Standing Tall & Falling Hard: Part 2

Posted On May 8, 2023

“Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people.
Do everything as I say, and all will be well!”

Jeremiah 7:23 NLT

“When Saul stood among the people, he was a head taller than anyone else. Then Samuel said to the people, ‘See the man the Lord has chosen. There is no one like him among all the people.’ Then the people shouted, ‘Long live the king!'”

1 Samuel 10:23-24 ICB

Israel wanted a king. All the nations around them had kings. They wanted to be like everyone else. This was not what God desired for them, but He gave them what they wanted.

Be careful what you wish for . . .

Our plan for 2023 is to journey through The NeverEnding Story of the Bible and discover how we fit into it along the way. Our plan for this year is loosely based on The Story, an abridged chronological version of the Bible, and the accompanying study guide The Heart of the Story by Randy Frazee.

Here is where we are in The Story:

MOVEMENT TWO: The Story of Israel (Genesis 12-Malachi)

Chapter 10 – Standing Tall, Falling Hard

This chapter in The Story includes 1 Samuel 1-4, 8-13, 15. These verses introduce us to the prophet Samuel and tell the story of Saul, the first king of Israel. As a young boy, Samuel was entrusted to the care of Eli, the high priest. Last week, we saw that Samuel’s first prophecy from God was one of judgment upon Eli and his wicked sons. And, sure enough, pride and Eli’s lack of discipline led to their destruction.

This week, we begin with chapter 8, where we find the prophet Samuel, now an old man, upset about Israel’s demand for a king. Samuel takes his concerns to God, and God confirms that this is not what He desires for His chosen people. As a nation set apart, Israel’s one and only King is supposed to be God, but they have rejected Him as their leader and demand to have a human king to lead them. God tells Samuel to give them what they want — He also instructs Samuel to give them a solemn warning that it will not go well for them.

“But the people refused to listen to Samuel. ‘No!’ they said. ‘We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.'”

1 Samuel 8:19-20

“In the Upper Story, God wanted to be Israel’s only king. . . . In the Lower Story Israel wanted a human king so they could be like the surrounding nations. Our sovereign God finds a way to honor the free will of Israel’s request for a king without altering the trajectory of his ultimate objective. . . . Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin, is selected as first king of Israel.”

Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story

Israel wanted to be just like all the nations around them. They wanted a king to lead them and to fight for them. They wanted someone to give them their identity as a nation. They wanted someone who would unite them and care for them. They failed to see that they already had such a King. God is far superior to any human king, but they disregarded Him in favor of what everyone else had.

So, God gave them what they asked for, and anointed Saul as the first king of Israel. Tall and handsome, Saul looked like a king. And he soon proved himself to be a strong leader in battle. Things seemed to be going well. But it wasn’t long before Saul’s shortcomings began to show.

Facing a battle with the Philistines, Saul had been instructed to wait seven days for Samuel to arrive to offer a sacrifice to God. But Samuel didn’t arrive on time, and Saul got nervous. So, he took matters into his own hands and offered the sacrifice himself, contrary to God’s law that only Levites were allowed to do this. Just then, Samuel arrived:

“‘What have you done?’ asked Samuel. . . . ‘You have done a foolish thing,’ Samuel said. ‘You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.'”

1 Samuel 13:11, 13-14 NIV

And this wasn’t the only time Saul disobeyed God’s commandments. Later, in chapter 15, Saul disregarded God’s explicit orders to completely destroy the Amalekites as well as all their livestock. Instead, Saul spared their king and brought back the best of the sheep and cattle to offer as a sacrifice. That’s not so bad, right? Wrong. Here is what God had to say about it:

“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
    as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
    and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
    and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
    he has rejected you as king.”

1 Samuel 15:22-23 NIV

“Samuel turned to leave, but Saul grabbed at the edge of his robe, and it ripped. Then Samuel told him, ‘The Lord has ripped the kingdom of Israel from you today. He will give it to a friend of yours, someone who is more worthy than you.'”

1 Samuel 15:27-28 CEB

Saul took matters into his own hands rather than trusting and obeying God completely. And as a result, God rejected him as king. He lost out on the blessings that could have been his. Was God too hard on him? In thinking about the answer to that question, I am reminded of two things.

The first is the Spider-Man proverb I quoted last week: “With great power comes great responsibility.” Saul, as king of God’s chosen people, was not just hurting himself when he sinned. He was also hurting those he was responsible for. He was leading all of Israel astray by setting a bad example for them. And, let’s face it, Israel didn’t have the best track record when it came to obeying God. So, they certainly didn’t need a leader that would model more disobedience. Saul had failed to fulfill his calling, and God told him he would be replaced.

The second thing I am reminded of is Eli’s reply to Samuel after hearing of God’s impending judgment upon him and his sons: “He is the Lord. Let him do what he thinks is best.” (1 Samuel 3:18 NCV) Eli understood something that I think we can be tempted to forget: God is God and we are not. We all make mistakes. And Saul’s replacement, King David, will certainly make plenty. Maybe God saw the difference between Saul’s stubborn heart and David’s humble heart, and that’s why He chose David over Saul. But only God knows for sure. The bottom line is, God can do what He wants. Fortunately for us, what He wants is what’s best for us.

“Despite a strong start, Saul failed in his mission to represent God and created long-term consequences in the life of Israel. God intervenes and removes Saul from the throne. . . . Saul fudged on carrying out God’s instructions and lost his role in God’s story. In the same way, if [you] deny full obedience to God, he will continue to advance his story without the role and the blessing that was designed for you from the beginning of time.”

Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story

God has a unique plan for each one of us, but He also gives us free will. We can choose to fulfill our role and receive all the blessings He has in store for us. Or we can choose to do things our own way and miss out on the adventure that could have been ours. God will accomplish His plan, with or without us, but He hopes we’ll choose to participate.

A point that Randy Frazee makes over and over in The Heart of the Story is that God wants to do life with us. All of us. By choosing to live our lives in obedience to God, we help Him to accomplish His purpose of bringing His lost children home. We show them what life with God is all about. By compromising on God’s commands, by choosing to do things our own way, or by ignoring God when it seems convenient to do so, we begin to merely blend in with the sinful world around us. We start to look just like everyone else. And, to be honest, maybe we like it that way. After all, sometimes it’s easier to just fit in and do what everyone else is doing. But God never promised life with Him would be easy.

Israel wanted to be just like all the nations around them, but God wanted them to be different. That was the whole point! God chose them so that He could use them to show Himself to the world. They were called to shine. So are we.

“Like it or not, those of us who trust Jesus Christ are his visible witness. Just as Saul and the Israelites were God’s representatives, so we, the New Testament people, are the representatives of God today. . . . Most of the people in our world will get their take on God from us. We may be the only Bible they ever ‘read.’ Our interactions with them may be all they glimpse of God’s grand design in his Upper Story. . . . it is a lot easier trying to be like everyone else. But God wants us to be different. . . . he wants us to be known by our love. He wants us to look like Jesus.”

Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story

This week’s Scripture passages focus on trust and obedience. As Christians, we are called to show Jesus to the world, but we can’t do that by just blending in. Like Saul, we may be tempted to think we know better than God. We may try to do things our own way. But if we do, we are only hurting ourselves. Saul learned the hard way what it means to stand tall and then fall hard. Let’s learn from his mistakes. Jesus chose to obey God completely because He trusted that His Father knew what was best. Let’s follow His example and let our lives shine!

“I obey my Father, so everyone in the world might know that I love him.”

John 14:31 CEV

References:

• Frazee, Randy.  The Heart of the Story: Discover Your Life Within the Grand Epic of God’s Story. Zondervan, 2017.
• The Story: Read the Bible as One Seamless Story from Beginning to End. Rev. ed., Zondervan, 2008.

Images:

• King Saul featured image taken from “David Calms King Saul’s Torment.” YouTube, uploaded by Superbook, 4 February 2016, https://youtu.be/CLQfEpaSBZA.
• King Saul with Arm Raised image taken from “Superbook – David and Saul – Season 3 Episode 7 – Full Episode (Official HD Version).” YouTube, uploaded by Superbook, 18 April 2023, https://youtu.be/Jp0bSkNQhJ0.
• King Saul on Chariot image taken from “King Saul Attacks David.” YouTube, uploaded by Superbook, 25 February 2016, https://youtu.be/_8J0v04F4Io.
• Saul Loses the Kingdom image taken from “Samuel Rebukes King Saul – Superbook.” YouTube, uploaded by Superbook, 4 February 2016, https://youtu.be/HnR3DkElpTw.
• Jesus’ Transfiguration image taken from “Superbook ‘The Transfiguration of Jesus’ Teach Us to Pray Clip 1080p HD.” YouTube, uploaded by Superbook Clips, 25 January 2022, https://youtu.be/nVQ8A7odx4U.