away from God and started on his downward path to defeat. We can also take those same 3 steps and start down the road to failure.
1 Samuel 13:1-7
The 1st step is…
1. Unbelief.
Saul started to walk by sight and not by faith. Jonathan trusted God. Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost. It was Jonathan who stepped out on faith and began the battle. When Saul heard about it, he blew the trumpet. There were many Philistines in their military. When Saul saw all those chariots and horseman, he knew he was facing a large army. Not only that, but Saul’s own soldiers were deserting him. His army was hiding themselves and crossing the river to get away. Wherever Saul looked, he saw defeat. Not only was his army deserting; but they didn’t have adequate weapons. He had already forgotten that God was leading them.
1 Samuel 13:8-10
The 2nd step is…
2. Impatience.
Saul couldn’t wait a week for Samuel to arrive. Faith and patience go hand in hand. Impatience is a mark of immaturity. We have no evidence that Saul was very mature when it came to spiritual things. Remember, that he did not know who Samuel was- He had no idea what Samuel could do for him. Saul became impatient and rushed ahead of the Lord and lost his crown as the result.
It is interesting to notice in 1 Samuel 13, 14 and 15 how Saul changes. In chapter 13, he ran ahead of the Lord. In chapter 14, he hesitated and wavered. In chapter 15 he lagged behind. He knew what he was supposed to do; but didn’t do it. He was unstable. Do you know why? Saul was double-minded. At the beginning of his reign, he was concerned only about doing God’s will. He was humble and yielded to God; but after he won his 1st battle, he became a little proud. Unbelief moved in, and then Saul found himself in trouble because of impatience.
1 Samuel 13:11-14
The 3rd step was…
3. Dishonesty.
Saul rushed ahead and offered the burnt offering; and then Samuel arrived. Samuel asked, “What have you done?” Samuel could tell something was wrong. Immediately Saul began to make excuses. In chapter 13 he blamed Samuel, in chapter 14 he blamed Jonathan, and in chapter15 he blamed the people. Saul never blamed himself. He was good at making excuses.
A person who is good at making excuses is rarely good at anything else. If you ever have worked with someone who always had an excuse, you knew he wasn’t going to do his work right. Saul wasn’t serving God in truth. He was doubled minded, had a deceitful heart, was dishonest. He blamed Samuel when he should have blamed himself.
Conclusion:
Saul lost the kingdom, his crown, and even his life. Samuel announced that God had found a man after his own heart. That man was David. He had the heart of a shepherd- A heart of integrity.
