Promises via Faith

James 1:1-8, “Promises via Faith”
——————-

You may have noticed that the book of James follows the book of Hebrews in your Bibles. Although the book order is not considered “inspired” in the same way that the actual text of the Scripture is, I truly believe God superintended the order of these particular books. In Hebrews, Jesus was proclaimed to be better than any prior revelation God had given in the past – Jesus is superior to all of them (angels, priest, prophets, etc.). And the singular call throughout the book is to hold fast to Jesus by faith – never abandoning Him, never letting go, fixing our eyes upon Him. Amen.

There’s a lot of theological truth to that. But it’s easy to follow up with the question: “But what does faith look like?” The book of Hebrews gave us many examples of faithful saints of the past, but what does faith look like in a practical sense today for the believer? When faced with trials or prejudice or infighting – how does a believer respond to these situations in faith? How does the rubber meet the road? That’s what the book of James is all about – if there’s an overriding theme, it’s one of “practical faith.” Whereas the book of Hebrews is one of deep theology, the book of James is one of dramatic application. [preaching vs. meddling] James is going to preach – and to some, he’s going to meddle – but through this little book, the Holy Spirit uses him to help us get to the nitty-gritty of putting our faith into action; making sure that our faith that saves is a faith that works.

So who was James? Several “Jameses” are mentioned in the NT, and it was a very common name in the 1st century. There are only really 2 likely possibilities: (1) James, one of the original 12 apostles – one of the sons of Zebedee & one of 3 in Jesus’ inner circle of friends. (2) James, the half-brother of Jesus (born of Joseph and Mary), who quickly rose up to be one of the primary leaders of the Jerusalem church (as seen in Acts 15). Considering the Apostle James was martyred in Acts 12 (probably in 44AD – 10 years after the Cross), the most likely James is Jesus’ own brother (often referred to as James the Just).

When was this written? If this James was the half-brother of Jesus, then it had to have been written prior to 62AD (when he was martyred, according to Josephus). Some estimate this to be one of the earliest books written in the NT (perhaps even 2nd after Matthew). What’s interesting about this is that it means the Epistle of James is older than any of the letters written by Paul. Some have attempted to argue that James was written to refute Paul’s teaching of justification by faith – but the date proves it couldn’t possibly be… This letter is an independent letter – but actually complements the later writings of Paul (as we’ll see in Ch 2).

To whom was it written? Vs. 1 makes it pretty clear: “the twelve tribes…scattered abroad.” Referring to Jewish Christians throughout the Roman empire. (Which is another indication of its early date. The Church was still primarily Jewish at the time; not Gentile.) Basically – this is written to the church-at-large. Unlike “Galatians” or “Ephesians”, this letter was written to all Christians at the time. It definitely has a Jewish flavor – but that’s to be expected considering the author & the times.

It’s worth noting that James has somewhat of a checkered reputation. The Church Fathers quoted it often, but others like Martin Luther had issues with it & called it a “right strawy epistle” (he included it only in the appendix of his NT translation). His problem was all the calls to action within the book; it didn’t fit well into Luther’s viewpoint of grace. What Luther missed is that when a believer in Jesus Christ follows through in these various exhortations & does all these many works, it’s because of the grace of Christ! None of what James challenges us to do is possible in our flesh – our flesh rebels against all the good works of God! It’s when Jesus saves us by His grace, makes us new creations, and empowers us by the Holy Spirit that any of this is possible…and that makes this a truly God-centered New Testament book for the people it was written to, and for us today.

So how to begin? With a testimony (declaration) & 2 promises. James starts with an introduction (albeit a very brief one) in which he gives his testimony…and it’s glorious! (And it’s not too different from ours.) From there, he gives 2 promises – assurances of things we can know that are available in Christ Jesus; we simply need to trust the Lord & His work to provide them to us.

James 1:1-8 (NKJV)
1 James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.

A. Hope you didn’t miss the testimony; here it is. James describes himself as “a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” This might look pretty standard at first glance, but it’s actually quite spectacular when we take a deeper look.

B. “bondservant” = δοῦλος. At its most basic definition, it simply means “slave.” There were different types of slaves within Hebrew & Greek cultures – but at its core, this is a word that simply denotes someone who does not have ownership of him/herself. He/she has a master/lord/king, and that lord was the absolute ruler over his/her life. How does that apply to James? James knows to whom he belongs…

C. James is a bondslave of God. That’s to be expected of someone in church leadership – but it’s still something worth noting. James apparently was well-respected by Jew & Gentile. Other religious teachers among the Jews may have held their head high in pride – giving the impression that what they received from the Lord, they deserved because they were children of Abraham. [Re: Pharisees & John the Baptist, Luke 3:8-9] Not James; James is simply a bondslave of God. God is God & he’s not.
__a. Many times, this is something we forget. We claim God to be our God & sing praises to Him as our King – but how many times to we attempt to wrest control out of the hands of God & take it to ourselves? “God, I know your word says to turn the other cheek, but I just gotta say _____ to that person!” “God, I know You call me to holiness, but I’m going to do this anyway. Can You just look away for a bit?” When we do that, we’re taking the place in our lives that God rightly deserves. Understand that you (as a redeemed believer) have been bought at a price; you are not your own. When you trusted Jesus as Lord, God became your King/Master/Owner. We are simply slaves/servants of God…and privileged to be so!

D. James is a bondslave of “the Lord Jesus Christ.” Don’t forget the relationship here; James is talking about his own brother. … There was a time that James (along with Jude) did not feel this way (John 7:5). When did this change? Sometime soon after the Resurrection – Acts 1:14 shows the brothers of Jesus with the apostles waiting for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. By this time, James has gone from brother to bondslave – utterly convinced that the same Jesus with whom he played as a boy & grew up with, is none other but Christ (the anointed chosen One of God to take away the sin of the world) and Lord (God in the flesh, having supreme authority).
__a. Quite a testimony!
.

2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,

A. Talk about starting off with a bang! The church was still new at the time & had been baptized by a fire of troubles. After Stephen was stoned in Jerusalem as the 1st martyr of the church, Christians started scattering out all over Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1), and Saul (and probably others like him) persecuted the church wherever they could find it. Just being a Jew in the Roman empire was hard enough – but to be a Christian on top of that was to be truly outcast from the world. The 1st generation of believers definitely knew what “trials” were. Define “trials” = a proving ground for faith. Perhaps a temptation – perhaps a struggle; anything that would put our faith in the Lord Jesus to the test.
__a. We may not yet be persecuted for our faith – but we all face various trials. (Struggles in marriage – job loss – disease – prodigal children) These things put our faith to the test as we struggle with the question of “why” – to which we may never get an answer.

B. “And you want me to rejoice because of that?!” No…not really. Look at the verse: “when you fall into various trials.” IOW, we don’t rejoice because of the trials (who would?!); but we can rejoice in the midst of the trials… “All joy” has the idea here of “whole joy / unmixed joy”…same phrase is used in Phil 2:29 when Paul asks the church to receive Epaphroditus with “all gladness.”

C. This obviously isn’t our normal 1st reaction… … We need to change our perspective on things. Like James, we no longer belong to ourselves; in Christ, we’re the bondslaves of the Lord Jesus. … Thus our Lord Jesus has control of our lives – and He can use our hurts, our trials, and the results of living in this fallen world for His glory. (Rom 8:28)… Every trial we’re in gives us another opportunity to glorify God in the midst & live as His redeemed people…

D. Something always results in the lives of believers as a result of trials – see vs. 3…
.

3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

A. WHY is it we’re to count it all joy in the midst of trials? Because one way in which God chooses to glorify Himself through our trials is through the development of our character. The fruit of tested faith is patience (endurance / steadfastness / perseverance). Gk is a compound word meaning “to remain under” – this isn’t ‘waiting around in the doctor’s office’ sort of patience; this is ‘facing the storms head on with the strength to endure’ sort of patience. Who wouldn’t want that?

B. This is a promise we can bank on! Having patience develop as a result of our trials isn’t something we might hope to one day have; we can “know” this. If we can’t always answer the question of “Why is this happening?”, we CAN always answer the question of “What is God going to do with it?”. God may do many things with a particular situation to glorify Himself – but one of those things is that He’s going to build patience and endurance into the lives of His children. ‘Big deal. So I get more patient. How’s that supposed to help me maintain an attitude of joy when my life is falling apart?’ Trials are still trials – agony is still agony. But as born-again Christians, we never go through the agony alone because the Lord Jesus is always with us. And because we know that the Lord Jesus is with us & still sovereign, we can trust that He’s going to use the pain in our lives (as hard as it may be) to both glorify Himself and to strengthen us in Himself.
__a. Paul wrote much the same thing in Romans. [context: rejoicing in the glory of God re: justification] Romans 5:3-5 (3) And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; (4) and perseverance, character; and character, hope. (5) Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. []
.

4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

A. There’s another aspect of patience; it helps us be complete in Christ Jesus. This is not to say that until we’re patient Christians, we’re not really ‘true’ Christians. The minute you forsake sin & turn to Jesus Christ as Lord & Savior (as the risen Son of God), you ARE a true Christian. That’s the work of justification… But there’s also the work of sanctification… … Christians who are growing in holiness – Christians who are gradually becoming more and more like Christ NEED to have patience. Why? Because that’s what Jesus was! The Lord Jesus was immensely patient & longsuffering. Over and over again the Jews would want to alternately make Him king by force or stone Him for blasphemy. He endured the rejection of His family, of many of His disciples, of the people He came to save – and was even betrayed by one of the 12. He was grieved at the idea of going to the cross & becoming sin and bearing the wrath of God (so much so that He sweat blood). He bore the physical agonies of the scourging, the nails, and the crucifixion – and He bore the spiritual agony of having His Father forsake Him while hanging there. And yet He endured. The Lord Jesus was not on that cross by force or compulsion (no one took His life; He willingly gave it up – John 10:18). He could have had legions of angels as protection with a word (Matt 26:53). Instead, Christ Jesus chose to persevere & endure to the glory of God. THAT’s the kind of perseverance and patience that God wants to build into your life as a disciple and servant of Jesus Christ.

B. Take that from another angle: without patience, believers in Christ are NOT complete. Not talking about doctrine here; but rather character. An impatient Christian is an immature Christian; God wants to bring us to maturity. I expect my 5-year old to cry and whine about things that are minor to me (which are major to her); but I pray she’s stronger when she’s 15-25-35. Likewise, God wants us to mature. So God allows trials and tribulations to come into our lives to further refine us and mold our character into the character of Christ Jesus. [Peter’s prayer for the church] 1 Peter 5:10-11 (10) But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. (11) To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. [] Notice when the maturity comes; after the suffering/trial. Do we rejoice because of the suffering? No – but by faith we can rejoice in the midst of the suffering because God is working upon us.
.

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

A. So we know we need faith to have joy in various trials, we know God’s working within us to mature us, we know that this requires us to change our perspective on things. How do we do it?? We need wisdom! And that brings us to our 2nd promise: God promises to give wisdom to those who ask. Notice that James doesn’t write “knowledge” – though knowledge can be very helpful & we shouldn’t hesitate to go to God for knowledge. But knowledge is relatively easy to obtain; the understanding of how to apply that knowledge is far more rare…and that’s wisdom.

B. Note how direct this is. If you lack wisdom, ask God – and He WILL give it! That’s a promise straight from the word of God! It makes sense when we think about it – what father wants their child to be a fool? In God are found all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col 2:3); wisdom is ours for the asking! [Solomon’s prayer] 1 Kings 3:11-12 (11) Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, (12) behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. [] What an answer to prayer! God still answers this same prayer! We obviously won’t be made the wisest on earth for all time; but God apparently loves to answer prayer requests for wisdom. Notice how He gives it:
__a. “liberally”: abundantly / generously. God has the treasures of wisdom – and He gives it freely to His children.
__b. “without reproach”: without upbraiding / reprimand. God is not going to get angry with someone for coming to Him for wisdom… We can go to Him over & over again, and God will always give it.

C. Is God where we go for wisdom? God has promised to give wisdom to His children, but do we seek Him for it? Or do we go to the world? Too often, our question isn’t “What would Jesus do? (Or have me to do)” but “What would Oprah do?” It doesn’t matter in the slightest what the world recommends on how to walk through your trials; it matters what God says. We have a book FULL of His wisdom; we need to search it… We serve a God who LOVES to give wisdom; we need to pray to Him for it… Where does it start? The righteous fear of the Lord (9:10); from there all we need to do is ask & keep on asking.
.

6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

A. We know WHAT God gives: wisdom. We know HOW God gives it: liberally. But how do we ask Him? In faith; not with doubting & being skeptical. “God, give me wisdom. But I’m not really sure if You can or will…so maybe do it, if You want to get around to it.” No wonder James uses the example of being tossed by the wind & waves…that’s not faith! We know that God has wisdom – we know that God desires to give wisdom – we know that we belong to God through Christ Jesus – why then would we ever doubt that God would give us wisdom when we ask Him?

B. So is this saying that as long as we have faith, we can ask for a double-cheeseburger & have one appear in our hands? Of course not. So-called healing evangelists will quote this verse all the time to accuse someone of not having enough faith to be healed – saying that the person had a “negative confession” & canceled out what God would have otherwise done. The theological term for this is “baloney.” James 1:6 does not promote nor teach “positive confession” or the “word of faith” doctrine so often seen on TV. Look at the context: what are we asking for? Wisdom – which God desires to give to all of His children. Whom are we asking? God. Who then has the power to give wisdom? God. The power isn’t in our faith; it’s in God! The word/faith teaching puts all the power into the hands of man (it’s OUR faith, OUR belief, OUR word, OUR claim on the promises). But go back to vs. 1: we are but slaves & bondservants…GOD is God & we’re not. The word of God tells us to ask God for wisdom & the word of God proclaims that God gives wisdom abundantly; so we can stand on faith on that promise. The Bible does not proclaim that every believer in Christ is to drive a Rolls-Royce, or live in a mansion, or grow back an arm, or whatever else we dream up. It does tell us to have faith in God & that certain miraculous faith is a gift of God – but the focus of prayer is never on us (fulfilling every wish we have like Aladdin & the genie); it’s always on God & His glory.
.

7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

A. Literally, the “double-minded man” is a “double-souled man.” (Clarke), “The man of two souls, who has one for earth, and another for heaven; who wishes to secure both worlds; he will not give up earth, and he is loth to let heaven go.” Quite the opposite of faith! The man or woman of God who fixes their eyes upon the Lord Jesus and walks in faith according to His word is submitted to God in whatever they do – be it prayer for wisdom, or enduring in trials. If the doubting man is instable – what is the man or woman of God who asks in faith? Stable. Faith in Jesus helps us stand on the Rock of His promises (Matt 7:24-25).

B. Faith isn’t just helpful in our walk with Christ; it’s essential…
.

Conclusion:
What a glorious God we serve! He called us & saved us by His grace. This includes heaven, but it’s far more than future glory – we experience His grace in the here & now as God continues to work on our character & conform us to the image of His perfect Son. How does God do this? Through faith!

• We need faith to believe the gospel. We are all to be bondslaves of Christ Jesus…
• We need faith to rejoice in trials. Our perspective changes from sorrow to joy because of the work of God in our lives…
• We need faith to ask for wisdom. God has wisdom & God desires to grant wisdom. Faith keeps us looking to God for wisdom & not the world…

So how’s your faith? Jesus said that if we even have faith the size of a mustard seed, we could move mountains (Matt 17:20) – and that’s exactly what happens when we face trials by holding fast to faith in Jesus Christ! How else can we respond to the biopsy results with solid confidence? How else can we wait patiently upon the Lord to convict our prodigal sons & daughters to repent? Or endure the hundreds of other massive trials that come our way as a result of living in a fallen world? These are mountains! And we can endure!

Fake or Faith?

1 Samuel 15-16, “Fake or Faith?”
———————-

Does this sound familiar? “I don’t want anything to do with the church! It’s just filled with a bunch of religious hypocrites!” Technically, churches are filled with a bunch of sinners…who have thrown themselves upon the mercy of God in Jesus Christ. But it is all-too-common to find people that truly could be considered “religious hypocrites” – those who put on a really good show for God, but don’t give a whit about Him in truth. They’ve got a fake face while in the church building, but show something completely different during the week. We’ve all met them…and perhaps we’ve even been one in the past.

Question: we may try to put on a show, but is it really possible to fool God? Of course not! People may think they can trick God into believing their worship is sincere, but God sees our hearts & He knows the difference. Case in point? Saul vs. David. It didn’t take long for Saul to start putting on a religious show for the people, by bringing an unlawful sacrifice before battle just say he brought something…in fact, his son Jonathan demonstrated far more faith than his father by trusting the Lord’s mighty power instead of trusting himself. In Ch 15-16, we see this again. Saul disregards the command of God, and God takes away the kingdom from him & gives it to another: a man after God’s own heart – someone who (in the midst of all his flaws) will continue to throw himself upon the grace of God & come to Him by faith.

1 Samuel 15 (NKJV)
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.’”

A. God is still ultimately in control – Saul is king at God’s command & by God’s will. Saul had forgotten his place in Ch 13, and Samuel is giving him another chance…

B. God gave Saul very clear directions: go destroy everything that is of Amalek. There’s nothing left out here: men, women, children, and animals were all to be destroyed. It’s so specific that Saul has no room to come back & claim he didn’t understand what God was talking about. (Keep this in mind for later.)

C. What’s behind God’s punishment of Amalek? The battle they had against Israel in the wilderness. They had ambushed Israel along the way, picking off the weak ones in the back (Deut 25:18), and Moses sent Joshua to battle them. [arms raised - victory] Exodus 17:14-16 (14) 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.” (15) And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner; (16) for he said, “Because the Lord has sworn: the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” []
__a. Amalek is often symbolic of the “flesh”… No different here. God had called Saul to battle against the flesh; instead Saul is going to compromise with it. Saul may win the battle, but he’ll lose the war in the process… We don’t compromise with the flesh!

4 So Saul gathered the people together and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah. 5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and lay in wait in the valley. 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.

A. Mercy to the Kenites… The Kenites had often been friendly with Israel & Saul didn’t want them to get caught in the crossfire. (One of the good things Saul did!)
.

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.

A. Flagrant disobedience! Saul destroyed a bunch of people, but left the king of the Amalekites alive & kept back the spoils of the battle for himself & his army. On one hand, this was a common practice among kings of the day – Saul wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary. But that’s the point: he WAS supposed to be doing something out of the ordinary! God had given him very specific commands & expected Saul to carry them out.
__a. BTW: this kind of destruction sounds pretty brutal to us today. Killing the men we understand, but the women, children, & animals too? Is that overkill? (literally) Not when God commands it. The Amalekites were a very wicked people & God in His righteousness judged them & wanted to use Israel as a vessel to pour out His judgment. But we can trust that God was doing what was right, simply because He is God… (preventing future generations from experiencing that kind of evil)

B. Why did Saul hold back from destroying everything, as the Lord had commanded him? Because some of it was “good.” … Saul fought for himself, his benefit & his glory; not God’s. As before, Saul forgot his place & exalted himself above God.
__a. Loving God always comes 1st!
.

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.” And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the LORD all night.

A. Can the Lord God actually regret something? Apparently so. Be careful not to imagine that God made a mistake; that’s not the case at all. God absolutely did choose Saul for a time, even though God had someone else in mind all along. Choosing Saul was not a mistake; Saul’s sins were the mistake – and God regretted that His chosen servant was acting in such a sinful way.
__a. Sometimes human language falls short of describing the aspects of our infinite God. “Regret” is simply the best way of describing what took place. Something similar took place with the golden calf incident at Sinai (Exo 32:14) – God “relented” from destroying Israel. It’s not that God changed His mind; it’s that He altered His response to the people based on Moses’ intercession. But human language falls short in describing this…

B. Note this wasn’t a minor indulgence in the eyes of God. Saul didn’t just have a “weak spot”; this was rebellion against the God who made Saul king! “He has turned back from following Me.” In essence, Saul (like the people before him) committed treason against the Lord God of Israel. (In essence, that’s what ALL sin is: rebellion against Almighty God…)

C. What was Samuel’s response? Grief. … This ought to be all of our response towards sin. Sometimes our pride gets in the way, and we actually rejoice to see some people fall: “They deserved it! Good!” Wrong. It’s good to rejoice in God’s perfect justice and work, but we ought to grieve over what God grieves over. … It’s never a good thing to see a Christian fall. … When we see someone sin, we ought to pray for their repentance & restoration!
.

12 So when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, it was told Samuel, saying, “Saul went to Carmel, and indeed, he set up a monument for himself; and he has gone on around, passed by, and gone down to Gilgal.” 13 Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the LORD! I have performed the commandment of the LORD.” [Blatant 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.”

A. Saul has to know he’s lying to Samuel…after all, he built a monument to flaunt his own excess & disobedience. Samuel doesn’t let him off the hook…

B. If the lie wasn’t bad enough, Saul tries to justify his disobedience by claiming he did all this for God & sacrificial worship… … No he didn’t! He kept the sheep because they were “good” and he wanted to grow wealthy off of the battle. It doesn’t matter how Saul tries to dress it up now, he cannot get away from the fact that he willfully ignored the direct command of God.
__a. No matter how hard people try, we will never be able to justify our sin in the sight of God. “Oh God, you know how bad I needed this job. I needed to lie on my resume!” “But my spouse just doesn’t pay me any attention – I’ve got needs to satisfy!” [Lipstick on a pig] … And we especially cannot use ‘worship’ as the excuse!
.

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, 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?”

A. Samuel reminded Saul of his source: God. It wasn’t Saul that had “earned” the position of being king; God was the one who took him from his father’s house & made him king. Before Samuel anointed him, Saul couldn’t even find a handful of donkeys. Everything that he had came from the Lord.
__a. So often, that’s what we have to remember. Without Jesus, we have nothing!

B. Samuel reminded Saul of his orders. Saul had been given a specific word from the Lord God, and Saul deliberately disobeyed.
.

20 And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 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.”

A. Question: HAD Saul obeyed? He did part of what the Lord commanded; but he didn’t do it all. … If we break one part of the law, we’re guilty of it all (Jas 2:10).
__a. This is why we come by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus! No matter how hard we try, we can never be perfect on our own – and that’s exactly what God requires (Matt 5:48). It’s when we come by faith to Jesus Christ that He gives us HIS perfection & we are made right in the sight of God!

B. What should Saul have done? Taken responsibility & repented. What DID Saul do? Blame others… [just say “I’m sorry; it won’t happen again”] Excuses will never justify us – only the forgiveness of Jesus will. The good news is that His forgiveness is readily available! (1 John 1:9)
.

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.”

A. Did Samuel just say that works are better than worship?! What about being saved by grace through faith?! We ARE saved by grace through faith. Works do not save us, nor is it possible to make ourselves righteous in the sight of God through obeying the law… … BUT our faith has to be more than window dressing. Singing “I love You Lord,” doesn’t make a hill of beans worth of difference if by our actions we show that we hate Him…
__a. [David’s disobedience] Psalm 51:16-17 (16) For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. (17) The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise. []

B. The result of Saul’s disobedience? God rejected him as king. ‘Didn’t this already happen in Ch 13?’ Not really – in 1 Sam 13:13, God took the dynasty away from Saul (his kingdom wouldn’t be established forever). In Ch 15, God takes the present kingdom from his hand. Saul would still rule as king until the day he dies, but the people would know that God’s favor was removed from him & that God had already chosen another leader…
.

24 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. 25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD.” 26 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.” 27 And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. 28 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. 29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.”

A. Dramatic! Question: was Saul truly repenting? Probably not. He was sorry that he was experiencing the consequences of his actions, but he still didn’t take responsibility for himself. Still blaming the people… Godly sorrow leads to repentance (2 Cor 7:10). Saul was sorry about the consequences God was dealing out to him; he wasn’t sorry that he had sinned against God. [Compare with David]

B. Repeated: Saul rejected the Lord; the Lord rejected Saul as king… Question: why was David (the neighbor) “better” than Saul? Because David relied upon the grace of God. Saul tried to show himself to be a big religious leader; David would consistently respond in humility & seeking the Lord’s face. IOW, it wasn’t anything David did that made him “better”; David simply had a better faith because it was a sincere faith in God.

C. Who is God? He is the “Strength of Israel” – and He is strong not only in His omnipotence & might; He is also strong & steadfast in His conviction. God had declared that Saul would no longer be king & that was going to stand. Why? Because God doesn’t lie. Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? []
__a. This is not a contradiction with God regretting making Saul king. God certainly didn’t lie to Saul when raising him to the throne; God didn’t shortchange Saul in any way. Nor did God do the wrong thing when He took the kingdom away from Saul. God’s interaction with Saul changed due to Saul’s sin; but God was steadfast the entire time.
__b. God keeps ALL His promises. Both the ones we like & the ones we don’t…
.

30 Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD your God.” 31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul worshiped the LORD.

A. Why did Samuel change his mind & worship with Saul? Perhaps in order to avoid out & out rebellion among the people. Perhaps just to get an audience in front of Agag the Amalekite king.
.

32 Then Samuel said, “Bring Agag king of the Amalekites here to me.” So Agag came to him cautiously. And Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 33 But Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.

A. Samuel finished the job that Saul wouldn’t do…
B. THAT’s the response we should have with our flesh! Nothing good comes from the flesh – there can be no compromise with the flesh… The only way to deal with it is to kill it off; reckon it dead (Rom 6:11).
.

34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul. 35 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.

A. Mourning for Saul…
B. God’s regret… Interesting this is repeated so many times. Scripture makes it clear we can grieve the Holy Spirit by our actions (Eph 4:30). Perhaps God had a similar emotion to Samuel in response to Saul’s sin.
.

1 Samuel 16 (NKJV)
1 Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.”

A. In the midst of all this tragedy, God still had a plan. He had already chosen the next king! …
.

2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” But the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3 Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.” 4 So Samuel did what the LORD said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” 5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice. 6 So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before Him!” 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

A. How does man choose? By the outside. Samuel was looking at the same qualifications that he had seen in Saul (1 Sam 10:23-24)… How does God choose? By the inside. “the LORD looks at the heart.” There’s no fooling God. There’s no amount of religious ritual that is going to be able to trick God into thinking we’re someone we’re not. He sees our hearts & He knows what He wants to do with us.
__a. If this is how God sees us, we ought to strive to see one another in the same way. Too often, we judge the outside, without taking the time to see what a person is really like on the inside.

B. For some of us, this can be a scary thing. “God knows my heart?! Then He knows what kind of a vile sinner I am!” He does – but that’s where the good news of the gospel comes in! When we trust Jesus by faith for forgiveness of sin, He gives us a new life – He makes us into new creations – He changes our heart to be like Christ’s…
.

8 So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen these.” 11 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.”

A. David wasn’t even in the running. His father thought David was the least likely of all to be chosen. … So are we! We are the foolish things of the world that God has chosen to confound the wise (1 Cor 1:27).
.

12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

A. Anointing with oil symbolized the anointing of the Holy Spirit…
.

14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the LORD troubled him.

A. “The Holy Spirit can depart from someone?! Yikes!” Before we get too far in this, we need to understand the difference between the work of the Holy Spirit today & what it meant for the Spirit to “come upon” someone in the OT. In the OT, it was almost always temporary – the Spirit would come upon someone for a short time to empower them for battle, or to equip them to rule, etc. In the NT, the work of the Spirit is quite different. There are several permanent works: believers are born of the Spirit – indwelt by the Spirit – sealed by the Spirit – the Spirit serves as our guarantee… At the same time, there are some works that are to be repeated or be ongoing – such as the filling of the Spirit (Eph 5:18)…

B. When the Holy Spirit “departed” from Saul, Saul was no longer God’s chosen king, and the Holy Spirit took away any empowerment or protection He had previously given to him. Strictly in the OT sense. The closest scenario we would have today would be if God removed someone from a particular office & never restored them. But a true born-again believer would never completely “lose” the Holy Spirit.

C. A “distressing spirit” came. Where did it come from? The LORD! Did God actually do evil here? Of course not. With the protection of the Holy Spirit removed from Saul, God allowed the evil spirit to “trouble” Saul – perhaps even possess him at times. Keep in mind that even though demons are in rebellion against God, they are still at the whim of God. When Jesus cast them out, they had to leave – they had no choice. When Satan tested Job, he could only do so when God allowed him to – and he couldn’t do any more than what God allowed.

D. Beyond the fact that the distressing spirit came from God, it’s worth noting that God allowed Saul to be distressed. … Sometimes we think that unless we’re happy & peaceful, everything else is brought on from the enemy as an attack. Not necessarily! God allowed Saul to be distressed; this was part of His chastisement upon Saul to bring him to repentance…
.

15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely, a distressing spirit from God is troubling you. 16 Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. And it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well.” 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.” 18 Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the LORD is with him.” 19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” 20 And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a young goat, and sent them by his son David to Saul.

A. Note even the servants of the king recognized that the distressing spirit had come from God. Saul’s religious hypocrisy was obvious to the people around him & they could tell when the anointing of God had left him.

B. Interesting that before Samuel anointed David, he was just a ruddy kid in the field with the sheep. Now he’s a “mighty man of valor”… Apparently, as young as he was, he had already proved himself in battle (there’ve been several opportunities in 1 Sam so far!). Considering that people in Saul’s court already knew of David’s reputation, it makes Jesse’s dismissal of his son all the more poignant.
.

21 So David came to Saul and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer. 22 Then Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Please let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.”

A. It wouldn’t always be like this, but at one point, Saul loved David…
.

23 And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.

A. Under spiritual attack? Spend time in worship!

Conclusion:
We come to God in humble reverence by faith. Everything Saul did in his “religion” was for show. Saul attempted to use the things of God just for his own selfish benefit without regard to the glory of God. That’s not how it was supposed to be…

God calls us by His grace. Before David (or any of his family) even had an inkling that God wanted to use him, God knew He wanted to use David – God already had a plan for him.

How are you coming to God? Are you relying on His grace by faith? … Or have you been trying to fool God into thinking you’re more religious than you are? We have nothing without Jesus Christ – but we have everything in Him! May we be the ones who are done with fake religious stuff & instead be those who worship God in spirit & truth…

All Through Jesus

Hebrews 13:15-25, “All Through Jesus”
——————

As we finish this study of Hebrews, it’s worth noting how we began: [BIBLE: Hebrews 1:1-4] Here, we find the argument & theme of the entire letter! Yes, God did speak through prophets & priests & angels in the past. Yes, God did give various ways & sacrifices & systems by which His people could worship Him. But in these last days (right now) God has given us Jesus Christ – His only begotten Son! Jesus is God & Jesus is the glory of God & Jesus provided the propitiation of God & Jesus is in the presence of God. He’s infinitely better than anyone or anything that has come before! And because He is better, we have nowhere else to turn. No previous sacrifice was ever enough – no previous covenant was ever eternally sufficient. The only One that has perfectly fulfilled everything God required due to our sin is the Lord Jesus Christ. Without Him, we have no hope of any covenant relationship with God (either here or in eternity), so we ought to hold fast to Him & walk by faith.

Over & over again, that has been the writer’s one argument. Whether he was talking of the role of Jesus as the perfect priest and perfect king (foreshadowed through Melchizedek) or warning the readers away from a final apostasy (falling away from the faith), he’s always come back to the idea that Jesus is better than all the rest, and we have no one else but Him.

That’s how the letter comes to an end as well. As we can expect, there are a few random things thrown in here at the close – an appeal for prayer, updates about other ministers, personal greetings, etc. – but there are two things that form a conclusion to everything that has come before in the letter. The 1st looks at our response to the Lord Jesus & this great salvation He offers us. The 2nd is a beautiful benediction prayer that shows how we’re equipped to respond to the Lord at all. The bottom line? Everything we have & everything we do is all because and through the Lord Jesus Christ!

Context: the author had been describing how we have a better altar than the best Hebrew priests. To those believers who may have been pressure by others to go back to Judaism because of the grand solemn sacrifices, the writer points out how not only is our sacrifice better (because it was made by Jesus), but Jesus bore reproach in making it – so we ought to expect to join in His reproach as long as we are alive.

BUT – although Christ Jesus has already provided the perfect sacrifice for sin, that doesn’t mean there are no sacrifices to be made…there are! Our sacrifices are far different because our sin has already been dealt with by Jesus at the cross. Thus our sacrifices are a response to HIS sacrifice.

Hebrews 13:15-25 (NKJV)
- How do we respond to Jesus? Through 2 sacrifices…
15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

A. 1st sacrifice: “the sacrifice of praise…the fruit of our lips.” This ought to give us a different perspective on worship. When we sing to God in praise and worship, it’s not a time for us to be focused on ourselves worried about how in-tune we may or may not be; it’s a time dedicated to giving God the praise that He alone deserves. When we sing in worship, it is a sacred service to the Lord – we are bringing a sacrifice to Him. … Obviously, this goes far beyond singing. When we fellowship with one another, we can offer the fruit of our lips to give God praise. When we’re talking with friends & we have the opportunity to give God the glory for something He’s done, we’re offering the sacrifice of praise. When we’re driving to work & we remember the salvation we have in the Lord Jesus, we can offer Him the sacrifice of praise right where we are.
__a. This also ought change our perspective on how we should be using our lips. Too often Christians say things that are definitely NOT the sacrifice of praise. We’ll fall in line with our culture & start uttering blasphemies (“OMG”), or spreading rumors & gossip, or using foul language & curse words. Why waste the time? We could be offering the sacrifice of praise!

B. How? “giving thanks to His name”. Greek for “giving thanks” is interesting – compound of “same/together” & “speech/words”; normally translated “confess/profess.” (AMP), “Through Him, therefore, let us constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name.” By agreeing with God that He IS God (specifically that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh), we are offering praise and thanks to Him.

C. When? “continually” – there’s never a time that is not a good time to give God the sacrifice of thanks and praise! He deserves it because of Who He is & what He’s done. He is the everlasting & eternal Creator God – perfectly holy & perfectly loving. When we rightfully deserved everlasting death and judgment, He sent Jesus Christ to pay the price we owed & He called us to Himself, made us right in His eyes, sealed us with the Holy Spirit, gave us new life, a new relationship with Him, and an eternal inheritance. Christian – you always have a reason to praise the Lord! Even if that was all God had done (and it’s not), you could easily spend all day praising His name! (Newell) “If God’s creatures in Heaven constantly, gladly, serve and worship, His saints on earth, for whom He gave His Son, should respond to His unspeakable kindness with the utter devotion which befits it, devotion to God such as no other beings have!”
.

16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

A. 2nd sacrifice: the sacrifice of deeds… The 1st sacrifice was with our lips; the 2nd sacrifice is with our hands as we do good works and demonstrate the love of Christ through our actions. Whether that’s taking part in the nursing home or rescue mission outreaches, or helping your next-door neighbor mow his yard, or giving food to someone who needs it, this is also a sacrifice we bring to the Lord. You may be helping someone in need, but ultimately you are doing it as unto the Lord & giving praise to His name & God is well pleased with these things!

B. Notice when these sacrifices come: AFTER we are saved…after we’ve partaken of the sacrifice of Jesus for sin (vs. 12). Before we place our faith & trust in Jesus Christ for salvation, we cannot truly offer God the praise of our lips…our sin is always in the way. Nor is God ever pleased with our good deeds, prior to repenting & trusting in Jesus. Our attempts at good works are like filthy rags in His sight at that time (Isa 64:6). Only AFTER we are washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ are we able to offer sacrifices of praise & good works to God!
.

17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

A. Seems like a random thought – but goes in line with doing good. Part of doing good is avoiding confusion, and one way to do that is to respect the rulers/elders/pastors of the church. Be careful here! This is NOT saying that congregation members have to bow to the whim of their pastors, bend down & kiss their rings, or take orders on every little aspect of their lives from church leadership. (Shepherding Movement got this very wrong!) Both “obey” & “submit” have the idea of yielding to someone, to not resist them, or (on the positive side) to be persuaded by them. That’s a good kind of submission…

B. Why? Because pastors are charged with watching over the flock of God. “they watch out for your souls.” Pastors & elders want the best for the people God has placed into their care. They want to see them grow in knowledge & relationship with the Lord Jesus – they want to protect them from unhealthy (or dangerous) doctrines – they want to warn people away from sin. And pastors are accountable to God to do exactly that! Pastors will be held in account for what we taught (Jas 3:1), but we will also give an account for our people.
.

18 Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably. 19 But I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.

A. Personal request for prayer. Perhaps the author was in prison & wanted to be “restored” – perhaps he was just travelling. Wherever he was, he wanted to honor God with his life & actions…a really good prayer request for any pastor!
.

- the benediction prayer…
20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

A. This is the basis for the prayer request. Everything that the writer is asking for on behalf of the church is all because of Jesus! Because it’s His work and His will, everything we do is based in the marvelous attributes of God…Who He is.

B. God is the “God of peace”: WE were not always at peace with God. In our sin, we rebelled against Him & we were at enmity (war) with Him (Rom 8:7). But God sought out peace with us & made provision for our peace – even when we were not seeking peace in the slightest.
__a. What glorious good news this ought to be to anyone who has come under the conviction of his/her own sin! When you realize that you have truly sinned and rebelled against the God who gave you life – when you understand that you have used the breath God allowed you to have to use His name as a curse word, the eyes He’s given you to lust after other people, the heart He’s given you to love idols instead of God – at that point you understand what kind of judgment and wrath you so utterly deserve & at that point you understand your crushing need to have peace with God. And the wonderful news in response is that God HAS offered you that peace! He’s already made provision for your peace…Jesus Christ Himself IS our peace with God! If today you come seeking peace with God, know that He is offering it to you today; God is the God of peace!

C. The God of peace is all-powerful; He “brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead.” Although the author of Hebrews never used the word “resurrection,” this has been one of the major assumptions in the book. Jesus could only be a priest forever if He lives forever, and He does so because He’s risen from the dead. Jesus sits at God’s right hand forever because He’s risen from the dead. The covenant He offers lasts forever because He’s risen from the dead. Everything we have in Christ Jesus, we know we have because Jesus is risen from the dead! We do not serve a dead Savior – we do not speak of Jesus being in heaven in the same way we speak of our loved ones who have passed away. Jesus is in heaven because He physically went there…His actual body ascended to God’s right hand. This very day, Jesus is ALIVE!
__a. There are several things that could be considered “non-essentials” about the faith (the gifts, the end-times, the order of salvation, etc.). We can have passionate disagreement on these things, but at the end of the day we can still view someone who differs from us as a brother/sister in Christ. The resurrection is NOT one of them! The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a non-negotiable. Either someone believes that Jesus Christ really did die on the cross and rise again from the grave, or that person is NOT a Christian. And if Jesus did not rise again, we’ve got zero reason to be a Christian. 1 Corinthians 15:17-19 (17) And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! (18) Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. (19) If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. [] But He IS alive & resurrected from the dead!
__b. Because of the resurrection, we can know that Jesus is indeed LORD! It is the declaration He is the Son of God (Rom 1:4), and has been given all authority in heaven & on earth (Matt 28:18). And by His glorious invitation, He is OUR Lord!

D. Who is Jesus? “that Great Shepherd of the sheep.” Truly the Lord Jesus is the Church’s “Senior Pastor” – He is the Great Shepherd & every other minister is simply an under-shepherd to Him. What a wonderful thing it is to have the Lord Jesus as our Shepherd! He is our Lord & King; but He’s not only our Lord & King. He rules over us, but He doesn’t do so coldly; the Lord Jesus cares for us as our Good Shepherd. He provides for us & leads us in righteousness (Ps 23) & calls us & laid down His life for us (John 10:11, 14). He loves us as His own, and cares for us as the best shepherd would ever care for His sheep. (Spurgeon), “While we rest in the covenant of grace we should view our Lord as our Shepherd, and find solace in the fact that sheep have nothing to do with their own feeding, guidance, or protection; they have only to follow their Shepherd unto the pastures which he prepares, and all will be well with them.” The Lord Jesus is our Great Shepherd; follow Him!

E. How was He made our Shepherd? In “the blood of the everlasting covenant.” The book of Hebrews has already gone into depths about the need for our Great Shepherd to shed His own blood for us. This is not something that can be watered down or ignored…the price for our sin is costly, and it required the blood and death of the very Son of God. Hebrews 9:11-12 (11) But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. (12) Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. [] The other sacrifices could only point to the need for the one sufficient sacrifice – and the only One Who could provide it was none other than Jesus Christ, the Son of God. There is no more precious substance than the blood of God’s very Son, and He willingly gave it for your redemption to the glory of God!
__a. What did that blood purchase? An “everlasting covenant”! Christian – when you believed the gospel & received Christ Jesus as your Lord & Savior, you entered into a covenant with God that will never end. NEVER. Our Bibles are divided into two major sections: the Old Testament & New Testament. The OT speaks of the salvation to come in Christ Jesus; the NT shows it taking place. But the NT could just as easily be called the “Everlasting Testament”…the promises & relationship we’ve been given in God will not ever be replaced or supplanted. It will last forever!
__b. BTW – ‘forever’ started back when Jesus walked out of the tomb. ‘Forever’ is right now. Sometimes we get the idea that our everlasting covenant with God is something that we’re only looking forward to in heaven. We will have it in heaven (to be sure!), but we have it right now as well! Every Christian has life in the Spirit available to them every single day. Every day you wake up is a day you can celebrate your covenant relationship with God – made certain by the blood of Jesus Christ. … Do you understand that every single day you have the privilege of walking in peace with God the Father, in fellowship with Jesus Christ the Son & empowered by the Holy Spirit? What a marvelous privilege! What a beacon of hope! What joy! And it all starts right now for every believer!
.

21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

A. What is the actual prayer request? That God would enable the church be “complete” & “do His will.” In a sense, this is exactly what the whole book has been about. It’s only through the work of God in Christ Jesus that any of us can be made complete at all! Through the better testimony of His Son – through the better priestly work Jesus offers – through the better sacrifice He provides…only through Christ Jesus do we have anything! So it only makes sense to pray that God would equip the Church to continue to live for His glory. And we do so, as the Holy Spirit continues to work within us – transforming us by the renewing of our minds (Rom 12:2), conforming us to the image of Christ (Rom 8:29). Our lives are completely changed by the work of God!
__a. What is one of God’s primary tools to do this in our lives? The Bible! 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (16) All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, (17) that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. [] This is why it’s so important for us to be in the Word every day! God uses His breathed-out Scripture to teach us, mold us, and equip us to do His will. The Scripture is living & powerful & sharper than any two-edged sword (Heb 4:12), God uses it in our lives to mold us into men & women who act in ways well-pleasing in His sight. Like skilled surgeon, God uses His word to discover & cut out sin in our hearts, as well as bring healing and growth in the areas He treats. But we’ve got to be in the Word!

B. Sum up the benediction? God called us by His grace in Christ Jesus, saves us by His grace in Christ Jesus, equips us by His grace in Christ Jesus, and empowers us by His grace in Christ Jesus… Everything that we have in God is because of Jesus; everything that we do for God is based in Jesus. He is everything we have, and without Him we have nothing. Because of all this, Jesus Christ is deserving of “glory forever and ever!” (So offer Him that sacrifice of praise & good works!)
.

22 And I appeal to you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation, for I have written to you in few words.

A. There were 13 chapters & over 5330 actual words in Greek…that’s a few?! Guaranteed whoever the author was, he was a pastor. This is his final appeal for the church to pay attention.
B. Keeping things in perspective, the author has written about the superiority of Christ Jesus over the angels, prophets, priests, covenants, and sacrifices. There could easily be 13 books written; not just chapters. These are deep waters we’ve been swimming.
.

23 Know that our brother Timothy has been set free, with whom I shall see you if he comes shortly.

A. Some point to this as evidence that Paul wrote the letter, since Paul mentioned Timothy so often. I’d argue the opposite: this is one indication the author wasn’t Paul. When Paul mentioned or wrote to Timothy in the other epistles, Timothy is free & able to travel or ministering in one place (Ephesus)….he isn’t behind bars. Vs. 23 implies that Timothy had been behind bars for quite a while, but Paul never mentions it in his letters. Also, the writer labels Timothy as a “brother”; not a son. Paul always gives more attention to his relationship with him than that. … Bottom line, knowing who actually wrote the epistle doesn’t really matter as long as we recognize it as the inspired word of God.
.

24 Greet all those who rule over you, and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you. 25 Grace be with you all. Amen.
A. Final greetings…

Conclusion:
So ends the book of Hebrews. Can you imagine what it would have been like to have been one of the 1st readers of the letter? You’re part of a local church in a highly Jewish area…your family for generations have been faithful Hebrews, taking part in the sacrifices & feasts, and doing your best to keep the Law of Moses. You’ve memorized vast portions of the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets in a way to show your devotion to God. You praised God the 1st time you realized that Jesus of Nazareth was none other but the long awaited Messiah – the Son of God! You trusted in His sacrifice at the cross & resurrection from the grave & you rejoiced as a newly born-again Christian! But along the way, you were cast out by your former friends & proclaimed a fool & a heretic by the local synagogue. Family members have long stopped speaking to you, and there was pressure every day from the community to leave that “Jesus stuff” behind & return to Judaism. You remembered the days of bringing sacrifices to the temple with longing, and there was a growing part of you that wanted to go back to the way things were.

Then your church received a letter from an apostle…and what a letter! In it, he affirmed that the Lord Jesus really is the Son of God, and that He brought a better testimony than the angels, the prophets, and the priests. It showed how Jesus is the only one who perfectly kept the law & that He Himself is the fulfillment of it. It showed how all the other priests needed sacrifice themselves, and that Jesus is the only perfect eternal priest of God for all time. It showed how Jesus brought a better sacrifice than any of the other sacrifices in the Law; Jesus’ sacrifice never had to be offered again! It showed how the covenant Jesus offered was superior than any covenant ever offered through Moses. And it showed how Abraham, Isaac, Moses, and many other fathers walked in faith with none other but Christ Jesus, and we ought to do the same!

What an encouragement this would have been! And what encouragement this should be to us as well! Today we face the exact same pressures and temptations that the 1st century Jewish Christian faced. We may not be tempted to go back to Judaism, but we’re certainly tempted to leave Christianity & join the so-called “reasonable” people of the world. There are days we wonder if it wouldn’t be easier to not have our faith & we could just live like everyone else. But then we’re reminded about the Lord Jesus! Where else could we turn? He alone has the words of eternal life!

So hold fast to the Lord Jesus Christ! No matter what comes your way – stay close to Him. Everything we have is because of Jesus… Everything we do is based in Jesus… It’s all through Him & all for His glory. You have a firm foundation in the Lord, the King, the Son of God! …

Saul’s Lack of Faith

1 Samuel 13-14, “Saul’s Lack of Faith”
——————–

At this point in 1 Samuel, the people have rejected God as King & asked for a king to be like all the other nations surrounding them. They believed that having a human king would make them safer – and they’re going to find out that’s not the case at all. The prophet Samuel has basically stepped down from his duties as being judged & installed Saul (the farmboy from Benjamin) as king. He’s already had his 1st major military victory & all Israel rejoiced.

That was then; this is now. Things have changed in the land – the Philistines have gained control again & kept Israel under its thumb, with Saul’s rule being ignored by many Hebrews. In Ch 13-14, another major battle with the Philistines is going to come – but Saul is going to have bigger problems; and he had no one to blame but himself for his lack of faith.

1 Samuel 13 (NKJV)
1 Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, 2 Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the mountains of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent away, every man to his tent.

A. If you’re looking for the biblical record of Saul’s good years, that was it. 2 years with relative peace in the land (there’s some textual debate about how many years are actually referred to). Saul’s record isn’t going to be judged on his military victories, but whether or not he walked by faith & obedience to God.
.

3 And Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” 4 Now all Israel heard it said that Saul had attacked a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel had also become an abomination to the Philistines. And the people were called together to Saul at Gilgal. 5 Then the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth Aven. 6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in danger (for the people were distressed), then the people hid in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in holes, and in pits. 7 And some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

A. This is a grim situation, to be sure. Jonathan had carried out a raid against some Philistine soldiers, and the Philistines responded in all-out war. This wasn’t just a tit-for-tat; they brought out everyone they had & looked to obliterate Israel in a massive show of force.

B. How did the people respond? Understandably, in absolute terror! Fleeing the country – hiding anywhere they could hide… How should they have responded? By hitting their knees & seeking the Lord!
.

8 Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him. 11 And Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, 12 then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”

A. What’s the problem here? Wasn’t Saul trying to do the right thing & seek the Lord in sacrifice? Maybe…but he went about it in the wrong way. Saul didn’t have the authority to present a sacrifice… He was the king; not a priest…
__a. Jesus DOES have the Authority! He is both King & Priest!

B. What could Saul have done? Sought the Lord in prayer… Rallied the people to God… Encourage the people to repent… Those were actions God had equipped and empowered Saul to do. But sacrifice was not Saul’s to make. In essence, Saul bucked the authority of God. Remember – Saul was the king, but the people still were God’s people. God was (is) still the ultimate authority, and Saul was supposed to submit to Him. Saul showed that he was not willing to wait upon the Lord or His timing. The 7th day wasn’t over by the time Saul offered the sacrifice & Samuel had caught him in the act.
__a. Ever find yourself in the same position? You’re waiting upon the Lord & waiting & waiting & it feels like God is never going to act – so you decide to take matters into your own hands. Be careful! There may indeed be something God wants you to do – but it will always be something that glorifies Him & is in line with His word. “But I really need this job – one little white lie won’t make a difference… But my spouse isn’t ever around; I have needs, you know… The company won’t miss this – and I’m desperate for something…” Be careful! What we imagine as God being silent may simply be His encouragement to wait upon Him in faith & walk according to His word & promises…
.

13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”

A. Saul’s sacrifice was foolish because he did not keep “the commandment of the LORD…” … In the end it demonstrated a fundamental lack of faith in God. The only thing Saul showed that he trusted was his own actions/abilities…he had no faith in the word & promise of God (otherwise he would have obeyed…). Saul’s sacrifice did not please the Lord because it was an unlawful sacrifice done out of obligation; not faith. Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. []
__a. Make no mistake: religious trappings won’t help us please God. Saul’s sacrifice was nothing but religious window-dressing…but as a ritual, it meant nothing. It had to be offered in faith, which means it had to be offered in the way God prescribed. For us, we walk with Jesus by faith (2 Cor 5:7) – not relying on religious “stuff”, but upon the Lord Jesus Himself through the power of the Holy Spirit.

B. What did Saul lose? The kingdom. And not just the kingdom for a time – but for a kingdom that would last forever. “Wait a second. Prophecy makes it perfectly clear that the Messiah King would come from the tribe of Judah (as will David), and Saul comes from the tribe of Benjamin. How could Saul have lost an everlasting kingdom? He never would have gotten it to begin with!” Yes & no. The prophecy is indeed absolutely clear that the Ruler will be the “Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Gen 49:9-10). And yes, God knew in His omniscience that Saul would fail miserably. But that doesn’t mean that God did not legitimately give Saul an opportunity to be a part of all that somehow. It was a real opportunity & it was really lost.
__a. We can’t blame God for our sin. When we sin, the responsibility is completely our own…

C. Who would God replace Saul with? “a man after His own heart…” At first, this is a reference to David…ultimately we can look forward to Jesus Christ. There is no one that knows the heart of God the Father better than God the Son!

D. Notice God had already chosen Saul’s replacement: “the LORD has commanded him…” David may not have yet known of God’s choice, but God did.
__a. God knows what He’s called you to do! Each of us has a calling to serve God in some way. There may be missionaries to Asia here; there may be missionaries to the accounting firm as well. Whatever vocation you have, God desires to use you for His glory – and He knows how He wants to do it.
.

15 Then Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people present with him, about six hundred men. 16 Saul, Jonathan his son, and the people present with them remained in Gibeah of Benjamin. But the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 17 Then raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned onto the road to Ophrah, to the land of Shual, 18 another company turned to the road to Beth Horon, and another company turned to the road of the border that overlooks the Valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.

A. Not only were they outnumbered; they were surrounded… [MAP]
.

19 Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears.” 20 But all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen each man’s plowshare, his mattock, his ax, and his sickle; 21 and the charge for a sharpening was a pim for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to set the points of the goads. 22 So it came about, on the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. But they were found with Saul and Jonathan his son. 23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.

A. Not only were they surrounded; they were outgunned. The Philistines had all the blacksmiths, which meant that there was no armament for the Hebrews…just a few in Saul’s company had weapons.

B. So what can be done? The Hebrews are hopelessly outmanned, outmaneuvered, outgunned – the people were in hiding or fleeing as refugees. Things look pretty grim here; truly impossible odds from man’s point-of-view. Answer? What is impossible for man is possible with God…someone needed to have faith in what God wanted to do. See Ch 14…
.

1 Samuel 14 (NKJV)
1 Now it happened one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. 2 And Saul was sitting in the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron. The people who were with him were about six hundred men. 3 Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD’s priest in Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. But the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. 4 Between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp rock on one side and a sharp rock on the other side. And the name of one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. 5 The front of one faced northward opposite Michmash, and the other southward opposite Gibeah. 6 Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the LORD will work for us. For nothing restrains the LORD from saving by many or by few.”

A. Amen! This is faith! What the people lacked – what Saul lacked – was demonstrated by Saul’s son Jonathan. God is looking for people to take a step of faith – may we be those people!

B. Was it faith, or wishful thinking? After all, with these odds, was it even possible for God to win the battle? Of course! God spoke the world into existence; none of the Philistines would have been able to breathe that morning if the Lord God hadn’t allowed them to do so. It’s been often said, “One man + God always makes a majority.” Amend a bit: GOD is always a majority! … Nothing is too difficult for the Lord to accomplish! Jeremiah 32:27 “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? []

C. This is exactly what God promised them that they’d be able to do if Israel kept the covenant: Joshua 23:10-11 (10) One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you. (11) Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the Lord your God. [] God will always be true to His word. If there’s anything that we can have a firm assurance to place our faith in, it’s the word of God! We can trust it…
.

7 So his armorbearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you, according to your heart.” 8 Then Jonathan said, “Very well, let us cross over to these men, and we will show ourselves to them. 9 If they say thus to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place and not go up to them. 10 But if they say thus, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up. For the LORD has delivered them into our hand, and this will be a sign to us.”

A. Notice Jonathan wasn’t the only one who had faith. His unnamed armorbearer took a step of faith because Jonathan did… We may not be able to give someone our faith, but our faith can be contagious. As your co-worker sees you being a living out your faith on the job, it can inspire them to do the same… As one person takes a step of faith in the gifts (at the appropriate time), it can help the person sitting next to you do the same…
.

11 So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden.” 12 Then the men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armorbearer, and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you something.” Jonathan said to his armorbearer, “Come up after me, for the LORD has delivered them into the hand of Israel.” 13 And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees with his armorbearer after him; and they fell before Jonathan. And as he came after him, his armorbearer killed them. 14 That first slaughter which Jonathan and his armorbearer made was about twenty men within about half an acre of land. 15 And there was trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and the raiders also trembled; and the earth quaked, so that it was a very great trembling.

A. Not bad! Two men kill 20 Philistines in a small space. The Philistines had tried to taunt them, but Jonathan took that as the sign that God had blessed the battle…

B. Notice what happened as a result of the battle: the entire army trembled with fear. And not just with fear; the entire ground shook as God miraculously “showed” Himself in the midst of the battle.
.

16 Now the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and there was the multitude, melting away; and they went here and there. 17 Then Saul said to the people who were with him, “Now call the roll and see who has gone from us.” And when they had called the roll, surprisingly, Jonathan and his armorbearer were not there. 18 And Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God here” (for at that time the ark of God was with the children of Israel).

A. Saul’s trying to figure out what’s going on here. All the Philistine army was starting to flee, so Saul figures he’d better call roll to see who was missing – turned out to be Jonathan. … Why did he call for the ark? Probably to use as a religious trinket. The last time Israel had taken the ark into battle against the Philistines, it had been captured – but apparently no one learned the lesson, and they were trying to do the same thing again.
.

19 Now it happened, while Saul talked to the priest, that the noise which was in the camp of the Philistines continued to increase; so Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” [seems that the ark & priest were just there for show] 20 Then Saul and all the people who were with him assembled, and they went to the battle; and indeed every man’s sword was against his neighbor, and there was very great confusion. 21 Moreover the Hebrews who were with the Philistines before that time, who went up with them into the camp from the surrounding country, they also joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 22 Likewise all the men of Israel who had hidden in the mountains of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, they also followed hard after them in the battle. 23 So the LORD saved Israel that day, and the battle shifted to Beth Aven.

A. While Saul was still trying to figure out what was going on, God was defeating the Philistine enemy by throwing them into such confusion that they started to fight against themselves. Eventually the Israelites understood what was happening, and they joined the fight against the Philistines (as well as some other Hebrew hold-outs).

B. Huge victory from the Lord! Miraculous! … If God is for us, who can be against us?
.

24 And the men of Israel were distressed that day, for Saul had placed the people under oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food until evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food.

A. Apparently the oath had come earlier, before the victory had been gained. By this point, the men of Israel would have been pretty hungry.

B. Why the oath? Superstition. Fasting in order to seek the Lord was one thing; abstaining from food as a “good luck” charm was something else…
.

25 Now all the people of the land came to a forest; and there was honey on the ground. 26 And when the people had come into the woods, there was the honey, dripping; but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath. 27 But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath; therefore he stretched out the end of the rod that was in his hand and dipped it in a honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his countenance brightened. 28 Then one of the people said, “Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed is the man who eats food this day.’ ” And the people were faint. 29 But Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. Look now, how my countenance has brightened because I tasted a little of this honey. 30 How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found! For now would there not have been a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?”

A. Jonathan hadn’t known about the oath, so he ate a bit of wild honey & was refreshed – which was apparent by his face looking brighter & stronger after eating. … By this point, Jonathan recognized the foolishness of his father. If Saul had simply trusted the Lord to provide & allowed people to eat & conserve their strength, the already massive victory would have been even larger…

B. Two problems with the fast. Problem #1: Saul was attempting to “manipulate” God by imposing a legalistic fast on the people. There was no faith in what he was proposing; there was no proclamation to seek the Lord. The Ninevites (re: Jonah) showed more faith during their fast than what Saul did. All he did was make the people hungry because that was the “strategy” he thought would turn the battle his way.
__a. There are many spiritual practices that are wonderful to participate in! Prayer – fasting – meditation – worship… But they aren’t actions to just try to endure or force. The only way prayer, etc., has any impact is when it is done in faith & sincerity…

C. Problem #2: Saul withheld that which was good in exchange for a cheap pseudo-spiritual substitute. Psalm 119:103 likens the word of God to honey – Proverbs 24:13 compares Godly wisdom to honey. The “honey” was available to the Israelite army, but Saul imposed his own will & legalistic fast upon them. They could have truly sought the Lord with all their heart – they could have “fed” upon the word of God; but Saul held back the best for something cheap & forced.
__a. How many times do we do the same thing? We HAVE what is best! We’ve been saved by the Lord Jesus – we’ve been equipped by the Holy Spirit – we’ve been given the Holy Scriptures… But too often we turn to the cheap substitutes instead. We look for a quick “spiritual fix” rather than eating of the true honey God already provided for us…
.

31 Now they had driven back the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. So the people were very faint. 32 And the people rushed on the spoil, and took sheep, oxen, and calves, and slaughtered them on the ground; and the people ate them with the blood. 33 Then they told Saul, saying, “Look, the people are sinning against the LORD by eating with the blood!” So he said, “You have dealt treacherously; roll a large stone to me this day.” 34 Then Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the people, and say to them, ‘Bring me here every man’s ox and every man’s sheep, slaughter them here, and eat; and do not sin against the LORD by eating with the blood.’ ” So every one of the people brought his ox with him that night, and slaughtered it there. 35 Then Saul built an altar to the LORD. This was the first altar that he built to the LORD.

A. Saul’s foolish vow not only deprived Israel of a greater victory, but it stumbled them into sin. The people were so famished after the battle that they began to eat animals with the blood…

B. At first glance, his response was one of the best things he did all day! Call the people to repentance & built an altar to the Lord… Yet considering all the other times (in one day) Saul has tried to make himself appear “religious” in front of the people, it makes us wonder if he’s not doing the exact same thing here. Like the boy who cried “wolf!” there’s no way of telling when Saul is & isn’t sincere.
.

36 Now Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and plunder them until the morning light; and let us not leave a man of them.” And they said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” Then the priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.” 37 So Saul asked counsel of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You deliver them into the hand of Israel?” But He did not answer him that day. 38 And Saul said, “Come over here, all you chiefs of the people, and know and see what this sin was today. 39 For as the LORD lives, who saves Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” But not a man among all the people answered him.

A. What Saul was doing was pretty common. When a king of Israel needed the counsel of the Lord, they’d go to a priest & the priest would inquire of God (usually via the urim & thummim)… But this time, when the priest sought the Lord, God was silent. So Saul started to bring the leaders of the people to the priest in order to narrow down the reason why God wasn’t providing an answer to the priest. Almost prophetically, he mentions Jonathan. Perhaps he already knew what Jonathan had done & was attempting to show himself as the truly “spiritual” leader – avoiding any attempt for the people to raise Jonathan up over himself.
.

40 Then he said to all Israel, “You be on one side, and my son Jonathan and I will be on the other side.” And the people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.” 41 Therefore Saul said to the LORD God of Israel, “Give a perfect lot.” So Saul and Jonathan were taken, but the people escaped. 42 And Saul said, “Cast lots between my son Jonathan and me.” So Jonathan was taken. 43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” And Jonathan told him, and said, “I only tasted a little honey with the end of the rod that was in my hand. So now I must die!” 44 Saul answered, “God do so and more also; for you shall surely die, Jonathan.”

A. Jonathan was chosen as the person who had sinned; Saul condemned him to death…
B. Question: had Jonathon really done anything wrong? Yes & no. Yes – he had unknowingly broken the direct command of the king (who had been placed in authority by God)… No – he hadn’t done anything against the Lord God; in fact he had demonstrated mighty faith in the Lord. Because Jonathan had broken the word of the king, he was rightly chosen by lot; but the problem was that Saul’s judgment was unjust.
__a. We serve a just God! People will always mess up from time to time, but God is always just. We don’t often see justice here on earth, but we will see it in eternity for sure.
.

45 But the people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who has accomplished this great deliverance in Israel? Certainly not! As the LORD lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.

A. Technically, it was God working through the people that rescued Jonathan. Every good & perfect gift comes from God (Jas 1:17)…
.

46 Then Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place. 47 So Saul established his sovereignty over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the people of Ammon, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he harassed them. 48 And he gathered an army and attacked the Amalekites, and delivered Israel from the hands of those who plundered them. 49 The sons of Saul were Jonathan, Jishui, and Malchishua. And the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal. 50 The name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. 51 Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel. 52 Now there was fierce war with the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man or any valiant man, he took him for himself.

A. The wars & commanders of Saul. He was a strong military commander, but he was a man of very little faith.

Conclusion:
This is the 1st of several failures in Saul’s reign as king…but all of them center around his lack of faith & disregard for the word of God. He tried to put on a show, but in the end it just didn’t work. Why? Religious “stuff” does not impress God; God is pleased by faith alone. Saul tried to impress God by his (unlawful) sacrifices, through religious trinkets, through rash oaths…none of that stuff pleased God. What Saul was missing was faith.

Jonathan, on the other hand, had faith…and what great faith it was! He knew God was in command & that nothing is impossible for Him to accomplish. Facing unbelievable odds, Jonathan would rather have his life hanging in the hands of God than to retreat & do nothing. What a great example of faith!

We may not face Philistine armies, but we have our own battles to face. How are we going to face them? … May we be the ones that take a venture of faith, knowing that Jesus has the ultimate victory & nothing is impossible for Him!

Is there an area where you’ve been hesitating walking in faith? Leave it at the altar tonight…

Jesus is worth it!

Hebrews 13:1-14, “Jesus is worth it!”
——————–

[Wall Street Journal] Christians are openly mocked for our faith today. We have numerous temptations to leave Jesus & go to the world for approval. What do we do about it? That’s exactly the dilemma that faced the 1st century Jewish Christians & exactly the reason why the book of Hebrews was written. This has been the subject of the entire letter.

Closing thoughts on general topics: brotherly love (in practical ways), marriage, contentment with Christ, church leadership. It’s when the author gets to this last topic that it brings him back to the general theme of the book: Jesus is better! Jesus is better than anything that has come before – so if there’s some reproach to bear while serving Him, so be it. Jesus is better, so Jesus is worth it!

Hebrews 13:1-14 (NKJV)
1 Let brotherly love continue.

A. Define “brotherly love” (φιλαδελφια): Compound word = friendship/fondness + brother… [eros vs. phileo vs. storge vs. agape] Agape is the supreme goal of Christians, but it doesn’t mean that the other types of “love” are bad. Every marriage ought to have eros – families ought to have storge – and friends ought to have phileo. Christians of ALL people ought to be able to demonstrate brotherly kindness and affection towards one another!

B. How would it “continue”? It keeps on going – it’s present & active in the lives of believers. IOW, it doesn’t work for a Christian to say, “Well, I was kind to that person in the past; I’m glad that’s done & over with now!” It ought to continue among us.

C. Two practical examples of brotherly love in vs. 2-3.
.

2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.

A. 1st example of brotherly love? Hospitality/entertaining strangers… It’s possible that the context of “brotherly love” implies that this is a specific instruction to be hospitable to other believers. At the time, missionaries & traveling evangelists would often stay in homes of the local church… At the same time, “strangers” doesn’t seem too restrictive. That’s not to say we need to feel obligated to let anyone off the street stay in our house for the night – but we ought to be friendly & welcoming to all.

B. Why do we need to be reminded not to “forget” doing so? Because it’s so easy to forget! We get so involved with the things of our own immediate circle of friends that it’s easy to forget to look up at those around us…

C. Sometimes we might be surprised at who these strangers are! Some people “have unwittingly entertained angels.” Ask Abraham (Gen 18)…
.

3 Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also.

A. 2nd example of brotherly love? Remembering those in prison… For us this might include the natural: visiting them & writing them. But most importantly, it includes the supernatural: praying for them. There are people in prison that you & I would have absolutely zero access to in the flesh – whether they are in a different country or under massive guard. But through prayer, we can visit all of them! Through prayer, we can join with them in support “as if chained with them.”

B. Originally the writer was most likely speaking of those imprisoned for their faith (re: Ch 12). Make no mistake that there are Christians who are behind bars. Some deserve to be there; others do not. In either case, a brother in the Lord is still a brother in the Lord. We ought to show them brotherly love (if for no other reason) because they “are in the body also.”

C. Keep in mind that in both of these examples, when we show love to those in need, we’re ultimately showing love to Christ Jesus. [hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, prison] Matthew 25:40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ [] Why remember to continue in brotherly love? Because when we do, we’re serving our King! Serving others in love can sometimes be hard, but be careful not to consider it a burden; it’s a privilege when we realize we’re serving our Lord God…
.

4 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

A. Not only do we love others; we love our spouses in marriage. What does God’s Word say about marriage? That it is honorable! Not every believer in the Lord is equipped for marriage (per Paul in 1 Cor 7); but those who are have every reason to give glory to God in their marriage because it’s “honorable” (esteemed/valuable). Why is it honorable? Because it’s a picture of the relationship between Christ & the Church… (Eph 5) (FYI: note the italics on “is”…there’s actually no verb in the Greek, so the verb is supplied by the translators. Some translations insert “be held in” due to the warning against fornication & adultery. The actual text is silent here – simply associating marriage with honor. It both “is” honorable & ought to “be held in” honor.)
__a. To the original audience, the writer was upholding & even exalting marriage. Some thought that the “truly spiritual” abstained from marriage altogether. Like other forms of asceticism, they would go to great lengths in an attempt to deny themselves in order to make themselves more worthy in the sight of God. Three problems here:
____i. At the heart of it, this is a works-righteousness system.
____ii. By spending so much time “denying” themselves, they ended up concentrating on nothing BUT themselves. NOT true humility.
____iii. God ordained marriage in Genesis 2 (before the Fall) and declares it to be honorable. Since God approves it as honorable, we should as well.

B. Without wanting to get too political – this gives Christians a Biblical justification on why marriage ought to remain between one man & one woman. Marriage isn’t honorable merely among born-again Christians; it’s proclaimed by God to be “honorable among all.” The marriage bed is a holy place – it is undefiled among those whom God has brought together. To take the marriage relationship & apply it to homosexual partners (which is by definition included in “fornication”) is to take what God has called “honorable” & make it dishonorable. … It is to declare what God has already labeled as sin & declare it sanctified… …
__a. Understandably, this is a touchy subject. People want to try to demonstrate compassion & brotherly love towards one another & say, “But the loving thing to do is to let 2 people get married! What’s the harm?” But to whitewash sin & turn a blind eye to what God so clearly has defined for us is NOT loving. The loving thing would be to take someone to Jesus Christ & see them born anew! Not to find a way to help them justify their own sin…

C. Is the only application of this to homosexuals? Of course not! That may be the current political topic, but the primary application in the text is regarding any sexual perversions. “Fornicators” in Greek has an original meaning of “male prostitutes” – in the NT, it’s used to refer to people who engage in all kinds of sexual immorality (which shows us how God views sexual immorality: as prostitution!). “Adulterers” is obvious in its meaning; and far too common among people within the Church. Adultery is not only sin against one’s spouse & family; it is sin against God (the 7th commandment) & destroys the entire picture marriage attempts to illustrate (between Christ & the Church)… These are actions that God WILL judge. For the non-believer, it confirms their sinful nature. For the Christian, it will mean a loss of reward. For those who attempt to sit on the fence, it may mean that if their lifestyle is characterized by these sins, it confirms they’re not born-again at all!
__a. We often hear: “Homosexual marriage is wrong because it destroys the family.” That is a very tough argument to make when Christian homes are destroyed by fornication & adultery FAR more often than homosexuality… ANY sexual act outside of husband & wife is sin in the sight of God. We ought to be very careful how we address the sins of others – especially if we’re not willing to address sins of our own. We ought to take a firm stand on the truths of the Bible, while also addressing any logs that may be in our own eyes.
.

- Not just others and our spouses; the author turns attention to ourselves…

5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

A. Covetousness is addressed in the 10th Commandment… [gimme, gimme, gimme!] Instead of covetousness, what should we as Christians desire? Contentment! Godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Tim 6:6)…

B. Christians of all people have the best reason to be content: we have Jesus Christ! What reason do we have to seek after the material things of the world? What reason do we have to seek after fame & fortune? As born-again believers, we have the most valuable relationship in the entire universe! Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us… We don’t need to worry about hobnobbing with the President or see what names we can drop among people to make them jealous; our relationship is with our Savior and our God! We know the Creator of the Universe & He knows us!

C. OT quote: most likely a loose quote of God’s promise to Joshua in Josh 1:5, “…I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.” The idea is repeated throughout the Scriptures – and what was spoken to Joshua is applied to us here by the Holy Spirit. There’s a triple negative in the Greek – (Weust) “I will not, I will not cease to sustain and uphold you. I will not, I will not, I will not let you down.” Think about it for a moment: GOD will never forsake you. What assurance! What a foundation for our faith! The Lord is with us – the Lord is on our side – who can be against us?!
.

6 So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

A. Direct quote of Ps 118:6 – amen! If God is for us, man can do nothing in comparison!
.

7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.

A. Referring to church leadership… Do pastors/elders really “rule over” the congregations? In one sense of the word, yes…leaders ‘lead’ by definition. But this is not a recommendation for a heavy-handed leadership; true leaders model their leadership after the Lord Jesus who served those around Him. (foot-washing)

B. Why “remember”? It’s possible the writer was referring to former pastors/elders or other church leaders (maybe even some apostles who had died). Like the OT saints in the Hall of Faith (Heb 11), they lived lives that were good examples to those who came after them.

C. Does this mean we’re supposed to remember anyone who waves around the title of “pastor” (or evangelist or apostle or prophet…)? Absolutely not – and in fact, he’s going to warn of false teachers in vs. 9. Just because someone claims a title doesn’t mean they are God-ordained leaders in the Church. Certain qualifications here:
__a. They taught the word of God…
__b. They had a faith worth following…
__c. Their conduct had a God-honoring outcome…
.

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.

A. Much could be said about verse 8! (And we will!) But keep it in context. The author of the letter has just commended the Church to remember those pastors/elders who rule well & teach the word of God. One of the ways the Church can tell whether or not the pastor in question teaches the truth is if he starts teaching some new strange doctrine. Jesus is the same & never changes. Thus His word & doctrine never changes either. …

B. For the church in question, the danger was getting caught back up in legalistic Judaism. The Judaizers spent much time on the minutia of the Law & things like the various dietary restrictions. (Don’t eat pork – don’t eat various birds, etc.) The Law is profitable in that it demonstrates the holiness of God & takes us to Christ (Gal 3:24). BUT the legalistic requirements imposed by people don’t profit anyone! It doesn’t matter how obsessed someone might be about keeping pork off their plate; it isn’t going to make one hill of beans (or pork & beans ) worth of difference when it comes to salvation!

C. Don’t miss the theology here: the Lord Jesus never changes.
__a. He’s the same yesterday: Back in the Garden of Eden as He walked with Adam & Eve, Jesus was the way, the truth, and the life just as now. He’s always been gracious & compassionate – He’s always condemned sin & has been predestined to defeat it at the cross.
__b. He’s the same today: Whether it was the “today” of 90AD or the “today” of 2009, the Lord Jesus is the same! He’s the awaited Messiah of Israel & our Hope & Savior of the world. The same Jesus who walked on water & worked miracles on earth sits enthroned in heaven today – THIS is the Jesus who saved us & this is the Jesus we serve!
__c. He’s the same forever! He will always be the same. When we’re worshipping Jesus in heaven in 2000 more years (or in 20,000 more years), He’ll still be eternally worthy of worship! We’ll still be amazed by His glory & His grace! He is the Rock & He never changes.

D. BTW – Christ Jesus doesn’t change, but He can change us! We NEED to be changed by Him & turned from sinner to saint…
.

10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp.

A. Changing gears a little bit here. The writer had mentioned how false Judaizing teachers had tried to impose certain diets upon the Jewish Christians. He’s going to use this as a teachable moment.  The ancient Hebrew priests mostly ate of sacrifices that were brought to the tabernacle/temple; but the current priests had no right to “eat” of the sacrifice of Christ, because they weren’t born again! In addition, there were certain offerings that they had NO right to eat – such as on the Day of Atonement (which is the primary metaphor here).

B. What would happen to these animals, whose blood was offered on the Mercy Seat? Their carcasses would be taken outside of the tabernacle area & burned (Lev 16:27). I.e., treated as completely unclean…
__a. That’s what sin does to us. It utterly defiles us… That’s why when Jesus was made a curse (Gal 3:13) – He actually became sin. 2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. [] The defilement that belonged to us was placed upon the Son of God… THIS is the grace that has been shown to us!

C. So come to that altar!! Those who try to attempt to partake of the goodness of God through legalistic methods & ritualistic means have no right to eat there. But WE partake by grace through faith… Jesus took our defilement upon Himself, so that we can come freely to Him by His grace. Obviously come for salvation – but don’t come only at your salvation. Come to the altar of the Cross daily to receive of Him! Praise Him for your forgiveness – praise Him with the sacrifice of your lives…
.

12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.

A. The crucifixion didn’t take place on the temple grounds. It was not only considered improper; it was sickening & defiled. It had to be done on the outside of the “camp” – the city. Jesus “suffered outside the gate” as the atonement sacrifice…

B. What was the result of His suffering? Our sanctification…our being made holy & being set apart by God. We cannot make ourselves holy; we can only be holy after GOD has made us holy…and that only happens through the Cross!
.

13 Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.

A. Because He bore reproach, we ought to expect to do the same…

B. Would there be consequences to ignoring the false teachers? Would there be consequences for denying the Judaizers? No doubt. But the Lord Jesus is better than anything/anyone who came before; so the Lord Jesus is worth it! They (and we) ought to go to Him – because He’s worth pursuing, no matter what the cost!

C. Our problem is that too often that instead of pursuing Christ, we pursue anything else but Him. We want the career, the car, and the cottage in the country. Give us the American dream; not the reproach of the Lord Jesus. Understand this: the Son of God already came to us when He came in the flesh. Surely once we receive Him as our Lord, we can go to Him where He is & leave the world behind to follow Christ.
.

14 For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.

A. ‘Huh?!’ Seems like a weird break to us Gentiles – but to a Jewish mindset, this makes perfect sense. For the 1st century Jewish Christian, the primary temptation they faced was to abandon Jesus to go back to Judaism. If they felt pressure to obey the false teachers & Judaizers, that’s exactly what they would have done. In doing so, they would have been slapped on the back & welcomed among their peers – congratulated for leaving that strange “Jesus sect.” They would have experienced prosperity in their city & been good Jews. To hold fast to their faith in Jesus Christ would mean to abandon the approval of the world around them – but that’s exactly what Jesus did. He bore the world’s reproach & went outside the city; so ought we do the same.

B. This world isn’t what we’re looking for. People look to experience the fullness of the Kingdom right here & right now, but they’re mistaken. This place is not where we’ll enjoy an everlasting city; heaven is! We wait for the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb 12 – Rev 21)…

Conclusion:
Tough place to stop – but we just don’t have time. The author is going to conclude this thought with how we respond back to Jesus: through the praise of our lips & the praise of our deeds.

Jesus is worth it. Whatever the subject or context – whatever it is that we face, Jesus is worth it. Are you bearing reproach among your family and co-workers because you’ve become one of those “born-again evangelical-fundamentalist” Christians? Jesus is worth it. Has it been difficult to love someone as a brother – they’re just one of those “sandpaper” people? Jesus is worth it. Are you weary in the spiritual battle of resisting sin? Jesus is worth it.

To the 1st century Jewish Christians, there were temptations galore to leave the faith. They could have the respect of those in the community – they could have sacrifices they could see with their eyes – they could have legalistic loopholes to find ways to fit in their favorite sin. But Jesus is better than ALL of that. Jesus is better than anything the world or religion has to offer – so Jesus is worth it!

21st century Christians face a similar issue. There are no lack of people who would rejoice to see multitudes of believers abandon the faith – we would be applauded & pat on the back & upheld as people of “reason.” But Jesus is better and Jesus is worth it. We who once were defiled are defiled no longer because of Jesus. We who once could not help but sin have been sanctified and made holy because of Jesus. Every single thing we have as Christians is because of Jesus – Jesus is worth it! So go to the altar – bear the reproach – love those around you…if for no other reason, because of Jesus.

Maybe you’ve never been to the altar of the Cross – today is your opportunity. You’ve heard how Jesus died because of your sin. You’ve heard how He took the punishment you deserved upon Himself. You’ve heard how He offers you grace & new life through His resurrection. Now is your chance to respond. Without Jesus, we have nothing – only a destiny to see God in His terrible holiness at the Great White Throne and be judged for our sin. In Jesus, we have everything: forgiveness, new life, the love of God & fellowship with the God who never changes for all eternity! [Believe Jesus died for your sins & rose from the dead… Repent by turning away from your sins… Receive Jesus as Lord & Savior by faith…]

Wanting What God Wants

1 Samuel 10-12, “Wanting What God Wants”
——————–

Left off with Saul bewildered by all the attention the prophet Samuel was showing him. Saul had been proclaimed to be the desire of all Israel; but he had just come up looking for some donkeys. Samuel is going to make things pretty plain to him here… God’s going to grab hold of Saul’s heart… Israel is going to see what happens when they ask for a king…

1 Samuel 10 (NKJV)
1 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said: “Is it not because the LORD has anointed you commander over His inheritance?

A. Anointing him as king… Back then, they didn’t just dab someone’s forehead; they poured oil right on top of them! Ps 133 speaks of it running off of Aaron’s beard…
__a. Who’s the ultimate anointed one of God? Jesus the Messiah!

B. Did Samuel’s act actually make Saul king? No…God had already anointed Saul to be king; Samuel’s oil was a memorial/demonstration of what had already taken place spiritually (not unlike baptism; though oil is generally a picture of the Holy Spirit). In any case, it was GOD’s anointing & choosing. This wasn’t Samuel’s choice (though Samuel was involved); it wasn’t the people’s choice (though they would receive him later) – it was God’s choice.
__a. Why are we saved? Did we choose or did God choose? Yes.  There’s a bit of mystery involved – but Scripture makes it very clear that we wouldn’t be saved without God’s choice (Eph 1:4), and that we love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). This isn’t something that needs a lot of debate & picking sides; this is something over which every single believer can rejoice! If you’ve been born-again, you’ve been chosen by God!! (How do you know if you’ve been chosen? Respond to Jesus in faith…)

C. It was also God’s inheritance! Saul might be their commander, but God is still God. Saul is to be king, but he’s not to be unaccountable – he was to report to God regarding his treatment of God’s people.
__a. There’s a lot of grace in this phrase alone (which we’ll see again) in that the people may have rejected God as King, but He didn’t reject them as His people. God will always keep His covenant promises (even when we fail) – let God be true & every man a liar!
.

2 When you have departed from me today, you will find two men by Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys which you went to look for have been found. And now your father has ceased caring about the donkeys and is worrying about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?” ’ 3 Then you shall go on forward from there and come to the terebinth tree of Tabor. There three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. 4 And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall receive from their hands. 5 After that you shall come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is. And it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying. 6 Then the Spirit of the LORD will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.

A. Instructions/prophecy about what was to take place. Saul’s life was about to change dramatically & Samuel gave him 3 signs as proof. (1) The donkeys would be affirmed to be found. (2) Saul would receive bread & wine originally meant as a gift to the Lord (valuable gift! Reminiscent of communion…) (3) He’d find a group of prophets singing in worship & prophesying…and Saul would join them. For a former farm-boy, these would be pretty big signs! Thus far, Saul’s just had the word of the Samuel (which was valuable enough) – but now he’d receive confirmation in numerous ways.

B. How is it Saul would actually change? By “the Spirit of the LORD…” … … As wonderful as this was for Saul, it wasn’t quite the same thing that happens with NT believers. In the OT, the Spirit came upon people for a time (a short while for empowerment); in the NT we are born of the Spirit when we place our faith in Christ, we are indwelt by Him as our seal/guarantee of salvation – and then on top of that, we have the opportunity to be filled with the Holy Spirit for power. Huge blessings over what was available in the OT. But yet something similar happens when we encounter the Holy Spirit: we’re also “turned into another” man/woman. When we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit at our salvation, we are changed into another person – we’re made new creations! … … When the Holy Spirit comes upon us with power, our Christian walk is fundamentally different… …
.

7 And let it be, when these signs come to you, that you do as the occasion demands; for God is with you. 8 You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do.”

A. IOW, “Don’t be afraid of the work of the Spirit; receive His gifts.” Many people are hesitant to step out in the gifts/leading of the Spirit. “You really want me to talk to THAT person? … You want me to utter what? That doesn’t make sense?! …” We don’t need to fear regarding the works & gifting of the Spirit; instead we ought to receive them with joy!

B. Afterwards, sacrifice & wait.
.

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. 11 And it happened, when all who knew him formerly saw that he indeed prophesied among the prophets, that the people said to one another, “What is this that has come upon the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” 12 Then a man from there answered and said, “But who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb: “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

A. Proverb is repeated several times throughout the book. As if the people were continually amazed that God would put someone like Saul among the prophets. Saul wasn’t exactly the most spiritual person around, so people’s skepticism is understandable.

B. Saul definitely had his flaws, but God still chose to use him. Just like we all have our flaws, but God still chooses to use us out of His grace. In His wisdom, God often calls and uses the foolish things for His glory! (1 Cor 1:27-29)
.

13 And when he had finished prophesying, he went to the high place. 14 Then Saul’s uncle said to him and his servant, “Where did you go?” So he said, “To look for the donkeys. When we saw that they were nowhere to be found, we went to Samuel.” 15 And Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me, please, what Samuel said to you.” 16 So Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But about the matter of the kingdom, he did not tell him what Samuel had said.

A. Saul’s hesitant to tell anyone he was anointed king. Going to be a bit more embarrassing for him later on…
.

17 Then Samuel called the people together to the LORD at Mizpah, 18 and said to the children of Israel, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all kingdoms and from those who oppressed you.’ 19 But you have today rejected your God, who Himself saved you from all your adversities and your tribulations; and you have said to Him, ‘No, set a king over us!’ Now therefore, present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your clans.”

A. Samuel reminds them that they had rejected the Lord. He had warned them about it back in Ch 8 when they were bellyaching for a king – now that the king had been chosen, there was no going back. Their rejection was complete. After everything God had done for them in purchasing them as His own people, they still weren’t satisfied.
__a. The saddest part? They still don’t even realize their sin – they won’t catch on until much later. They’re so consumed with what they want that they don’t even stop to think about what God would want for them. Thus there’s no sorrow – there’s no repentance – there’s no prayer. Just a bunch of people who claim God to be their God but want to rule over themselves.
__b. This is the opposite of how we ought to be! There’s nothing wrong with having desires & bringing our requests before the Lord (Phil 4:6), but the 1st priority in our prayers always ought to see the Lord’s will done (on earth as it is in heaven)! This is exactly what Jesus modeled for us. He could have chosen the easy route & let us suffer for our own sins – after all, we deserved it. But instead, He submitted Himself to the Father’s will… We ought to do the same!

B. The idea was that each tribe would be presented before God & God would choose the king from among them (probably either by lot or by urim/thummim). Obviously the king had already been chosen; this was the formal ceremony to let the rest of Israel know whom God had picked as their king…
.

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.”

A. Saul was going to be the representative from Benjamin, but they couldn’t find him.

B. Even at this point, Saul was in disbelief & running from what God desired for him. He was hiding among the equipment… Some suggest that Saul was hiding out of humility; the context seems to suggest the opposite. To be in the broom closet isn’t an act of humility; it shows a reluctance to obey or even a lack of faith in God’s calling. (Humility would be to not think of himself at all!) Note that Saul is making the same mistake as the people. Instead of submitting to the Lord’s will for his life, he’s trying to be his own king & his own god.
.

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!”

A. Even Samuel was looking at the wrong qualifications for the king. They all thought there had to be some sort of external, inherent reason God chose Saul. As if there were something supremely special about Saul, that he was God’s obvious choice for Israel. In reality, the only thing special about Saul was God’s choosing. God was the One who made Saul special; He desired to use Saul for His glory…
.

25 Then Samuel explained to the people the behavior of royalty, and wrote it in a book and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. 26 And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and valiant men went with him, whose hearts God had touched. 27 But some rebels said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.

A. Instructions in formality & etiquette – probably taken from Deut 17:14-20
B. Not everyone was happy about Saul. Keep them in mind for later…
.

1 Samuel 11 (NKJV)
1 Then Nahash the Ammonite came up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you.” 2 And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, “On this condition I will make a covenant with you, that I may put out all your right eyes, and bring reproach on all Israel.” 3 Then the elders of Jabesh said to him, “Hold off for seven days, that we may send messengers to all the territory of Israel. And then, if there is no one to save us, we will come out to you.”

A. Rather harsh terms for a covenant! Basically a “protection” racket…

B. Jabesh Gilead was apparently pretty weak. They wanted a deliverer, but they didn’t feel they could stand up to Nahash on their own – so they asked for time to find help. BTW, if “Jabesh Gilead” sounds familiar, it’s because this was the one city in Israel that didn’t mobilize against Benjamin when the atrocity happened in Judges 19. They refused to come to the aid of Israel, and in response, Israel took vengeance on the city & stole 400 virgins to give to the men of Benjamin so they wouldn’t die out. (It was a rough time!) It’s no wonder Jabesh Gilead was left in a pretty weak state & they didn’t hold out much hope for a rescue…but it is also ironic that now they are asking for help.
.

4 So the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and told the news in the hearing of the people. And all the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 Now there was Saul, coming behind the herd from the field; and Saul said, “What troubles the people, that they weep?” And they told him the words of the men of Jabesh. 6 Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard this news, and his anger was greatly aroused. 7 So he took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not go out with Saul and Samuel to battle, so it shall be done to his oxen.” And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.

A. This is exactly what Samuel said would happen. The people didn’t have a choice on whether or not to come & fight. Samuel demanded that they join the army, or he’d ransack their livestock & fields…

B. This wasn’t evil on Saul’s part; it was just the way it worked. The governing authorities have been charged by God to bear the sword (Rom 13). … If Saul hadn’t acted, he would have been negligent as king…
.

8 When he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. 9 And they said to the messengers who came, “Thus you shall say to the men of Jabesh Gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have help.’ ” Then the messengers came and reported it to the men of Jabesh, and they were glad. 10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do with us whatever seems good to you.” 11 So it was, on the next day, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch, and killed Ammonites until the heat of the day. And it happened that those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

A. Big victory! Surprise attack by night…somewhat reminiscent of Gideon – with the exception that Gideon had 300 men; Saul had 330,000!

B. Question: how was it possible for Saul to lead such a huge army to victory? After all, he wasn’t a soldier; he was a farm-boy. He couldn’t even find lost donkeys a couple of chapters ago; now he’s leading whole battalions! Answer: the Holy Spirit. Vs. 6 makes it plain that the Spirit again came upon Saul & equipped/empowered Saul for what needed to be done.
__a. What Saul had to wait for, we have available to us every day! Do you need equipping for the spiritual battle you’re facing? Be filled with the Holy Spirit by faith! Do you need power to walk as a witness of Christ? Ask God the Holy Spirit to come upon you! No doubt Saul wished he had the blessings available to NT believers today – don’t take the Holy Spirit for granted!
.

12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is he who said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.” 13 But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has accomplished salvation in Israel.”

A. At this point, the people go looking for the ones who were grumbling against Saul & not sending presents to his coronation. To his credit, Saul demonstrates mercy…

B. If Saul did not demonstrate humility earlier, he certainly does here. Saul led the battle, but he understood exactly Who it was that gave the victory: God. “for today the LORD has accomplished salvation.” Every good & perfect gift comes from God (Jas 1:17), and Saul understood the sovereignty of God enough to give Him the glory for what took place on the battlefield.
__a. Virtually impossible to read that phrase without thinking of salvation in NT terms. Saul didn’t know much about that, but we do! At the cross and Resurrection Sunday, it could truly be proclaimed that the LORD had accomplished salvation! The work was done – the price was paid – the enemy defeated! All due to the work of the Lord Jesus – all made available to the world through His grace. Wonderful news!
.

14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal. There they made sacrifices of peace offerings before the LORD, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

A. Was Saul not officially king before this point? Yes he was; the anointing by Samuel & the choosing by lot in front of the whole nation accomplished that. This was a different ceremony in the eyes of the people. Before, God had shown them who He had picked as king; here (after seeing Saul in action), the people acknowledged what God had done & now no one rebelled or rejected him.
.

1 Samuel 12 (NKJV)
1 Now Samuel said to all Israel: “Indeed I have heeded your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you. 2 And now here is the king, walking before you; and I am old and grayheaded, and look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. 3 Here I am. Witness against me before the LORD and before His anointed: Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I received any bribe with which to blind my eyes? I will restore it to you.” 4 And they said, “You have not cheated us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man’s hand.” 5 Then he said to them, “The LORD is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” And they answered, “He is witness.”

A. This was basically Samuel’s goodbye speech. He wasn’t completely leaving the scene (as we’ll see with David), but as judge over all Israel, he was being relieved of his administrative duties which now belonged to the king.

B. Begins by demonstrating his integrity. Samuel’s sons may have cheated the people, but Samuel never did. It was common for governors to live off the backs of the people, but Samuel was able to honestly proclaim (and have the people affirm) that he never did anything scandalous or that required rebuke…and he was perfectly willing to make restitution if someone had said something. How wonderful it would be to share a similar testimony! Christians ought to live lives of integrity…
.

6 Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the LORD who raised up Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. 7 Now therefore, stand still, that I may reason with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous acts of the LORD which He did to you and your fathers: 8 When Jacob had gone into Egypt, and your fathers cried out to the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place.

A. Going to go through a bit of history. They’ve rejected God, but Samuel is pointing out that God never rejected them – even when He had every reason in the world to do so…

B. God had demonstrated His compassion towards His rebellious people over & over again in the wilderness… And when they actually got to the Promised Land, it wasn’t much better. See vs. 9…
.

9 And when they forgot the LORD their God, He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them. 10 Then they cried out to the LORD, and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and Ashtoreths; but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ 11 And the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you dwelt in safety.

A. Referring to the time of the judges. Cycle of idolatry, apostasy, repentance, and deliverance…

B. Over & over again God provided for His people & gave judges. Even when they weren’t perfect, they still were sent by God who watched over His people…
.

12 And when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the LORD your God was your king. 13 “Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen and whom you have desired. And take note, the LORD has set a king over you.

A. Here it is: GOD was their King! And they rejected Him. Can’t get much plainer…
B. Even in the midst of this new rebellion, God still provided for them. He gave them what they wanted…
.

14 If you fear the LORD and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the LORD your God. 15 However, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you, as it was against your fathers.

A. So what to do with this new king & this situation with God? Remember God is God!
__a. Fear God: reverence Him – give Him the respect and honor He deserves. Even with a man as king, God is still GOD & nothing would ever change that!
__b. Serve Him: Continue to worship God alone as God; don’t go running into idolatry. Serve the Lord God and none other.
__c. Obey Him: Hearken to the voice & word of God. Obey His commandment – be holy as He is holy.
__d. The result? They’ll be blessed. They’d follow the Lord & they’d have good kings that would follow the Lord. Considering the situation, that’d be the ideal solution.

B. What not to do? Disobey… The result? God would be against His own people in discipline, using the kings of Israel themselves to bring hardship upon the people.

C. Bottom line, they were to seek after God with their whole hearts & follow Him. Historically, it’s not what they did…
.

16 “Now therefore, stand and see this great thing which the LORD will do before your eyes: 17 Is today not the wheat harvest? I will call to the LORD, and He will send thunder and rain, that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking a king for yourselves.” 18 So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

A. You bet they feared! Samuel basically said, “If you want proof you made God angry, let it rain.” And it rained! Keep in mind this was in the middle of one of their dry seasons, and it rained upon Samuel’s prayer with thunder & lightning.
.

19 And all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of asking a king for ourselves.” 20 Then Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. 21 And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing.

A. Pray for us that we may not die. Good prayer request! They were deserving of death…they had committed treason against God Almighty. And after all the appeals from Samuel, they just NOW realized it.

B. The dilemma is a real one: once we realize we’ve royally messed up & we’re in a bad spot, what do we do regarding God? On one hand, it’d make logical sense to try to run away from Him (and a lot of people do), in order to try to avoid being condemned when facing Him. The problem? There’s no place to hide from an omnipresent God. Instead of hiding from God, they were to repent & seek His face & forgiveness – they were to fear God & serve Him.
__1. Likewise for us! It’s not like if we pretend God doesn’t exist that’ll He’ll disappear. We WILL see God face to face. The answer isn’t to keep running away from God; it’s to seek Him in repentance through Jesus Christ!
.

22 For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you His people.

A. What a picture of grace! No matter how bad the people of God had messed up & sinned against God, they were still God’s people. He wasn’t going to forsake them. … We have that same promise as the NT church! We are the people of God – and Jesus has promised never to leave us nor forsake us. Even when we sin & mess up, we are still the people of God; Jesus’ forgiveness is available for the asking…
.

23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way. 24 Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. 25 But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”

A. Samuel couldn’t help but pray for the people; that’s what God called him to do…
B. Reiterates the need to fear God & serve the Lord in truth…

Conclusion:
Interesting turn of events. Saul is chosen as king – Saul is filled with the Holy Spirit & does what a king is supposed to do – and then the people realize they should never have asked for Saul in the 1st place. At this point, it was too late to go back (Samuel had warned them), but it wasn’t too late to go forward. They could seek God’s face and continue to worship Him. But of course they could have avoided this altogether by seeking the Lord 1st.

Do we want God’s will for our life, or do we want God to bless our will for our lives? Seek 1st the kingdom of God & His righteousness, and then trust God’s promise that He’ll provide the rest! Walk in the power of the Holy Spirit – be led and guided by Him in all that you do…

Whatever we’ve done in the past, as long as we have breath we’ve been given another opportunity to seek the Lord! We can’t turn back the clock, but we can repent from our sin & trust & fear the Lord…

Which is Your Mountain?

Hebrews 12:18-29, “Which is Your Mountain?”
——————-

A common technique for preachers when bringing a sermon to a close is to turn to an illustration of some sort, which demonstrates the main points of the teaching itself. The author of Hebrews is no different. After spending the better part of 12 chapters showcasing how everything about Judaism was simply an introduction to the fulfillment in Christ Jesus: how Jesus is better than any angel, prophet, priest, sacrifice, and covenant – culminating his letter in a passionate plea to hold fast to Jesus through faith – he turns to a vivid illustration to bring it all home.

Considering that the audience he was writing to was 1st century Jewish Christians, it only makes sense to look to Jewish history, and that’s exactly what he does, going back to the time & place where the Hebrew tribes became a Hebrew nation: Mt. Sinai & the giving of the 10 Commandments. With all due respect to Cecil B. DeMille, Scripture does a far better job of describing what took place & the author of Hebrews holds back none of the drama.

As dramatic as the events of Mt. Sinai were, they are overshadowed by the events of Mt. Zion – which is the author’s whole point. The 1st century Jewish Christians were being tempted to go back to Mt. Sinai (that was everything that they knew), but they needed to be reminded that they were no longer there. Anyone who is a believer in Jesus Christ has (figuratively) gone to a different mountain – Mt. Zion. Why? We don’t go to God through the Law; He brings us to Himself through grace.

Hebrews 12:18-29 (NKJV)
18 For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore.

A. Description of Mt. Sinai… [BIBLE: Exodus 19:16-20] Awesome! Fire – smoke – earthquakes – trumpet blasts! Keep in mind this is many centuries before fireworks & pyrotechnics…we get a small taste of this at some football games (we’d be desensitized) – but no one on earth had ever seen ANYTHING like this before. (And no doubt our best showmen pale in comparison with God’s display!) There were some paradoxes (opposites) here:
__a. A “mountain that may be touched” with strict instructions not to touch it or come near it.
__b. It was “burned with fire” but they saw “blackness and darkness” – it wasn’t a bright glorious light to gaze at; it was something to turn your eyes away from.
__c. There was a “sound of a trumpet” that called people to attention to where they couldn’t bear it any longer & “the voice of words” giving people direct communication from God, but they “begged” not to hear it longer than they had to.
__d. In essence, this is what the Law does. The Law is great & grand & glorious – but it’s also terrible (in the original sense of the word). In Romans 7, Paul no sooner gets done proclaiming that the law is holy & just & good than he shows how the law points out our sin which brings death to us. Through the Law people see the glory and holiness of God, but the moment they do, they understand their own sinfulness & realize they cannot approach God without death.

B. Brings up a good point. Why did the Hebrews beg not to hear the voice of God? Those in darkness do not wish to enter the light, lest their evil deeds be exposed (John 3:20)… To hear the voice of One so holy, so righteous, and so pure surely must have terrified them and caused them to understand how truly sinful they were, and how deserving they were of judgment… …
__a. Skeptics often wonder about the logic of Hell. “If God is so good and so loving, how could He possibly allow people to spend an eternity in torment?” First of all – that God is truly good & truly loving is beyond debate when considering what He did through Jesus Christ… Secondly, an eternity of Hell makes perfect sense (even though it is truly horrendous) when we consider the perfect and eternal holiness and righteousness of God. [difference between lying to a child & a judge] …
__b. When we come to this realization, it only makes sense why people in the OT (and NT) respond the way they do when they understand they are encountering Almighty God. He is GOD!
.

20 (For they could not endure what was commanded: “And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.”

A. OT quote: Exodus 19:12-13 (Loose quote – Hebrew has man or beast being struck down or shot). Again, this serves to emphasize the holiness of God. Not even an animal (who doesn’t know the difference between right and wrong) could approach the mountain without death. … How much more would the people be held into account for their own sin?
.

21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)

A. OT quote: Seems to be a reference to Deut 9:19, but the context is different. In Deut 9, Moses is reviewing the various rebellions of Israel – one of which being the golden calf idolatry at the foot of Mt. Sinai & Moses recounts that he was afraid for them because of the hot wrath of the Lord. But that was at least 40 days after the giving of the 10 Commandments, and that’s the event the author of Hebrews is referring to. It’s possible he had access to Jewish records we do not – but whatever his source may be, we can trust his application of the verse to Moses’ fear at the 10 Commandments is accurate due to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

B. Even Moses was terrified by the sight! He had already seen the Lord and heard His voice on several occasions – yet even he was taken aback by the display of God’s glory on the mountain…
.

22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

A. Amen! We didn’t come to Mt. Sinai under the covenant/relationship of the Law; we came to Mt. Zion under the relationship of grace! Paul makes the exact same analogy – Galatians 4:24b-26 (24) For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— (25) for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— (26) but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. [Hagar vs. Sarah] Sinai = law/legalism… Zion = freedom/grace…

B. How did we come to Mt. Zion (heaven/the new Jerusalem)? Through another hill: Mt. Calvary – where Jesus died on the cross. We are invited to draw near! (“Come to Me…and I will give you rest” – Matt 11:28) Unlike the ancient Hebrews at Sinai, we didn’t stand on the outside of the mountain, guarded by boundaries, covered with fire, afraid to step foot near it. Instead, through the grace of God, we came to the foot of the cross, fully dependent upon Jesus’ death & resurrection & promise.
__a. What’s at Mt. Zion? Everything! All our inheritance – every promise we look forward to in the future & every benefit we have as a child of God today! Go down the list:

C. “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem”: The present tense is interesting when mentioning the heavenly Jerusalem, because that is obviously a future place (Rev 21:2). That’s the city of the Bride of Christ in which we’ll dwell for all eternity with the Lord Jesus after the Final Judgment has taken place. So how can we come to it now? Because that’s where our eternity lies. Every born-again Christian has his/her reservations for the table of the wedding feast of Jesus – and from the spiritual perspective of eternity, it’s as if we’re already there.

D. “an innumerable company of angels”: Obviously people are not the only ones who populate heaven; an almost limitless company of angels and angelic type beings will be there as well. Scripture just gives us a glimpse of a handful (and the names of only a very few!), but there are apparently multitudes upon multitudes of angels who will join with us in eternity.

E. “church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven”: Whether or not “general assembly” is supposed to refer to the angels or the church is a matter of scholarly debate – it doesn’t change the meaning at all; just describes one other the other. In any case, we’re part of this church of the firstborn. Not that we were born 1st, but we’ve been given the rights & privileges of the 1st born because we’ve been made to share in the inheritance of Jesus Christ Himself! We can be assured of that because our names have been written (registered) in the Book of Life & we’ve been given the Holy Spirit as a seal/ assurance that we are His.

F. “God the Judge of all”: At first glance, someone might wonder, “Why not write that we come to God our Father? Why mention Him as a Judge?” Good question.  At Mt. Sinai, the Hebrews saw God as the terrifying righteous judge, and absolutely could NOT approach Him. But because our sin has already been dealt with at the cross of Christ – because Jesus bore the punishment we deserved, we CAN approach God as Judge. His justice has already been meted out, and there’s no more judgment left for us other than blessing! (The Bema Seat…)

G. “the spirits of just men made perfect”: This refers to the great cloud of witnesses that have gone before us in the faith. We’ll not only join with the rest of those from the Church age, but we’ll join with all those who have been saved by grace through the centuries. They are “just” because Jesus justifies them; they are “made perfect” because they are made complete in heaven – nothing more is lacking.

H. “Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant”: Praise God that our Bridegroom will also be there! Today, we walk by faith when we fix our eyes upon Jesus, but one day we will actually see Him with our very eyes! Moses was the mediator of the old covenant, but Jesus is the (one) mediator of the new covenant – and forever He’ll remain our mediator. Every single thing we have in God is based upon His work.

I. “the blood of sprinkling”: Remember that the blood of Abel cried out from the ground for justice. The blood of Jesus Christ “speaks better things”! It offers forgiveness, mercy, love, eternal blessing, and new life. It is through the blood of Jesus that we’ve been put into this company of God, angels, & saints. (We certainly have no other reason to be there! It’s only because of the blood of Christ!)

J. The blessings we have in Christ Jesus can be somewhat overwhelming to consider – and that’s exactly the point of the author of Hebrews! What could never be attained through the Law at Mt. Sinai has been freely offered to us via grace at Mt. Zion & the cross of Jesus!
.

25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven,

A. We’ve been given so much in Christ! We’ve received so much at Mt. Zion! How could we possibly turn away? … Don’t “refuse Him who speaks.” This was precisely the problem that the audience to which this letter was written had. They had heard the gospel & followed Jesus for a bit, but got caught up in their old religious ways of Judaism – they started to trust their own rituals rather than the Lord Jesus. To do so was to refuse the God who was speaking to them & calling them to salvation from the cross!

B. Interesting comparison here. After all, both groups (whether at Mt. Sinai or Mt. Zion) would be refusing God – either in His glory given through the law, or His grace given through the gospel. Yet the author of Hebrews warns us “much more” if we refuse the voice of God through Jesus Christ. Why? Because we’ve been offered something so much better! Through the Law, the people were condemned. They got a glimpse of the holiness of God, but ultimately it served their death sentence. Through the cross, we’re offered forgiveness! We’re offered a new birth! We’re made into new creations free from sin & the law! We’re offered eternity with Christ Jesus! Oh how much more we turn away from when we turn away from the gospel of Jesus!

C. Be careful not to refuse Christ! Many people reject Jesus outright. They refuse to recognize their sin for what it is because ultimately they desire to be their own God… With others, it’s much more subtle. Others hear the call of Christ, but slowly turn away. In their mind, they know the right answers, but they never truly cast themselves upon Jesus…too many other sins & distractions & rituals get in the way (they are ensnared – vs. 1). Whatever the case, don’t refuse the Lord who calls you! You will stand before Him face-to-face one day & there is no doubt that you will see Him for Who He is. NOW is the time to come to Mt. Zion through the cross of Christ; at that time it will be too late & there is no escape.
.

26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” 27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

A. OT quote: Haggai 2:6 (sandwiched between Zeph & Zech) Haggai 2:6-7 (6) “For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; (7) and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. [] Speaking of the end-times… The Jews had come out of captivity & rebuilt the temple & were disappointed with it compared to the original temple built by Solomon. God was telling them, “You ain’t seen nothing yet! Wait until I shake up the entire world & they see Jesus for who He is!”

B. Earth can be shaken. The heavens can be shaken. This whole universe can be shaken and done away with (and it will be, when it is made new!). But the inheritance offered to us through Jesus Christ will never be shaken! …
.

28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

A. Our response to receiving such a glorious gift of grace? Our response to being made citizens of the heavenly kingdom? “let us have grace…” Let us show our gratefulness to God by holding fast to the grace He offered. We didn’t refuse Christ, so likewise, we should never let go of His grace.

B. What does the grace of God allow us to do? That which the Law commanded, but never enabled us to do: “by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.” This is only possible through grace!
__a. When we live in the grace of God, we “serve God.” What a privilege! We have been invited to serve the King & Creator of the Universe! (Ps 84:10 Doorkeeper house of God…)
__b. When we live in the grace of God, we “serve God acceptably.” What I love about this is that our service is not in vain! Prior to our salvation in Jesus Christ, any service we rendered unto the Lord was useless – it was all tainted by our sin (filthy rags – Isa 64:6). Through Jesus we can serve God acceptably – and this is exactly what happens when we live in & demonstrate His grace…
__c. When we live in the grace of God, we serve Him “with reverence and godly fear.” “But I thought fear was the stuff of Mount Sinai!” True, but even as we approach Jesus at Mount Zion, we still reverence Him. We still show Him the respect He deserves as our Lord, King, Savior, and God. We still fear Him in that we recognize who He is at all times & remember His holiness. Is God still our Abba Father? Of course! But He is still GOD. Fear in this sense is a good thing. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 9:10) – the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Prov 1:7).
.

29 For our God is a consuming fire.

A. OT quote: comes in the midst of a warning to Israel against idolatry – Deuteronomy 4:24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. [] When God claims to be jealous, it’s not because He can’t stand the competition from other gods…there ARE no other gods! It’s that He’s righteously jealous for His people’s sake. Our Creator God (being God) is simply deserving of worship from those He created – and He’s jealous for that, pictured in His being an all-consuming fire.

B. One of the attributes of God is that He is “immutable” = God does not change. (“I do not change” – Mal 3:6) (Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy) “For a moral being to change it would be necessary that the change be in one of three directions. He must go from better to worse or from worse to better; or, granted that the moral quality remain stable, he must change within himself, as from immature to mature or from one order of a being to another. It should be clear that God can move in none of these directions. His perfections forever rule out any such possibilities.” You may ask, “So what?” So if God does not change, it means that our God who is a consuming fire of the OT is still a consuming fire in the NT! God lost none of His holiness when Jesus came in the flesh; in fact He showed us the very demonstration of His holiness through Jesus’ death on the cross! … …
__a. Our God is a consuming fire! We dare not take Him lightly – we dare not take Him for granted…

Conclusion:
So which mountain is your mountain? There are no lack of groups (and even whole denominations) that attempt to tell people that we need to go to God through the Law at Mount Sinai. “You need to do ___; you need to pray ____; you need to give ____; etc.” But the problem is we CAN’T go to God through the Law! People weren’t even allowed to set foot on Mt. Sinai while God was there, under penalty of death. All the law could do was show them their own sinfulness for what it is… … (Which is truly the wonderful thing about the law & why God gave it!)

Instead of Mt. Sinai, we go through Mt. Calvary so we can come to the inheritance of Mt. Zion. It is only through the Cross of Jesus Christ that we receive the grace and forgiveness of God! There is no better way, and there is no other way. Nothing compares to what we are given through Him & His grace. So don’t refuse Him who’s speaking to you. If to this point, you’ve been rejecting Jesus – if you’ve found plenty of reasons to play church & not be made part of it, then let this be the day that everything changes. Today is the day of salvation – Jesus is calling you to turn away from your sins & receive Him as your Lord & Savior. Don’t reject Him & harden your heart – trust Him today!

Not only do we receive Him there, but that is where we ought to stay! Too many Christians start out at the foot of the cross, only to crawl back over to legalism & Mt. Sinai. Don’t fall into the trap of going back to the Law – don’t refuse the One who called you by His grace. He offers you so much more than what we could ever achieve on our own (because on our own, we can do nothing!)

Rejecting God the King

1 Samuel 8-9, “Rejecting God the King”
—————-

For the 1st time in a long time, Israel actually has been under the leadership of a very good judge. After the Ark of the Covenant had been returned by the humbled Philistines (God had shown them how useless their pagan idol was), Samuel helped turn Israel’s heart back to following the Lord, and led the Hebrews in victory over the Philistines. Over the next many years, he judged Israel as he travelled on a circuit through the countryside.

Samuel was a prophet, a priest, and a judge – but there was one role he did not have: a king. The King of Israel was God Himself. This should have been recognized as an unbelievable honor & privilege, but history tells us the Hebrews ignored it & cast God aside. And that’s exactly what we’re looking at in 1 Samuel 8-9. This isn’t so much the story of the rise of a new king as it is the rejection of their current one. Israel had the perfect king – the best monarch imaginable, and they tossed it aside for someone far less worthy.

1 Samuel 8 (NKJV)
1 Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.

A. Samuel was apparently no better a father than Eli… His sons were also perverse…
B. Eli was (in essence) a father figure to Samuel & Samuel obviously learned from his example. We need to take care as to what behaviors and patterns we’re modeling for our children…
.

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.”

A. The elders of Israel have a semi-legitimate challenge: Samuel obviously isn’t going to live forever & his sons are by no means qualified to be rulers in the land… (DA Carson) “There is dramatic irony in all this. With both Eli and now Samuel, it was obvious to everybody that great and good men can have evil, worthless sons; and yet the elders responded by demanding a king. By definition, a king is a ruler whose son automatically becomes king after him!” In the end, Samuel’s sons are just a good excuse to getting what they really want: a king.

B. Their real motivation? Apparently they wanted to be like all the other nations around them. Egypt, Philistia, etc. had kings, and they wanted a king as well. Problem: Israel was never supposed to be like the other nations! They were supposed to be set apart & look different from the rest in order to point the Gentile nations to the Lord God…

C. The challenge isn’t the problem; it’s how they handle it. Instead of looking to the Lord to provide a solution – instead of praying & seeking His face – they just look to themselves & come up with their own solution…
__a. Be careful about jumping the gun in the middle of a trial. Israel had a real issue on their hands that definitely needed to be dealt with. But they didn’t take the time or the steps in order to deal with it properly. We ought to seek the Lord’s will through the Bible… …
.

6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the LORD. 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. 8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also.

A. How utterly sad! In their selfishness, Israel wasn’t just asking for a king; they were in reality rejecting God AS their king. They already HAD a king: God Almighty! The whole idea behind the book of Deuteronomy is that it is a formalized covenant between a King (God) & His people (Israel). They had affirmed over & over again (with their lips; not necessarily with their hearts) that they would serve the Lord alone. But at this point, they are basically committing treason.
__a. In truth, Israel had the best form of government possible: a true theocracy. It was “true” in that God really was active in ruling His people. He gave them judges & prophets (to be sure), but they actively received revelation from the Lord Himself on many day-to-day issues. What are called “theocracies” today are imperfect theocracies because they are not truly ruled by God; they are ruled by men who claim to speak for God (and in most cases, they follow a false god entirely!). A perfect theocracy where Almighty God really IS king is an absolutely perfect system of government, because the Monarch is absolutely perfect and all powerful.
__b. This is what we can look forward to during the Millennium! Jesus will truly rule the nations as King of Kings! …

B. Rejecting God was nothing new for Israel. They had been doing it since the very day God brought them up out of Egypt. They rebelled at the bank of the Red Sea – they rebelled at the bitter waters on the other side of the Red Sea – they rebelled when they were hungry (before God gave them manna) – they rebelled when they were thirsty (and God gave them water from the rock) – on & on it goes until they rebel at the edge of the Promised Land. And even then they rebel against Moses when they didn’t like the discipline of God. This was a well-established pattern for them.
__a. Some people reject God their entire lives. They hear the gospel of Jesus dozens of times, but consciously reject His offer of salvation. Eventually the point comes that God agrees with their rejection of Him & they will spend eternity apart from the One they wanted nothing to do with (and then it will be too late)…
.

9 Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”

A. Interesting that God answered their prayer/request even though it was bad for them. Sometimes God guards us from ourselves & says “No” to our prayers; sometimes the consequence of our prayer may be the exact discipline we need to start seeking the Lord again!
__a. This was exactly Israel’s problem. Their desire was not God’s desire. They were not honoring Him with this request (quite the opposite!); they were not seeking to obey His word. They wanted their own selfish desires & didn’t care about the consequences along the way.

B. Gives them one last warning & opportunity to turn back. The people obviously don’t understand what they’re asking for. They want a king, but they don’t realize that they already have the best King possible. They were consciously rejecting God, but if they truly understood who it was they were rejecting, it’s unlikely they would have dared to do so…
.

10 So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who asked him for a king. 11 And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. 12 He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.

A. We might entitle this speech: “Be careful what you wish for”… This is the warning God gave Samuel to pass on to the people regarding the king they were asking for. We need to keep in mind that not every king was like Saul (as imperfect as he was) & David. Even as soon as Solomon, the things Samuel warned them about started to take place. Beyond him, there were incredibly wicked kings in Israel’s & Judah’s history, and people would eventually truly suffer under their actions…
__a. God’s ways are always the best ways!

B. Warning #1: He’ll take your sons to make them soldiers & send them into battle…
.

13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14 And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants.

A. Warning #2: He’ll take your daughters to make them his servants…
B. He’ll take your land & make it his land…
.

15 He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. 16 And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants.

A. He’ll take a part of everything you own & use it to enrich himself…

B. Basically, what’s being talked about here is taxation. Israel already paid tithes (various versions) that were supposed to care for the priests, the poor, and all of it used to glorify God in some way. This tax was beyond all this & was just going to pay for the king. … Keep in mind that God had been their king & was doing everything for Israel that they wanted a human king to do. But since they wanted a human king, it was going to cost them.
__a. Carnal ways always cost us!
.

18 And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD will not hear you in that day.”

A. IOW, this was their last chance. Once God gave them a king, He would make them serve their king & there wouldn’t be a chance to reverse it to go back to what they had before.
.

19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

A. They made their decision – and reaffirmed that they were more motivated by the nations around them than by any devotion they may have had for their God.

B. Think about what it was they were rejecting. God Almighty had freed them from slavery in Egypt – parted the Red Sea – took them through the wilderness – provided miraculous bread and water – destroyed the nations before them, and more. THIS was their God & King. And yet, God wasn’t ‘good enough’ for Israel… How sad.
.

21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the LORD. 22 So the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed their voice, and make them a king.” And Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Every man go to his city.”

A. Samuel is truly acting a like a priest & mediator here. He took the words of God to the people & took the words of the people back to God. That’s ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ! He’s our one mediator (1 Tim 2:5), representing God to man & man to God. Perfectly fulfilling the judgment of God on our behalf & showing us to be righteous before the sight of God in His grace…

B. Again, we see God answering their prayer – even though it wasn’t the best thing for Israel. … Keep in mind that God was not taken by surprise by any of this. He had prepared Israel for their future king through the law of Moses… Deuteronomy 17:14-15 (14) “When you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’ (15) you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. [] In addition, God had certain guidelines for him: he was not to multiply horses (any possessions) for gain – he was not to take multiple wives & be ensnared by idolatry (per Solomon) – he was to write his own personal copy of the Law so that he would fear the Lord. (Did any king do this??) Thus God was prepared & He had attempted to prepare His people.
__a. Question: if God had already planned within the Law for Israel to be prepared for a king, why is Samuel throwing such a “to-do” about this? Because of the timing. God obviously had planned to bring forth the royal line of David in order to ultimately bring about the incarnation of Jesus Christ (and arrange things for Jesus’ future reign as the Millennial King). But David is still a generation away. This isn’t God graciously giving Israel a king after His own heart; this is Israel’s treason & apostasy away from God. There’s a big difference! God (in His omniscience) knew Israel was going to do this, so He allows it to happen. But God had something greater in store for Israel; they just weren’t willing to wait.
.

1 Samuel 9 (NKJV)
1 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. 2 And he 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.

A. Introduction to Saul… Interesting that his most notable “qualification” was that he was good-looking. He was certainly God’s choice for Israel, but one wonders if God didn’t choose him precisely because Saul was the kind of guy that Israel was expecting in order to be like the other nations…

B. The ironic thing here is the choice of the tribes: Benjamin. The last time we saw Benjamin mentioned among the tribes of Israel was the atrocity that was carried out in Gibeah (Judges 19), and the civil war that was brought about as a result of the rape and violence.
.

3 Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. And Kish said to his son Saul, “Please take one of the servants with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.” 4 So he passed through the mountains of Ephraim and through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them. 5 When they had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us return, lest my father cease caring about the donkeys and become worried about us.”

A. There weren’t any donkey lo-jacks at the time, so Saul had to go out looking for them. Apparently they headed off in the wrong direction & was gone looking for the donkeys for so long that Saul’s father was about to send out a search party for them…
.

6 And he said to him, “Look now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man; all that he says surely comes to pass. So let us go there; perhaps he can show us the way that we should go.”

A. Good advice! Don’t know what to do? Consult the Lord! At the time, they did it by seeking out the local prophet; today we do it by seeking out the written Word of God… The Scripture is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” that we may be complete & thoroughly equipped (2 Tim 3:16-17). The Bible ought to be the 1st book we pick up when dealing with issues!
.

7 Then Saul said to his servant, “But look, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread in our vessels is all gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” 8 And the servant answered Saul again and said, “Look, I have here at hand one-fourth of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man of God, to tell us our way.” 9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus: “Come, let us go to the seer”; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.) 10 Then Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

A. Arranged some sort of payment. It wasn’t much, but it was customary at the time to bring a gift…and money was appropriate. We’re not told whether or not Samuel received the gift, of if he turned it away (per Elisha & Naaman – 2 Kings 5).
.

11 As they went up the hill to the city, they met some young women going out to draw water, and said to them, “Is the seer here?” 12 And they answered them and said, “Yes, there he is, just ahead of you. Hurry now; for today he came to this city, because there is a sacrifice of the people today on the high place. 13 As soon as you come into the city, you will surely find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now therefore, go up, for about this time you will find him.” 14 So they went up to the city. As they were coming into the city, there was Samuel, coming out toward them on his way up to the high place.

A. We don’t know exactly what kind of sacrifice this was. Obviously one had to be invited to participate…but that’s what was supposed to take place with the sacrifices. If you brought it, you were supposed to partake of it with the priest – and that’s what Samuel was headed up to the place to participate.

B. Typically we read of “high places” in Scripture as places of idolatry. The sacrifices were supposed to only take place at the Tabernacle or the Temple (the place where God showed them). But considering the Ark of the Covenant was still at Kirjath Jearim & Shiloh was destroyed (we’re not told whether or not the Tabernacle was damaged), apparently Samuel allowed sacrifices to God to occur in the high places.
.

15 Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came, saying, 16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him commander over My people Israel, that he may save My people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me.”

A. Notice the past tense here: God had prepared Samuel in advance for what was going to happen. He had told Samuel that He would provide a king for Israel; now God tells Samuel that He’s going to point out the man. Very specific descriptions…

B. Interesting that God uses some of the same language with Samuel that He used with Moses concerning the slavery in Egypt. “their cry has come to Me…” (Exo 3:7) “…have heard their cry because of their taskmasters…” What’s interesting about this is that the situation was completely different between Egypt & Philistia. While in Egypt, the Hebrews were abject slaves & truly oppressed – killed at the whim of the Pharaoh. With the Philistines, the Hebrews had ongoing battles & sometimes served as a vassal (subject) people – but they were never truly enslaved by them. Besides, the last indication we received was that Samuel had delivered them out of the hands of the Philistines & they should have still been in a time of relative peace. What’s going on here? Simple: Israel didn’t appreciate what they had & they complained about it. They didn’t appreciate the Lord God being their King & they didn’t appreciate the protection He gave them…thus any trial became oppression.
__a. YET – God still heard their cry. He still looked upon their people & had compassion on them. Even when there was no reason for them to require compassion, God still demonstrated His mercy. … Sometimes we forget just how much God loves us as His sons & daughters. We complain about all sorts of things – we have a tough time witnessing because we think we’ll get dirty looks (it’s not like they have stones to throw at us. Look for rocks. ). But God still loves us – He still has compassion on us as His children.
.

17 So when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said to him, “There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall reign over My people.”

A. Ultimately, this wasn’t to last. But another whom the Lord showed among the people does reign forever! (Jesus at His baptism – “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!” Matt 3:17)

B. Whose people was it? God’s! “MY people…” They may have asked for a new king, but God was still the ultimate sovereign over Israel. The king was to report directly to God (sometimes via the prophets – re: Nathan & David) because this people was still GOD’s people.
__a. Today, during this present church age, WE are God’s people! What a glorious privilege! 1 Peter 2:9-10 (9) But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; (10) who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. [] What a privilege!!
.

18 Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, “Please tell me, where is the seer’s house?” 19 Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and tomorrow I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart. 20 But as for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not be anxious about them, for they have been found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on all your father’s house?” 21 And Saul answered and said, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?”

A. Was it important to Saul’s family that the donkeys be found? Of course. But notice how God used the loss of the donkeys. That was precisely the thing God used to bring Saul before Samuel in order to be proclaimed an anointed king of Israel (in the next chapters). …

B. How was Saul the “desire of Israel?” He was chosen by God to fulfill the request of the people as their king. Again, Saul was just a temporary (and imperfect) king at best. Truly the desire of Israel is the Anointed One of God: Jesus the Messiah!
.

22 Now Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall, and had them sit in the place of honor among those who were invited; there were about thirty persons. 23 And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Set it apart.’ ” 24 So the cook took up the thigh with its upper part and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here it is, what was kept back. It was set apart for you. Eat; for until this time it has been kept for you, since I said I invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

A. Samuel had been prepared for Saul this whole time – even saved the choice portion of the meal for him…

B. Can you imagine the thoughts going through Saul’s head? Here he was, just trying to please his father by finding the lost donkeys – he gets delayed on his journey & while asking for help, he gets seated by the highest judge/priest in all Israel & the place of honor among the entire city… …
__a. To a much greater extreme, that’s what happens to us in Christ Jesus. We have our minds on earthly things & on ourselves – then God changes everything. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin – the Father draws us to Jesus – we believe that Jesus is the Son of God & in the work He did at the cross for sin & we receive Him as Lord. At that moment, we go from death to life… And not just any life; we’re given eternal, abundant life! We’re adopted into the family of God & made co-heirs with Jesus… We’re seated at HIS table…
.

25 When they had come down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the top of the house. 26 They arose early; and it was about the dawning of the day that Samuel called to Saul on the top of the house, saying, “Get up, that I may send you on your way.” And Saul arose, and both of them went outside, he and Samuel. 27 As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us.” And he went on. “But you stand here awhile, that I may announce to you the word of God.”

Conclusion:
Cliffhanger of a place to leave off – but if we didn’t, we’d end up going for 4 chapters tonight.  Saul still doesn’t know what’s in store; but God does…

Regardless of the fact that we today don’t live in a physical kingdom, we ARE citizens of a spiritual kingdom – and our King is the same as Israel once had: God Almighty, as revealed through Jesus Christ. What a calling… What a privilege…

Be careful not to make the same mistake as ancient Israel: don’t reject your King! At the most basic level, this is what the worldly person does every single day. They haven’t received the forgiveness of Jesus offered through the cross & thus they reject God as their King. They have no right to call Jesus their King because they haven’t received Him as Lord. But yet to receive the grace offered through Jesus Christ, we MUST receive Him as Savior & Lord! …

For the Christian, we can also make this mistake on a sub-conscious level. We may not purpose to reject Jesus as our King, but that’s precisely what we do when we decide to ignore His leadings & live life according to sinful desires…

Running Milestone

I had mentioned in service a couple of Sundays ago that I had started running a few months back, and that I was hoping to break 3 miles soon. Well, today was the day. I ran 3 miles in 35 minutes, 49 seconds. I’m going to work to increase my pace, but I’m thrilled to get the distance!

In the meantime, may we keep running the race Jesus has set before us!
Hebrews 12:1-2, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”