A Cautionary Tale

Saul could have had it all—and so can you. But it requires a heart after God. That is what he was looking for in Saul, and ultimately found in David. What does that mean, a heart after God? Perfection? Sinlessness? Inherent loveliness? No, it simply means that from a humble heart you offer to God ruthless trust, sincere obedience and a willingness to come clean when you blow it.

Going Deep // Focus: 1 Samuel 28:4-8

The Philistines set up their camp at Shunem, and Saul gathered all the army of Israel and camped at Gilboa. When Saul saw the vast Philistine army, he became frantic with fear. He asked the Lord what he should do, but the Lord refused to answer him, either by dreams or by sacred lots or by the prophets. Saul then said to his advisers, “Find a woman who is a medium, so I can go and ask her what to do.” His advisers replied, “There is a medium at Endor.” So Saul disguised himself by wearing ordinary clothing instead of his royal robes. Then he went to the woman’s home at night, accompanied by two of his men. “I have to talk to a man who has died,” he said. “Will you call up his spirit for me?

In my mind, Saul is the most enigmatic figure in the Bible—his great start but disastrous finish will baffle me until the day I die. One of the last places we see Saul alive is I Samuel 28 where he is so desperate for spiritual guidance in his train-wreck of a life that he actually visits a witch in the village of Endor.

Contrast that with one of the first times we meet Saul, and Samuel has anointed him as king: “Samuel said to all the people, ‘Do you see the man the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.’” (1 Samuel 10:24) That description is unusual in Scripture as if to acknowledge that out of all the people God could have chosen, he intentionally choose Saul.

Obviously something went terrible wrong between 1 Samuel 10 and 1 Samuel 28. In fact, some scholars suggest that between Saul’s anointing and Samuel’s first rebuke of Saul in chapter 13 for his failure to follow God’s word may only have been a couple of years into his reign.

Not only enigmatic, Saul is also one of the saddest characters in scripture. Had Saul just wholeheartedly obeyed God as David did, he could have the same enormous promises that the Lord made to David:

Samuel said. “You have acted foolishly; 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 leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command.” (1 Samuel 13:13-14)

“The Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.” Those are powerful words in light of the promise of an everlasting kingdom that God made and has fulfilled through David. What might have been had Saul just wholehearted obeyed! “What might have been” have to be the saddest words in the human language!

Enigmatic and instructive, Saul is also one of the most instructive characters in the Bible. His downfall is a cautionary tale for the rest of us. Let all who pass by Saul pause and reflect on their own life. In fact, Saul’s tragic end brings to mind I Corinthians 10:11-12,

These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!

Saul is an example to us. Paul says, “Look, if you think that can’t happen to you, let me give you a heads up: yes it can!” If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! Now that might be a little unnerving, but in hindsight, the wrong turns in Saul’s life are pretty obvious:

• Saul tolerated subtle sin. He made excuses, he justified wrong actions, and he presumed God would excuse his “little” indiscretions.
• Saul tolerated distance from God. He did everything else but repent to find relief from the misery in his life brought on by disobedience.
• Saul tolerated poisoned relationships: With his spiritual mentor Samuel—he disobeyed. With his loving son Jonathan—he threw spears. With his loyal protégé David—he tried to murder him. Each of these men tried their best to restore relationship with Saul, but the hard-hearted king refused to make changes.

Saul could have had it all—and so can you. But that requires a heart after God. That is what God was looking for in Saul, and ultimately found in David. What does that mean, a heart after God? Perfection? Sinlessness? Inherent loveliness? No, it simply means that out of a humble heart you offer to God ruthless trust, sincere obedience and a willingness to come clean when you blow it.

And that is something I can definitely give to God—and you can too!