1 Samuel 11-13
Samuel has something to say about the kingdom that never ends, and it has nothing to do with Walt!
Intro
Message
Synopsis:
Though we meet with prosperity and success in a way of sin, yet we must not therefore think the more favourably of it. They have a king, and if they conduct themselves well their king may be a very great blessing to them, and yet Samuel will have them perceive and see that their wickedness was great in asking a king. We must never think well of that which God in his law frowns upon, though in his providence he may seem to smile upon it.
Though we meet with prosperity and success in a way of sin, yet we must not therefore think the more favourably of it.
Though we meet with prosperity and success in a way of sin, yet we must not therefore think the more favourably of it. They have a king, and if they conduct themselves well their king may be a very great blessing to them, and yet Samuel will have them perceive and see that their wickedness was great in asking a king. We must never think well of that which God in his law frowns upon, though in his providence he may seem to smile upon it.
20 And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.
21 And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty
Application
Close
First comes the tyranny of the urgent, the encroaching pressure from surrounding circumstances. This is followed by the insecurity and self-doubt arising from a lack of total reliance on God. Finally, there follows the rebellion itself—the pitiful human attempt to take matters into our own hands, which is tantamount to usurping, or at least presuming upon, the authority of God. This is the picture of sin demonstrated in the Garden of Eden as the paradigm of human failure, and as we all know too well, at least in our most honest moments, it is a pattern repeated many times in our own lives.
The events included in the telling of this episode serve to create a tragic parallel between Saul and Adam (cf. Gen 3). Both men were the heads of their respective social institutions; both violated commands given them by the Lord; both expressed an unwillingness to take personal responsibility for their actions. Because of sin Adam lost the opportunity for eternal life in the garden; for the same cause Saul lost the opportunity for an enduring dynasty in the Promised Land. These parallels are not accidental but result from a consistent theological perspective that views loss of position and privilege as inevitable consequences of violating the Lord’s commandments.
Saul lost his kingdom for want of two or three hours’ patience.
Grant, Almighty God, that as you have given us your only begotten Son to rule us, and have by your good pleasure consecrated him a King over us, that we may be perpetually safe and secure under his hand against all the attempts of the devil and of the whole world—O grant that we may allow ourselves to be ruled by his authority, and so conduct ourselves that he may ever continue to watch for our safety. And as you have committed us to him, that he may be the guardian of our salvation, so also allow us not either to turn aside or to fall, but preserve us ever in his service, until we are at length gathered into that blessed and everlasting kingdom, which has been procured for us by the blood of your only Son. Amen.
JOHN CALVIN