The Tragedy of Saul

GOLDEN TEXT: “Hath 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 hearken than the fat of rams.” —I Samuel 15:22

I SAMUEL 15:17-22

IN THE Bible there are many examples of the fact that those once pure in heart, and humble, can become corrupt and proud. The most outstanding of these is Lucifer, who, although created perfect, became ambitious and rebelled against God and his laws of righteousness. Much the same tragedy befell King Saul. When chosen by God for high office, he was humble and obedient to God. Samuel refers to this as the time when Saul was “little” in his own sight.

But Saul did not remain “little.” To use a colloquial expression, his early successes in battle and the praises of his people “went to his head,” and he became proud and arrogant. He forgot that it was only because the Lord blessed his efforts that he was successful. There have been servants of the Lord in all ages who, failing to realize that in their own strength and wisdom they could accomplish nothing, have failed to remain humble. This is a tragedy whenever it occurs, for it means that one who was once sweet and humble becomes bitter of heart and proud.

One of the evidences of pride is the tendency to substitute one’s own arrangements for those which have been clearly outlined by the Lord. Thus did Saul manifest the change which was taking place in his heart. No longer was the will of God the law of his life as it was when he was “little” in his own sight. He was given specific instruction concerning Israel’s enemies, the Amalekites. He was to destroy them all, including their flocks and herds. But he failed to carry out instructions. Instead, as he explained to Samuel, the people took “the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord.” The people would not have done this contrary to Saul’s wishes. Samuel knew this, and held the king responsible for failure to carry out the full will of God.

It was in this connection that Samuel expressed the well-known words, “To obey is better than sacrifice.” This was wholly true in the case under consideration; and indeed, obedience to the will of God must always be our first consideration. However, in the case of the Lord’s people during the Gospel age, it is not a matter of deciding between obedience and sacrifice, for obedience demands sacrifice.

It is important to keep this fact clearly before us, for the mind of the flesh, prompted by our great adversary, the devil, might turn us aside from the way of sacrifice by a misuse of this text. It is God’s will that we follow in the footsteps of Jesus, and these were steps of sacrifice. We are to be planted together in the likeness of his sacrificial death. We cannot be obedient to the will of God without presenting our bodies “a living sacrifice.”—Rom. 12:1,2

I SAMUEL 18:6-9

ONE of the evidences of pride is to be jealous of the success of others. Jealousy of another blinds one to the principles of right and wrong in dealing with him. In a very astonishing manner David had slain the Philistine giant, Goliath. This struck fear into the hearts of the Philistine army, which fled before the attacking Israelites. Naturally, David was given the credit for this signal victory over Israel’s enemies.

Returning from the rout and slaughter of the Philistines, David was hailed by the women as a great hero, and acclaimed to be even a greater warrior than Saul. “Saul hath slain his thousands,” they said, “and David his ten thousands.” This came to the ears of Saul, and while previously he gave evidence of appreciating what this “stripling” youth had accomplished, now became embittered toward him—“very wroth.”

“And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.” First it was pride, then disobedience, and now to these was added the sin of jealousy. “Saul was yielding more and more to sin, and thus drifting further and further away from God. He had already lost God’s favor, and David had been anointed by Samuel to take his place; but the Lord allowed him to continue his reign, perhaps to test David, and in order that the people might have an opportunity to discern for themselves the great changes which had taken place in the king’s heart.

I SAMUEL 31:3, 4

SAUL finally committed suicide, but not before he had further disobeyed God’s commands by interviewing the witch of Endor in an effort to communicate with the dead prophet, Samuel. The Philistines had again encamped against Israel, and Saul became “sore afraid.” He “inquired of the Lord” concerning the situation, but “the Lord answered him not.” Then he instructed his servants to seek a witch.

They did this, although Saul himself had ordered all witches banished from the land. This inquiring of the witch was another disobedient act. The witch deceived Saul into believing that Samuel had communicated with him, although the message he was alleged to have received from the prophet was not one of assurance and comfort, but the reverse. He was told by an evil spirit, posing as the dead Samuel, that the Philistine army would be victorious over the Israelites, and that the king himself would die.

This was not difficult to predict. Saul foresaw it, and that is why he appealed to the witch. But the “interview” left him more afraid than ever. When the battle was joined, Saul was wounded. He asked his armor bearer to thrust him through with his sword, but he would not do it, so the king fell on his own sword and killed himself. The man who was “little” in his own sight had, through failure to rule his own spirit, lost God’s favor and died in ignominy and disgrace.

QUESTIONS

In what way did the experience of Saul parallel that of Lucifer?

What caused Saul to lose his humility?

During the Gospel age, what relationship does obedience have to sacrifice?

What other sin besides pride did Saul allow to enter his heart?

Explain the circumstances which led to Saul’s death.

| Home Page | Table of Contents |