1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:01,870 Turning your Bibles with me, would you? 2 00:00:01,880 --> 00:00:05,950 2 First Samuel chapter 15 First Samuel 15 shouldn't be a 3 00:00:05,960 --> 00:00:08,820 surprise to those who've been following along with us that 4 00:00:08,830 --> 00:00:10,350 we're turning to this book again. 5 00:00:10,580 --> 00:00:13,370 Hey, everybody. We are like halfway over halfway 6 00:00:13,380 --> 00:00:15,550 through Lent. How's it feel? 7 00:00:15,940 --> 00:00:18,670 It was pretty good. Yeah, it's very good. 8 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:21,790 Remember, Lent is this this 40 day period. 9 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:25,510 It's actually 46 days, but 40 days without the sun, days of 10 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:28,570 preparation for the celebration of Easter. 11 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:32,800 And the whole idea is for us to just have a clear idea of who 12 00:00:32,810 --> 00:00:37,320 God is, to understand him more to to, to appreciate him more, 13 00:00:37,390 --> 00:00:41,560 and in so doing, to humble ourselves, to root out the self 14 00:00:41,570 --> 00:00:43,860 centeredness in our own lives so that we can see them more 15 00:00:43,870 --> 00:00:45,670 clearly. I don't know how many of how 16 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:47,880 many have given up something for Lent. 17 00:00:48,710 --> 00:00:50,960 It's not a prerequisite, but it can be. 18 00:00:50,970 --> 00:00:53,310 I know for me, one of the things, well, the main thing 19 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:57,280 that I gave up was my evenings. So I wanted my, my commitment 20 00:00:57,290 --> 00:01:02,770 was to get to bed by 9:30 every night and I just crashed and 21 00:01:02,780 --> 00:01:05,670 burned on that. But I'm not giving up. 22 00:01:05,740 --> 00:01:07,980 I'm just over halfway through and saying no, what, you know 23 00:01:07,990 --> 00:01:12,250 what, I'm, I'm going back. I, I will, I will return to this 24 00:01:12,260 --> 00:01:14,760 commitment to the Lord. And this is what Lent is. 25 00:01:14,770 --> 00:01:17,890 This is the opportunity to continue to grow and go in the, 26 00:01:17,900 --> 00:01:22,250 in the image of, of Christ. And, and it's not an 27 00:01:22,260 --> 00:01:26,210 instantaneous, it doesn't happen overnight, so to speak. 28 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:28,840 And so we really want to, we want to press in and get closer 29 00:01:28,850 --> 00:01:30,530 to the Lord. You know, most of the problems 30 00:01:30,540 --> 00:01:35,220 that we run into are in our lives are really the result of 31 00:01:35,230 --> 00:01:39,440 us not having a clear view of who God is, not appreciating who 32 00:01:39,450 --> 00:01:42,380 God really is, and really an understanding of ourselves as 33 00:01:42,390 --> 00:01:43,880 well. And this is what Scripture does 34 00:01:43,890 --> 00:01:45,960 for us. It helps us to see God more 35 00:01:45,970 --> 00:01:49,690 clearly and helps us to see ourselves more clearly so that 36 00:01:49,700 --> 00:01:52,630 we can be in the midst of a very broken world. 37 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:56,830 Instruments in the Redeemer's hands that we can be used of God 38 00:01:56,920 --> 00:02:02,600 to help bring restoration as opposed to continuing to kind of 39 00:02:02,610 --> 00:02:06,730 reinforce this brokenness that we see in the world. 40 00:02:06,740 --> 00:02:10,660 None of us gets it right all the time, but day after day, moment 41 00:02:10,669 --> 00:02:15,460 by moment, we're growing in his in his likeness and and God 42 00:02:15,470 --> 00:02:18,170 wants to wants to see that change happen in our lives. 43 00:02:18,980 --> 00:02:23,720 All of this is happening in this one chapter of First Samuel. 44 00:02:24,420 --> 00:02:29,080 This chapter, what we're gonna do is we're gonna read the whole 45 00:02:29,090 --> 00:02:30,530 chapter. For those of you who have have 46 00:02:30,540 --> 00:02:34,210 not been following along in First Samuel, it's well worth 47 00:02:34,780 --> 00:02:36,200 getting, getting the full context. 48 00:02:36,210 --> 00:02:38,570 It's hard to kind of break it up for those of you who have 49 00:02:38,580 --> 00:02:40,680 already read it. So that was yesterday's reading. 50 00:02:40,690 --> 00:02:43,030 If you're following along the journal, I don't think you're 51 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:45,150 going to mind hearing it again. Every time I read this, it just 52 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:48,960 keeps getting better and better. So let's pray and and we'll read 53 00:02:48,970 --> 00:02:51,920 this scripture together. Father in Heaven, what a gift 54 00:02:51,930 --> 00:02:56,960 you've given to us today. Just just breath and life and 55 00:02:56,970 --> 00:02:59,900 the fact that we can be together this morning and freely worship 56 00:02:59,910 --> 00:03:02,310 you. We thank you for it all, but 57 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:06,780 you've given us this precious word of yours, and we pray that 58 00:03:06,790 --> 00:03:09,350 it would find a landing place in our hearts today. 59 00:03:10,990 --> 00:03:14,770 Come and make yourself known through Jesus Christ, we pray. 60 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:25,040 Amen. So we are so 1st 14 chapters is 61 00:03:25,050 --> 00:03:28,000 really just describing this. What for Sam was about is this 62 00:03:28,010 --> 00:03:32,040 transition from judgeship to kingship. 63 00:03:32,430 --> 00:03:36,040 Israel being led by judges, basically leaders that God has 64 00:03:36,050 --> 00:03:39,000 raised up versus kings. So the beginning of a mark 65 00:03:39,010 --> 00:03:41,810 monarchy where kings will be passed on, kingship will be 66 00:03:41,820 --> 00:03:46,740 passed on to the sons. The last judge who is Samuel is 67 00:03:46,750 --> 00:03:52,480 going to anoint the first king who is Saul, And God's people 68 00:03:52,490 --> 00:03:57,950 were crying out for a king which their motive was not right. 69 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:02,450 In doing so, Scripture says God reveals that it's actually a 70 00:04:02,460 --> 00:04:06,030 rejection of Him, that they're looking for leadership from a 71 00:04:06,100 --> 00:04:09,560 from a human being to guide them, as opposed to God's 72 00:04:09,570 --> 00:04:13,630 anointed, anointed person and God himself. 73 00:04:13,740 --> 00:04:20,720 And so Saul is established as as a king and he reigns for 42 74 00:04:20,730 --> 00:04:22,460 years. And you actually starts off, OK. 75 00:04:22,470 --> 00:04:24,720 He's on a pretty good trajectory to begin with. 76 00:04:24,850 --> 00:04:29,100 But he is operating out of a place of fear, fear of people, 77 00:04:29,510 --> 00:04:31,610 fear of the circumstances that are around him. 78 00:04:31,620 --> 00:04:34,580 And he's panicking and he's not putting his trust in the Lord. 79 00:04:34,590 --> 00:04:37,220 In fact, his son Jonathan has been reading along. 80 00:04:37,290 --> 00:04:41,920 He's the one who is operating far, far more in in terms of 81 00:04:41,930 --> 00:04:45,720 faith, trusting God for good things that we see Saul really 82 00:04:45,730 --> 00:04:51,130 struggling in this regard. He's given instruction and he's 83 00:04:51,140 --> 00:04:53,740 not following through on these instructions. 84 00:04:55,400 --> 00:05:00,810 So he's rebuked and in the middle of this rebuke, we still 85 00:05:00,820 --> 00:05:04,250 see God's gracious to him and gracious to his people. 86 00:05:04,260 --> 00:05:06,970 It's incredible the patience that God shows. 87 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:10,470 But I don't know about you, but as I read this, really this 88 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:13,590 tragic life of soul, I've got a heart for this guy. 89 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:16,410 Can you see any of yourself in the soul? 90 00:05:16,420 --> 00:05:20,530 I his struggle is something that I can completely identify with 91 00:05:20,540 --> 00:05:24,530 on so many levels. So I have a heart for him, but 92 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:29,030 we're going to, we're going to jump into chapter 15 and Lord 93 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:32,630 willing, we're gonna see more of who God is and more of who we 94 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:36,450 are through the interaction in this chapter. 95 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:40,450 So First Samuel, Chapter 15, Everybody with me. 96 00:05:40,540 --> 00:05:45,360 You got it, great, Samuel said to Saul. 97 00:05:45,630 --> 00:05:49,110 I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people, 98 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:51,740 Israel. So listen now to the message 99 00:05:51,750 --> 00:05:54,840 from the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty 100 00:05:54,850 --> 00:05:57,260 says. I will punish the Amalekites for 101 00:05:57,270 --> 00:06:01,400 what they did to Israel when they wailed, waylaid them as 102 00:06:01,410 --> 00:06:06,160 they came up from Egypt. Now go attack the Amalekites and 103 00:06:06,170 --> 00:06:09,080 totally destroy all that belongs to them. 104 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:13,440 Do not spare them. Put to death men and women, 105 00:06:13,610 --> 00:06:20,630 children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys, heavy 106 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:24,630 stuff. So Saul summoned the men and 107 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:29,670 mustered them at Tulam. 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 from 108 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:32,840 Judah. Saul went to the city of Amalek 109 00:06:33,290 --> 00:06:35,120 and said an ambush in the ravine. 110 00:06:35,510 --> 00:06:39,610 Then he said to the Kenites, Go away, leave the Amalekite, so 111 00:06:39,620 --> 00:06:41,980 that I do not destroy you along with them. 112 00:06:42,050 --> 00:06:44,840 For you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up 113 00:06:44,850 --> 00:06:47,920 out of Egypt. So the Kenites moved away from 114 00:06:47,930 --> 00:06:51,030 the Amalekites. Then Saul attacked the 115 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:55,600 Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, near the 116 00:06:55,610 --> 00:06:59,610 eastern border of Egypt. He took egg, Egg, king of the 117 00:06:59,620 --> 00:07:03,140 Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with 118 00:07:03,150 --> 00:07:06,360 the sword. But Saul and the army spared 119 00:07:06,370 --> 00:07:10,980 Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and 120 00:07:10,990 --> 00:07:15,310 lambs, everything that was good. These they were unwilling to 121 00:07:15,320 --> 00:07:19,250 destroy completely, but everything that was despised and 122 00:07:19,260 --> 00:07:24,950 weak they totally destroyed. Then the word of the Lord came 123 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:29,760 to Samuel. I regret that I have made Saul 124 00:07:29,770 --> 00:07:33,720 king because he has turned away from me and has not carried out 125 00:07:33,730 --> 00:07:38,850 my instructions. Samuel was angry, and he cried 126 00:07:38,860 --> 00:07:42,870 out to the Lord all that night. Early in the morning Samuel got 127 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:46,530 up and went to meet Saul, but he was told Saul has gone to 128 00:07:46,540 --> 00:07:49,270 Carmel. There he has set up a monument 129 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:53,420 in his own honor, and his turn to gone on down to Gilgal. 130 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:58,430 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, the Lord bless you. 131 00:07:58,820 --> 00:08:02,740 I've carried out the Lord's instructions, but Samuel said. 132 00:08:03,500 --> 00:08:06,300 What then is this bleeding of sheep in my ears? 133 00:08:07,070 --> 00:08:09,480 What is this lowing of cattle that I hear? 134 00:08:10,740 --> 00:08:14,630 Saul answered. The soldiers brought them from 135 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:16,910 the Malachites. They spared the best of the 136 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:20,980 sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we 137 00:08:20,990 --> 00:08:26,240 totally destroyed the rest. Enough, Samuel said to Saul. 138 00:08:26,900 --> 00:08:28,850 Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night. 139 00:08:29,820 --> 00:08:34,110 Tell me, Saul replied. Samuel said Although you were 140 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:38,250 once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the 141 00:08:38,260 --> 00:08:41,880 tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over 142 00:08:41,890 --> 00:08:45,740 Israel, and he sent you on a mission saying go and completely 143 00:08:45,750 --> 00:08:49,570 destroy those wicked people. The Amalekites wage war against 144 00:08:49,580 --> 00:08:51,250 them until you have wiped them out. 145 00:08:52,340 --> 00:08:56,350 Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the 146 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:58,610 plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord? 147 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:05,500 But I did obey the Lord Salsa. I went on the mission the Lord 148 00:09:05,510 --> 00:09:07,790 assigned me. I completely destroyed the 149 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:10,120 Amalekites and brought back Agag, their king. 150 00:09:10,940 --> 00:09:14,110 The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the 151 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:17,490 best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to 152 00:09:17,500 --> 00:09:21,840 the Lord your God at Gilgal. But, Samuel replied, Does the 153 00:09:21,850 --> 00:09:25,920 Lord delight and burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in 154 00:09:25,930 --> 00:09:29,470 obeying the Lord? To obey is better than 155 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:33,440 sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of Rams. 156 00:09:34,380 --> 00:09:38,930 For rebellion is like the sin of divination and arrogance like 157 00:09:38,940 --> 00:09:42,310 the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the 158 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:46,150 word of the Lord, he has rejected you as King. 159 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:50,910 Then Saul said to Samuel, I've sinned. 160 00:09:52,050 --> 00:09:54,860 I have violated the Lord's command in your instructions. 161 00:09:55,010 --> 00:09:58,160 I was afraid of the men, and so I gave in to them. 162 00:09:58,550 --> 00:10:02,900 Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I 163 00:10:02,910 --> 00:10:06,160 may worship the Lord. But Samuel said to him, I will 164 00:10:06,170 --> 00:10:08,750 not go back with you. You have rejected the word of 165 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:12,180 the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over 166 00:10:12,190 --> 00:10:15,400 Israel. As Samuel turned to leave, Saul 167 00:10:15,410 --> 00:10:17,810 caught hold of the hem of his robe and a tour. 168 00:10:19,150 --> 00:10:22,540 Samuel said to him, The Lord has torn the Kingdom of Israel from 169 00:10:22,550 --> 00:10:26,130 you today and has given it to one of your neighbors to 1 170 00:10:26,140 --> 00:10:30,220 better than you. He who is the glory of Israel 171 00:10:30,530 --> 00:10:34,640 does not lie or change his mind, for He is not a human being that 172 00:10:34,650 --> 00:10:39,670 he should change his mind. His decision was clear. 173 00:10:40,060 --> 00:10:43,210 Was final. Verse 30, Saul replied. 174 00:10:43,540 --> 00:10:47,010 I have sinned, but please honor me before the elders of my 175 00:10:47,020 --> 00:10:49,790 people and before Israel. Come back with me, so that I may 176 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:53,690 worship the Lord your God. So Samuel went back with Saul, 177 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:58,610 and Saul worshipped the Lord. Then Samuel said, Bring me egg, 178 00:10:58,620 --> 00:11:03,100 Egg, king of the Amalekites. Egi came to him in chains, and 179 00:11:03,110 --> 00:11:06,080 he thought, surely the bitterness of death is passed. 180 00:11:06,700 --> 00:11:10,970 But Samuel said, as your sword has made women childless, so 181 00:11:10,980 --> 00:11:13,210 will your mother be childless among women. 182 00:11:13,950 --> 00:11:17,390 And Samuel put a gig to death before the Lord at Gilgal. 183 00:11:18,820 --> 00:11:22,490 Then Samuel left for Rama, but Saul went up to his home in 184 00:11:22,500 --> 00:11:27,590 Gibeah of Saul until the until the day Samuel died, he did not 185 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:31,310 go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourn for him. 186 00:11:31,640 --> 00:11:36,710 And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel. 187 00:11:42,290 --> 00:11:46,120 Want to take a look at how the Lord is being revealed in this 188 00:11:46,190 --> 00:11:51,260 chapter as well as to be looking at how you know what, what we 189 00:11:51,270 --> 00:11:54,340 can learn from Saul and then how what this reveals about 190 00:11:54,350 --> 00:11:57,190 ourselves as well. So let's just take a look at it 191 00:11:57,200 --> 00:11:58,500 first. First, we're gonna look at the 192 00:11:58,510 --> 00:12:04,460 Lord's faithfulness, God's safeness, because we see a great 193 00:12:04,470 --> 00:12:07,500 contrast between God's faithfulness and man's 194 00:12:07,510 --> 00:12:14,220 faithfulness here. Soul is instructed. 195 00:12:14,290 --> 00:12:17,860 He's commanded to totally destroy the Amalekites. 196 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:24,100 Now. To modern ears this is horrific, 197 00:12:24,790 --> 00:12:27,080 and it is horrific if you think about it. 198 00:12:27,090 --> 00:12:29,910 Men, women and children, all the livestock, everything is 199 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:33,390 completely demolished. And it's stuff like this that we 200 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:37,230 read in the Bible that can really turn us off. 201 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:40,410 A lot of people won't even touch the Bible, won't even go to the 202 00:12:40,420 --> 00:12:42,510 Old Testament because of situations like this. 203 00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:44,730 They think, man, this is, you know, what kind of a God would 204 00:12:44,740 --> 00:12:48,170 do that? And for those who have remained 205 00:12:48,180 --> 00:12:53,680 faithful, there is this wrestling match going on in our 206 00:12:53,690 --> 00:12:55,750 mind. How am I gonna justify this? 207 00:12:59,250 --> 00:13:01,760 Somehow we can minimize it. There are books that are written 208 00:13:01,770 --> 00:13:05,480 that that describe will actually total destruction of of of a 209 00:13:05,490 --> 00:13:07,900 group of people isn't really total destruction. 210 00:13:07,910 --> 00:13:10,120 It's just it's partial destruction. 211 00:13:10,250 --> 00:13:13,100 And that actually may be true, but I think it's missing the 212 00:13:13,110 --> 00:13:16,710 point that's that's going on here as well. 213 00:13:17,060 --> 00:13:19,210 Some have said, well, God never really said that. 214 00:13:19,220 --> 00:13:21,490 That's just kind of human beings interpreting what he said. 215 00:13:21,500 --> 00:13:24,080 But it says very clearly this is what God had said. 216 00:13:24,380 --> 00:13:27,870 So if that's not the case, somehow God's character is being 217 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:33,590 maligned through Scripture. And as well, other ways that 218 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:36,300 we've tried to understand this grapple with it is that, well, 219 00:13:36,370 --> 00:13:38,580 this is the Old Testament God, but we're now we're talking 220 00:13:38,590 --> 00:13:40,670 about the New Testament. I worship the New Testament God, 221 00:13:41,090 --> 00:13:43,600 but the God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament. 222 00:13:45,410 --> 00:13:48,100 It is God. And so I, I believe to be 223 00:13:48,110 --> 00:13:53,020 faithful to Scripture, we need to embrace this as it actually 224 00:13:53,090 --> 00:13:57,400 stands in the Word. And there's a reason for that 225 00:13:57,470 --> 00:14:01,140 because there are things like God's thoughts are so much 226 00:14:01,150 --> 00:14:04,920 higher than our thoughts, His ways higher than our ways. 227 00:14:05,130 --> 00:14:07,480 We don't always understand. And you know when we when it 228 00:14:07,490 --> 00:14:11,820 comes to embracing the truth, it makes all of us uncomfortable in 229 00:14:11,830 --> 00:14:16,870 some ways because we don't think like he thinks God is a holy 230 00:14:17,660 --> 00:14:25,440 God, a holy God. Verse 2 says this is what the 231 00:14:25,450 --> 00:14:28,660 Lord Almighty says. I will punish the Amalekites for 232 00:14:28,670 --> 00:14:32,480 what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came 233 00:14:32,490 --> 00:14:37,510 up from Egypt. What God is commanding Saul to 234 00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:41,370 do is actually in accordance with His promise that God 235 00:14:41,380 --> 00:14:46,260 promised His people that he was going to remove the Amalekites 236 00:14:46,270 --> 00:14:50,730 from the face of the earth for their resistance to God's 237 00:14:50,740 --> 00:14:54,140 redeeming work and bringing his people out of Egypt that they 238 00:14:54,150 --> 00:14:59,340 were a wicked people. So this is a sign of God's 239 00:14:59,350 --> 00:15:02,340 faithfulness in what he's doing. It's kind of we we, we need to 240 00:15:02,350 --> 00:15:04,920 kind of make a make a shift in the way that we're thinking 241 00:15:04,930 --> 00:15:07,340 verse 18. It refers to the Amalekites is a 242 00:15:07,350 --> 00:15:14,270 is a very wicked people and God has given them 300 years by this 243 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:17,450 time to turn from Him, but they still have not. 244 00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:23,760 So in Exodus 34 we read about the Lord's character. 245 00:15:23,770 --> 00:15:26,280 This is actually consistent with God's character. 246 00:15:26,390 --> 00:15:29,420 This is the Lord the Lord. This is God's speaking, the Lord 247 00:15:29,430 --> 00:15:34,000 the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, 248 00:15:34,110 --> 00:15:36,960 abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love 249 00:15:36,970 --> 00:15:40,610 to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. 250 00:15:41,550 --> 00:15:45,210 Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished. 251 00:15:45,420 --> 00:15:48,650 He punishes the children and their children for the sin of 252 00:15:48,660 --> 00:15:51,550 the parents to the third and 4th generations. 253 00:15:51,980 --> 00:15:56,610 Again, as we referred to earlier, that this is not, this 254 00:15:56,620 --> 00:16:01,510 is not punishing children for the sins of the parents, but 255 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:03,990 actually the children who are following in the sinful 256 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:08,220 behaviors of their parents. No one gets away with anything. 257 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:13,670 And this is the message not just of the Old Testament. 258 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:15,650 This is the message of the New Testament as well. 259 00:16:15,660 --> 00:16:22,210 Jesus actually is quoting Isaiah 61 verse one to two, but he was 260 00:16:22,220 --> 00:16:24,410 sent. He refers to it to himself. 261 00:16:24,500 --> 00:16:28,460 He has sent me to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the 262 00:16:28,470 --> 00:16:31,990 day of vengeance of our God. Both of those things. 263 00:16:33,050 --> 00:16:35,810 Both of those things. The day, the year of the Lord's 264 00:16:35,820 --> 00:16:38,220 favor and the day of vengeance of a God. 265 00:16:38,630 --> 00:16:43,200 What kind of a good God would allow injustice in wickedness to 266 00:16:43,210 --> 00:16:47,380 continue to stand? He's extremely patient, but 267 00:16:47,390 --> 00:16:49,920 there's a point in which he says enough is enough. 268 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:56,490 If this is, if this is an area of challenge for you. 269 00:16:56,500 --> 00:16:59,430 In fact, even if it isn't, if you just want to continue to to 270 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:02,010 educate yourself on this, one book that I would highly 271 00:17:02,020 --> 00:17:05,339 recommend is RC Sproul's book, The Holiness of God. 272 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:12,810 The Holiness of God. He speaks about God as being a 273 00:17:12,819 --> 00:17:18,150 God of perfect justice. There is not a flaw in God's 274 00:17:18,220 --> 00:17:21,560 righteousness. He's a God of perfect justice, 275 00:17:21,810 --> 00:17:25,900 and even the slightest bit of disobedience from human beings 276 00:17:26,069 --> 00:17:28,990 is actually a sign of our rebellion against God. 277 00:17:29,130 --> 00:17:32,880 It's actually what would be considered like it's it's for us 278 00:17:32,890 --> 00:17:35,130 to be saying I have a better way. 279 00:17:37,300 --> 00:17:41,810 I'm turning away from your rule and I'm following my own way, 280 00:17:44,660 --> 00:17:48,190 which makes it very clear that no one in this world is 281 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:51,670 innocent. There isn't an innocent person 282 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:54,190 on the planet. We're all sinful. 283 00:17:54,260 --> 00:17:57,290 We've all turned from God. In other words, we all deserve 284 00:17:57,360 --> 00:17:59,690 what the Amalekites would initially be getting. 285 00:18:00,060 --> 00:18:06,100 Every single one of us. That's a hard concept to 286 00:18:06,110 --> 00:18:10,960 understand, but as soon as we get that, life becomes so much 287 00:18:10,970 --> 00:18:14,740 richer because we realize I'm actually living right now and 288 00:18:14,750 --> 00:18:16,420 breathing because of the mercy of God. 289 00:18:17,330 --> 00:18:20,980 That if God was that, that if I really got what I deserved, I 290 00:18:20,990 --> 00:18:23,040 wouldn't be here anymore. I'd be done. 291 00:18:23,050 --> 00:18:25,520 I'd be finished. But I'm living under the mercy 292 00:18:25,530 --> 00:18:30,950 of God, so God is always operating in either in, in, in, 293 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:32,650 in. He's always operating in perfect 294 00:18:32,660 --> 00:18:35,330 justice. Now, if we think of the most 295 00:18:35,340 --> 00:18:40,170 horrific act of divine vengeance, we don't find it in 296 00:18:40,180 --> 00:18:42,160 the Old Testament. We can look at the flood, we can 297 00:18:42,170 --> 00:18:46,710 look at everything, but it's actually in Jesus Christ, who is 298 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:49,880 the only innocent person that ever walked this planet. 299 00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:54,630 And yet he was nailed to a cross and this was God's Father's will 300 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:59,570 for him. And yet, even though horrific as 301 00:18:59,580 --> 00:19:01,190 that was, it was the most beautiful day. 302 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:04,270 That's why we call Good Friday good is because in the most 303 00:19:04,280 --> 00:19:09,180 horrific act of God's vengeance, His wrath against our sin, the 304 00:19:09,250 --> 00:19:12,010 only innocent person in the world was nailed to a cross. 305 00:19:12,790 --> 00:19:17,920 So that you and I who deserve that cross could get off Scott 306 00:19:17,930 --> 00:19:22,510 free. That is the perfect justice of 307 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:27,540 God. He loves us, He is for us, He is 308 00:19:27,550 --> 00:19:31,190 not against us, and He is communicating again and again 309 00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:36,010 and again over in Scripture and multiple different arrays that 310 00:19:36,020 --> 00:19:39,870 He is good and that He can be trusted, and that if we will 311 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:44,770 turn from our wickedness, we will be saved and we will be 312 00:19:44,780 --> 00:19:47,550 healed. This is the faithfulness of God, 313 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:51,620 and this should be a great comfort to us, that God deals 314 00:19:51,770 --> 00:19:55,480 with injustice, He deals with sin and wickedness. 315 00:19:55,650 --> 00:19:57,260 This should give us great comfort. 316 00:19:57,270 --> 00:20:00,280 He is faithful. Now let's contrast this with 317 00:20:00,340 --> 00:20:05,100 Saul's faithfulness, because in the surface it sounds like Saul 318 00:20:05,110 --> 00:20:08,970 is being obedient. He is being faithful to the call 319 00:20:08,980 --> 00:20:15,410 that is given even says, you know, I did obey the Lord even 320 00:20:15,420 --> 00:20:22,190 though he's being called onto the carpet for it. 1st 13 He 321 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:24,850 said, You know, when Samuel reached him, Saul said, the Lord 322 00:20:24,860 --> 00:20:27,430 bless you, I've carried out the Lord's instructions. 323 00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:31,070 But Samuel said, what then is the bleeding of sheep in my 324 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:32,860 ears? What is this lowing of cattle 325 00:20:32,870 --> 00:20:36,150 that I hear? Obviously Saul did not follow 326 00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:39,590 through fully on the command. He was not faithful to the 327 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:41,710 command that God had given to him. 328 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:48,420 He had deceived himself. Saul calls him on it and then he 329 00:20:48,430 --> 00:20:51,160 says verse 20, but I did obey the Lord. 330 00:20:51,530 --> 00:20:53,320 I went on the mission the Lord assign me. 331 00:20:53,370 --> 00:20:55,980 I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back. 332 00:20:56,070 --> 00:20:57,880 I gagged their king, the soldiers. 333 00:20:57,950 --> 00:21:01,220 The soldiers took the sheep. He's kind of passing the blame a 334 00:21:01,230 --> 00:21:02,800 little bit. The soldiers took the sheep or 335 00:21:02,810 --> 00:21:05,200 blender. The best of what is devoted to 336 00:21:05,210 --> 00:21:08,300 God in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal 337 00:21:08,310 --> 00:21:12,100 sounds sounds great, sounds religious, sounds spiritual and 338 00:21:12,110 --> 00:21:15,600 yet it is disobedience. And have you ever heard the 339 00:21:15,610 --> 00:21:22,010 phrase that 99% obedience is actually 100% disobedience? 340 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:28,150 Might sound harsh, but it's very, very clear if if, if we 341 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:30,340 don't obey fully, it's called disobedience. 342 00:21:32,780 --> 00:21:36,680 And soul is being called on this, you know, in fact, Samuel 343 00:21:36,750 --> 00:21:40,180 himself, by the end, he's the one that actually finishes the 344 00:21:40,190 --> 00:21:43,640 mission. He kills egg egg for Saul. 345 00:21:43,650 --> 00:21:48,760 Saul can't even do it. And it's interesting that when 346 00:21:48,770 --> 00:21:52,760 we get to chapter 30 of of Samuel, the end, Saul is killed 347 00:21:52,770 --> 00:21:57,310 by an Amalekite. All comes back on us. 348 00:21:57,580 --> 00:22:01,770 All comes back on us. So here we see. 349 00:22:01,780 --> 00:22:04,880 I mean, when I read this, the first first, I remember the 350 00:22:04,890 --> 00:22:06,230 first actually not even the first time. 351 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:09,790 Many times reading this, I'm thinking I can totally identify 352 00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:15,140 this song like he's he's showing some humanity and not killing 353 00:22:15,150 --> 00:22:18,980 the king. You know, he's he's he, he's 354 00:22:18,990 --> 00:22:22,660 even spared all of these the best in order to to worship the 355 00:22:22,670 --> 00:22:27,020 Lord. And yet it's called sin because 356 00:22:27,030 --> 00:22:29,560 he wasn't willing to follow the Lord's instructions. 357 00:22:29,570 --> 00:22:34,160 The word of God was given to him, and he interpreted it in a 358 00:22:34,170 --> 00:22:38,380 way to serve himself. And I think, man, I do that. 359 00:22:39,340 --> 00:22:44,060 I do that. Why did he keep the king alive? 360 00:22:44,070 --> 00:22:47,780 Probably to probably due to some sort of political dealings of, 361 00:22:47,790 --> 00:22:51,900 of, of some sort to try to, you know, to, to win favour or, or 362 00:22:51,910 --> 00:22:53,580 whatever. And why do you keep all, all the 363 00:22:53,590 --> 00:22:55,850 sheep as plunder? I mean, all of it. 364 00:22:55,860 --> 00:22:59,110 It's just in, in, in the last analysis, it's greed. 365 00:23:00,290 --> 00:23:04,150 And this was controlling him. But another factor that's 366 00:23:04,230 --> 00:23:07,930 pointed out here that Saul actually admits when he's when 367 00:23:07,940 --> 00:23:12,560 he's brought onto the carpet. In verse 24, Saul said to 368 00:23:12,570 --> 00:23:16,820 Samuel, I've sinned. I violated the Lord's command in 369 00:23:16,830 --> 00:23:20,240 your instructions. I was afraid of the men, and so 370 00:23:20,250 --> 00:23:24,000 I gave in to them. There was a fear of human 371 00:23:24,010 --> 00:23:28,960 beings. It was a fear of what are people 372 00:23:28,970 --> 00:23:32,840 gonna think of me? There's a fear that maybe they 373 00:23:32,850 --> 00:23:35,430 would topple me, that maybe they would replace me. 374 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:41,190 And his fear of them eclipsed his fear of God. 375 00:23:43,270 --> 00:23:46,640 And in verse 23, this is called rebellion. 376 00:23:46,690 --> 00:23:50,380 It's called arrogance. All of these things are are kind 377 00:23:50,390 --> 00:23:55,280 of wrapped up in the fear, in the fear of man. 378 00:23:55,950 --> 00:23:59,850 And this has been a a powerful passage to me. 379 00:23:59,860 --> 00:24:03,760 Isaiah chapter 51. This is God speaking to the 380 00:24:03,770 --> 00:24:07,120 Israelites, and he says, who are you that you fear? 381 00:24:07,130 --> 00:24:13,660 Mere mortals, human beings who are but grass that you forget 382 00:24:13,670 --> 00:24:17,680 the Lord, your Maker, who stretches out the heavens and 383 00:24:17,690 --> 00:24:19,420 who lays the foundations of the earth. 384 00:24:20,300 --> 00:24:23,920 This is potent stuff. Who are you like? 385 00:24:23,930 --> 00:24:29,240 Who do you think you are that you would fear mere mortals and 386 00:24:29,250 --> 00:24:34,030 forget me? You see, fearing people isn't 387 00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:36,250 the first step. It actually begins with 388 00:24:36,260 --> 00:24:39,170 forgetting God. The reason why we fear other 389 00:24:39,180 --> 00:24:43,790 humans and their opinions and being accepted by them and and 390 00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:48,510 and fearing judgment by them is because we've forgotten the God 391 00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:52,240 who has made us who set everything into position. 392 00:24:52,250 --> 00:24:58,930 As soon as we forget God, we fall prey to the fear of man. 393 00:24:59,740 --> 00:25:08,020 And we forget God because we're arrogant, because I think I 394 00:25:08,030 --> 00:25:12,540 don't need you in this moment. I, I, I forgotten for this 395 00:25:12,550 --> 00:25:16,000 moment just how great you are. Suddenly I have been raised 396 00:25:16,050 --> 00:25:19,170 above you. As soon as we forget God, it's 397 00:25:19,180 --> 00:25:23,510 it's it's a sign that we have that are their pride is filled 398 00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:25,190 our heart. We don't usually think of it 399 00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:27,390 that way, but this is how Scripture speaks of it and we 400 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:30,630 need to recognize we need to. That's why we continually need 401 00:25:30,700 --> 00:25:34,170 to be reading Scripture to have our eyes opened and our minds 402 00:25:34,180 --> 00:25:39,840 blown by the by the size of God, by the holiness of God, the 403 00:25:39,850 --> 00:25:45,300 righteousness of God, and to humble ourselves a right before 404 00:25:45,310 --> 00:25:51,080 Him. So let's talk about our 405 00:25:51,090 --> 00:25:52,720 faithfulness. I think I have already talked 406 00:25:52,730 --> 00:25:54,260 about that. Sorry I didn't advance that 407 00:25:54,270 --> 00:25:59,920 slide, but how often are we compromising our faithfulness to 408 00:25:59,930 --> 00:26:03,740 God through our fear of other people? 409 00:26:07,360 --> 00:26:10,560 One of the one of the books recommending some books here, 410 00:26:10,570 --> 00:26:14,730 but another one that I found very, very helpful by Ed Welch. 411 00:26:14,820 --> 00:26:18,020 It's called When people are big and God is small. 412 00:26:18,730 --> 00:26:24,550 It's a, it's a, it's a great book if, if you really wrestle 413 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:29,620 over fear of people, if you're a people pleaser, if, if the 414 00:26:29,630 --> 00:26:33,580 opinions of others mean an awful lot to you, that is a great book 415 00:26:33,650 --> 00:26:35,180 to read. He'll point you back to 416 00:26:35,190 --> 00:26:40,140 Scripture and help you see the immensity of God for who He 417 00:26:40,150 --> 00:26:44,920 really is. We can be easily deceived. 418 00:26:46,860 --> 00:26:50,050 We can be so easily deceived to think that we're obeying God, 419 00:26:50,420 --> 00:26:52,240 and yet we're not fully obeying God. 420 00:26:59,870 --> 00:27:03,790 First, John chapter 2 says we know that we have come to know 421 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:07,190 him, that is to know God if we keep his commands. 422 00:27:07,820 --> 00:27:11,270 Whoever says I know him but does not do what he commands is a 423 00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:13,990 liar and the truth is not in that person. 424 00:27:15,620 --> 00:27:19,110 What's he saying? He's saying that when we lose 425 00:27:19,120 --> 00:27:24,420 sight of who God is, when we fail to truly know Him, that's 426 00:27:24,430 --> 00:27:27,180 when we fall off the map when it comes to obeying the commands. 427 00:27:27,270 --> 00:27:32,290 But when we have a right conception of God, it brings us 428 00:27:32,300 --> 00:27:36,260 to that place of acknowledging, I need to, I, I need to take his 429 00:27:36,270 --> 00:27:39,040 word seriously. And that's something that Saul 430 00:27:39,050 --> 00:27:41,140 didn't do. He didn't take the word of the 431 00:27:41,150 --> 00:27:45,150 Lord seriously. He exalted himself over God 432 00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:54,000 himself. Our faithfulness is critical and 433 00:27:54,010 --> 00:27:57,500 none of us are gonna get it right all the time, but the more 434 00:27:57,510 --> 00:28:01,810 that we see God for who He is and our great need of Him and to 435 00:28:01,820 --> 00:28:05,520 see ourselves a right in relation to Him, we will be. 436 00:28:05,530 --> 00:28:08,500 We will grow in our faithfulness to God and obeying his commands. 437 00:28:09,230 --> 00:28:11,580 Let's move on. Let's let's look at God's 438 00:28:11,590 --> 00:28:16,020 regret. One last feature, God's God's 439 00:28:16,030 --> 00:28:24,900 regret, verse 10 and 11. Then the word of the Lord came 440 00:28:24,910 --> 00:28:26,840 to Samuel, and this is God speaking. 441 00:28:26,850 --> 00:28:31,400 I regret that I have made Saul king because he has turned away 442 00:28:31,410 --> 00:28:33,620 from me and has not carried out my instructions. 443 00:28:36,470 --> 00:28:40,300 And then drop down to verse 35 at the very end it says and the 444 00:28:40,310 --> 00:28:45,660 Lord regretted that he had made made Saul king over Israel. 445 00:28:45,870 --> 00:28:51,710 It's interesting to, to think of God regretting something and, 446 00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:54,290 and we can think about it in a, in a lot of different ways, but 447 00:28:54,300 --> 00:28:58,110 it's good for us to, to, to, to kind of grapple with this. 448 00:28:59,590 --> 00:29:06,530 The word nahem, the Hebrew word, has a pretty broad semantic 449 00:29:06,540 --> 00:29:07,390 range. It can. 450 00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:13,590 It can mean mean, on the one end, repentance, the desire to 451 00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:20,480 change one's mind all the way down to feeling grieved or 452 00:29:20,490 --> 00:29:22,480 sorrowful over something that is done. 453 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:26,950 And depending on the context in which we see that word will 454 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:29,220 determine what the definition is. 455 00:29:29,230 --> 00:29:30,960 That's how that's how language works. 456 00:29:31,870 --> 00:29:37,960 Now, the reason why we're we're even talking about God's regret 457 00:29:38,930 --> 00:29:41,940 is because in Scripture is particularly in chapter 15, 458 00:29:41,950 --> 00:29:44,720 we're getting this contrast that's happening between God's 459 00:29:44,730 --> 00:29:50,270 regret and and Saul's regret. And we're seeing what true 460 00:29:50,280 --> 00:29:54,700 regret should look like. So here we have, you know, some 461 00:29:54,710 --> 00:29:58,780 translations even say that God repented of that he made Saul 462 00:29:58,790 --> 00:30:02,190 king. That's one way to interpret that 463 00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:04,390 word. But actually regret is far more 464 00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:07,330 clear here that well. Well, look, if you look back on 465 00:30:07,340 --> 00:30:12,160 verse 29, this kind of makes it makes it very clear what what's 466 00:30:12,170 --> 00:30:16,430 being spoken of. Verse 29, it says that he who is 467 00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:20,440 the glory of Israel Speaking of the Lord does not lie or change 468 00:30:20,450 --> 00:30:23,950 his mind for he is not a human being that he should change his 469 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:25,850 mind. So we're not talking about a 470 00:30:25,860 --> 00:30:28,390 repentance. And so and like, OK, I've done 471 00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:30,490 something wrong and now I'm going to change my mind. 472 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:33,900 Like that's not God. God is sovereign. 473 00:30:34,750 --> 00:30:38,580 He's due, He's operating to perfection in absolutely 474 00:30:38,590 --> 00:30:41,780 everything that he is doing, but he is grieving. 475 00:30:41,790 --> 00:30:47,960 And what we see here is that God who has feelings, sometimes you 476 00:30:47,970 --> 00:30:50,470 can read through Scripture and think, oh man, you know this, 477 00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:53,210 this is such a cold thing. They think of the God of the 478 00:30:53,220 --> 00:30:55,860 universe. He's cold, He's mechanical, He 479 00:30:55,870 --> 00:30:59,210 does his own thing, but he's got a heart. 480 00:30:59,860 --> 00:31:01,940 He has more feelings than you do. 481 00:31:03,420 --> 00:31:08,450 We've been made in His image, so He is at least what we are, if 482 00:31:08,460 --> 00:31:10,930 not more. He is grieved. 483 00:31:10,940 --> 00:31:16,610 His heart is in pain watching the sin of soul being played 484 00:31:16,620 --> 00:31:19,840 out. Now we think, well, why would 485 00:31:19,850 --> 00:31:21,990 why would he be grieved when he knew this was gonna happen all 486 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:26,760 along? Well, this is it. 487 00:31:26,770 --> 00:31:31,530 Just, it just shows that how, how much of a heart that God has 488 00:31:31,540 --> 00:31:34,790 as he sees it being played out, even though he knows exactly 489 00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:36,610 what's going on and what's gonna happen. 490 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:40,770 It breaks his heart to see those who are operating on their own 491 00:31:41,340 --> 00:31:46,310 apart from God and doing damage to other people grieves the 492 00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:49,410 heart of God. And we need to see that just how 493 00:31:49,460 --> 00:31:55,570 how is to see his heart in Genesis chapter, Genesis chapter 494 00:31:55,580 --> 00:32:00,150 6, and this was after the after the just before the flood. 495 00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:03,020 It says the Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the 496 00:32:03,030 --> 00:32:05,660 earth and his heart was deeply troubled. 497 00:32:07,060 --> 00:32:10,300 It's not him saying, you know, if I had to do it all over 498 00:32:10,310 --> 00:32:12,580 again, I never would have made people in the 1st place. 499 00:32:12,660 --> 00:32:16,870 And we've seen the wickedness of humanity, and his heart is 500 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:22,670 broken over. He's suffering pain, the kind of 501 00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:27,930 pain that Saul should have been experiencing, but he had. 502 00:32:28,710 --> 00:32:33,790 You see, God was far more human than Saul, and we see this 503 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:40,200 contrast going on here. Even Samuel is experiencing the 504 00:32:40,210 --> 00:32:43,100 pain. He's crying out all night before 505 00:32:43,110 --> 00:32:45,540 the Lord. He's he's angered, he's grieving 506 00:32:45,550 --> 00:32:48,580 over what Saul has done. Not because he doesn't like 507 00:32:48,590 --> 00:32:50,550 Saul. He loves Saul. 508 00:32:52,420 --> 00:32:56,410 You anointed Saul as king. He had a heart for Saul, but he 509 00:32:56,420 --> 00:32:59,530 was grieving over Saul's sin. Why? 510 00:32:59,540 --> 00:33:02,450 Because he was feeling what God was feeling. 511 00:33:03,260 --> 00:33:06,710 And so much of what it means to be a Christian is to be feeling 512 00:33:06,720 --> 00:33:10,650 in this broken world what God feels and respond accordingly. 513 00:33:11,510 --> 00:33:18,490 So let's look at Saul's regret. Verse 24 says, Then Samuel said 514 00:33:18,500 --> 00:33:20,710 to. Then Saul said to Samuel, I have 515 00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:23,530 sinned. I violated the Lord's command in 516 00:33:23,540 --> 00:33:27,330 your instructions. I was afraid of the men, and so 517 00:33:27,340 --> 00:33:30,870 I gave into them. Now I beg you, forgive my sin 518 00:33:30,880 --> 00:33:37,670 and come back with me so that I may worship the Lord here. 519 00:33:37,680 --> 00:33:40,660 He has some regret. He says He acknowledged that he 520 00:33:40,670 --> 00:33:43,270 has sinned, but is it true repentance? 521 00:33:43,340 --> 00:33:46,150 Has he changed his mind? There's a lot of indications 522 00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:57,170 here that he has not. If we were to, yeah, it's kind 523 00:33:57,180 --> 00:33:59,770 of moving through it. I've sinned, I've violated. 524 00:33:59,820 --> 00:34:03,330 I was afraid of this. Now I beg you, forgive my sin 525 00:34:03,340 --> 00:34:05,770 and come back with me so that I may worship the Lord. 526 00:34:07,660 --> 00:34:10,889 And then down to verse 30, Saul replied, I have sinned, but 527 00:34:10,900 --> 00:34:15,960 please honor me before the elders of my people, before 528 00:34:15,969 --> 00:34:17,790 Israel. Come back with me so that I may 529 00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:20,750 worship the Lord your God. It's kind of like, yeah, I 530 00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:25,830 sinned, but can you do this? And when someone gives you, 531 00:34:26,429 --> 00:34:30,179 makes an apology, apologizes for something and then they say, but 532 00:34:32,330 --> 00:34:37,670 I'm really sorry, but I'm really sorry that it now can you kind 533 00:34:37,679 --> 00:34:40,330 of moving quickly off of that? It's a sign. 534 00:34:40,820 --> 00:34:43,560 Are you really sorry? Are you really feeling the 535 00:34:43,570 --> 00:34:45,880 gravity, the weight of how you have hurt me? 536 00:34:47,730 --> 00:34:49,540 Saul is not feeling that right now. 537 00:34:50,870 --> 00:34:56,540 That's interesting just in his language knowledge that his sin 538 00:34:56,550 --> 00:35:01,000 verse 25 Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me so 539 00:35:01,010 --> 00:35:05,000 that I may worship the Lord. He he still concerned about 540 00:35:05,070 --> 00:35:07,020 worshipping the Lord with his people. 541 00:35:07,090 --> 00:35:10,030 It's still a still a a fear of man. 542 00:35:10,670 --> 00:35:13,520 Come, come back with me so that the elders will see that we're 543 00:35:13,530 --> 00:35:16,400 still, we're still tight, we're still OK. 544 00:35:18,370 --> 00:35:23,640 But this one word gets me. Actually, it's more than one 545 00:35:23,650 --> 00:35:26,300 word. But now, I beg you, forgive my 546 00:35:26,310 --> 00:35:31,020 sin, He's asking. He's asking Samuel to forgive 547 00:35:31,030 --> 00:35:33,300 his sin. Nowhere in here do we hear him 548 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:37,010 asking God to forgive him. In other words, he's he's trying 549 00:35:37,020 --> 00:35:39,650 to reconcile things with Samuel, but he's not reconciling it 550 00:35:39,660 --> 00:35:46,180 first with the Lord. There's a disconnect there that 551 00:35:46,190 --> 00:35:49,100 can verse 30 he says I've sinned, but please honor me 552 00:35:49,110 --> 00:35:51,830 before the elders of my people and before Israel come back with 553 00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:58,220 me so that I may worship the Lord your God, not my God, not 554 00:35:58,230 --> 00:36:00,500 our God, but your God, Samuel's God. 555 00:36:00,510 --> 00:36:03,300 Like the the where is the relationship? 556 00:36:03,350 --> 00:36:06,770 It's not there, or if it was, it's severely broken and it 557 00:36:06,780 --> 00:36:15,250 hasn't been reconciled. So I think about that in 558 00:36:15,260 --> 00:36:20,480 relation to say someone like David who is being referred to 559 00:36:20,570 --> 00:36:26,880 here. David is gonna be coming in the 560 00:36:26,890 --> 00:36:32,600 in the in the next chapter. Now David, if you recall, he's a 561 00:36:32,610 --> 00:36:35,940 guy that sinned greatly, but there was a difference in the 562 00:36:35,950 --> 00:36:39,650 way that he repented than Saul. Remember Psalm 51? 563 00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:42,120 Absolutely gorgeous song this was. 564 00:36:42,130 --> 00:36:46,730 This was after David committed adultery with Bathsheba and this 565 00:36:46,740 --> 00:36:49,800 is what he says. Have mercy on me, O God, 566 00:36:50,030 --> 00:36:53,530 according to your unfailing love, according to your great 567 00:36:53,540 --> 00:36:57,020 compassion. Blot out my transgressions, wash 568 00:36:57,030 --> 00:37:00,620 away all my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin, for I 569 00:37:00,630 --> 00:37:05,410 know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me against 570 00:37:05,420 --> 00:37:08,690 you. You only have I sinned and done 571 00:37:08,700 --> 00:37:11,270 what is evil in your sight, so that you are right in your 572 00:37:11,280 --> 00:37:13,590 verdict and justified when you judge. 573 00:37:14,260 --> 00:37:17,850 You see the difference? We can send royally. 574 00:37:19,820 --> 00:37:21,670 What do we do after we've blown it? 575 00:37:21,820 --> 00:37:25,290 Because all of us do. Do we brush it aside? 576 00:37:25,300 --> 00:37:27,230 Like how? How do you and I deal? 577 00:37:27,240 --> 00:37:30,330 So we're talking now about our regrets, FYI. 578 00:37:32,340 --> 00:37:37,040 How do we deal with our regrets? How do we deal with them? 579 00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:43,900 Do we brush them aside and move on, or do we relive them and 580 00:37:43,910 --> 00:37:47,160 just kind of live under kind of being crushed by what we've 581 00:37:47,170 --> 00:37:48,440 done? I shouldn't have done that. 582 00:37:48,450 --> 00:37:50,500 I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have done that. 583 00:37:50,700 --> 00:37:52,540 I'm better than that. I'm better than that. 584 00:37:52,610 --> 00:37:55,940 Or do we turn to the Lord and ask Him? 585 00:37:56,800 --> 00:37:59,790 Forgive me. You know, part of the pride that 586 00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:03,550 I have with not and not turning to God and repenting is that I 587 00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:04,720 think I could have done it better. 588 00:38:07,080 --> 00:38:10,130 I could have done it better and I will do it better. 589 00:38:10,220 --> 00:38:16,300 And so until I do, I'm not saying anything to God, but to 590 00:38:16,310 --> 00:38:17,980 acknowledge in that moment I'm weak. 591 00:38:19,770 --> 00:38:24,450 But in you, I'm strong and I have offended you more than I've 592 00:38:24,460 --> 00:38:28,980 offended anybody else. You, you against you, you only 593 00:38:28,990 --> 00:38:32,160 have I sinned, David says. That is the difference between 594 00:38:32,170 --> 00:38:34,300 David and Saul. That is why David is going to be 595 00:38:34,310 --> 00:38:37,540 installed as king and Saul is going to be removed. 596 00:38:39,720 --> 00:38:47,590 He failed to acknowledge God is king and so God is gonna reject 597 00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:59,260 him as king over his people. But God's got an answer to it 598 00:38:59,270 --> 00:39:03,220 all, and this is where it all kind of converges. 599 00:39:03,770 --> 00:39:07,330 He's got an answer to his regrets and to our regrets. 600 00:39:10,810 --> 00:39:17,610 Verse 22, that question that Samuel asks, you know, does the 601 00:39:17,620 --> 00:39:21,790 Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in 602 00:39:21,800 --> 00:39:24,680 obeying the Lord? It's almost like if you have to, 603 00:39:24,690 --> 00:39:26,360 you know, to obey is better than sacrifice. 604 00:39:26,370 --> 00:39:29,510 If you gotta choose one of the other obedience or or a kind of 605 00:39:29,520 --> 00:39:31,410 a ritual sacrifice, choose obedience. 606 00:39:32,770 --> 00:39:37,200 But and that's and that's important for us to realize 607 00:39:37,350 --> 00:39:41,380 because we don't always get it right, but God himself has 608 00:39:41,390 --> 00:39:44,980 provided both perfectly. He is completely consistent in 609 00:39:44,990 --> 00:39:49,260 both regards to his to the person of Jesus Christ that He 610 00:39:49,270 --> 00:39:52,660 has. Jesus came in perfect obedience 611 00:39:53,640 --> 00:39:58,550 and offers His life as the perfect sacrifice, all for our 612 00:39:58,560 --> 00:40:01,500 sake. He's holy. 613 00:40:02,620 --> 00:40:08,130 He is holy Last Scripture, Hebrews 10. 614 00:40:09,030 --> 00:40:12,300 It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away 615 00:40:12,310 --> 00:40:13,580 sins. Talking about the ritual 616 00:40:13,590 --> 00:40:16,620 sacrifices, it's impossible. It's an acknowledgment that I 617 00:40:16,630 --> 00:40:19,420 have sinned. But the blood of goats and 618 00:40:19,430 --> 00:40:23,790 animals, they they can never remove sin from us. 619 00:40:24,260 --> 00:40:27,790 It requires a human being to take the place of another human 620 00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:29,940 being for that sin to be forgiven. 621 00:40:30,670 --> 00:40:34,760 Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said sacrifice and 622 00:40:34,770 --> 00:40:39,890 offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me with 623 00:40:39,900 --> 00:40:41,930 burnt offerings and sin offerings. 624 00:40:41,980 --> 00:40:44,870 You were not pleased then I said. 625 00:40:45,340 --> 00:40:49,060 Here I am. It is written about me in the 626 00:40:49,070 --> 00:40:51,920 scroll. I have come to do your will, my 627 00:40:51,930 --> 00:40:56,550 God, and by that will we have been made wholly through the 628 00:40:56,560 --> 00:41:01,440 sacrifice of the Body of Jesus Christ, once for all. 629 00:41:02,250 --> 00:41:06,000 That's what he has done for us. So I ponder that and I think, 630 00:41:06,070 --> 00:41:11,570 OK, God himself is made allowance, provision for me in 631 00:41:11,580 --> 00:41:17,010 my sin, in his perfect holiness, he has stooped down to my level. 632 00:41:17,020 --> 00:41:20,270 He's become a human being. He is lived out a life of 633 00:41:20,280 --> 00:41:22,890 obedience that I have and and faithfulness that I've failed to 634 00:41:22,900 --> 00:41:27,740 do. And he has dealt with everyone 635 00:41:28,600 --> 00:41:32,240 of his own regrets and mine as well. 636 00:41:33,390 --> 00:41:36,300 All of the brokenness in my life and in the world he's looked 637 00:41:36,310 --> 00:41:40,760 after through his death. And I think of Saul, who has 638 00:41:40,770 --> 00:41:43,530 remained on the outside. He's remained isolated. 639 00:41:43,540 --> 00:41:47,480 I mean, the chapter ends and him and Samuel separate. 640 00:41:47,810 --> 00:41:51,120 Samuel was the word like he was. It was through Samuel that the 641 00:41:51,130 --> 00:41:54,770 word of God was given, got his instructions, his comfort, his 642 00:41:54,780 --> 00:41:57,180 encouragement. And now they're separated and 643 00:41:57,190 --> 00:42:00,340 Saul is completely alone, and he does not turn to the Lord. 644 00:42:00,510 --> 00:42:02,340 But we have an opportunity to live differently. 645 00:42:03,080 --> 00:42:09,230 We can turn to Him and fully acknowledge His Holiness and 646 00:42:09,240 --> 00:42:13,810 fully repent of our sinfulness and know that we will be 647 00:42:13,820 --> 00:42:20,140 embraced and loved and forgiven and healed and strengthened to 648 00:42:20,150 --> 00:42:23,300 live this life. Let us be a people that are 649 00:42:23,310 --> 00:42:27,810 clinging to God. Working on that relationship is 650 00:42:27,820 --> 00:42:32,190 our number one priority and living in a way that is going to 651 00:42:32,200 --> 00:42:34,290 magnify his great name in this world. 652 00:42:34,360 --> 00:42:40,030 Let's pray, Lord, because you are awesome. 653 00:42:41,390 --> 00:42:46,680 We are in awe of who you are, who you have revealed yourself 654 00:42:46,690 --> 00:42:49,190 to be in human history and in the pages of Scripture. 655 00:42:51,220 --> 00:42:55,290 Now we humble ourselves before you and ask God that you would 656 00:42:55,300 --> 00:42:59,930 forgive us for our sins, Lord, that you would forgive us for 657 00:43:00,360 --> 00:43:05,650 seeing you as small and others big Lord, for for exalting 658 00:43:05,660 --> 00:43:08,870 ourselves in our own judgment over you. 659 00:43:09,100 --> 00:43:14,710 In fact, judging your judgments, not taking seriously your 660 00:43:14,720 --> 00:43:21,340 commands, but is your people, we confess that's not right. 661 00:43:24,070 --> 00:43:28,670 Lord, would You give us every grace that we would step into a 662 00:43:28,680 --> 00:43:34,050 life of obedience and faithfulness towards You in 663 00:43:34,060 --> 00:43:38,580 these coming days. Use this season of Lent to help 664 00:43:38,590 --> 00:43:42,700 us to see you more clearly and to humble ourselves more fully 665 00:43:42,710 --> 00:43:47,050 before you, that your great name may be revealed through our 666 00:43:47,060 --> 00:43:50,970 lives in this broken world. We pray this in Jesus name, 667 00:43:51,830 --> 00:43:52,340 Amen.