1 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:07,880 I have been, I have been listening to a lot of history 2 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:12,000 podcasts lately. In particular, there's this one 3 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:15,160 woman named Sarah Payne. Does anyone know, does anyone 4 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:16,040 recognize her? Yeah. 5 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:22,040 She's a retired college at the US She's a retired professor at 6 00:00:22,040 --> 00:00:26,320 the US College of Naval Warfare. But she says this term called 7 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:30,800 pivotal error. A pivotal error is a fatal 8 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:34,960 mistake made by a leader or a nation that creates a point of 9 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:39,880 no return. It destroys any hope of things 10 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:41,840 going back to normal the way they were. 11 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:44,560 Pivotal errors that are something that a nation can 12 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:48,280 never come back from. The status quo gets ruined so 13 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:52,360 badly that any sort of turn around, it'll never be what it 14 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:57,440 once was. Most pivotal errors lead to 15 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:02,320 ruin, and an example of this would be Japan at Pearl Harbor, 16 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:05,360 right? Operationally, Pearl Harbor is a 17 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:08,720 resounding success. Japan inflicts maximum 18 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:15,240 casualties, 21 ships destroyed, 188 aircraft, over 1000 wounded 19 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:20,280 Americans, and 2000 dead. Japan loses fewer than 100 men 20 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:24,560 and 29 planes. That is insane. 21 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:31,120 But in terms of grand strategy, Pearl Harbor was a catastrophic 22 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:34,960 failure. Pearl Harbor was meant to be an 23 00:01:34,960 --> 00:01:38,280 attack that would dishearten the American people from entering 24 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:40,760 the war, and it was supposed to create a peace deal. 25 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:44,920 Instead, the entire nation gets enraged. 26 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:48,080 It unites the American people in such a way that it's not 27 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:51,080 politically viable for the president to declare war. 28 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:54,800 And we all know how that went for Imperial Japan. 29 00:01:56,840 --> 00:02:02,040 Pivotal error, Terrible move. Pivotal errors are a terrifying 30 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:04,360 concept. A mistake so bad it's the point 31 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:07,200 of no return. And our scripture today leads 32 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:10,720 heavily into this concept. We're continuing in our series 33 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:15,160 today in First Samuel. Samuel has grown to be a wise 34 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:19,000 and faithful judge. And normally in Israel, the 35 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:22,560 judge is the person who acts as the connection point between God 36 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:25,120 and his people. He's not really the leader. 37 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:27,600 The judge is only the leader because he talks to God. 38 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:31,800 But God still calls the shots, and the people have to wait on 39 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:36,240 God before making a move. Israel will complain about this. 40 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:39,160 It's a system that takes too much time and too much 41 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:44,280 dependence on God. So they say we want a king like 42 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:47,400 everyone else. We want this guy to lead us into 43 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:50,080 battles. We want quick, quick response 44 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:52,960 times. We want to be able to to flip on 45 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:54,840 a dime. We don't want to do this thing 46 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:57,960 where we got to wait on God's judgment, wait on God's 47 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:01,160 decision. They don't trust this current 48 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:03,080 system where they have to wait on Yahweh. 49 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:08,360 And God tells them, look guys, it's a bad idea. 50 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:11,240 Hey, God tells them that the king system is a terrible 51 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:13,480 mistake. It is not going to go well for 52 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:15,680 Israel. They want it anyway. 53 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:20,840 So God meets them halfway. He adds a king to the judge 54 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:23,720 system. Samuel hears from God and 55 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:26,960 appoints King Saul. So the judge is still this vital 56 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:30,560 connection point, but now they have this king who's going to 57 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:32,680 lead them into battle and govern the nation. 58 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:35,720 And for a while, things to be seem to be going well. 59 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:38,160 They're winning battles. They're charging into battle 60 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:41,520 with their king. Everything is awesome until 61 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:47,160 today. King Saul will make a pivotal 62 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:49,720 error. That is the beginning of his 63 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:52,480 end. And what Saul does in this 64 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:56,080 account leads to his ruin. He will never come back from 65 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:58,200 this. In fact, he's going to make more 66 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:01,000 of these errors in the following chapters. 67 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:04,960 And its decisions will threaten the future of Israel and the 68 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:09,240 relationship with God. So why is this in here? 69 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:11,280 Why do we have accounts of failed kings? 70 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:16,880 His error is meant to serve as a cautionary tale for us to see it 71 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:22,600 and watch closely for us to see Saul and say, don't make this 72 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:25,480 mistake. Do not fall into this. 73 00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:30,120 So my question for today is what are we meant to learn from King 74 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:33,240 Saul's pivotal error? What are we meant to learn? 75 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:38,440 Turn with me to first Samuel 13. There's going to be a lot in 76 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:43,640 here about battle strategy and, and just like so, so just try, 77 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:46,280 try to follow along. I'll try to contextualize it as 78 00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:50,320 much as as possible, but it, it, it's a bad situation. 79 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:53,360 It's an ugly situation. You do not want to be Israel 80 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:58,080 here. So Saul was 30 years old when he 81 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:01,880 became king and he reigned 42 years over Israel. 82 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:07,040 He chose 3000 men from Israel for himself. 2000 were with Saul 83 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:12,440 at MC Mash between Oh and in Bethel's Hill Country, and 1000 84 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:15,000 were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. 85 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:17,640 He sent the rest of the troops away, each to his own tent. 86 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,600 Jonathan attacked the Philistine Garrison in Gibeah and the 87 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:23,400 Philistines heard about it. So Saul blew the ram's horn 88 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:26,280 throughout the land, saying let the Hebrews hear, and all Israel 89 00:05:26,280 --> 00:05:28,600 heard the news. Saul has attacked the Philistine 90 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:31,600 Garrison and Israel is now repulsive to the Philistines. 91 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:34,400 Then the troops were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal. 92 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:38,360 Moving on. The Philistines also gathered to 93 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:46,320 fight against Israel. 3000 Chariots, 6000 horsemen and 94 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:50,160 troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore. 95 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:54,320 They went up and camped at Mcmash, east of Beth Aven. 96 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:57,240 The men of Israel saw that they were in trouble because the 97 00:05:57,240 --> 00:05:58,960 troops were in a difficult situation. 98 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:02,960 They hid in caves and thickets, among rocks, and in holes and 99 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:05,760 cisterns. Moving on, some Hebrews even 100 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:08,600 crossed the Jordan of the land of Gad and Gilead. 101 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:13,480 Saul, however, was still at Gilgal, and all his troops were 102 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:16,640 gripped with fear. He waited seven days for the 103 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:19,000 appointed time that Samuel had set. 104 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:24,280 But Samuel didn't come to Gilgal, and the troops were 105 00:06:24,280 --> 00:06:28,320 deserting him. So Saul said, bring me, bring me 106 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:30,320 the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings. 107 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:32,560 Then he offered the burnt offering. 108 00:06:32,840 --> 00:06:36,200 Just as he finished the burnt offering, Samuel arrived. 109 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:38,200 So Saul went out to greet him, moving on. 110 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:41,240 And Samuel asked, What have you done? 111 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:44,600 Saul answered. When I saw that the troops were 112 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:47,680 deserting me, and you didn't come within the appointed days, 113 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:51,040 and the Philistines were gathering at Mcmash, I thought 114 00:06:51,280 --> 00:06:54,040 the Philistines will now descend on me at Gilgal. 115 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:59,080 And I haven't sought the Lord's favor, so I forced myself to 116 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:03,520 offer the burnt offering, Samuel said to Saul. 117 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:10,120 You have been foolish. You have not kept the command 118 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:14,800 the Lord God gave you. It was at this time that the 119 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:17,880 Lord would have permanently established your reign over 120 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:22,160 Israel. But now your reign will not 121 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:25,960 endure. The Lord has found a man after 122 00:07:25,960 --> 00:07:30,600 his own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over his 123 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:33,520 people. Because you have not done what 124 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:37,240 the Lord commanded. Let's stop there. 125 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:41,520 What are we meant to learn from King Saul's pivotal error? 126 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:45,400 My first point is this, after reading all that, almost 127 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:48,360 obedience is actually full disobedience. 128 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:52,440 Almost obedience is actually full disobedience. 129 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:57,120 I cannot begin to express how depressing that passage is. 130 00:07:57,440 --> 00:08:00,480 OK, Saul and Jonathan get ready to fight the Philistines. 131 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:03,440 They got 3000 men total. The Philistines respond by 132 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:08,000 bringing 3000 Chariots, 6000 horsemen, and a crazy amount of 133 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:12,560 infantry that is 16 times the size of Saul's army. 134 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:18,120 Verse 6 is a very soft way of saying Israel is probably dead 135 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:20,800 here. Morale is at an all time low. 136 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:25,520 But it gets worse. Samuel tells the king, wait 137 00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:28,720 seven days for my arrival so I can offer sacrifices to Yahweh. 138 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:30,760 Remember it's the judges system. OK? 139 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:33,480 The king still has to wait on the judge. 140 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:34,880 The king still has to wait on Yahweh. 141 00:08:35,799 --> 00:08:39,240 And here's the problem. In those seven days of waiting, 142 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:44,000 Saul is bleeding troops. People are deserting his army 143 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:46,080 because they can see this battle is suicide. 144 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:50,360 Every day that goes by, more men leave and Saul's force becomes 145 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:57,800 smaller and smaller and smaller. To his credit, he waits. 146 00:08:59,160 --> 00:09:02,200 And finally the time comes. The 7th day comes. 147 00:09:02,680 --> 00:09:09,040 Samuel still isn't there, still more men leaving his army. 148 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:13,320 So what does Saul do? He does the sacrifice himself, 149 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:19,640 and right at that moment Samuel comes and says pivotal error. 150 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:25,760 Saul, if you had waited, God would have established you 151 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:29,840 forever, but now your line's going to end. 152 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:39,160 Hang on, hang. Like you're telling me that King 153 00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:41,640 Saul is faced with a suicide mission. 154 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:45,800 He spends 7 days staring at the army that's going to kill him 155 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:47,840 while more of his army deserts him. 156 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:51,440 He waits each of those seven days for Samuel to come, and 157 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:55,400 Samuel doesn't come until the very end of the last day that 158 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:57,720 it's appointed. And because Saul gives in to 159 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:00,920 pressure at the last second, he's punished. 160 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:07,320 Saul obeys 95% of the way. And because he messed up at that 161 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:10,960 last 5%, now he's made a pivotal error. 162 00:10:12,680 --> 00:10:16,640 God, what's with that? I think most of us would look at 163 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:20,200 this situation that Saul is in and just go, I'm with Saul. 164 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:23,160 I understand him. Like I wouldn't have lasted 2 165 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:24,760 days waiting for the three days Max. 166 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:27,120 I would not have waited the seven days. 167 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:29,920 Shouldn't we give credit where credit is due? 168 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:33,840 He's 30. He's looking at his death from a 169 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:37,200 cross. That's not right. 170 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:41,440 And maybe that gives insight into how we feel sometimes with 171 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:48,400 God in a situation like this. It feels like God is this this 172 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:52,640 boss who gets this awesome report from you and because you 173 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:57,960 misspelt the the footnote he gets on your case like dude, 174 00:10:57,960 --> 00:10:59,680 this. Did you look at the rest of it? 175 00:11:00,680 --> 00:11:03,000 This is what you're this, this is what you want to talk about? 176 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:07,480 Like God here feels like an Asian dad who spanks their kid 177 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:09,480 for getting an A and not an A+, right? 178 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:12,520 This is like you're, you're, you're crazy. 179 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:17,200 Come on. I'm doing my best, God. 180 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:19,680 I'm doing my best. I'm, I'm trying to be faithful, 181 00:11:19,680 --> 00:11:23,200 but I can only, I'm only human. How can you call my partial 182 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:25,280 disobedience complete disobedience? 183 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:29,760 That doesn't seem fair. But our view here is skewed. 184 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:35,440 This is not 95% obedience. This isn't even partial 185 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:38,600 obedience. This is Saul attempting to 186 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:42,960 justify the wrong he did. This is Saul justifying 187 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:47,480 disobedience. Even though Saul waited seven 188 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:51,920 days for Samuel to come, at the end of the day Saul did not 189 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:55,800 wait. And not only did he not wait, he 190 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:59,040 attempted to do the priestly duties that kings are not 191 00:11:59,160 --> 00:12:02,480 authorized to do. And then when confronted with 192 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:06,040 his disobedience, rather than seeing that he was wrong, Saul 193 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:11,240 is convinced in his mind that he is 95% right. 194 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:18,320 And you look at Saul's reasoning for why he needed to disobey 195 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:21,720 verse 11. He says, when I saw that you 196 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:27,400 didn't come, but Samuel did come, when I saw that the troops 197 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:29,680 were deserting me and the Philistines were descending, 198 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:34,680 that sounds like the real reason I forced myself to do the 199 00:12:34,680 --> 00:12:35,840 offering. No one forced you, dude. 200 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:40,800 No one forced you. Saul is skewing the facts, 201 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:43,840 framing it in a way that makes him look better than he really 202 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:46,480 is. It's not that Saul was 95% 203 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:49,160 obedient. Saul was wrong, and he tried to 204 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:53,360 justify 100% wrong by framing what he had done right. 205 00:12:55,840 --> 00:13:00,120 And the scary thing here is, I don't think Saul's being 206 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:03,680 necessarily insincere his I don't think his intentions are 207 00:13:03,680 --> 00:13:05,800 malicious. I think he genuinely is blind to 208 00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:08,840 the wrong in his heart. I think he genuinely believes 209 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:10,800 that what he has done is not all that bad. 210 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:18,400 That's the scary thing, guys. Is there full disobedience in 211 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:23,360 your life that is parading itself as almost obedience? 212 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:27,680 Is there sin in your life that you've miscategorized so you 213 00:13:27,680 --> 00:13:30,440 don't see it as a threat to your relationship with God? 214 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:34,240 Maybe you go to church every week, you serve, you give 215 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:36,240 generously to the poor. You're doing a lot of things 216 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:37,000 right. Great. 217 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:40,840 But there's this one area of your life that you refuse to let 218 00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:45,800 God into, this person in your life that you refuse to forgive. 219 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:49,800 You know what they did to me, God, this pet sin in your life 220 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:52,800 that you refuse to let go of. I don't know. 221 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:56,320 Just let me keep this you. Could you almost tell God, God, 222 00:13:56,320 --> 00:13:58,120 I'm doing all this other stuff for you. 223 00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:02,080 Just just let me have this one. And maybe it's your work where 224 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:03,840 you convince yourself that you're providing for your 225 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:05,720 family. You're being responsible, but 226 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:08,720 your kids hardly see you, your marriage is neglected, your 227 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:12,560 spiritual life is dry. Maybe you got anger that's 228 00:14:12,560 --> 00:14:16,040 turned to bitterness, but you are convinced in your mind you 229 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:18,680 are justified in your anger, so you never bring it to him. 230 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:22,760 Maybe you act concerned about everyone in church and in 231 00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:24,800 people's families, and you're like, oh, there's all these 232 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:27,800 problems going on and but in reality, you're just looking to 233 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:30,800 spill the tea. Yeah, you're just like, you hear 234 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:34,600 about, you hear about this. Maybe you're a control freak and 235 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:37,480 you know, you're a control freak, but you figured out a 236 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:39,640 language that justifies your sin. 237 00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:42,080 I'm just trying to be wise about my decisions. 238 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:46,120 I'm just trying to be faithful with my options when it's 239 00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:49,240 actually really rooted in not being able to trust God. 240 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:54,880 These are things that we have going on that allow us to frame 241 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:57,320 our sin and make it feel real small. 242 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:02,400 And every year you figure out more language to justify it. 243 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:05,680 Every year your heart hardens towards dealing with it. 244 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:09,120 Every year you convince yourself more and more that you are right 245 00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:12,520 in thinking this way. Every year you find better ways 246 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:16,800 to hide it, mask it. And every year you ignore 247 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:21,120 sermons, Bible passages, pastoral advice, or convictions 248 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:30,200 in your heart to change. And if that's you, please do not 249 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:31,840 take this passage on Saul lightly. 250 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:38,080 This mindset is the pivotal error that is leading you to 251 00:15:38,080 --> 00:15:44,080 spiritual ruin. You turn back now and we repent 252 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:46,200 before God and we seek godly counsel. 253 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:50,320 Find an honest community that will tell you hard truths before 254 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:52,760 it's too late. Find good men and women that 255 00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:54,760 will tell you what you've been blind to. 256 00:15:56,720 --> 00:16:00,200 And maybe there are some of you in here after hearing all that 257 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:02,920 and you're just saying, Pastor Denny, you don't understand. 258 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:05,120 You don't understand what I'm going through. 259 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:06,800 You don't understand what I'm up against. 260 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:11,200 You don't understand who I'm facing, how difficult it's been 261 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:14,080 for me to remain faithful. I'm under a lot of pressure. 262 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:16,480 It's been impossible for me to hold my ground. 263 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:20,760 And that's a genuine struggle. And I don't want to discount 264 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:23,480 that. But there's a danger to that 265 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:25,320 thinking also. And that's my next point. 266 00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:28,520 What are we meant to learn from King Saul's pivotal error? 267 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:33,960 To stop letting circumstances determine our actions? 268 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:37,600 We need to stop letting our circumstances determine our 269 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:40,160 actions. And if this second point bothers 270 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:45,520 you, after everything I've said, believe me, I don't like it 271 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:47,440 either. I, I do not like it. 272 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:52,120 I I, I don't like it. And and it gets worse when you 273 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:55,600 hear just exactly what's going on in this passage and the rest 274 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:58,640 of it, it is terrible. There's all circumstances are 275 00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:02,760 terrible. So Saul says, Saul tells Samuel, 276 00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:05,359 I had no choice. Samuel tells Saul pivotal Eric, 277 00:17:05,359 --> 00:17:07,920 because you failed to hold God's word here, your line won't sit 278 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:11,800 on the throat forever. And with that news that Saul's 279 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:15,040 line is going to end and God is not pleased with him. 280 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:19,480 Saul goes to the front lines of this hopeless battle. 281 00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:24,319 Great state of mind to be in. Let's read verse 15. 282 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:30,440 Then Samuel went from Gilgal to Gibeah and Benjamin. 283 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:34,000 This is after Samuel just said the kingdom's gone from you like 284 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:35,480 you. You're not going to your lines 285 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:38,360 off the throne goes to the front line. 286 00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:42,280 Samuel Saul registered the troops who were with him about 287 00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:47,400 600 men. Saul, his son Jonathan and the 288 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:51,880 troops who were with them were staying in Geva of Benjamin and 289 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:53,840 the Philistines were camped at Mcmash. 290 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:58,320 Raiding parties. The Philistines forces are big 291 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:00,800 enough to do this. They can split up and separate. 292 00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:03,720 Raiding parties went out from the Philistine camp in three 293 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:08,240 divisions. 1 headed towards Orfa or the Orfa Rd. leading to the 294 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:10,160 land of Shuol. The next division headed towards 295 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:13,480 Beth Moron and the last division headed toward down the border 296 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:16,000 Rd. that looks out over Zebuin Valley toward the wilderness. 297 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:21,160 Moving on. No blacksmith could be found in 298 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:23,960 all the land of Israel because the Philistines had said 299 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:25,560 otherwise. The Hebrews will make swords. 300 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:28,560 It was Spears. So all the Israelites went to 301 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:33,680 the Philistines to sharpen their plows, Maddox, axes and sickles. 302 00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:38,120 The price was 2/3 of a shekel for plows and Maddox and 1/3 of 303 00:18:38,120 --> 00:18:42,120 a shekel for pitchforks and axes and for and for putting a point 304 00:18:42,120 --> 00:18:47,920 on a cattle rod. So on the day of the battle, not 305 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:52,120 a sword or spear could be found in the hand of any of the troops 306 00:18:52,120 --> 00:18:55,320 who were with Saul and Jonathan. Only Saul and his son Jonathan 307 00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:58,800 had weapons. Now a Philistine Garrison took 308 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:02,760 control of the past at Mcmash. And the chapter just ends on 309 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:06,120 that. That verse 23 is like that's 310 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:12,280 that's the nail in the coffin. How many troops are with Saul 311 00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:19,360 from 3000 to 600? 2400 men deserted him against 312 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:23,960 3000 Chariots, 6000 Calvary and unnumbered infantry. 313 00:19:24,120 --> 00:19:25,760 And you thought that was bad? It gets worse. 314 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:31,760 Verse 16 to 18 and OR, and that last verse 23 is talking about 315 00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:34,920 that the Philistine forces are so vast they can send out these 316 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:37,320 raiding parties and lock Israel in. 317 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:40,480 And the names of these cities are roadways that Saul would 318 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:43,200 call for help to get reinforcements. 319 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:46,800 And that final line in verse 23 is telling you that was the last 320 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:49,920 one. That was the last escape route, 321 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:52,480 That was the last way that reinforcements could come. 322 00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:55,520 All the passes are blocked. No one is coming to save them. 323 00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:58,640 This battle will not be a defeat. 324 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:02,120 Like they lose this one battle and they run away. 325 00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:03,360 We retreat and fight another day. 326 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:05,320 These guys are backed into a corner. 327 00:20:06,120 --> 00:20:09,560 Saul is facing annihilation. Every single person there is 328 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:12,960 going to die. Down to the last man and what do 329 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:16,200 they have to fight? Verse 19 to 22, farm tools, 330 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:19,960 sharpened farm tools that they have to pay the Philistines to 331 00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:22,640 sharpen. And only Saul and his son have 332 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:25,880 actual weapons of war. They are outclassed, outgunned, 333 00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:27,640 outnumbered, and there's no way out. 334 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:30,640 This battle is over. This is done. 335 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:36,080 So when Saul says my troops were deserting me, the Philistines 336 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:38,560 were surrounding me. You did not come when you said 337 00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:41,680 you would. It is very understandable to us, 338 00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:47,480 very relatable. When have you felt, like Saul, 339 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:52,720 that you're in circumstances so bad you have no choice but to 340 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:54,040 take matters into your own hands? 341 00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:59,240 You feel you have no choice but to tell God my hand was force. 342 00:21:00,120 --> 00:21:01,960 I had to disobey in this instance. 343 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:07,920 God, your way doesn't work here. Or we pray to God and he doesn't 344 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:10,760 respond fast enough. So we have to rush and we say 345 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:12,920 God is late. I just got to, I just got to do 346 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:15,040 it. I just got to do it on my own. 347 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:20,560 There are pressures that build. There are needs that we need to 348 00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:22,200 have met that can no longer be ignored. 349 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:28,160 Our hand feels forced. And you're telling me that your 350 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:32,880 second point of this sermon is stop letting your circumstances 351 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:37,760 determine your actions. That is, does not make sense. 352 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:40,880 Doesn't make sense, especially when you look at this. 353 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:47,280 But I want us to look at what Samuel says in verse 13 one more 354 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:52,240 time, verse 13, that phrase here. 355 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:58,640 It was at this time that the Lord would have permanently 356 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:03,960 established your reign. Despite the horrible 357 00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:08,400 circumstances. Samuel's word here reveals to us 358 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:14,160 God had plans for Saul beyond this battle, this military 359 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:17,480 disaster. Right now, God's already 360 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:19,920 planning ahead of it. And, and Saul's in the picture. 361 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:24,960 He's alive. It was supposed to happen. 362 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:27,880 Saul's battle was supposed to go this way. 363 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:32,880 And in the moment of greatest danger, Saul was meant to choose 364 00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:36,840 to follow God. And you might argue that Saul's 365 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:39,400 failure here is both physical and spiritual. 366 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:43,040 Saul mismanaged his forces. Saul failed to hold on to them, 367 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:46,160 raise morale, whatever. But our Bibles are making very 368 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:49,160 clear to us, no, no, no, no, no, that that stuff doesn't matter. 369 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:52,640 Saul's failure wasn't politics, military strategy. 370 00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:57,120 Saul's failure was spiritual. The battle was always supposed 371 00:22:57,120 --> 00:22:59,280 to go this way. Saul's forces were meant to 372 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:00,840 dissolve. Saul was meant to get cut off 373 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:03,080 from the northern tribes. Saul is right where he's 374 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:04,360 supposed to be. According to God. 375 00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:10,360 These circumstances are God's making, and Saul was supposed to 376 00:23:10,360 --> 00:23:13,320 obey and follow God's lead for a victory. 377 00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:18,400 If he had obeyed instead of giving in, God would have been 378 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:19,880 able to work powerfully in his life. 379 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:27,680 In other words, when obedience mattered most, Saul backed out. 380 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:32,840 And that's what I want us to understand about Saul's pivotal 381 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:36,280 error. We need to reframe this idea in 382 00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:39,120 our minds. You are not obeying despite 383 00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:44,080 impossible odds. You are choosing to obey when it 384 00:23:44,120 --> 00:23:46,280 counts the most. Amen. 385 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:51,880 The higher the stakes, the more anxiety provoking the 386 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:55,600 circumstances, the more impactful your obedience 387 00:23:55,600 --> 00:24:02,640 actually is. My patience is so much less 388 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:06,080 impactful to my kids when they're calm and everything's 389 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:09,400 good and they're happy. It means significantly more to 390 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:12,480 my children when it's day four of them not sleeping through the 391 00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:15,640 night and they have fought me all day yesterday because they 392 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:17,560 haven't been sleeping. And all they do is yell 393 00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:19,880 gibberish at me. And they're probably like, you 394 00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:23,680 know, yelling baby profanity in their minds at me and, and the, 395 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:26,680 and the difficulty of the circumstances, right? 396 00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:31,680 How difficult, how unreasonable my children are being makes my 397 00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:35,120 patients in that moment so much more impactful. 398 00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:40,200 This, this might have been another instance. 399 00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:44,040 This might have been oversharing for my 5 year old, But but in 400 00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:47,480 one of my bedtime talks with Eli, I told him that if I would, 401 00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:51,080 if he was ever in danger, I would save him even if I died to 402 00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:53,800 make that happen. And he starts and he started 403 00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:56,400 crying and he was like, you're going to die. 404 00:24:56,400 --> 00:25:02,080 And I was like, no, no, not yet. Like it's like we're going to 405 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:05,320 finish the conversation later. But you know, you got to give 406 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:08,920 him perspective of everything. But he understood at the end of 407 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:11,600 the day, he understood the higher stakes. 408 00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:17,840 The impact was immediate. We need to understand this about 409 00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:22,800 our faith when our circumstances feel overwhelming. 410 00:25:24,120 --> 00:25:30,400 The call to obedience will never be more noble and more needed 411 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:37,040 than in that moment. It's a call to obedience that 412 00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:41,680 got Pastor Dietrich Bonifer executed in Nazi Germany when it 413 00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:44,520 counted most. It's a call to obedience that 414 00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:48,080 that sent Jim Elliott to cannibalistic tribes that 415 00:25:48,080 --> 00:25:50,280 received the gospel after they had killed him. 416 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:54,400 It's a call to obedience that sent Jesus Christ to the cross 417 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:57,240 because God planned to save not just Israel from them, their 418 00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:01,520 sin, but the whole world. The higher the stakes, the more 419 00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:06,760 impactful the obedience. And if you are afraid of the 420 00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:10,600 consequences of being obedient to God, I want to share a track 421 00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:13,080 record with you as an encouragement. 422 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:18,000 And, and I wish we, we wish this all had reflected on this before 423 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:20,920 he went to this battle and did what he did in Exodus. 424 00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:23,960 When God tells Moses to fight his enemies and that he has to 425 00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:27,200 keep the staff raised and anytime he starts drooping it, 426 00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:29,080 Israel starts losing. Every time they raise it back 427 00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:32,000 up, they start winning. Why did God give that command? 428 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:33,920 What? Because he wants to see. 429 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:37,920 He wants them to see what determines the battle, the staff 430 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:41,040 being raised, not the amount of troops, not technological 431 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:44,560 advancements. If they obey Yahweh wins 432 00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:48,080 obedience, not their circumstances and judges for 433 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:53,760 when it came to Deborah fighting again a wave of Chariots and God 434 00:26:53,760 --> 00:26:56,520 tells their infantry to charge you could I was there. 435 00:26:57,120 --> 00:27:00,800 You could still see this hill and this valley below the the 436 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:03,720 like Israel is on this hill safe from the Chariots. 437 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:06,760 God says go down from the hill and charge tanks. 438 00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:10,760 Terrible idea. That's his command. 439 00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:15,400 They obey, they charge, and God sends rain for their charge and 440 00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:17,000 the Chariots all sink in the mud. 441 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:21,760 Israel wins that battle because Yahweh wins obedience over 442 00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:25,080 circumstances and judges. 7 Gideons, few men against 443 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:27,880 thousands. Yahweh wins in this battle. 444 00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:31,400 Here Saul's kind of win. It does not make sense. 445 00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:36,280 We have archaeological military records, historical accounts 446 00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:40,560 written by enemies of Israel. They fight the battles that our 447 00:27:40,560 --> 00:27:44,840 Bibles record, like this one. And it does not make sense how 448 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:51,440 Israel wins again and again, battle after battle, victory 449 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:54,480 after victory. When Yahweh is involved, when he 450 00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:58,720 gets into the ring, obedience to Him is more important than our 451 00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:01,840 circumstances. It changes the outcome. 452 00:28:02,040 --> 00:28:07,920 It rewrites our conclusion. Saul's pivotal error here is 453 00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:09,640 that he will not understand this. 454 00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:14,880 He will keep governing out of fear of his people and fear of 455 00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:17,240 his life. He is going to live his life 456 00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:22,120 ruled by circumstances instead of obedience to Yahweh. 457 00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:28,400 Time and time again he will fail to answer the call to be 458 00:28:28,400 --> 00:28:31,240 faithful when it matters the most. 459 00:28:32,840 --> 00:28:36,080 That's his pivotal error that leads him to ruin. 460 00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:45,320 Is there something that you are going through that looks crazy 461 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:48,000 like this? You are overwhelmed with your 462 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:51,000 circumstances. You are up against an unwinnable 463 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:53,280 situation and you feel pressured to disobey. 464 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:54,920 You feel like that's the only choice you have. 465 00:28:56,400 --> 00:29:00,560 And we have to see that sometimes those circumstances 466 00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:04,720 you're in, that uncomfortable situation is actually God's 467 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:07,880 making. And moments like this are when 468 00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:11,080 obedience should be our highest priority because it's going to 469 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:16,280 count the most. We got to remember who we're 470 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:20,440 dealing with. We're dealing with Yahweh. 471 00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:27,560 We're dealing with our God. The decisive factor is not our 472 00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:30,320 circumstances. The decisive factor is who 473 00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:34,160 fights in your corner. Factoring God into our equation 474 00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:36,400 should tip the scales. That should change our plans. 475 00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:40,520 Because Yahweh wins. And what's most important in 476 00:29:40,520 --> 00:29:45,320 those moments of crisis is obedience to Him, not your 477 00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:51,200 circumstance. So when it counts most, when you 478 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:55,400 are called upon to obey despite your circumstances, will you 479 00:29:55,400 --> 00:29:58,560 follow through? Will you continue on? 480 00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:04,280 Will you be faithful? What are we meant for to learn 481 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:09,720 from King Saul's pivotal error? God calls us to full obedience, 482 00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:13,760 not obedience shaped by convenience, pressure, or 483 00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:14,560 circumstances.