This is Spoken Gospel.
We’re dedicated to seeing Jesus in all of scripture.
In each episode, we see what’s happening in a Biblical text
and how it sheds light on Jesus and his gospel.
Let’s jump in.
First Samuel 13-15 answers the question, “Why did God reject Saul as king?”
The simplest answer is that God rejected Saul because Saul rejected God.
More specifically, Saul rejected God’s word delivered by Samuel, God’s prophet.
Right before Saul’s battle against the Philistines,
Saul does not wait for Samuel as he was instructed.
Instead, Saul disobeys and offers a sacrifice by himself.
Now, because Saul refuses to listen to God,
Samuel says he has forfeited the hope of an eternal dynasty in Israel.
His son Jonathan will not sit on the throne after him,
but instead, someone who is “after God’s own heart” will instead.
This is a shame because Jonathan would have been a better king than Saul.
Outnumbered and out-armored, Jonathan bravely goes into battle,
trusting God against impossible odds.
At the same time Jonathan listens to God, Saul replaces God’s prophet with Ahijah.
He’s the wicked son of the unfaithful priest Eli and the uncle to Ichabod,
whose name literally means “God’s glory has departed”.
Saul has surrounded himself with people opposed to God’s voice.
While Jonathan’s faith in God secures him a miraculous victory, Saul rushes into battle and
rashly enforces a fast among his soldiers without even consulting his false priest.
His impetuous leadership means that Israel’s starving
army ends up sinning when they finally do get food.
Even more tragic, when Saul finally tries to pray, God refuses to answer.
And instead of recognizing his own sin, Saul blames Jonathan for God’s silence and tries to kill him.
All these problems repeat in Saul’s battle against the Amalakites when
Saul disobeys another command from God.
When confronted by Samuel, Saul pretends his motives were honorable.
But Samuel tells Saul that he misses the point.
God wants obedience.
And Saul’s consistent failure to obey means the kingdom will be
ripped from his hands and given to somebody more worthy.
[music]
God rejected Saul because Saul rejected God’s word.
Saul’s story is supposed to make us desperate for a King
who both shares God’s heart and listens to God’s voice.
This new King needs to prayerfully act, not impetuously react.
This King needs to take responsibility for sins, and not pass the buck.
This King needs to feed his people, not starve them.
This King needs to accept God and his will rather than reject it when it gets difficult.
This King needs to listen to God and his word so that he knows how and when to sacrifice.
And that King is Jesus.
Jesus obeyed God’s word and fulfilled every command.
His heart and God’s heart are the same.
Jesus did nothing without prayerfully waiting for God’s direction.
And like a good leader, he took responsibility for sins he did not commit.
Jesus accepted God’s word even when it meant sacrificing himself.
Saul rejected God’s word, but Jesus was God’s word perfectly lived.
And now Jesus rules forever at God’s right hand.
So don’t be like Saul who lost God’s kingdom. Accept God’s word—both his commands and his Word made flesh in Jesus.
When we accept King Jesus, we will gain a Kingdom that lasts forever.
May the Holy Spirit open your eyes to see the God who loves obedience.
And may you see Jesus as our obedient King who now rules forever.