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Hey man So I'm actually starting up a new series here and Basically, I was one to do, you know, like I'm honestly eventually gonna be doing an expository Series going through first Samuel second Samuel first Kings second Kings and all that But the big thing is is that I want to go to the king So this is gonna be a series where I go through each King down the line Okay, so basically we're gonna I'm starting off with King Saul then we go on David Solomon and then we're gonna split obviously because in the kingdom Split and you have Jeroboam and some Nebat and then you have Rehoboam and if anyone's like me That's where it gets fuzzy You know when it comes to the Kings, right? You're just like you're like, yeah, Saul David David Solomon Rehoboam by You know and then you just start logging down you're like who's after that and then you're like, you know Hezekiah is in there somewhere and you know, like Jehoshaphat is in there somewhere, you know Aces in there You know, but where are they at? And and so as we go through this Obviously with Saul and David and Solomon, there's so much material so I'm gonna be really a bridging It's gonna be an abridged version of like all the information that's dealing with them But this I think will be easier because if I were going through first Samuel second Samuel and all that stuff That's a lot before you even get to the other Kings So this way it's like you're boom boom boom going down the line And so what I would do if I were you, you know, just make a list, you know Kings over the whole nation of Israel Saul David Solomon And then you're gonna have this split where you're gonna have Rehoboam, Jeroboam, Abia And then all that down the line. Okay, and what I hope out of this is one You'll remember Like the line of the kings, you know, but two you'll maybe see some things about some of these kings you've never seen before and Just kind of just some different stories. You haven't looked at and all that. So Say what does it matter to know all the lines of kings? Well when you're reading through the minor prophets and it says that he was prophesying during this This king or through this line of kings or whatever. You'll know about where they're at in history, you know as far as Somewhere in the realm of time, you know that Hezekiah, you know is after Solomon at least I think you would know that but what I'm saying is that you can at least kind of narrow it down a little more if you know where these kings are at and who they are and stuff Like that and so I think it'll be a fun You know kind of series just looking at all these different kings and just kind of spending a whole sermon on each one And going through that I haven't decided yet if I'm gonna go through the kings of Israel like the northern kingdom first And then go to Judah. I'll probably do that because the kings of Israel, you know, they get cut off Before Judah does so I'll probably go up to where Israel the northern kingdom is taken out and then I'll kick back and go back to Rehoboam and and And go through the whole line of Judah. I don't want to go back and forth. That'd be too confusing We like alright, we're on Judah now We're on Israel now on Judah on Israel because they overlap and it's it gets too confusing So this way you'll kind of at least Memorize all the kings of Israel and then the northern kingdom of Israel and then you'll memorize all the the kings of Judah down the line and so Anyway, so we're starting off with Saul. So this is really where we first see Israel having a king if you don't count I count Abimelech and judges, okay, but that wasn't you know, God didn't choose him Okay, so that was where he would made himself king. They were like all pastor technically You know Abimelech So I realized that but I didn't want to start with him because it's not really he's not really a legitimate king there He was just you know, people were making trying to make him a king there But if you go back to verse or chapter 8 there we see where the people are asking for a king So the one thing I want you to realize is that God did not want them to have a king Okay, he wanted to be their king and then he set up judges You know as far as physical, you know human government, but God was ultimately the king Okay, you know you want to call it a theocracy whatever you want to call it That's what it was, you know where God was the king and so but what happens here is is they want To trust in a man instead of God to fight their battles That's what it really all comes down to is why they chose to have a king and chapter 8 and verse 4 It says then all the elders of Israel Gather themselves together and came to Samuel unto Rhema and said unto him Behold thou art old and thy sons walk not in thy ways now make us a king to judge us like all the nations But the thing displeased Samuel when they said give us a king to judge us and Samuel prayed unto the Lord and the Lord Said unto Samuel harken unto the voice of the people and all that they say unto thee for they have not rejected thee But they have rejected me that I should not reign over them According to all the works which they have done since that the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even on This day wherewith they have forsaken me and served other gods. So do they also unto thee Now therefore harken unto their voice Howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them and show them the manner of the king that shall Reign over them. So does it look like God is for this or Samuel for this? No one they're not for this so that the children of Israel are rebelling here and he's liking it unto them You know being rebellious since they've been brought out of the land of Egypt serving other gods And so this is not God's plan as far as what he wanted to happen But you know, he fully bases says, you know, let them have it But he's basing you you need to and he says they're not rejecting you They're rejecting me And that's one thing you got to think about too and you know We think about going out soul winning and stuff like that Is that people aren't rejecting you that are rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ because you're bringing the gospel You're bringing the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ. So when they when they hate on you and all that stuff They're really hating on God They're heading hating on the gospel or they're they're rejecting the gospel and so, you know God's reminding Samuel there he's like listen, they're not rejecting you they're rejecting me and So it's something important for Samuel to see because Samuel could be like man I messed up which his sons weren't following him So that's what they said. Anyway, you know that his sons were not following After Samuel steps sounds familiar Eli's sons before that were sons of Belial I'm not saying it doesn't say that Samuel sons were sons of Belial, but that's their excuse That was the excuse of visual saying, you know, you're old and your sons aren't following your ways We need someone we need a king just like all the other nations And going on from that he protests him saying you're gonna have this king and he's gonna take your young men And he's gonna take all your young women. They're gonna be confectionaries IE dessert makers, right? I Mean, that's what I would do. You know if I was king But all I have to say is he protests him and saying listen this is what's gonna happen if you have a king You're not gonna like it. You're not gonna like all this stuff So it's kind of like you hear the the the idea of giving up liberty for security That's what happens here. They're giving up their liberty for security and notice in chapter 8 verse 19 It says nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel and they said nay but we will have a king over us that we also May be like all the nations, isn't that true? They raise all we want to be like everybody else, you know And and that our king may judge us and give go out before us and fight our battles notice That's why they want that king to fight their battles and today That's what you have with government is they want the government to fight all the battles They want the government to take care of everything cradle the grave They want you to take the government to take care of everything. Well by doing that you give up liberty and You know that the old phrase, you know those that that Give up liberty for security they they they'll lose both or lose both and deserve neither as I forget how it says it I don't know if it's Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson, but though, you know if you give up liberty for security You're gonna lose both of them and you deserve neither one of them And that's what you see here and this is the case today You know people are trusting in the government and not in the Lord and that's where Israel's falling here Is their trust they want to trust in a man Instead of in the Lord now in Deuteronomy 17 what's interesting about this is that God had this contingency plan in his law right You know, obviously God didn't want this to be the case and for over 400 years It wasn't meaning that they had judges you have Shamgar You have you know Samson and you have Gideon you have all these that are judges throughout the land to Samuel Eli Samuel, they're all judges And all this time they had judges and God was their king But in Deuteronomy chapter 17, we see this contingency plan because he knew this would happen. You can't blame God for knowing right? God knows the end from the beginning And so he had this plan, but he didn't you know for the Calvinists out there He didn't determine them to do that meaning like he didn't he didn't say you will pick a king He just said I know you're gonna pick a king So when you do this is what you need to do right now in Deuteronomy chapter 17 verse 14 I want you to see that and it's interesting because it's exactly what they say Isn't that funny? You know, we're dealing with You know Jesus being crucified and then those chief priests or the scribes are just like he trusted in God You know, let's see if well, you know deliver him now seeing you know And and it's less exactly what it says in Psalm 22 and they're just like repeating the Word of God notice in Deuteronomy 17 verse 14 it says when they when thou art come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee and Shall possess it and shall dwell therein and shall say I will set a king over me Like as all the nations that are about me, isn't that exactly what they said? We want a king why so that would be like all the other nations It's like have you not read the law all wait, that's probably why They don't even realize they're actually quoting off what God said they would say and Notice it says in verse 15 thou shalt in any wise set him King him King over thee Whom the Lord thy God shall choose so he's basically saying when you get in there You can end up asking for a king and here's the ground rules. So obviously from first team chapter 8 he's saying they rejected me from being king and They're gonna smart for it so to speak right because They're not gonna like the stuff that the Kings gonna have them do they're giving up all their liberty but in verse 15 going on there says one one from among thy brethren shalt thou set King over thee thou mayest not set a stranger of thee Which is not thy brother. So he's basically saying the king must be of you meaning of one of your tribes So that's the ground rule, you know, not a strange not an outsider, right verse 16 but he shall not multiply horses to himself nor cause the people to return to Egypt to the end that he should multiply horses for As much as the Lord hath said unto you he shall henceforth return no more that way So he's basically saying the king cannot go back to Egypt and ask for help and all this other stuff, right? Now this shout thou multiply wives to himself Now Solomon didn't take heed to this which we'll get to but notice says that his heart turned not away Neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold So it's basically saying the king is not to basically increase horses silver and gold and wives and what does that mean? Basically, he's not to be this fat hog That's just sucking up all the resources from The people right? He's supposed to just be a ruler and in a position of authority to execute judgment Okay, but not this fat hog. That's just basically taking in everything and and being this You know like what the typical nations would be when it comes to that They just basically take in everything and they're the richest people out there Notice in verse 18 it says and it shall be when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom That he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites So he's saying you need to write you need to write a copy of this. So the first five books You need to write it out And have a copy so write your own copy and then have it and read it because then it says And it shall be with him and he shall read therein all the days of his life that he may learn to fear the Lord His God to keep all the words of his law and these statutes to do them that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren and that he turned not aside from the commandment to the right hand or To the left to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom He and his children in the midst of Israel So he's given a warning here basically to that You know what that means that if he doesn't keep that his days aren't going to be prolonged And that's what you see throughout the Kings is basically you have the king that did it right inside of the Lord and then you have the king that did evil on the Side of the Lord and then it's mainly those that do evil on the side of the Lord Right, and the kings of Israel. It's like all of them, you know of the upper the Northern Kingdom It's like they all did evil on the side of the Lord and then Judah. It's like hit or miss Yeah, so but do you see that contingency that he put in there basically saying, you know When you go in there, you're gonna ask for you're gonna ask for this You ask for a king and when you do this is how this is the rules, okay But that's where people could look at, you know, like in Exodus and it has like a law dealing with You know home-born slaves or different things like you're like not a home-born slave It does say home-born slave in the Bible, but it will talk about like a bond servants and stuff like that You realize he's not saying like it you should have that he's just basically saying if you have that This is how you deal with it, right and just as much here when he's they're asking for a king He didn't want him to have a king. He said if you're gonna have a king. This is how you need to deal with it Right now and going back to 1st Samuel chapter 9 What we're gonna see is that God chooses same or I'm sorry chooses Saul to be king of Israel and What we see with Saul, Saul is an interesting character because Saul starts off as a very humble guy a really good guy and this really shows you that you know power can corrupt people and Really destroy people so the the old phrase power corrupts and absolute power Corrupts absolutely or something like that So basically, you know being put into a powerful position can mess you up it can it can take you from being a good person a good humble person and to being power hungry and not wanting to let it go and Saul starts off as just this really good guy that seems like a great choice for that position But then there's a downfall so But in first Samuel chapter 9 and verse 1 it says now therefore I'm sorry, and now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abil the son the son of Zerur, Zerur, Zorro Zerur the son of Bekharat the son of Ephiah a Benjamite a mighty man of power so saying that Kish is a mighty man of power Okay, so he's obviously a valiant man but then it says in verse 2 and he had a son whose name was Saul a choice young man in goodly and There was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he so he's a very righteous man That's a bold statement. This is a narrator saying this There is not There was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he so not even just in Benjamin just in Israel And so God is obviously picking a really good person here You know, he's the goodliest person. I believe he's saved, you know I mean obviously if he's the goodliest person in all of Israel I think that it's gonna be a saved guy, you know out of that, but it says This is the interesting thing about Saul says from his shoulders and upward. He was higher than any of the people That's just an interesting attribute you ever hear like head and shoulders above everybody. Where do you think that came from? right here So he's you know shoulders, you know head and shoulders above everybody. So he's like the tallest man in all of Israel And he's a young man at this point. So he's you know, and what we see in this story is He's going after his father's asses that were Lost and and so he's you know, he's he's obeying his father and his father cares for him, you know You think that father-son relationship and I'm not this isn't really in my notes But he says, you know, we need to get back because my father's gonna stop caring for the asses and start caring for us so you can see that like his father wasn't just this tyrant that just didn't care about his son and Just cared all about his property. And so, you know, these are good guys here You think of Kish who's a man of power you think of Saul who's a goodly goodly young man And the best, you know kind of the goodliest person among all of Israel and then but we see that go to Acts chapter 13 Acts chapter 13 it mentions Saul in this and We see how long he reigns actually we don't see how long he reigns as a king in 1st Samuel or in the Old Testament here doesn't tell us like the length of his reign, but it doesn't in Acts chapter 13 Acts chapter 13 in verse 20 It says and after that he gave unto them judges about the space of 450 years until Samuel the prophet and afterward they desired a king and God gave unto them Saul the son of kiss a man of the tribe of Benjamin by the space of 40 years So this is actually very easy the three there's only three kings That reigned over all of Israel meaning all 12 tribes. That's Saul David and Solomon and they all reign for 40 years It's actually pretty easy to remember that right? So Saul reigns for 40 years David's gonna reign for 40 years and then Solomon's gonna reign for 40 years okay, and those are your three kings that are gonna reign over all of Israel and that's After that, it's all split Okay We had the northern kingdom southern kingdom and then you have those reigns of those that split kingdoms from the rest until they're taken out and all that stuff so But I just want you to see that so when you when you make this listen you write these down You know put Saul reigns for 40 years David reigns for 40 years and You kind of make this little chart if you will to kind of help you remember however However, it will help you remember this because you know when it comes to knowing the Bible What's gonna help you in your Bible reading is just knowing the chronological order of things Knowing that Noah comes before Abraham. I know that's silly. Okay But let's just be honest when you're reading through the Bible some of those sometimes you'll be like wait a minute There's no one before or after Abraham and you just have to think about it for a second, right and you know So but how much more with the Kings when you're looking at the Kings and you're like where's Asa? Is he after you know, Jehoshaphat or before you know And you kind of wonder like where he's at in that line And so it's always good to have a little chart maybe even in your Bible just to have there and you know when you're reading Your Bible would just look at all areas, you know, and you kind of just get a reference It always helps when you have a reference geod Dealing with geography and you have a reference dealing with timelines as far as where you're at in history when you're looking at that Okay now going on there in first scene with chapter 9 We see that he's actually a very humble Humble young man Notice how he reacts to Samuel saying hey, you know, you're sought out Like he's basically saying, you know It's not all Israel looking upon you and he's probably what he's obviously what are you talking about? but but notice his reaction to this meaning that He doesn't react to this react. Of course. I should be King, you know That isn't for a first name of chapter 9 in verse 21 It says and Saul answered and said am not I a Benjamin Benjamin of the smallest of the tribes of Israel and my family The least of all families of the tribe of Benjamin wherefore then speakest thou so to me So notice how he's saying, you know, I'm not only are we the smallest tribe, but we're the smallest family among that tribe and so but remember those that are humble God will exalt and He loves using those small Numbers you think of Gideon in this 300 because he gets the glory for that and also those are the best people to lead Those that don't want to lead Those that would rather not leave right? They don't want the power So you don't want someone that wants power to be in position of power you want someone that doesn't really want the power But knows they need to do it. Anyway, right someone is just like I'll do it because you want me to or because you need me But I don't want to do it. You know, I don't desire it. Okay now going a good first name of chapter 10 First name of chapter 10 is where he's actually anointed King. So first name of chapter 10 in verse 1 It says then Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it upon his head and kissed him and said is it Not because the Lord has anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance So, you know, he's anointing him oil and it's basically just this very like I'm sure Saul's like what in the world You know, I was just gonna kind of find my my father's asses, you know, you know I was just trying to find my way home and you have Samuel saying hey, listen, you're gonna be king and Go to the first name chapter 15 because this statement that's made here the same you'll says to him Really shows you where he's at at this very beginning. Okay, and first name of chapter 15 And again, I'm giving you their bridge version there's a lot of stories that go along with this but I'm kind of first want to show you who he was at the Beginning and then kind of his his glory portion of reigning and then his downfall, okay, so In first Samuel chapter 15 verse 17, it says and Samuel said when thou was little in thine own sight Was thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel? So when he anointed him noticed that it says that he was little in his own sight So he's a humble man. He's a humble young man He was little in his own and he said, you know I'm the least are my family's the least in the tribe of Benjamin Benjamin's the smallest tribe in all of Israel you know, why why are you speaking to me about this and He's humble. Although he's like the tallest guy in there, right? So he he you know, he's just a very humble guy and Then we'll see, you know that When he's anointed, he's actually the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him quite a lot Actually, there's two people in the Bible the Spirit of the Lord comes on most and that's Saul and Samson That's very interesting because Saul's not like your typical like good Bible character, right? You don't look at Saul and just be like man. I want to be like Saul But if you if you if you if you look at Saul up to like chapter 12 You're good. Meaning that he's a good Bible character He's you know a good leader Someone that you should look to as far as I want to be like that guy and then he has his downfall and I Just it's just a spiral down Okay, and so in first Samuel chapter 10, we see that That Samuel is basically anointing with oil, but that's also synonymous with being filled with the Spirit Okay, I know I preached on that before dealing with the oil representing the Spirit, but it truly is the case You know when he's anointed to be king the Spirit of God starts coming upon him. He starts prophesying And doing all that now and in chapter 10 verse 5 it says after that thou shalt come to the hill of God Whereas the garrison of the Philistines and it shall come to pass when thou art come thither to the city that thou shalt meet Accompany of prophets coming down from the high place with a sultry and a tabaret And a pipe and a harp before them and they shall prophesy and the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee and thou shalt prophesy with them and and shalt be turned into another man and it and let it be When these things are cometh unto thee that thou do as occasion serve thee For God is with thee That's very interesting and actually this is a very interesting passage in general dealing with the old man new man Dealing with beings filled with the Spirit As far as how that happened in the Old Testament Now the the indwelling of the Holy Ghost didn't happen until Jesus, right? That is different the indwelling and I preached a whole sermon on that as far as the comforter but the Spirit of God coming upon people happened in the Old Testament and it happened here with with Saul and notice what's associated with that God's with you and You're prophesying So you can see all that stuff. That's associated with he was turned into another man My new man, you know In his spirit and whose spirit is no guile. He's in the spirit and so And then it goes on in verse 10 there says and when they and this is where it actually happens It says and when they came further to the hill behold a company of prophets met him and the Spirit of God came upon Him and he prophesied among them and it came to pass When at when all that knew him before time saw that behold he prophesied among the prophets Then the people said one to another what is this that is come unto the son of Kish is Saul also among the prophets? So basically all those people that knew him beforehand. They're like what in the world, you know He's over there prophesying with the prophets like what's going on? You know, we know him and so but It's definitely very interesting on how like spiritual Saul is right here he's prophesying with the prophets the Spirit of God's coming upon him and you know when they later on this chapter here When he tells the people that he's to be king because remember in chapter 8 It says okay, you know, we want a king and he says go to your homes, you know, basically go home. You're drunk Yeah, I don't say that but it basically says go go back to your homes, right and Then he doesn't say who the Kings gonna be yet So in chapter 10 is where he's gonna bring Saul up to them and say hey, here's your King we've been or you know, the Lord has chosen him and Saul hides himself So he hides himself and so you can see that being little in his own sight. He didn't want to be king He didn't want all that fame and that glory and that power. So in chapter 10 verse 21, it says When he caught when he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families The family of matri was taken and Saul the son of Kish was taken and when they sought him He could not be found therefore They inquired of the Lord further if the man should yet come thither and the Lord answered behold He hath hid himself among the stuff So, you know, they're basically saying, you know You know, is that he's gonna be out of Benjamin and it's just salt, you know They picked it and so and when they tried to find him He hid himself mind you he's the tallest guy in Israel, okay, so imagine him trying to hide from everybody He's that you're not just gonna be lost in the crowd. Okay, so obviously he found something to hide Behind or whatever. Okay, so just knowing the heart of Saul here it just helps you understand what kind of man he was before he got into power and Down in verse 26 It says and Saul also went home to Gibeah and there went with him a band of men whose hearts God had touched and so he had This group of men that followed him and what you what you see is actually they declare him king But then he just goes home There's no like palace made for him and you know, they see people bowing down to him and saying God's you know, like it's just Basically, you know, they're saying he's gonna be your king go home until we need you And really that's the way the government should work Right go home government till we need you So we have an invasion or something like that Then we need to get in a standing army over here and you know, because he actually you know at the very beginning They it's in our Constitution that we're not supposed to have a standing army Now we're all supposed to get forces together that's why it's so important that we all are armed and You know that that the the right of the people to bear arms shall not be infringed because basically if a war were to You know people are trying to made us we all you know gather together We get into the army and we're not supposed to have this standing army, but basically it's you know go home until we need you and Go to chapter 11. This is what I'll call like Saul in action or it's all kind of in his glory days This is where King Saul is like the king you want him to be Okay, and he's gonna do what they wanted them to do, which is the fight their battles. Okay So in first Samuel chapter 11 and verse 1 We see this this story of Nahash the Ammonite and and Saul and how he ends up taking care of this situation so In verse 1 there says then Nahash the Ammonite came up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash Make a covenant with us and we will serve thee and Nahash the Ammonite answered them On this condition will I make a covenant with you that I may thrust out all your right eyes and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel and the elders of Jabesh said unto him give us seven days respite that we may send messengers unto all the coasts of Israel and then if there be no man to save us we will come out to thee So notice what's happening here. You know, this Nahash the Ammonite is coming up against Jabesh Gilead and Basically, they're coming out. They're like, you know, we want peace, you know We want to make a covenant with you And he said the only way this is gonna work is if I can basically put out all your right eyes Basically take out all your right eyes And they're like give us seven days if we don't find anybody to save us, you know So imagine this you know that That's your condition is that you get a basically put out like all the right eyes of all the men of that area right and so Notice that when so knows what happens when Saul hears this Okay, and this should have been their reaction and be like, you know, what is war they shouldn't be like let us think about this You know, maybe we'll do this In verse 4 there it says then came the messengers of Gibeah of Saul and Told the tidings in the ears of the people and all the people lifted up their voices and wept and behold Saul came after The herd out of the field. So notice how Saul was just in he's just a herd man there He's not like sitting on a throne and just eating grapes off his chest, you know Getting fanned by beautiful women and all this stuff. You know what I mean? Like he's just working his job and he's the king but basically, you know, that's he's doing his job and you know if they need him call upon him, right and Going on here. It says I lost my place there Yeah, behold Saul came after the herd of out of the field and Saul said what aleth the people that they weep and they Told him the tidings of the men of Jabez So now he hears the story notice what it says in verse 6 and the Spirit of God Came upon Saul when he heard these tidings and his angered was kindled greatly. So tell me again that we should never be angry This is a side note, but he's filled with the Spirit of God and he's angry So that'll preach right there verse 7 it says and he took a yoke of oxen and hewed them in pieces and Sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers saying whosoever cometh not forth After Saul and after Samuel so shall it be done unto his oxen and the fear of the Lord fell on the people and they Came out with one consent. So notice what he does here He takes a yoke of oxen So he takes these two oxen and just chews them in pieces and sends them throughout the land It says basically if you don't come out and join me in battle. This is gonna happen to you So it's not exactly the I'm gonna win you by love Theory Platform that he's going on here. He's basically saying you better come out here and fight or you're gonna It's not gonna be good, right? And so He was the fear of God in the people of the land and listen, they need it They need the fear of God and they needed a strong leader and they got it Saul is a strong leader here. He's filled with the Spirit of God and he's ready to fight in Verse 8 there says and when when he numbered them in Bezak the children of Israel were three hundred thousand and the men of Judah 30,000 and they said unto the messengers that came thus shall you say unto the men of Jabesh Gilead tomorrow? By that time the Sun had be hot You shall have help and the messengers came and showed it to the men of Jabesh and they were glad Therefore the men of Jabesh said tomorrow will we will come out unto you and you shall do with us All that seemeth good unto you and it was so on the morrow that Saul put the people in three companies and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch and Slew the Amorites until the heat of the day and it came to pass that they which remained were scattered So that two of them were not left together So obviously there's a whole story there and how you know basically saying, you know Come out here and do what you want to us And then there's three companies of Saul that come on them and you know, take them out But this is kind of the glory days, right? This is where Saul is victorious He's a strong leader put the fear of God in the children of Israel and saying listen You need to come out and fight stop being weak pretty much, you know Stop being we come out here and fight and if you don't this is your ultimatum and go to chapter 14 Now we're gonna go back to so chapter 13 We see where it kind of seems to start a downfall But chapter 14 is kind of the recap of Saul and his battles and everything So I just want you to see that, you know, it's all did some good things It's all did fight some battles. And so Saul gets a bad rap rightfully, so But know this that it wasn't all bad. It's not like he just started off bad and You know, basically he was just a bad king from the very beginning never did anything good No, he did some good and he fought some battles and he was a king of it She could see why David loved Saul You know because David did not want Saul to he want he didn't want Saul to be his enemy He didn't want to kill Saul, you know, he loved Saul and you can see why because If you don't have that background of him fighting for Israel and being your king and fighting those battles because at this point David's a child When this stuff's going I have to thought it may not even been born yet when it started But you know David's just a young man at least when this stuff is going on or you know A child and so you can imagine he's looking up to the king like, you know, King Saul is a great man He's he's head and shoulders above everybody. He's fighting these battles, you know and all this stuff And then when when all this stuff goes down with David and him you can see why he's not just like, you know Saul's wicked Saul was the spirit of the Lord King upon Saul He prophesied with the prophets and so you can imagine that why David has that love for Saul And so in first Samuel chapter 14 in verse 47 it says so Saul Took the kingdom over Israel and fought against all his enemies on every side against Moab against the children of Ammon against Edom against the kings of Zobah against the Philistines and Whethersoever he turned himself He vexed them and he gathered in hosts and smote the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of them that spoiled them So do you see there's a lot of good there there's a lot, you know and listen There's a lot of bad that we're gonna get into here But there's a lot of good to see about Saul and just how he was a good king in some aspects Until he started this downfall go back to chapter 13. And what we'll see is this downfall of Saul where He was trying to bait. He basically was keeping keeping the commandment but only partially And that's that's you know the downfall is that you need to keep the commandment as a whole and not just be like well, I'm kind of keeping it and What we see first there's two things that really you know That that's the big downfall of Saul one is he does a burnt sacrifice himself When he's not supposed to be the one to do it Samuel was supposed to be the one that did it, you know The Levites are supposed to be the priests that are doing the sacrifices You can bring a sacrifice but to actually perform the sacrifice you needed to be a priest right and Then the next thing he does is he disobeys and the fact that he doesn't utterly destroy all the Amalekites Now he destroys pretty much all of them, but he left some alive and he left the king alive and all this stuff. So Those are the two big things that were the downfall. So in chapter 13, we'll see the first one there So in first Samuel chapter 13 verse 18, so, you know until you get to this point in chapter 13 Pretty much, you know, Saul's a good king I mean, obviously everybody makes mistakes and stuff like that. But until this point it's pretty much just you know, kind of seen King Saul at work, you know and verse Verse 8 there says and he tarried seven days According to the set time Samuel had appointed but Samuel came not to Gilgal and the people were scattered from him So get the story, you know They're waiting for Samuel to do the sacrifice of getting ready to go to battle And so they're wanting to get a hold of God but Samuel hadn't come yet. So basically Samuel was running late or something and Notice what it says in verse 9 and Saul said bring hither a burnt offering to me and and peace offerings And he offered to burn offering that's The problem, okay So instead of being patient waiting for Samuel and you know, just waiting for it to be done the right way He forces himself as he says later on and verse 10 It says and it came to pass that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering behold Samuel came and Saul went out to meet him and he that he might salute him. So notice how He just would have waited just a little longer Samuel would have been so he wasn't really late. He just didn't come in the time that he was looking for, right? It's like more he wanted to do in the morning and he didn't come into the afternoon or something like that, right? so basically he just got done with the sacrifice and there's Samuel ready to go and Notice it goes on here in verse 11 It says Samuel said what hast thou done? and Saul said because I saw that the people were scattered from me and that thou camest not within the days appointed and That the Philistines gathered themselves together at Micmash therefore said I the Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal And I have not made supplications of the Lord I forced myself therefore an offer to burn offerings and I was like I forced myself to do this Okay, notice as it goes on here it says and Samuel said to Saul thou hast done foolishly thou has not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God which he commanded thee for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever But now thy kingdom shall not continue The Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart and the Lord hath Commanded him to be captained over his people because thou has not kept that which the Lord commanded thee So in this aspect, you know with this first thing that happens here notice how he's saying, you know any It comes out of this that if Samuel would have dropped the ball. Do you think that God would have taken that out on Saul? You know all when it comes out of this whatever your position of authority and what you're supposed to be doing just do What you need to do and worry don't worry about what other someone else is supposed to be doing Well, they're not doing I need to force myself and do that. It's like it's not your authority to do that so don't worry about that and God's gonna bless you for obeying him and Not disobeying his commandment. So don't follow this mistake that you know, even though listen burn offerings are great But obedience is better than sacrifice And that's what you get into and that's what keeps coming up here. Is that Obedience is better than sacrifice and people are just like, oh I gave all this and all this but are you obeying God? Are you actually obeying the commandment? Well, I gave all my money to you know These missionaries that are built building houses out in Haiti or something like that Is that what God asked to do though? That's sacrifice, right? To give a bunch of money to something but is that gonna help anybody's salvation? Is that gonna really help anything in the long run? I'm not saying it isn't semi helpful right that someone has a house I guess but but all I have to say is that You know obedience is better than sacrifice now in chapter 15. We see We see the other than the next time so there is a little bit of a difference in what's said here because It says that his kingdom shall not continue The way I look at this is more so like his sons aren't gonna take it over after that Like he's gonna rain and then it's gonna be done after his reign and someone else is gonna take over What happens after this I believe is where he's being rejected it right now as being king So there's a little bit of a difference That's the way I look at it as far as that goes that you know Because why else would he even bring it up like You know in the next time that he messes up that he's being rejected if there's not something a little different than what was said before So yeah, the first time it's kind of like well your kingdom would have continued forever It would have been you know going on with your sons and all that stuff But since this happened it's gonna end with you that's the way I look at it and Then in this next time it's a little more extreme on what's gonna happen here So in chapter 15, it says in verse 1 Samuel also Said unto Saul the Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people over Israel now Therefore harken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord thus saith the Lord of hosts I remember that which Amalek did To Israel how he lay laid weight for him in the way when he came up from Egypt now Go and smite Amalek and utterly destroy all that they have and spare them not but slay both man and woman Infant and suckling ox and sheep camel and ass So it's obvious what the commandment is is to kill everybody kill everything wipe it out This goes all the way back to Exodus You remember where the Amalekites take out the faints when they're in the wilderness and they take out like kind of the faint people in the back of the you know, the caravan if you want to call it that or whatever and He basically promises back then. Hey, you're gonna you're gonna get it in the end Fast forward 400 years, you know, we're getting into where it actually happens where I supposed to happen with Saul Okay in verse 9 there says but Saul and the people spared a gag in The best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fatlings and of the lambs and all that was good It would not utterly destroy them So did he obey no, but everything that was vile and refuse that they destroyed utterly They basically just kept all the good stuff right and they kept a gag the king alive verse 10 it says then came the word of Lord on Samuel saying it repented me that I have set Saul set up Saul to be king for he is turned back from following me and hath not performed my commandments and it grieved Samuel and he cried unto the Lord all night And Yeah, and so obviously God God is saying, you know Basically rejecting him as being king here after this in verse 22. It says in Samuel said Hath the Lord has great delight and burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord Behold to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than that Than the fad of Rams for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord. I he hath also rejected thee from being King now every word is Is Important here. He didn't say that he rejected Saul. He's not a reprobate. Okay, he rejected him from being King Okay So, you know you got to look at it. So I don't believe Saul was a reprobate or anything like that I just believe that you know, he disobeyed and in both these cases It's all about him wanting to do sacrifices right because that's what he says, you know, and that's where He said, you know, I have utterly destroyed This is where he's like saying I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have utterly destroyed And he says what is the sound of the bleeding of these sheep? You know and he's pointing out, you know, why are all these sheep that are like bad You know in the background that are that he's listening to and and then he says well You know, I wanted to give a sacrifice into the Lord, you know, and that's what he's saying You know, it doesn't matter the sacrifice You know how much better is it for you just to obey the voice of the Lord if he wanted you to do that he would have told you to do that and So he's trying to make excuses and that's the difference between Saul and David when Saul is Confronted with his sin here. He makes excuses and try to say why I actually did obey it, you know partially Whereas Davis says I've sinned And just owns up to it. There's the difference between the two kings there and verse 28 It says and Samuel said unto him The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from me this day and hath given it to a neighbor of thine that is better than thou So notice that it's rent this day That's the difference. I believe between what he did the first time with How he did he forced himself and gave the sacrifice where he's saying, you know Your kingdom would have lasted forever meaning that it would have been to your son and his son and his son and his son And now it's not going to continue meaning that it's gonna end And that could have been maybe maybe not even after him but maybe the next son, right You know, sometimes it'll give you a couple generations or something like that, right or four generations and so that's what I believe the first thing was basically saying is that it's not going to continue meaning that it's gonna You know, but I think it would probably just ended at Saul because he clearly says I've sought a man after my own heart So that would be David. So I believe David basically what would happen is once Saul died David would take over and not his sons Okay Whereas here he's basically saying today it's rent from you I'm rejecting you from being king and what happens in the next chapter They anoint David to be king, you know Samuel goes and anoint David to be king and obviously Saul rejects that and tries to fight against David There's that whole battle and that's the whole rest of 1st Samuel is dealing with Well after David kills the Goliath you have that little space where David is on You know and Saul are happy together and all that stuff But then it's just a fight between Saul and David through the rest of that book until Saul dies So we see the downfall After this is just all downhill Because then you have David and Goliath, right? You have the story of Goliath and then you know They're all afraid to go after a Goliath Who do you think should have been the number one person to go after Goliath probably the tallest guy in Israel, right? The one that's head and shoulders above everybody Right, but no he doesn't go out there and David's the one that has to step up there's also just a lot of allegories here with this with Saul and David dealing with the Old Testament the New Testament and how the Old Testament's rejected and you know Because they've broken my covenant and all this stuff and there's so much allegorical material there dealing with Saul representing the Old Testament and David representing New Testament because David is the neighbor that is better than thine than thou, right? What is the New Testament called the better testament the better covenant? So you can see that allegorical, you know picture and also with Solomon you'll see that too where? Jesus is the son of David and how Solomon pictures David our pictures Jesus in that and so all those different things So I'm gonna try to tie that in a little bit But honestly with all this material it's hard to really get into all those pictures and allegorical You know pictures of things that are going on there, but going to first Samuel chapter 18 We see after this that that Saul tries to kill David a couple times with a javelin Now obviously he's trying to kill him throughout the whole book there But he literally in the presence of David he tries to throw a javelin at him to kill him But he also does that to his own son So notice in first Samuel chapter 18 in verse 10 It says and it came to pass on the morrow that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul and he prophesied in the midst Of the house and David played with his hand as at other times and there was a javelin in Saul and Saul's hand and Saul Cast the javelin for he said I will smite David even to the wall with it and David avoided out of his presence twice And Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him and was the part from Saul and it actually says another time In another later chapter where he avoids out of his presence So, I don't know if this is twice talking about that event too or if this is twice right here And then another time later on either way he tried to kill David with a javelin, right and he was afraid of David That's why Because David had the spirit of God upon him and the spirit of Lord had departed from Saul not because he's unsaved But he just wasn't filled with the spirit and the spirit of Lord wasn't coming upon him anymore Because he's living a wicked life and you know rejecting the word of the Lord and all that stuff that's going on Go to chapter 20 first Samuel chapter 20 in verse 32. We'll see where he does that with Jonathan So if you remember the story This is where David flees from from Saul and Jonathan goes back to see if if if David can come back, right? He's kind of testing the waters seeing if David can come back and that's the whole story with the archer and you know all that on Letting David know whether it's safe to come back or not in verse 32 It says and Jonathan answered Saul his father and said unto him wherefore shall he be slain? What hath he done and Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined Of his father to slay David. Why do you think? That's obvious there's this big you know battle royale between father and son there with Saul and Jonathan and He tries to throw javelin at at his own son And so obviously at that point he knew that it was not safe for David to come back and he goes and tells David so but one of the biggest things that I see with the bad things that Saul did go to First Samuel chapter 22 is where he has 85 priests killed and Not only that but he destroys their whole city with their women and children and everything So Saul Definitely committed a sin unto death. Okay well, obviously we'll see that his what happens to Saul is that he actually does end up dying and You know and it's not I listen they all die everybody dies But what he's ended up killing himself because he was wounded in battle So Saul ends up committing suicide That's not the end. I want you know, that's not the way I want to go out With the Lord against me and committing suicide so in First Samuel chapter 22 it says in verse 18 It says and the king said to doeg turn thou and fall upon the priests and doeg the Edomite Turn and he fell upon the priests and slew on that day four score and five persons that did wear a linen ephod And Knob the city of the priests smote he with the edge of the sword both men and women Children and sucklings and oxen and asses and sheep with the edge of the sword. That's interesting You couldn't do that with the Amalekites, but you can do that with your own nation and with people that were innocent so Anyway, that's just a side note when it comes to that, but that's very wicked when I read that story. I'm like wow That's very wicked. Obviously. He didn't do it himself. He sent out a son of Belial doeg you know this this, you know wicked person and And he commits this act and so but also Saul You know Gets into witchcraft, you know, he the old witch at Endor the woman with a familiar spirit at Endor good a chapter 28 This is where he conjures up Samuel from the grave Really I don't think that the woman did this I think God just allowed this to happen, you know I don't think the woman act I think the woman probably is more so dealing with Devils most of the time, right? Because I don't believe that a necromantial can actually bring a saint up from the grave. Okay, I believe that that's why she was surprised She's just like what in the world am I seeing? She was there was something obviously that she's not used to and so But in first same as chapter 28 in verse 7 it says in verse 7 But in first same as chapter 28 in verse 7 says then said Saul unto a servant seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit that I May go to her and inquire of her and a servant said to him behold there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor and You know this he had outlawed this because when he goes to this woman, she's like, you know that Basically, I'm gonna die, you know, it's it's a law Why because the law the Lord says suffer not a witch to live and those that are wizards and have familiar spirits So obviously she would be afraid and shoot. That's why she was really afraid when she found out was King Saul She didn't know it was King Saul until later on until Samuel came up and you know was talking to her he's like, oh you're King Saul and So notice just all the downfall. He's trying to kill baby. He's trying he tried to smite his own son Why because David's righteous? and Then then he has doe egg kill 85 priests. Why because they gave him some bread They gave David bread and they had no idea that there was this whole few between them Right. David didn't tell him. Hey, I'm fleeing from Saul. He basically says I'm on the king's matter So David David, you know didn't tell him what was going on So they were ignorant of that and then they all died except for one of the priests. Um, Uh, I think it was a biathar. I can't remember off the top of my head. I don't have the story in front of me Um escape to tell the story, you know and uh But let's go to chapter 31. This is where we see the end of Saul So again, you know with this i'm just going to basically be showing you some stories about who these kings are when we get into Uh, you know when the kingdom splits There's not gonna be that much on these kings so I can get into more of a detail of like all the different things They did whereas this I could spend whole sermons on each one of these stories Um, so i'm just kind of giving you a bridged version of what's going on here There's there's a lot more that i'm not covering but Here we see that what happens because when he uh consults that Woman with a familiar spirit that's where samuel tells him. Hey Tomorrow you're gonna die You know tomorrow you and your sons are gonna be with me and That's where uh, you know, it's gonna come true. So basically you have chapter 28 This is the day before he dies because he's gonna die in battle And that's what david keeps saying because remember david had opportunities to kill saul and basically He's saying either the lord's gonna take him out or he's gonna die in battle So that's how it's gonna happen. So Uh, but in first st Chapter 31 verse 3 it says and the battle went sore against saul and the archers hit him And he was sore wounded of the archers then said saul unto his armor bearer draw thy sword and thrust me through therewith Bless these uncircumcised come and thrust me through and abuse me But his armor bearer would not for he was sore afraid therefore saul took a sword and fell upon it And when his armor bearer saw that saul was dead He fell likewise upon his sword and and died with him So saul died and his three sons and his armor bearer and all his men that same day together That's the end of saul that's the end of king saul so he didn't end well He had a good beginning though But that really just shows you how power can corrupt a good person And you know just not just not meant to have that kind of power You know, that's why god's perfect government was not to have a king And just to have judges god would be the king And you know, that's the way it should have worked because you wouldn't have that power struggle struggle because Men just can't even the best of men. He was the goodliest person in all of israel at that time And he couldn't handle it And You know, obviously we're going to get into david after this, you know a man after god's own heart and david, you know Why did why did david succeed in saul didn't probably because david was in the word of god night and day Read psalm 119 and you'll know that to be true and that what was the one of the requirements? For someone that's going to be a king they're to write down the law Write down, you know the book of the law for themselves and read it all the days of their life And I I I almost guarantee that's what saul didn't do So you want to know the difference between saul and david that's probably it, you know, he's the sweet psalmist of israel He's a man after god's own heart. Why was he a man's after god's own heart? Right because he loved god's word You know and he was abiding by god's word where whereas saul was saying, you know, I I did I did keep it Well, then you don't know the law then And so he he faltered in that aspect so that's saul he reigned for 40 years We'll get to david where he reigns for 40 years We'll get in a little more detail on that And then saulman's gonna rain for 40 years And then that's where we really get into the weeds as far as where a lot of people fall off Right, most people could tell you saul david solomon But once you get past that That's where everybody's kind of like, ah, you know, it gets a little foggy And you know what that it does for me And i've read through, you know first and second kings many times And so if it's foggy for me, then I just assume it's foggy for a lot of people so I hope that this series kind of helps you just nail this down and to where you had whole sermons about him and and why I want to do it this way instead of just going expository through these books because You're you're gonna end up forgetting because again it takes so long to get to the rest Right and it takes because it takes like 11 chapters on solomon himself, you know when you're in those books So you just spend so much time. You forgot about saul you forgot about david, you know And you just kind of forget about that. But each week we're going to be hitting a new king and so I hope this helps I think it'll be fun to kind of see these different stories and You know, maybe some things that you maybe didn't notice in these stories with these kings and so Uh, but let's end with the word paradigm father. We thank you for today and thank you for your word And thank you for the story with saul and just things that we can learn Whether in the the good parts where where saul was little in his own sight Or just the downfall of saul and just how we need to just learn from his bad example and lord just pray that you to help us to to be The the men of god and the women of god that you'd want us to be And lord to always be in your word to find out what?