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Fear Not; Do Not Be Afraid Part 3
(Rev. Barry Johnson and Rev. Rodney Johnson)
Introduction
The foundational passage for this series has been Numbers 13, the record of the ten spies or tribal leaders and their message of fear and dread that they gave to the children of Israel when they returned from exploring the land that the Lord had promised to their forefather, Abraham. The primary point we brought out in the passage was that the ten spies took what they had seen and, in their minds, didn’t believe that the children of Israel could defeat the inhabitants of the Promised Land in battle. And because of this, they concluded that the children of Israel should not even attempt to try to occupy the land.
In Deuteronomy 1:20-21, Moses is reminding the people of what the Lord had said to them at that time.
(20) And I said to you, ‘You have come to the mountain of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us.
(21) Look, the Lord your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the Lord God of your fathers has spoken to you, do not fear or be discouraged.
Moses encourages the people to believe the Lord when he says do not fear and do not be discouraged. He says “Don’t be afraid to trust the Lord your God. He is with you. And don’t be discouraged and feel like the inhabitants will stop you from taking possession of the land because they can’t stop the Lord your God from fulfilling His promise.”
But instead of immediately obeying the Lord, the people asked Moses to send spies to search out the land – to verify that it was everything the Lord said it was – and report back to Moses. The spies returned and told Moses and the children of Israel that the Lord had told the truth. But there was something the Lord didn’t tell them. The Lord didn’t tell them about the war-like people who were physically larger and stronger than Israel and He didn’t tell them how fortified the cities were.
The ten spies, because of their own fears, convinced the people that they would be slaughtered if they tried to drive the people out of the land. Numbers 13:32 says “And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land…” The King James says, “And they brought up an evil report…” The Contemporary English Version says, “Then they started spreading rumors…” The God’s Word version says, “So they began to spread lies among the Israelites…”
As we stated in the previous lesson: “In other words, because of what they had seen, the ten unbelieving spies, who were the heads of their tribes, were so filled with fear that they forgot about God’s promise to them. Not only had they forgotten about God’s promise about the Promised Land, they literally forgot about what their lives were like in Egypt and what it took for Pharaoh to release them.”
We ended the introductory remarks with: “They forgot about all the plagues and walking across the Red Sea on dry land – all forgotten because of fear. And, for us, there are two overarching, yet similar points in this passage. The first point is that fear can cause us to forget God’s promises to us. The second point and this is important to think about, fear can cause us to miss out on God’s promises being fulfilled in our lives.
The Events Leading Up To First Samuel 15
Now with this introduction in mind, we’re going to take a somewhat detailed examination of an incident in the life of Saul, the first king of Israel, in First Samuel 15. The chapter is a record of how Saul’s fears resulted in him living the last 15 to 20 years of his reign as king in rebellion to God. And because of his rebellion, he robbed his descendants of the opportunity to succeed him on the throne.
Before we go into detail about Saul, we want to set the stage because Saul’s problem was not the same as the ten spies that we used as the foundational story for this series. No, Saul’s problem was one that many of us have encountered in our lifetime – fearing people versus fearing God. In other words, we give in to the demands, expectations, and pressure from those around us versus following through and doing just as God has directed us to do.
In Matthew chapter ten, for example, Jesus was teaching His disciples about being persecuted. It is during times of persecution that a person is most likely to give in to the demands of people versus staying still in God’s presence and confessing Jesus. This is what Jesus told His disciples about fearing man in Matthew 10.
(26) Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.
(27) Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.
(28) And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell….
(32) Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
(33) But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
Jesus said that we should not fear man who can only kill the body but not the soul, but God Who can kill the body and then place the soul in hell. He wanted His disciples to have the courage to speak out in His name and not be afraid of any repercussions. In verses 32-33 He tells them that whoever denies Him before men that person will he deny before His Father in heaven.
It is important to understand how we deny Christ and what motivates us to do it. In keeping this answer in line with the lesson today, we will tell you that fear is a primary motivator for why people deny Christ. Now let’s consider how we deny Christ because that will lead into our discussion of King Saul. Most of the time, many of us think that denying Christ is limited to saying we don’t know Him when we do or that we are not Christians when we are. But let us tell you, it goes much deeper than that.
We deny Christ whenever we sidestep, ignore, or outright refuse to do what His word says. Think about it. If the word of God tells us to do something because we have given our lives to Jesus, and then we choose not to do it because of how people will respond to us (fear), we are denying Christ. This is what happened with Saul and the consequences were dreadful. So, let’s talk about Saul and what his fear of the people who “served him” cost him.
The Children of Israel Request a King and Saul is Chosen
The Lord had hand-picked Saul for the position after the children of Israel came to Samuel, the prophet, and said that they wanted to have a king rule over them and be like all of the other nations – nations that were evil and didn’t know God. They used the behavior of Samuel’s sons as the reason for the demand. We are going to read First Samuel chapter eight, verses one and three through five.
(1) Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel….
(3) But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.
(4) Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah,
(5) and said to him, ‘Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
This made Samuel so angry that he had to talk with the Lord about it, and we see how the Lord responded in verse 7. “And the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.” At the time Saul was chosen to be king, the whole nation of Israel had rebelled against the Lord, and this rebellion – this rejection of the Lord and His commandments – would be the thread that would mark Saul’s 40-year reign as king.
We are introduced to Saul in First Samuel 9:2. “And he (Kish) had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.” It’s interesting that the Lord chooses a man that the people have to “look up to” when they refused to look up to Him. Samuel officially anoints Saul to be “commander over the Lord’s inheritance (the children of Israel)” in First Samuel 10:1. Later in the chapter, Samuel brings the people together to introduce to them their new king, but no one could find Saul.
(20) And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.
(21) When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was chosen. And Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they sought him, he could not be found.
(22) Therefore they inquired of the Lord further, ‘Has the man come here yet?’ And the Lord answered, ‘There he is, hidden among the equipment.’
(23) So they ran and brought him from there; and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.
(24) And Samuel said to all the people, ‘Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?’ So all the people shouted and said, ‘Long live the king!
We know that this has been a lot of background, but it was necessary to help you understand the circumstances that played a role in the Lord naming Saul Israel’s first king. And it was also important because we see that, in the beginning, Saul was humble and did not seek the limelight. Knowing all of this, let’s turn our attention to First Samuel 15. We will begin reading at verse 1.
Samuel’s Instructions From the Lord to King Saul
(1) Samuel also said to Saul, ‘The Lord sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the Lord.
(2) Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt.
The Lord is ready to fulfill the judgment that He had pronounced on the Amalekites nearly five hundred years earlier in Exodus 17 shortly after the children of Israel left Egypt.
(1) Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
(2) And Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.
During the battle, when Moses held up his hand with the rod, Israel prevailed, but when his arm got tired and he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. So, Aaron and Hur held up Moses' hands until the victory was complete. “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” (verse 14).
Deuteronomy 25 adds details that help us understand why the Lord had Moses write this as a memorial.
(17) ‘Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt,
(18) how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God.
(19) Therefore it shall be, when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies all around, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under the heaven. You shall not forget.
As we said earlier, almost five hundred years have passed since the Lord had pronounced this judgment against the Amalekites, and now the Lord is ready to fulfill that judgment. Now let’s pick the record up with verse 3 of First Samuel 15. “Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.”
The words "utterly destroy" mean “to ban or devote” to the Lord and signified that nothing could be taken as spoil. The Lord’s instructions to Saul were clear: if it breathes, it dies. This is important to help us understand what happens toward the end of the chapter. In the past, when Israel conquered a city, the animals along with the gold, silver, and other things of value were put into the sacred treasury for the Lord. But for the Lord, the Amalekites were different. It seems as if it was very personal for Him.
Everything had to be destroyed because the Lord wanted Amalek and his people blotted out of existence. The Lord told Moses “I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” This means nothing was to remain as a remembrance of him and all those related to him. It would be as if he had never existed. Can you imagine how angry God must have been to command that a whole nation be wiped off the face of the earth? Can you imagine God being that angry and then the person He sends to execute the judgment refuses to do so? But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s get back on track.
Israel Defeats the Amalekites
In verses 4 and 5 we see Saul putting together an army of 210,000 men who go to the city of Amalek. Now let’s read verse 6. “Then Saul said to the Kenites, ‘Go, depart, get down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.’ So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.” When Saul and his army come to the territory that the Amalekites shared with the Kenites, he allowed the Kenites to flee before he attacked the Amalekites. In doing so, Saul did not act outside of the will of the Lord.
(7) And Saul attacked the Amalekites, from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt.
(8) He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
(9) 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 unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.”
In these verses we see that Saul disobeyed the Lord when he didn’t kill Agag, the king, and when he only destroyed the animals that were not worth keeping alive. In those days, a conquering king would enjoy the glory of displaying the defeated king and the most valuable portions of the spoils walking slowly behind him with his head bowed. Perhaps this is what King Saul had in mind for Agag. But the Lord had told him to kill everything that breathed. We don’t see it here, but in a few moments we will, and it is the reason that causes fear to rise up in our lives. We discussed this at length in the last lesson: “Fear occurs when we don’t know or truly believe what God has said.” Saul knew exactly what God had said through Samuel, but maybe he just didn’t believe God meant everything was to be destroyed.
Saul Does Not Complete His Mission
Now let’s pick up the record with verse 10.
(10) Now the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying,
(11) ‘I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments.’ (Please keep the last clause in mind: “and has not performed My commandments.”) And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the Lord all night.
Samuel gets up early the next morning to meet Saul and learns that he had set up monuments for himself in Carmel but is now gone to Gilgal. “Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, ‘Blessed are you of the Lord! I have performed the commandment of the Lord.’” (verse 13) Remember we asked you to keep in mind what the Lord had said to Samuel in verse 10: “[Saul] has not performed My commandments.” The first thing Saul said to Samuel was that he had done what the Lord told him to do.
But Samuel didn’t want to hear his lie.
(14) But Samuel said, ‘What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?’ (15) And Saul said, ‘They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
When Samuel confronts Saul over the sounds of the sheep and oxen that he hears, the king shifts the focus from himself to the people. He said they were responsible for not killing the animals because they wanted to offer them as a sacrifice to the Lord.
But we will see in Samuel’s response that Saul realized the Lord is not happy with him.
(16) Then Samuel said to Saul, ‘Be quiet! And I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night.’ And he said to him, ‘Speak on.’
(17) So Samuel said, ‘When you were little in your own eyes (when you were humble), were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel?
(18) Now the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’
(19) Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the Lord.’
Samuel reminds Saul that when he announced to the children of Israel that he would be their king, they found him in hiding because of his humility. Samuel also reminds him that the Lord anointed him king – and not the people – and that He had given him the assignment to utterly destroy the Amalekites. Then Samuel asks Saul, “Why didn’t you obey the voice of the Lord?” Reading this verse is a reminder of the real issue that the Lord will have with His followers and we see this for the first time in Genesis 3:3 - “Then to Adam He said, ‘Because you have heeded the voice of your wife …’” Adam had listened to the voice of his wife knowing that it did not agree with the commandment that the Lord had given to him. And because he did this, he lost the life and nature of God, received the sin nature, and was kicked out of the Garden of Eden. That was the price that he paid for disobeying God.
In verse 20 of First Samuel 15, Saul continued to say he had obeyed the Lord. “And Saul said to Samuel, ‘But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.” Saul had convinced himself that by killing all of the people except the king, he had obeyed the Lord to the fullest. But it is the next verse that shows us that the actions he had taken against the Amalekites, he had taken out of his fear of the people, and he listened to them instead of the Lord.
Verse 21 says “But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” Saul, in essence, says it was the people who disobeyed the Lord, not him. “It was the people, Samuel, not me, who took of the plunder. It was the people, not me, who took the best of the sheep and oxen that should have been utterly destroyed. And Samuel, they did it because they wanted to be able to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. Don’t you see this, Samuel?”
Sacrifice – a Good Thing; Obedience – the Better Thing
(22) So Samuel said: ‘Has the Lord as great 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.
(23) For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.
Do you remember the point we referred to earlier from the second lesson about why fear occurs? “Fear occurs when we don’t know or truly believe what God has said.” “Then Saul said to Samuel, ‘I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.” (verse 24) If Saul had truly believed the word of the Lord that he had received from Samuel, he would not have abdicated the throne – his authority – by disobeying God, who placed him in that position, and obeying the voice of the people, who were subject to him.
Saul said that he disobeyed God because he was afraid of the people. The people wanted to keep some of the spoils and Saul was too afraid to tell them “No,” that God wanted it all destroyed. Have you ever been in a situation where you struggled to do what was right because everyone around you was in favor of doing the wrong thing? We call this peer pressure. It is one thing to give in to peer pressure and do something that does not cause real harm, but it’s something totally different when you give in to it and disobey God! This was Saul’s problem and it cost him dearly.
Saul realizes that no amount of justification would satisfy Samuel and admits that he has sinned and asks Samuel to return with him to worship the Lord (verse 25). “But Samuel said to Saul, ‘I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” (verse 26) Because Saul had disobeyed the word of the Lord out of fear, because he was more concerned with what the people thought of him rather than what the Lord thought of him, the Lord rejected him as king over Israel, even though he would sit on the throne for another 15 to 20 years.
The Lord Rejects Saul From Being King
As Samuel turned to walk away, Saul grabbed his robe and tore it. “So Samuel said to him, ‘The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.” (Verse 28) Had Saul not disobeyed the Lord’s instructions to utterly destroy the Amalekites, one of his sons would have become king when he died. But now someone he knew would become king and we know this is a reference to David. When the verse says, “who is better than you,” it’s a reference to the person’s humility toward God and doing what He says – something that no longer applies to Saul. Because he feared the people would rebel against him if he did not allow them to hold on to some of the spoils, Saul lost the kingdom that God had placed in his hands, which meant that he forfeited the right of his descendants to sit on the throne. All because of fear.
And to show us how deep his fear of the people was, let's read what Saul asks of Samuel in verse 30. “Then he said, ‘I have sinned; yet honor be me, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.” This is the second time that Saul says, “the Lord your God.” The first time was in verse 21 when he shifted his lack of obedience to the people, whom he said disobeyed God by saving the best of the sheep and oxen “to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
When you read the rest of the chapter, you will see that it was Samuel who carried out the word of the Lord and completed King Saul’s mission. He kills Agag, the king of the Amalekites, and then dismembers him, and chops him to pieces in the presence of the Lord and the presence of Saul and the people. Verse 33 says “And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.” Because of Saul’s blatant rebellion against the Lord verse 35 says, “And Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.” When you continue to read the remainder of First Samuel, you will see that Saul had no communication with God for the rest of his reign.
In John 15:6, Jesus said, “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned." And later in this chapter, He said, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.” (verse 10) This is exactly what Saul did not do – we cannot abide in Christ unless we are willing to obey His commandments. Because he feared the people, Saul refused to obey the commandment of the Lord and it cost him his kingdom and later his life. Saul knew what he was supposed to do because the prophet Samuel told him.
Summary
It’s not always as clear for us. You see, sometimes we act on our fears thinking that God is okay with it because “no harm no foul.” We tell ourselves that “little white lies” are okay because, even though a lie is an abomination to the Lord, we see it as a very present help in times of our troubles – to get us out of it. But a lie is a lie. It doesn’t matter if it is told in fear of hurting someone’s feelings or the fear of being in trouble if we confess the truth. We must accept that the things we do while we are under the influence of fear will most likely not be the thing we do if we were not afraid.
If you are looking at a situation in your life and you are frozen in fear because of what could potentially happen, remember, as a child of God fear of the unknown should not be a part of our ways of processing situations. We can say this because God exists outside of time. That day in the future you are stressing over, He is already there handling business. By the time we get to that day, God will have already assessed the problem, identified the best way to fix it, and then shared that information with us when we get there. And then there are the times when God will go ahead and handle the problem, and we never have to face it. How many times have you worried about something that ultimately did not happen? That’s the God we serve!!!
We will close this series next month with what Scripture says about the “fear of the Lord” and why that fear is a good thing.
