Saul!

1 Sam 15:1 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. 3 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.’”

Saul had been annointed (not appointed) to be the King of Israel. At one time we see that Saul was very much in Gods will and favor. God used Saul to accomplish Gods overall purpose for His people, and the greatest King of Israel might NEVER have had the opportunity to be King if not for Saul’s dis-obedience. Saul was very blessed......he even prophesied! I want to show you a few things about Saul.....

First off, God did NOT want Israel to have a King, did He? Or didn’t He? Deut 17:14 “When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,’(15) you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses, one from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman.

It wasn’t the fact that Israel wanted a King....it was WHY they wanted one....1 Sam 8:5 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.”

They told Samuel that "hey.....everybody else has a king.....why shouldn’t we have one? They just wanted to be like everybody else! Samuel tried to warn them.....kings can be costly! Look at vs 20 that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

So we see that that the people wanted a King because number 1, everybody else had one, and 2.....they wanted the king to judge them and "go fight their battles for them." These motives were in direct rebellion to God, for it was God who brought them to where they were.....He was with Joshua (not a king) at the battle of Jericho. He was with Gideon (not a king) as the army of Israel routed the Midianites.

God had also given the people His word, prophets, judges.......but people kept wanting to ignore Gods guidance and be like the "other" people. Judges 3:7 The sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.

So God relented...and gave Israel what it desired....a king. Sometimes it’s not good to get everything we desire, is it? If we are where we should be with God, our desires should line up exactly with Gods will. I know we have all used that scripture "God will give you the desires of your heart" but I want you to know if what you desire is not of God but of your own selfish flesh, it’s not gonna be good for you even if you DO get it! But I want to look at Saul.....a good man of God in the beginning!

First, like I said, Saul prophesied! Look at 1 Sam 10:9 So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day. 10 When they came there to the hill, there was a group of prophets to meet him; then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. Verse 12 says that everyone started considering Saul among the prophets....pretty heady company, huh? But Saul became dis-obedient...and Gods spirit left him, didn’t it? He had Gods blessings to destroy the Amalikites...which had been a problem to the Israelites for a LONG. LONG time, hadn’t they? You can see them pestering the Israelites way back in the wilderness! God wanted to put a stop to them once and for all......get rid of them. Sometimes we have things in our life that just pop up every now and then....and we need to get rid of them once and for all, don’t we?

Let’s see what happened......remember in vs 3 God told Saul to get totally rid of everything that had anything to do with the Amalikites....even down to their livestock! God didn’t want a trace to be left! Look at vs 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.