Sunday, April 22nd, 2012
I Chronicles 10
“Running Away”
Bible Memory Verse for the Week: And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
— Hebrews 11:6
Background Information:
- When one first meets Saul in the Scripture he does not gain the impression that Saul was an unusual person, except that he was much taller than others. The fact that he assumes that a fee would have to be paid Samuel for a prediction of where the donkeys were located, reveals his lack of understanding of how true Heb. Prophecy differed from that practiced among his pagan neighbors. His lack of knowledge of who Samuel really was, reveals his ignorance of the name of the great men of his people and his lack of interest in them. Saul’s servant knew, but he did not. (Merrill C. Tenney, Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol. 5, 289)
- At a number of points in the preceding genealogies and lists, the Chronicler drew attention to the land possessed by various groups within Israel. These geographical references were designed to encourage the post-exilic community to hope for repossession of these lands. At this point, however, the Chronicler pointed out that a portion of this heritage was lost in the days of Saul. (Richard L. Pratt, 1 & 2 Chronicles, A Mentor Commentary, 109)
- Saul lived in troubled times. For some time Israel had been simply a loose confederation of twelve tribes with no single leader. Judges had arisen under the call of God to serve in various regions of the land in times of crisis. There had been a common sanctuary at Shiloh, but it was now destroyed (4:12-22; Jer 7:14; 26:6, 9). New invaders from the islands of the sea, the Philistines, had settled along the Mediterranean coast and had pushed up into the highlands. Israel had no military organization which was capable of stopping the invaders. Nor did they have weapons, for the Philistines had established a monopoly in the making and the maintenance of iron tools (1 Sm 13:19-22). The Philistines had made Saul’s home town, Gibeah, into an outpost (10:5; 13:3). For some time Samuel, the prophet, had been the figure around whom the Israelites could center their hopes. Israel had no governing institutions, no economic institutions, no effective religious institutions. (Merrill C. Tenney, Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol. 5, 288)
- The battle at Mt. Gilboa was a critical test of strength between the kingdom of Israel and the coastal cities of Philistia. At stake was the valley of Jezreel, which Mt. Gilboa overlooked from the south. Not only was the valley fertile farmland, it also connected the Israelite tribes living to the north with those living in the central regions of Palestine. In addition, a trade route linking Egypt with Mesopotamia passed through that same critical area. (Paul O. Wendland, The People’s Bible, 1 Chronicles, 126-27)
- The threat from the Philistines became more severe, for they seemed determined to take advantage of Saul, whose government had suffered much from his quarrels with David. Saul could scarcely build a strong organization while pursuing David in the desert. Samuel was dead, so the religious life of the people was practically nil. Saul had outlawed Canaanite fetish practices (28:3), but he had never provided positive religious values or practices in their stead. Commercial activity had never been encouraged, so the economic condition of the tribes was at a low ebb. Effective social, cultural and educational institutions had never been built in order to bind the tribes together as a unit. There was a small core army but, evidently, the training of the popular militia had been neglected.
Saul’s kingdom seemed ripe for the picking; the Philistines were eager to be the pickers. (Merrill C. Tenney, Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol. 5, 289)
- The text notes that the Philistines fought and immediately adds that the Israelites fled (10:1). Absolutely no mention is made of an initial resistance or struggle. The Israelites were overwhelmed by the Philistines and ran for their lives. The theme of fleeing is repeated again in 10:7. (Richard L. Pratt, 1 & 2 Chronicles, A Mentor Commentary, 108)
- Throughout his history, the Chronicler presented defeat before enemies as evidence of God’s judgment. When the kings of Israel were faithful to God, they experienced victory. When they were unfaithful, they lost battles. From the very beginning of this passage, the Chronicler made it clear that Saul’s reign was one of tremendous defeat for the people of God. This fact alone showed that Saul was under divine judgment. (Richard L. Pratt, 1 & 2 Chronicles, A Mentor Commentary, 108)
- The Chronicler’s account alludes to David’s decapitation and public defilement of Goliath (see 1 Sm 17:48-57). The contest with Goliath had already cast a shadow over Saul’s kingship by honoring David over Saul. In the light of this story, however, Saul’s disgrace was intensified by the fact that the Philistines dishonored him just as David had disgraced Goliath. (Richard L. Pratt, 1 & 2 Chronicles, A Mentor Commentary, 109)
- The Philistines celebrated their victory over Saul before their gods because they attributed their success to the powers of their deities. Thus, it was made clear to all that God had utterly forsaken Saul to the power of foreign gods (see Dt 4:25-28; 28:36, 37; Jer 16:13). (Richard L. Pratt, 1 & 2 Chronicles, A Mentor Commentary, 110)
- Saul was anointed king over Israel in order to deliver God’s people “from the hand of the Philistines” (1 Sm 9:16). Ironically, Saul and his sons were killed by these very same Philistines. In the end, Israel actually lost more territory than it gained in these wars. (Andrew E. Hill, The NIV Application Commentary: 1 & 2 Chronicles, 195)
- The Chronicler preaches to a people in the throes of crisis, a crisis rooted in issues of allegiance to God and loyalty to each other as fellow Jews. A close reading of the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi suggests that early postexilic Judah languishes in apathy and despair. The restoration community is disillusioned with God because they assume his Word had failed, since no David-like king has arisen to shepherd Israel as Jeremiah and Ezekiel promised (cf. Jer 33:15; Ez 34:23-24). In addition, a selfish individualism hinders the development of community spirit as the Jews seek to rebuild after the Exile (Hag 1:4-6; Mal 1:12-14). Despite the zealous efforts of Ezra and Nehemiah some two generations earlier, their initiatives for religious and social reform seem to have little lasting impact on the Jerusalem and Judah of the Chronicler’s day. (Andrew E. Hill, The NIV Application Commentary: 1 & 2 Chronicles, 211)
The questions to be answered are . . . Why does the Chronicler take such a hard view against Israel’s first King Saul? What can we learn from the Chronicler’s view of Saul?
Answer: Because Saul proved to be unfaithful in both his duties as a king, and in regard to his faith in God. Saul failed to keep God’s Word, consulted a medium for guidance and did not inquire of the Lord when Saul needed help. We need to take a good hard, long, look at our own lives and realize there is not a whole lot of difference between Saul and us. Our only hope is if we confess our sins, repent and plead with God that He see the righteousness of Christ in us rather than our own righteousness which we don’t possess.
The Word for the Day is . . . truant
Truant = One who shirks duty. One who stays out of school without permission.
Why does the Chronicler take such a hard view against Israel’s first King Saul?
I. Saul ran away from the Word of the Lord. (1 Sm 13:1-14; 15:1-35; 16:14; 18:12; 28:15-18; 1 Chr 10:13)
Saul was humble (1 Sm 9:21); he had stature among the people (1 Sm 10:23-24); he was a gallant warrior (1 Sm 11; 14:47-48); but Saul was not to be successful as Israel’s king. He lacked the one feature that ultimately mattered: a heart for God. As God said through Samuel the prophet, “He has turned back from following Me, and has not carried out My commands” (1 Sm 15:11). (John Sailhamer, Everyman’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Chronicles, 29)
The centrality of the Word of God has always been the hallmark of godly leadership. (John Sailhamer, Everyman’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Chronicles, 31)
His attention is drawn to the final act, the doom of Saul and the disaster of Israel. So a moral is drawn from disaster; such is the consequence of disobedience. But at the same time the Chronicler makes the point that the very establishment of David issues from a moment of disaster. Where he might have omitted the whole story of Saul and gone straight into the David narrative, the Chronicler has in fact implied the significance of divine grace in the setting of David the chosen one on the throne, the first true king of Israel, set against the disaster to the rejected Saul. (Peter R. Ackroyd, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, 50)
Chronicles emphasizes that all Israel fled before the Philistines. Verse 1 is more insistent than RSV’s “the men of Israel”; rather “each man of Israel” fled. Verse 7 depicts a mass exodus from the richest part of the land. (J. G. McConville, The Daily Study Bible Series, 1 & 2 Chronicles, 15)
1) Saul is unfaithful to God. The Lord had instructed Saul to wipe out the Amalekites, but Saul uses his own discretion to determine who and what should be spared (1 Sm 15:1-26).
2) Saul disregards God’s Word. Only priests were permitted to sacrifice animals to God. Yet in a moment of desperation and panic, Saul makes an offering himself without waiting for Samuel, as he had been instructed (1 Sm 13:5-14).
3) Saul fails to seek God properly. After the death of Samuel, Saul no longer receives direction from God. Again motivated by fear, he seeks counsel from a medium where he learns of his impending death (1 Sm 28:4-25). (Dr. Tremper Longman, Quicknotes, 1 Chronicles Thru Job, 21)
We may learn from this passage the sobering truth that if people continue to despise the word of God, there could come a point, even in their earthly lifetimes, when God gives them up to the terrifying clamor of their own futile thoughts. (Paul O. Wendland, The People’s Bible, 1 Chronicles, 130)
In these early events of his reign Saul twice offended the religious perspective voiced by Samuel. First, he took it upon himself to offer sacrifice (in Samuel’s absence) before the battle of Michmash (1 Sm 13:8-14). Samuel, who had not relished losing the political leadership, could not tolerate this usurpation of spiritual leadership. Second, Saul breached the hērem by sparing Agag and some choice booty taken from the Amalekites (15:2f., 8f.); Achan had perished for a similar deed (Josh 7:10-26). Saul and his house were deposed, although he held the kingship until his death (15:22-31). Samuel pronounced sentence sternly and refused to have any further dealings with the king (v. 35). (Geoffrey W. Bromiley, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, 3476)
In the early part of Saul’s reign, there seemed to be a cooperative attitude, for in calling the people to war against the Ammonites, Saul linked his name with the name of Samuel (11:7). The incident in 13:8-15 implies that the two men had agreed on the necessity of resisting the Philistines. Samuel was to be in charge of the religious ceremonies of the called meeting and Saul in charge of the military aspects. On the pretext that Samuel’s delay in coming to do his duty was unbearable, Saul performed the religious ceremony and brought upon himself a sharp rebuke from Samuel. On the surface Saul’s excuses seem valid enough, but he had overstepped the bounds of his authority and thus revealed that he lacked the wisdom of a good leader. The possibility of an enduring dynasty was removed by his rash act (13:8-14). (Merrill C. Tenney, Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol. 5, 288)
II. Saul ran away from the counsel of God and settled for the advice of a medium. (1 Sm 28; 1 Chr 10:13)
Saul’s seeking the witch stands in sharp contrast to David’s enquiring of the Lord, 1 Chr 14:10. It is possible for those who are fundamentally opposed to God to turn to him in desperation on occasion, yet not in such a way as to alter their basic disposition. (Cf. God’s complaint in Jer 2:27). (J. G. McConville, The Daily Study Bible Series, 1 & 2 Chronicles, 18)
In desperation he took the utterly vile course of turning to a spirit-medium just to receive some communication from the spiritual realm before battle. He knew that such an act was contrary to God’s will. In fact, he himself had seen to it that spiritists, witches, and wizards were expelled from the land of Israel. But when people let go of the Word, they will grasp at any straw. The fact that he so quickly turned to a medium for answers demonstrates the superstitious nature of his initial quest for information from the Lord. (Paul O. Wendland, The People’s Bible, 1 Chronicles, 129)
Saul’s consultation with the medium of Endor was a serious violation of Mosaic laws against necromancy (see Lv 19;31; 20:6, 27; Dt 18:11-12). (Richard L. Pratt, 1 & 2 Chronicles, A Mentor Commentary, 111)
III. Saul ran away from God because Saul failed to inquire of God. (1 Sm 14-31) 1 Chr 10:13-14a
In the account of 1 Samuel 28, Saul asked the Lord for guidance but received no answer: this account says he “did not inquire of the Lord.” The answer to this apparent contradiction lies in understanding Saul’s motives and the timing of his request to God. His frantic requests came only when he had tried everything his own way. He never went to God unless there was nowhere else to turn. When he finally asked, God refused to answer. Saul sought God only when it suited him, and God rejected him for his constant stubbornness and rebellion. (Tyndale House Publishers, Life Application Study Bible, 681)
The Philistines, having despatched Saul, go and boast before their idols (notice that the idols are informed even before the people, v. 9). The Philistines’ action has not been a mere neutral, political thing. It is in its essence a rebellion against the living God. There is no such thing as “neutrality” in the attitude of men and women to God. One either “listens to” or “seeks” God (to use the terminology of vv. 13ff.), or one “seeks” or “listens to” an opposite principle. The role of the Philistines in the present section is to press home this point. Saul’s failure to “keep the command of the Lord” (1 Sm 13:13) and to seek guidance from him may have been quiet and inconspicuous. But it unleashed a much greater and more obvious kind of wickedness among and upon God’s people. Moral evil is not measured in quantity but in kind. And it has its own “domino” effect. (J. G. McConville, The Daily Study Bible Series, 1 & 2 Chronicles, 17-18)
Chronicles does not feel it necessary to marshal the sordid details of Saul’s wasted life. Rather it presents him starkly as an example of what could happen to a great man as a consequence of self-orientation as opposed to God-orientation; and not simply to a great man as such, but to a leader in the household of God, whose fate was bound up with his. (J. G. McConville, The Daily Study Bible Series, 1 & 2 Chronicles, 15)
Unnerved at the prospect of being captured by the Philistines and being abused as Samson was, he asked his armor-bearer to kill him. His concern was only for himself, not in how he might bring glory to God by living or dying. His own armor-bearer showed a keener sense of right and wrong by refusing to kill the Lord’s anointed king. Unwilling or unable to recognize that his times were in God’s hands (Ps 31:15), Saul took his own life in a final act of unbelief. (Paul O. Wendland, The People’s Bible, 1 Chronicles, 127)
Once the ark was taken as a prize of war to this very temple of Dagon–and the idol fell flat on its face in virtual homage (1 Sm 5:1-4)! When David slew Goliath, the Philistines fled and Goliath’s head was taken to Jerusalem (1 Sm 17:50-54). Now the boot was very much on the other foot, and the allusions highlight by contrast the grimness of this situation. The only glimmer amid the gloom is the loyal bravery of the citizens of Jabesh Gilead, who had good cause to be grateful to Saul (see 1 Sm 11:1-11). But even that serves to differentiate disparagingly between Saul’s early promise and his tragic end. (Leslie Allen, Mastering the OT, 1, 2 Chronicles, 81)
The Chronicler frequently spoke of ‘inquiring of’ or ‘seeking’ the Lord as expressive of a sincere dependence on God in times of trouble. From his point of view, Saul’s life was characterized by the opposite of such dependence on God. (Richard L. Pratt, 1 & 2 Chronicles, A Mentor Commentary, 111)
Saul’s life and character are treated in summary fashion by the Chronicler (1 Ch 10:13f.): “So Saul died for his unfaithfulness; he was unfaithful to the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance, and did not seek guidance from the Lord.” This statement pinpoints Saul’s lack of interest in the cultus. Once he had been renounced by Samuel his interest in religious matters was confined to outlawing mediums and necromancers (1 Sm 28:3). The ark itself lay totally neglected until David’s reign. Worse still, in his bitter hatred of David Saul wantonly exterminated the priests at Nob who had sheltered the fugitive (22:18f.). Small wonder, then, that the deeply religious writer of Chronicles totally disapproved of Saul. (Geoffrey W. Bromiley, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, 347)
We continually have to remind ourselves that idolatry is not first of all the making of figures of gods and goddesses. It is an attitude, the attitude that I must find a way to manipulate the forces in control of the universe to satisfy my needs. The statues, then, are simply a way to visualize those forces and make them amenable to my control. (John N. Oswalt, The NIV Application Commentary: Isaiah, p. 312)
We may be inclined to think that the diatribe against idolatry here has little relevance to those of us in the West at present. However, we must remember that idolatry is a state of mind before it is a religious practice–that state of mind that believes it can guarantee security through the manipulation of this world. This idea rests on two false premises: that the guarantee of my security is the most important aim in life, and that that security can be maintained through the powers of this world.
Both of those are false because they make creation primary. They exalt creation to the place reserved for the Creator alone. The most important aim is to be rightly related to the Creator, who alone can hold us securely. For most of the last two centuries we in the West have believed these premises but have insisted that there is no spiritual component to creation. We have believed that the powers we had to manipulate in order to guarantee our security were inanimate and material. But that has not made us any the less idolaters than our pagan predecessors. We have exalted creation to the heights and have placed ourselves and our capacity for reason at the very center of it. We have said that we are ultimate and that there is nothing more important than us and the achieving of our goals. (John N. Oswalt, The NIV Application Commentary: Isaiah, 100)
Three men in the Bible illustrate this truth. They began in the light and ended up in the darkness because they were double-minded. The name Samson probably means “sunny,” yet he ended up a blind slave in a dark dungeon because he yielded to the “lust of the flesh” (Jgs 16). Lot began as a pilgrim with his uncle Abraham. He ended as a drunk in a cave, committing incest (Gn 19:30-38), because he yielded to “the lust of the eyes” (Gn 13:10-11). Lot wanted to serve two masters and look in two directions!
King Saul began his reign as a humble leader but his pride led him to a witch’s cave (1 Sm 28), and he died of suicide on the field of battle (1 Sm 31). His sin was “the pride of life”; he would not humble himself and obey the will of God. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Compassionate: A NT Study–Luke 1-13, 128-29)
CONCLUSION/APPLICATION: What can we learn from the Chronicler’s terse condemnation of Saul?:
King Saul’s death occurred in such a way that virtually everything he had accomplished in his life was undone. (Broadman & Holman Publishers, Shepherd’s Notes, 1, 2 Chronicles, 19)
In chapter ten, Saul is presented–by way of contrast to David–as a king gone wrong, a failed leader. (Paul O. Wendland, The People’s Bible, 1 Chronicles, 125)
A- Faithfulness to the Lord requires trusting God enough to know, love, and keep His Word. (Lv 26:3-13; Nm 15:39-41; Dt 6:24-25; 11:13-23; 13:4; 15:4-5; 1 Sm 12:14-15; Ps ch 19; 37:5; 86:11; ch 119; Mt 28:18-20; Jn 14:15-21; 15:10; 1 Jn 2:3; 3:21-24; 5:3; 2 Jn 1:6)
In 1 Samuel 8 God’s people, acting on impulse, decided to throw off their loyalties to God, their true king, and establish for themselves a king like the other nations (1 Sm 8:7). Reluctantly, the prophet Samuel acceded to their wish and, according to God’s instruction, set out to anoint a king for Israel. Saul, whose name meant “he who was requested,” then provided a fitting, but tragic, reminder of the necessity to trust God for our salvation and not to set our eyes on our own strength. (John Sailhamer, Everyman’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Chronicles, 28)
When we put our trust in leaders more than in God and his Word, we will have no place to stand when those leaders fail us. (Paul O. Wendland, The People’s Bible, 1 Chronicles, 127)
As the Chronicler attached judgment and salvation to the response of Israel toward the prophetic word, so the NT depicts the destiny of individuals as contingent upon obedience to the Word of God. Paul warns against treating prophecy with ‘contempt’ (1 Thes 5:20). Eternal life is contingent upon one’s response to the Word of God (Jn 5:24). Those who hear and receive the Word of God are included ‘in Christ’ (Eph 1:13). As with Israel, the church is promised blessings if it heeds the prophetic word, but curses come to anyone who disregards or changes the Word of God (Rv 22:18, 19). (Richard L. Pratt, 1 & 2 Chronicles, A Mentor Commentary, 36)
Wholeheartedness appears in several contexts that shed light on what the Chronicler meant by the terminology. For instance, it is closely associated with being ‘willing’ to serve God (1 Chr 28:9), giving money ‘freely’ (1 Chr 29:9), doing ‘everything’ required for completing the temple (1 Chr 29:19), seeking God ‘eagerly’ (2 Chr 15:15), judging ‘faithfully’ in the fear of God (2 Chr 19:9), and performing well ‘in everything’ (2 Chr 31:21). In a word, to devote oneself wholeheartedly to God meant to render service with sincerity, enthusiasm and determination. (Richard L. Pratt, 1 & 2 Chronicles, A Mentor Commentary, 36-37)
The concept of ‘seeking’ carried implicit connotations of intensity and commitment. The Chronicler highlighted this aspect of his concept by explicitly mentioning that seeking was to stem from the heart and soul (1 Chr 22:19; 2 Chr 11:16; 12:14; 19:3; 30:19). Mere outward conformity to the Law of God did not constitute seeking God. Seeking him required sincere inward devotion expressed in behavioral compliance to the Law. (Richard L. Pratt, 1 & 2 Chronicles, A Mentor Commentary, 41)
Yes, it will take great courage to enter the quiet and dismember our distractions. We are spiritually fearful people, and alone before God, we stand naked and vulnerable. We won’t be able to pretend anymore; before God, we will have the choice to obey or to disobey, but pretending will no longer be an option. If we are miserable, we will have to face our misery. If we are sad, we will have to face our sadness. When we dwell in God’s presence, we must dwell in truth; we cannot control the outcome. (Gary L. Thomas, Seeking the Face of God, 108)
You want to mess up the minds of your children? Here’s how—guaranteed! Rear them in a legalistic, tight context of external religion, where performance is more important than reality. Fake your faith. Sneak around and pretend your spirituality. Train your children to do the same. Embrace a long list of do’s and don’ts publicly but hypocritically practice them privately . . yet never own up to the fact that it’s hypocrisy. Act one way but live another. And you can count on it—emotional and spiritual damage will occur. Chances are good their confusion will lead to some sort of addiction in later years. (Charles Swindoll, Grace Awakening, 97)
In Isaiah’s time, the prophets did not want to hear God’s Word. Instead, they wanted some encouraging omen to give to the king or in order to get paid a handsome fee. So God blinded their spiritual eyes and took his Word away from them. Similarly, if we try to read the Bible just for intellectual enrichment without first surrendering ourselves to its ultimate author to do what he says, we will find it a closed book. It will be as dry as dust and just as boring. (John N. Oswalt, The NIV Application Commentary: Isaiah, 333)
Although we today no longer offer blood sacrifices, we run the same danger as the people in OT times. That is, because we have performed certain religious activities, we believe God must do our will. We have prayed long and fervently; therefore, God must heal our child. We have gone to church every Sunday for months; therefore, God must give us a good job. We have read the Bible and prayed every day for weeks; therefore, God must lift our depression. These are not acts of worship but attempts at manipulation. We do not want God in our lives; we want what he can do for us. (John N. Oswalt, The NIV Application Commentary: Isaiah, 332)
The great enemy of the Word of God is anything outside the Word of God…the word of Satan, the word of demons, the word of man. And we are living in very dangerous seasons concocted by seducing spirits and hypocritical liars propagated by false teachers. And here’s what makes them successful…look at verses 3 and 4. “The time will come, and it does, it cycles through all of church history, when they will not endure sound doctrine.” People don’t want to hear sound doctrine. “Sound” means healthy, whole, wholesome. They don’t want wholesome teaching. They don’t want the sound, solid Word. They just want to have their ears tickled. That’s all they want. They’re driven by the sensual, not the cognitive. They’re not interested in truth. They’re not interested in theology. All they want is ear-tickling sensations. That’s what they want. They refuse to hear the great truth that saves and the great truth that sanctifies. And according to chapter 2 verse 16, they would rather hear worldly empty chatter that produces ungodliness and spreads like gangrene. (John MacArthur, “5 Reasons to Preach the Word”)
B- Faithfulness to the Lord requires not demeaning Him by consulting inferiors. (Lv 19:31; 20:6; Nm chps 13-14; 2 Chr 16:12-13; Prv 3:5-6; 4:14-15; 12:15; 14:12; 15:19; 16:25; Is 8:17-22; Ezek 14:1-11; 20:1-49; Zep 1:1-18; Mt 6:24; Lk 16:13)
To endeavor to find the divine will by means other than direct approach to God is equivalent to apostasy. (We may observe that the poetic fragment cited in 1 Sm 15:22f., which is certainly later than the period of Samuel and shows the influence of prophetic thought, marks the same equivalence between such improper religious practices and apostasy.) The direct result of Saul’s unfaithfulness is his death as a divine judgment and that THE KINGDOM is TURNED OVER TO DAVID (the same expression is used for the loss of the northern kingdom to Rehoboam in 2 Chr 10:15). (Peter R. Ackroyd, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, 51)
Every time a church family gathers for worship, we come as idolaters or recovering idolaters. We all fight allegiances to someone or something other than God that make a claim on our lives. To pretend otherwise is to be naive and unprepared for the serious work of realignment we need. (Mark Labberton, The Dangerous Act of Worship, 62)
We see the spirit of self in the character of Saul, in the qualifications that made him the choice and the idol of the people. Saul represented all that was strong, chivalrous, attractive and promising in human nature. He was of splendid physique, a head taller than all the people, a magnificent specimen of physical manhood–“every inch a king.”
He possessed the intellectual, moral and social qualities that constitute a leader. He was brave, heroic, enthusiastic and generous, and the early years of his reign were adorned with stirring examples of heroic deeds. He was all that the human heart would choose. He represented the best possibilities of human nature. As the people looked at his splendid figure, they shouted again and again that patriotic cry which has so often re-echoed since, and which has so seldom been fulfilled as a prayer to heaven, “God save the king!”
But God had to let Saul stand before the ages to show that man at his best is only man, and that human self-sufficiency must end in failure and sorrow. This is the lesson that God is still trying to teach His children. How few of them have found it out so fully that they can say, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature” (Rom 7:18). The sentence of death has been passed on the flesh, and there is only one thing that we can do with it–nail it to the cross of Jesus Christ, reckon it dead and keep it forever in His bottomless grave. (A.B. Simpson, The Christ in the Bible Commentary, Vol. 2, 244-45)
Saul let the dark shadow of self blight his life and ruin his kingdom and his family. How self-deceptive is the human spirit! How pride itself will hide away in the very guise of deepest humility! Later, speaking of Saul’s earlier life, Samuel pays a tribute to Saul’s former humility: “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel” (1 Sm 15:17). (A.B. Simpson, The Christ in the Bible Commentary, Vol. 2, 245)
True humility is not thinking little of ourselves; it is not thinking of ourselves at all. What we need is not so much self-denial but self-crucifixion and complete self-forgetfulness. The perfect child is just as unconscious in the highest place as in the lowest. The true spirit of Christ in us recognizes ourselves as no longer ourselves, but so completely one with the Lord Jesus that we may truly say: “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20). (A.B. Simpson, The Christ in the Bible Commentary, Vol. 2, 246)
If a bridegroom on his wedding night sat down to negotiate terms of infidelity—“OK, you’ve guaranteed the future by promising to stick with me regardless. Just how far can I go with other women? Can I hug them? Kiss them? Go to bed with them? How often? How many?”—we would call such a husband a fraud, a pathologically sick man. If he approaches marriage that way, he will never learn the meaning of true love. And if a Christian approaches forgiveness the same way—“Let’s see, God has promised forgiveness in advance. What can I get away with? How far can I push it?”—that Christian will end up equally impoverished. Paul’s response says it all: “God forbid!” (Philip Yancey, Finding God in Unexpected Places, 186)
C- Faithfulness to the Lord requires inquiring of God for guidance. (Dt 4:29; Josh 9; 1 kgs 22:7; 1 Chr 15; 28:9; Ps 1; 18:30; 25:12; 27:11; 32:8; Prv 4:11; Jer 10:21; Mt 7:7-12; Heb 11:6)
The NT further reveals what it means to seek God. Jesus commanded that his followers seek the Kingdom of God (Mt 6:33; Lk 12:31). Paul explained that seeking God is unnatural for sinful man and impossible for him to accomplish (Rom 3:11). Even so, the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit enables man to ‘seek to be justified in Christ’ (Gal 2:17) with the full assurance that ‘he who seeks finds’ (Mt 7:8; Lk 11:10). The promise that God ‘rewards those who earnestly seek him’ extends to the consummation of the Kingdom (Heb 11:6). (Richard L. Pratt, 1 & 2 Chronicles, A Mentor Commentary, 42)
Many of us live successful lives while things are going well. But in the hour of trial self always shows through. Saul was a splendid king until that first trial, and then he became discouraged, distrustful, self-asserting and presumptuous, daring to take in his own hands the things that belonged only to God. He usurped the throne of God Himself and showed his true nature. He was a man of his own heart and not of God’s heart. Therefore, God sought out a man after God’s own heart who would do God’s will and not his own, thereby being a true representative of Israel’s true King. (A.B. Simpson, The Christ in the Bible Commentary, Vol. 2, 247)
There is no need to defend the Chronicler against charges of falsifying the text in saying that Saul did not “seek Yahweh,” when according to 1 Sm 28:6 he did so repeatedly (cf. also 1 Sm 14:37; 15:31), but received no answer. It was in his total behavior, not in isolated individual acts, that Saul showed himself to be unfaithful, and it was for that lack of faith that Yahweh rejected him and turned the kingdom over to David, the son of Jesse (v 14b). (Roddy Braun, Word Biblical Commentary: 1 Chronicles, 151-52)
Self-deception is “corrupted consciousness,” says Lewis Smedes. Whether fear, passion, weariness, or even faith prompts it, self-deception, like a skillful computer fraud, doubles back to cover its own trail. “First we deceive ourselves, and then we convince ourselves that we are not deceiving ourselves.” (Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be, 107)
Verses to Consider: Dt 4:29; 6:5; 10:12; 11:13; 13:3; 26;16; 30:2, 6; 8-10 ; Josh 22:5; 23:14; 1 Sam 12:20, 24; Prv 3:5; 4:4; Jer 29:13; Joel 2:12; Zep 3:14; Mt 22:37; Mk 12:30, 33; Lk 10:27; Col 3:23;
Leo Tolstoy, who battled legalism all his life, understood the weaknesses of a religion based on externals. The title of one of his books says it well: The Kingdom of God Is Within You. According to Tolstoy, all religious systems tend to promote external rules, or moralism. In contrast, Jesus refused to define a set of rules that his followers could then fulfill with a sense of satisfaction. One can never “arrive” in light of such sweeping commands as “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. . . Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Philip Yancey, What’s so Amazing About Grace?, 197)
“For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” — 2 Chronicles 16:9a
But what was the meaning of the strange parenthesis of Saul’s life? I believe it represents the counterfeit kingdom that Satan is seeking to set upon the throne of human selfishness and worldly pride–the rule of the antichrist. Unfortunately, we have too many evidences in the compromising and worldly ecclesiasticism of our day, and in the Laodicean picture given in Revelation of the church that is to be rejected at the coming of the Lord.
But while this is the dispensational meaning of Saul’s life, it has a still more solemn personal application for every Christian. It is God’s fearful object lesson of the power and peril of the self-life and the need of its utter crucifixion before we can enter into the true kingdom of spiritual victory and power. (A.B. Simpson, The Christ in the Bible Commentary, Vol. 2, 243)
Worship point: Our only hope is in Christ. He alone has been faithful. He alone has kept God’s Word. He alone has not demeaned God by seeking another’s counsel. He alone has inquired of the Lord for every step of His life.
We hear arrogant people proclaiming the present generation as the most intelligent in the history of mankind. What nonsense! This is a grievously ignorant age. We cover ourselves with filth and pretend we are clean. We murder the unborn by the millions and spend colossal sums of money trying to save a single infant from some devastating disease. We treat morals as dung and filthy speech as if it were a world-class treasure. We forbid the display of the law of God in public places and then groan because of the growing lack of morality. We arrest a patriot for flying an oversize flag and make a national hero out of a profligate who burns the flag. We teach and encourage our children to disregard the Ten Commandments and then pretend to be outraged against the evils that result. We destroy the family and yet wish to be known as a caring society. How long can we expect God to overlook our times of ignorance? (Robert Roberts; Repentance, 215)
The Chronicler’s repeated emphasis on this theme inspired his post-exilic readers to humility. They too had a propensity to fall into rebellion against God. They had opportunities to receive God’s warning against their rebellion. They were responsible to surrender themselves to God. Moreover, only humility could restore them to God’s favor and bring a greater experience of his blessing. (Richard L. Pratt, 1 & 2 Chronicles, A Mentor Commentary, 40)
Spiritual Challenge: Keep your eyes upon Jesus (Heb 12:2). Look to Him for your salvation (Acts 4:12). Look to Him for life (Jn 1:1-12; 3:14-16, 36; 5:21-27; 6:35-71; 10:10, 28; 11:25). Do not look to another. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through him (Jn 14:6). Trust in the Lord with all your heart (Prv 3:5-6).
“A sad Christian is a phony Christian and a guilty Christian is no Christian at all.” (Joe Reia quoted in The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning, 115)
Integrity, the saying goes, begins with “I.” It starts with the day-in, day-out ways in which you and I interact with customers and employees, with patients and clients, with bosses and boards of directors. In nothing the common root of the words integrity and integer (or whole number), author Warren Wiersbe observes, “A person with integrity is not divided (that’s duplicity) or merely pretending (that’s hypocrisy). He or she is ‘whole’; life is ‘put together.’ and things are working together harmoniously. People with integrity have nothing to hide and nothing to fear. Their lives are open books.” (Lee Strobel, God’s Outrageous Claims, 45)
The central issue in this chapter is the relation between the obedience of God’s people and their blessing. That relation may not always appear clearly. Chronicles insists that it is immutable. God gave his people a land which was both undeserved and richly adequate (Dt 6:10ff.; 8:7-10). In Jesus Christ he has revealed how deep and inexhaustible his blessings are (Eph 1:15ff.). He desires that we as Christians enjoy our inheritance to the full. And the warnings of the writer to the Hebrews lest we be led astray from the path of faith (Heb 3:7ff.; 6:4-8) find their melancholy echo in the death of Saul. (J. G. McConville, The Daily Study Bible Series, 1 & 2 Chronicles, 16-17)
There are times when it seems as if evil triumphs. Jesus himself refers to the “hour when darkness reigns” (Lk 22:53). But it is always a mere hour, a “little while” of mourning while the world rejoices (Jn 16:19, 20). It never lasts beyond the time God has allotted for it. Out of the darkness God will make the light of his truth and goodness shine again. We will see that truth reflected in the next chapter as God raises up David to take Saul’s place. By God’s power he will restore more than was ever taken away from his people in this terrible defeat. (Paul O. Wendland, The People’s Bible, 1 Chronicles, 128)
A hypocrite is a person who is not himself on Sunday.
A hypocrite is a person who. . . but who isn’t? -Don Marquis
If you feel the call of the spirit, then be holy with all your soul, with all your heart, and with all your strength. If, however, because of human weakness, you cannot be holy, then be perfect with all your soul, with all your heart, and with all your strength.
But if you cannot be perfect because of the vanity of your life, then be good with all your soul…Yet, if you cannot be good because of the trickery of the Evil One, then be wise with all your soul…
If, in the end, you can neither be holy, nor perfect, nor good, nor wise because of the weight of your sins, then carry this weight before God and surrender your life to his divine mercy.
If you do this, without bitterness, with all humility, and with a joyous spirit due to the tenderness of a God who loves the sinful and ungrateful, then you will begin to feel what it is to be wise, you will learn what it is to be good, you will slowly aspire to be perfect, and finally you will long to be holy. (Quoted in Peter van Breeman, Let All God’s Glory Through, 134)
As Larry Crabb has pointed out, pretending seems a much more reliable road to Christian maturity. The only price we pay is a loss of soul, of communion with God, a loss of direction, and a loss of hope. (John Eldredge, The Journey of Desire, 61)
In a world where the only plea is “not guilty,” what possibility is there of an honest encounter with Jesus, “who died for our sins”? We can only pretend that we are sinners, and thus only pretend that we are forgiven. (Brennan Manning, Ruthless Trust, 171)
If someone comes to you and says that they don’t want to come to church because it is full of hypocrites, simply tell them that there is always room for one more. — Bruce Densmore
“‘Those Christians are hypocrites because they pray on their knees on Sunday and prey on their neighbors the rest of the week’…If our sin can’t be used as a witness as well as our goodness, we have a serious problem.” (Steve Brown, Living Free, 23)
The only fatal error is to pretend that we have found the life we prize. (John Eldredge, The Journey of Desire, 14)
Quotes to Note:
At the end the Chronicler adds his own moral judgment upon the tragic career of Saul (vss. 13-14). To his mind, the death of Saul was a divine act of judgment, not the suicide of a defeated, unhappy human being. (Robert C. Dentan, The Layman’s Bible Commentary, 1Kings-2 Chronicles, 132)
I have heard accounts of how military strategists have scrutinized the Gilboa range for clues as to Saul’s technical errors in his defeat. No doubt such errors could in principle be identified. But there is a more profound kind of causation in view here. In the mind of God, Saul’s time was up. We cannot shirk the implication of judgment. And it is time for the “man after God’s own heart” to enter the scene. (J. G. McConville, The Daily Study Bible Series, 1 & 2 Chronicles, 18)
The use of God’s covenant name in this context assures us that the God who freely bound himself to his people by a promise to save is at work here in the demise of Saul. The end of Saul did not mark the end of God’s saving plan. The Lord raised up David in his place, entrusting his kingdom to a man who would gather again the scattered sheep of God’s flock. Even God’s judgments serve the interests of his mercy! (Paul O. Wendland, The People’s Bible, 1 Chronicles, 131)
The introductory clause Now the Philistines fought against Israel is a general statement which was conveniently supplied by the source. In 1 Sm it serves to reintroduce the main theme after a digression concerning David’s attack upon the Amalekites–Each man of Israel fled implying that the defeat turned into a panic in which each man cared for his own life. This has been substituted by the Chronicler for the more general statement in 1 Sm “and the men of Israel fled,” and was doubtless intentional to make the account of the defeat more vivid. (Edward Lewis Curtis, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Chronicles, 180)
Apparently, the men from Jabesh Gilead had not forgotten how Saul defended them against the Ammonites (see 1 Sm 11:1-15). They risked their own safety to retrieve the corpses. As noted above, the Chronicler omitted some of the details found in 1 Sm 31:12-13. The writer of Samuel noted that the Gileadites traveled through the night and removed Saul’s headless corpse and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-Shan (see 1 Sm 31:12). They also burned the bodies in defiance of the Philistines (see 1 Sm 31:12) and buried the bones of their royal family (see 1 Sm 31:13). (Richard L. Pratt, 1 & 2 Chronicles, A Mentor Commentary, 110)
Because you have turned away from the LORD, he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword.— Numbers 14:43
Christ:
Truant Reformer
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