Insight for Living

Bill Meyer: Integrity rarely collapses overnight. It erodes, one compromise at a time, one rationalization after another, one small disobedience that seems harmless in the moment. For example, the downfall of King Saul wasn't sudden. It was gradual. Each decision to prioritize his image over obedience, each moment he chose comfort over conviction, moved him further from God's purpose.

And today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll examines how erosion destroys lives and ministries. And he exposes the warning signs that could save your life and mine. Chuck titled his message: Saul, the King who Refused to Bow.

Chuck Swindoll: The Bible includes stories of all different kinds of people: those who are on the racetrack, accomplishing very little but moving fast; those who are meteoric in style, and they are off and running only to fizzle out before they've hardly reached middle age.

And then there are through the scriptures those deep, quiet rivers—lives that continue to minister to others selflessly as they help others reach their destinations. But I am intrigued with how many times I come to the scriptures and find a life that is like a rooftop: a life that begins well but ends poorly.

Such a life was Saul, the king who refused to bow. What an interesting, interesting study. He teaches me, if nothing else, that life cannot be determined until it has run its full course. We who are so quick to give opinions about certain individuals and seldom willing to wait until the final tally is told can learn a lesson from this.

First Samuel 8 will sort of set the stage, do a brief study of Hebrew living before Saul became the king. The nation, by the way, had never had a king at this particular juncture. They were not a monarchy; they were what theologians call a theocracy.

The nation looked to God for His leadership. Oh, He spoke through people: prophets and priests and judges. In fact, Samuel seems to be the last man in transition before the nation demanded a king. God had always been their king.

And they were unlike all other nations in that they could claim their leader was the invisible creator, Yahweh, their God. And that made them unlike all other peoples. But they wearied of that. First Samuel 8 tells us why. Verse 1: It came about when Samuel was old that he appointed his sons judges over Israel.

Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, the name of his second Abijah. They were judging in Beersheba. His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice.

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and they said to him, "Behold, you have grown old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now, appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations."

Their request was displeasing to Samuel. The king will be known as a taker, not a giver, and it will become a kingdom that revolves around him, not around you. You'll learn a lesson, Israel, that you've never known before. You will discover what it's like to have a man reign over you, and you will regret the day you did it. But we'll do it.

Now, chapter 9, we meet the king—the king-elect. He doesn't know it yet. He's on his way up the rooftop, okay? We're on the upswing of his life. And what a great first impression. Verse 1: There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor.

He had a son whose name was Saul. This is the first mention of this man we're studying. His name is Saul, a choice—a choice. That term suggests in the prime of manhood: virile, young, strong. In fact, there was not a more handsome person than he among the sons of Israel. And to make matters even more impressive, from his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people. He was tall, he was dark, he was handsome.

There is this mystique about looks, about image, about style. People want to see. They want to see size. They want to see mannerisms. And Saul ranked high in every one of those. On top of that, he was genuinely modest.

9:21: After Samuel has addressed these things, Saul answered and said when he hears of being the king, he said, "Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? My family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak to me in this way?" I'm not your man. He's genuinely modest.

10:1: Look across the page. Samuel took the flask of oil and poured it on his head, kissed him and said, "Has not the Lord anointed you a ruler over His inheritance?"

If we were to take the time, which we will not, we could find in these chapters that he was a man of discretion. He was interested in waiting on God. He's a man of generous spirit. He is one who spoke for God. He is energized and inspired of God.

Look at verse 6 of this tenth chapter: "The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily, Saul, and you will prophesy with them and be changed into another man. God's hand is on your life."

"It shall be when these signs come to you, do for yourself what the occasion requires for God is with you." Can you imagine being told that by Samuel in a day when the visible presence of God rested and it became a miraculous series of events? God's hand is on your life. What a prediction.

Now, all this leads Samuel to present the new king to the nation. You're going to smile when I read something to you. Go back to chapter 9, verse 16: "About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. You shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall deliver my people from the hand of the Philistines, for I have regarded my people because their cry has come to me."

Now 10:17: Look at that next. Thereafter, Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah, and he said to the sons of Israel, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, from the power of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.' But today, you rejected your God, who delivers you from all your calamities and all your distresses. Yet you have said, 'No, but set a king over us.' Now therefore, present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans."

Thus Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. And he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families and the Matrite family was taken and Saul the son of Kish was taken. But when they looked for him, he could not be found. This is the day of his coronation. They can't find him.

And they inquired further of the Lord, "Has the man come here yet?" And the Lord said, "Behold, he is hiding himself by the baggage." Wherever that was. He is so modest, he is so genuinely timid—he's shy—that he feels uncomfortable standing before all the people.

So they ran and took him from there. And when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. And Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? Surely there is no one like him among all the people."

So the people shouted and said words that have been said hundreds of times through the centuries: "Long live the king! That's our man!" And here stands tall but modest Saul. A disaster getting ready to happen.

But you would never guess that. He comes by the thirteenth chapter to the peak of the roof. He has the people's vote. He has won the victories. He has fought the Philistines. He has shown himself a warrior, and the people are ecstatic over the fact that they have a man they can call their king.

They're still impressed with him. They've looked on the outward appearance and public opinion runs high. Probably 85 to 90 percent or more. Not 100 percent. But alas, with such men, there is the immense possibility of a fall where he becomes a victim of himself: pride, impatience, stubborn rebellion, jealousy.

And if you can believe it, by the time he comes to the end of his life, he dies a suicide. His life becomes like sewage that pours into a harbor at night from beneath the water. You don't see it. You can't even for a period of time smell it.

But slowly and ever so surely, it pollutes the water so that it's unsafe for anyone to enter or for the fish to live. His life becomes like that. Let me show you the tragic erosion of his character in the balance of my time with you here.

There are three brief yet powerfully damaging scenes set forth in scripture. We've reached the turning point of the roof, the peak of his life has been reached. Over a period of years he has won the people's approval. He has set up an army. He has become a victor in battle.

But something happens at the height of his career, and he starts his way down the other side. Chapter 13 tells us of an irreverent act of presumption. Saul was 30 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 42 years over Israel. He chose for himself all these people and they are numbered and some of them are named for us.

Jonathan, verse 3, smote the garrison of the Philistines. Jonathan is his son, by the way. Verse 4, all Israel heard the news that Saul had smitten the garrison of the Philistines. And the people were summoned to Saul at Gilgal, and they are numbered for us here.

Verse 7: Some of the Hebrews crossed the Jordan into the land of Gad and Gilead, but as for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. They're at a very threatening point in the battle.

He waited seven days according to the appointed time set by Samuel. You can reference that in chapter 10 and verse 8, where earlier Samuel told him when he came to this place to wait and he would come and would meet with him and would sacrifice on the altar as the priest was qualified to do. Saul is king, remember, not priest. Kings had no right to sacrifice offerings.

But Samuel, we read in verse 8, did not come to Gilgal. And the people were scattering from him. So Saul said, "Bring to me the burnt offering and the peace offerings," and he offered the burnt offering. Wait, he has no right to do that.

But you understand when you come to this place in your life, when you're on the downside of pride and arrogance and conceit, you care little about roles and realms of responsibility. You're in charge of everything.

He says, "Bring the sacrifice to me. Bring the altar to me. Bring the burnt offering and the peace offerings," and he offered the burnt offerings. Verse 10: It came about as soon as he finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came.

And Saul went out to meet him and to greet him. Now, you would expect—I would expect—that he would be embarrassed. There would be a sense of uneasiness and maybe shame, appropriately, because he had hurried ahead and impatiently offered this offering.

But we read that Saul went out to meet him and to greet him. And Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul said, "Because I saw that the people were scattering from me and that you did not come within the appointed days and that the Philistines were assembled at Michmash, therefore I said, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal and I have not asked the favor of the Lord,' so I forced myself and I offered the burnt offerings."

Notice how he puts it. I just couldn't help myself. I looked down and my hands were doing it. It just kind of happened. I had to make myself do it. Fat chance. That's not the way it works. This is deliberate disobedience.

And Samuel calls his hand on it. Verse 13: He said, "You've acted foolishly." I spoke rather recently on the subject of confrontation, some of you may remember. And in that message I talked about the importance of having someone who looks out for our character more than our comfort. Remember my sharing that quotation? A Samuel is a friend like that.

"You've done the wrong thing. You may be king, but you're not priest. You've gone too far, man. You've played the fool. You haven't kept the commandment of the Lord your God which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever, but it will not any longer endure."

"Or won't for much more time endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a replacement—a man after His own heart." You might wonder where the phrase comes from. David, a man after God's own heart, comes from that statement right there.

And the Lord is already on the move to find a replacement. Let me tell everyone of us something that is easy, easy to forget. There isn't a person on this earth who is irreplaceable. There isn't a person so powerful that they can't be removed in a split second and another individual step in. No one is permanently in a role of responsibility.

And those of us who are in places such as this need the admonition from 1 Samuel 13: that when it's better to wait, we should wait, even in threatening times. If we are unsure, the game plan is to wait, to remain silent, to let God move.

I heard a man say many years ago who was in a church that was under a time of stress: "It's better to do something, even if it's wrong, than to do nothing." That is stupid counsel. It is never better to do wrong. Never. Even if you're king.

If Samuel hasn't come, if the offering needs to be offered, there's a reason for the delay. Sit tight, Saul. Wait. Wait. But to go back to my illustration, when you're on the rooftop and you've peaked out and now you're threatened with what people are thinking about you and you're caught up in your image and your self-willed ways, you diminish the importance of obeying God and you do whatever you can to keep yourself intact in the eyes of others.

In this initial act, I find Saul took his circumstances seriously, but he didn't take God seriously. That is the Achilles' heel of Saul's life: he never took God seriously. That was the turning point of his life. He didn't take God seriously. Took his circumstances seriously, but not God.

In chapter 14 we have a second act where the erosion continues. And it is an irresponsible, unwise decision he makes that almost cost the life of his son, Jonathan, if you can believe it. Let me give you a quick analysis of what has happened.

Jonathan, through a sneak attack, is the one responsible for victory over the Philistines. And while the troops are surrounding Saul, they find themselves confused and unsure about what to do next. Jonathan leads this ambush and he stands against enemy lines and through a series of events, a little too detailed to get into, God gives them the victory.

However, in the meantime, Saul is panicked. Chapter 14, verse 24, because his men are pressing on him. And if you've ever been in battle, you know how confusing that can be. The men of Israel were hard-pressed on that day, for Saul had put the people under oath, saying, "Cursed be the man who eats food before evening and until I have avenged myself on my enemies."

So none of the people tasted food. And all the people of the land entered the forest and there was honey on the ground. And when the people entered the forest, behold, there was a flow of honey, but no man put his hand to his mouth for the people feared the oath.

Now, the question comes, why would he make such a rash vow? Nobody knows. When you are on the downside of the rooftop of your life, you make statements and vows that are foolish, irresponsible, and sometimes even dangerous, as this was.

And these men need food to continue fighting. Now, verse 27: Jonathan was in another place of battle. He hadn't heard when his father put the people under oath. Therefore he put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth and his eyes brightened. Of course, he got a little energy.

One of the people answered and said, "Your father strictly put the people under oath, saying, 'Cursed be the man who eats food today,' and the people were weary." Jonathan said, "My father has troubled the land."

Ah, sometimes the confrontation comes from one of your own grown kids. "See now how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey? How much more if only the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found? For now the slaughter among the Philistines has not been great."

In other words, what a vow for my dad to make. Why would he say such a thing? Look, I'm an example. If we were cursed, God would kill me. But I'm strengthened. But would you believe it over in verse 43: Saul said to Jonathan, "Tell me what you have done."

And Jonathan told him and said, "I indeed tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in his hand. Here I am, I must die." And Saul said, "May God do this to me and more also, for you shall surely die, Jonathan." I take it that he was reaching for his sword.

He's going to take the life of his boy rather than retract and say, "Jonathan, I can't do that. You're a living example of how foolish my orders were. I made the wrong statement. I before God I repent. I apologize."

You know who saved Jonathan's life? The people. Next verse: The people said to the king, "Must Jonathan die who has brought about this great deliverance in Israel? He's the man that led the ambush. Far from it! As the Lord lives"—look at them, they're challenging the king's word—"there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day."

So the people rescued Jonathan and he did not die. Let your eyes study that for a moment and try to imagine how blind this leader has become. So determined is he to get his way that he's willing to take the life or have someone take the life of his son rather than retract a stupid decision.

Point number two: Saul took himself seriously but not God. After all, he had said it and he was not about to go back on his word. Let's all learn a lesson from Saul's negative example. Sometimes the wisest thing you can do is simply face the music and say, "What I decided earlier was unwise, wasn't right, wasn't cool, wasn't best."

"And I publicly declare the fact that I was mistaken and I've learned through this my own imperfection and I beg your forgiveness. I repent of that." How much they would have rallied around it. But you know what's happened now? The people are seeing through the cracks of his life.

There is nothing quite like the loss of a respect in a spiritual leader's life when that begins to happen. It's only a matter of time. The people are saying, "Saul, that wasn't right and we stand with Jonathan and not with you." So he's forced to retract; he's at least forced to back away.

Bill Meyer: This is Insight for Living and we're midway through a fascinating story in First Samuel. Chuck Swindoll, our Bible teacher, titled today's message: Saul, the King who Refused to Bow. It's just one message in a larger collection of biographical sketches called Fascinating Stories of Forgotten Lives.

Insight for Living is featuring this teaching series because it focuses on lesser-known Bible characters whose stories teach us deep lessons about life. Some are heroes; others like King Saul are casualties of their own making.

Chuck has a remarkable ability to resurrect these forgotten lives from a verse or two of scripture. Suddenly you're not reading about ancient history; you're sitting across from someone who knows what it's like to doubt, to be overlooked, and to navigate the same struggles we still face today.

Fascinating Stories of Forgotten Lives brings these encounters to life. Whether you're starting your morning with one of these stories or your small group is hungry for something deeper than surface-level discussions, our searching the scriptures Bible study workbook will guide you. To order the Bible study workbook and other related resources, go to insight.org/offer.

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Every issue focuses on characteristics that mark genuine Christian living: joy that transcends circumstances, authentic relationships, servant leadership, and generous hearts. In Guided by Grace, you'll discover Chuck's insights on each theme, inspiring testimonies from Insight for Living pastors around the globe, and devotionals designed for meaningful reflection.

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I'm Bill Meyer. Join us when Chuck Swindoll continues to describe Saul, the king who refused to bow, Friday on Insight for Living.

The preceding message, Saul, the King who Refused to Bow, was copyrighted in 1990, 1992, 2006, 2012, and 2024, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2024 by Charles R. Swindoll Incorporated. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.