The Danger of Starting Well

By Matthew Mason.
This is the third in a series of posts supplementing messages in our preaching series in 1 Samuel this fall. Today we consider 1 Samuel 9-11.

 

As we saw on Sunday, after Israel rejects God as King, he warns of coming judgment. They long for a king like the nations, but that king will take and take and take. Rather than guaranteeing their freedom, he will return them to slavery (1 Sam 8).

 

But God is patient and full of mercy, so he delays his judgment. He doesn’t give them a tyrant, he gives them Saul, a humble, Spirit-empowered king.

 

Throughout chapters 9-11, Saul is a model ruler. He looks the part (9:2; 10:23), and as Joseph showed centuries earlier, physical beauty can symbolize a good character (Gen. 39:6). This is certainly the case with Saul. Unlike Hophni and Phinehas, he listens to the voice of his father (9:3-4; cf. 2:22-25). And, even when he’s offered the kingship, he is remarkably humble, pointing to his unimpressive origins (9:21), and hiding among the baggage on the day he is chosen (10:22). Despite his physique, and his origins in the tribe of Benjamin (a kingly tribe—Gen. 35:14, 16-18) he doesn’t see himself as entitled to the throne.

 

Yet Saul is a king sent by God to save the people from the Philistines (9:16-17). Samuel anoints him with oil, as a sign that he’s the Lord’s anointed (10:1)—his Christ. The Holy Spirit comes upon him, and, in a kind of new birth, he becomes a new man with a new heart. He even begins to speak the words of God (10:6, 9-13). We’re supposed to compare Saul with Samuel—empowered by the Spirit, he’s joined the company of prophets. This is good news for Israel.

 

Chosen by God and acclaimed by the people (10:24), Saul doesn’t allow the kingship to go to his head. Even when he’s despised and rejected, like Jesus he remains meek and silent (10:27; cf. Isa. 53:3, 7). Yet this humble king isn’t weak. Empowered by the Spirit, he wins a mighty victory over Nahash, Israel’s oppressor (11:1-11), a victory all the more significant when you realize that, in Hebrew, nahash means “serpent.” Like Jesus, Saul is a Spirit-filled New Adam, crushing the serpent’s head (cf. Gen. 3:1-7, 15; Luke 4:1-11)

 

It is a wonderful start. There are many signs of God’s grace and power in Saul’s life. And the result of making Saul king is that the kingdom is renewed (11:14-15). Saul’s new birth by the Spirit leads to a new birth for the nation.

 

But starting well is dangerous. Of course, it’s better than starting badly; but there’s always the risk of only starting. And, for Saul, his end does not match his beginning. As we read on in 1 Samuel, we learn that the Holy Spirit departs from him, and is replaced by an evil spirit from the Lord (16:14). He becomes a violent, oppressive tyrant, the kingdom is taken from him, and he dies in tragedy (1 Sam. 31).

 

What’s happened? The simple answer is that he stopped listening to God. Unlike Jesus—the Spirit-filled King who morning by morning listened obediently to his Father’s teaching (Isa. 50:4-5)— Saul began repeatedly to close his ears (13:8-14; ch. 15).  And so the Spirit departed, and his destruction came.

 

Jesus warns that some of his followers will receive his word with joy, and believe for a little while, but then fall away (Luke 8:13). The writer to the Hebrews says the same thing. It’s a terrible thing to share in the Spirit, to be part of a believing community, to taste the goodness of God’s Word, and then to fall away (Heb 6:4-6; 10:26-31).

 

Eugene Peterson describes discipleship as a long obedience in the same direction. And the antidote to falling is to be faithful where Saul failed. The answer, as both Jesus and Hebrews say, is to hold fast to God’s Word (Luke 8:15), to hear and obey the Scriptures (Heb. 2:1-4; 3:7-4:13; 5:11-6:12).

 

Take a few minutes to reflect on the tragic example of Saul. Heed the warning that those shaped by the Spirit and serving God powerfully, can fall away. And ask God to give you ears today to hear his Word, and hearing to obey.

 

A Prayer for Today:
Blessed Lord, who caused the Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: help us so to hear them, to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them that, through patience, and the comfort of your holy Word, we may embrace and for ever hold fast the hope of everlasting life which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.