Rejected by God

It is good to be with you this week. If we haven’t met yet, my name is Brad, and I’m one of the pastors here at The Well. I’m just thankful for the time to handle God’s Word together with you, those at all our campuses, and everyone joining us in various gatherings. We are in a series we’re calling Monarchy, where we are looking at the three monarchs of the United Kingdom: King Saul, King David, and King Solomon.

Last week, we talked about Saul being a king who led in the flesh. One of the observations we made about Saul’s life is that he doesn’t demonstrate a huge heart for God. He doesn’t have much interaction with his Bible, and you don’t see him pray in a way that feels heartfelt. Everything feels a little performative—just checking boxes. He makes decisions based on metrics, momentum, and his own intuitive gut. He’s impulsive and driven.

The question we’re left to wonder is: what about Saul’s soul? In the Old Testament, we see saints who believed in the plan of God as it was revealed to them, and we assume we will see them in glory one day. Abraham, for example, believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. The entire book of Romans is built on that idea.

Romans 4:3 (NASB)

For what does the Scripture say? ‘ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.’

We expect to see Abraham. We might even see Lot, who is called “righteous Lot” in the New Testament. But Saul is a different story. He’s around the things of God, and he’s used by God, but he makes some devastating decisions. Today, we’re looking at Saul as a king who finishes poorly. You’ve heard the adage that it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. If that’s the case, Saul is in a downward spiral that starts in 1 Samuel 15.

The Backstory of Vengeance

To understand chapter 15, we need the biblical backstory. At the end of Genesis, the people of God end up in Egypt. They spend 430 years there, moving from guests to slaves, until God raises up Moses. As they leave Egypt in the Exodus—roughly two million people, including the elderly, the children, and the infirm—they are moving slowly through enemy territory. In Exodus 17, they are attacked by the Amalekites.

This is the famous story where, as long as Moses raises his hands in prayer, Israel wins. When his arms get tired, they lose. So, Aaron and Hur sit him down and, like spotters in the gym, they hold up his hands so the victory can be won. After the battle, God makes a promise.

Exodus 17:13-16 (NASB)

So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.’ Moses built an altar and named it The LORD is My Banner; and he said, ‘The LORD has sworn; the LORD will have war against Amalek from generation to generation.’

This attack was something God was going to remember. Fast forward to the book of Deuteronomy. The older generation has died out in the wilderness, and Moses is giving the law to the next generation. He reminds them of why the Amalekites were so uniquely wicked.

Deuteronomy 25:17-19 (NASB)

’Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt, how he met you along the way and attacked among you all the stragglers at your rear when you were faint and weary; and he did not fear God. ’Therefore it shall come about when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies, in the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget.

It wasn’t just that they attacked; it was that they attacked the stragglers in the rear—the most vulnerable, the elderly, and the children who couldn’t keep the pace. Now, 400 years later, Israel finally has a king. They are in a position to repay that treachery, and God uses King Saul as the tool of His vengeance.

The Test of Obedience

Samuel comes to Saul and gives him clear instructions. He tells him that the time has come to punish Amalek. The command is absolute: go and utterly destroy everything. Do not spare the king, the people, or even the livestock.

1 Samuel 15:2-3 (NASB)

’Thus says the LORD of hosts, ’I will punish Amalek [for] what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. ‘Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’’

Now, this is a harsh passage. But God is a two-edged sword; He is gracious, yet severe. He is kindness, yet He is vengeance. In our modern sensibilities, we find this barbaric, but this was how lands were settled in ancient times. Peace was often brought through the sword. Beyond the military aspect, there was a spiritual darkness. The Amalekites worshiped deities like Molech and Chemosh through child sacrifice, placing infants in white-hot statues to burn them alive. God’s charge to His people was to keep themselves from these abominations.

Leviticus 18:30 (NASB)

‘Thus you are to keep My charge, that you do not practice any of the abominable customs which have been practiced before you, so as not to defile yourselves with them; I am the LORD your God.’’

In the middle of this judgment, we see God’s kindness. Saul warns the Kenites, who had shown kindness to Israel, to get out of the way so they aren’t destroyed with the Amalekites. But then Saul makes a choice. He defeats the Amalekites, but he captures King Agag alive and keeps the best of the sheep and oxen.

1 Samuel 15:7-9 (NASB)

So Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as you go to Shur, which is east of Egypt. He captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.

On the surface, it looks like a victory. But Saul only destroyed what was “despised and worthless.” He kept the “good stuff” for himself. God sees this immediately and speaks to Samuel.

1 Samuel 15:10-12 (NASB)

Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying, ‘I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands.’ And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all night. Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul; and it was told Samuel, saying, ‘Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on down to Gilgal.’

Samuel is so grieved that he cries out to the Lord all night. Meanwhile, what is Saul doing? He’s building a monument to himself. When Samuel finally finds him, Saul has the audacity to say, “Blessed are you of the Lord! I have carried out the commandment of the Lord.”

Samuel’s response is classic: “Then what is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of oxen that I hear?”

1 Samuel 15:13-14 (NASB)

Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, ‘Blessed are you of the LORD! I have carried out the command of the LORD.’ But Samuel said, ‘What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?’

There are only three reasons a task doesn’t get finished: the directions weren’t clear, the person was incapable, or they just didn’t care enough. The directions were crystal clear, and Saul was capable. He just didn’t care enough to obey.

Justification and Image Management

Saul immediately starts shifting the blame. He says, “The people spared the best of the sheep… to sacrifice to the Lord your God.”

1 Samuel 15:15 (NASB)

Saul said, ‘They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; but the rest we have utterly destroyed.’

Notice he doesn’t even say “my God.” He distances himself from the decision and from the Lord. Samuel cuts through the noise and reminds Saul that God raised him up from nothing and gave him a mission.

1 Samuel 15:17-19 (NASB)

Samuel said, ’Is it not true, though you were little in your own eyes, you were [made] the head of the tribes of Israel? And the LORD anointed you king over Israel, and the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated.’ ‘Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the LORD?’

Saul doubles down. He insists he obeyed, but again blames the people for taking the spoil. This leads to one of the most important verses in the Old Testament. Samuel tells him that God isn’t looking for religious rituals; He’s looking for a surrendered heart.

1 Samuel 15:22 (NASB)

Samuel said, ’Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, [And] to heed than the fat of rams.

Partial obedience is disobedience. You can’t grade this on a curve. Saul finally admits he sinned, but look at his motivation: “I feared the people and listened to their voice.” He’s more worried about his approval rating than God’s horizontal line. He begs Samuel to come and worship with him, not because he’s broken over his sin, but because it will look bad if the prophet isn’t standing next to him. He’s managed by his image.

1 Samuel 15:24-25 (NASB)

Then Saul said to Samuel, ’I have sinned; I have indeed transgressed the command of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice. ‘Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the LORD.’

Samuel refuses. As he turns to leave, Saul grabs Samuel’s robe and tears it. Samuel uses that moment as a prophetic sign: “The Lord has torn the kingdom from you today.”

1 Samuel 15:26 (NASB)

But Samuel said to Saul, ‘I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.’

1 Samuel 15:28-29 (NASB)

So Samuel said to him, ’The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. ‘Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.’

Samuel eventually agrees to go back with him to “worship,” but Samuel isn’t interested in an image campaign. He calls for King Agag. Agag comes out thinking the danger has passed, but Samuel executes him on the spot. Samuel was going to be obedient to God, even if the King wouldn’t be.

1 Samuel 15:30-33 (NASB)

Then he said, ‘I have sinned; [but] please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and go back with me, that I may worship the LORD your God.’ So Samuel went back following Saul, and Saul worshiped the LORD. Then Samuel said, ‘Bring me Agag, the king of the Amalekites.’ And Agag came to him cheerfully. And Agag said, ‘Surely the bitterness of death is past.’ But Samuel said, ‘As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.’ And Samuel hewed Agag to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal.

The Downward Spiral

From here, Saul’s life becomes a tragedy. In chapter 17, when Goliath challenges Israel, Saul—the tallest man in the land, the one who should have fought—is hiding in his tent. It’s a shepherd boy named David who has to do the job. Saul becomes consumed by jealousy.

1 Samuel 18:10-11 (NASB)

Now it came about on the next day that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he raved in the midst of the house, while David was playing [the harp] with his hand, as usual; and a spear [was] in Saul’s hand. Saul hurled the spear for he thought, ‘I will pin David to the wall.’ But David escaped from his presence twice.

Saul tries to pin David to the wall with a spear. David escapes twice. I love David for that—fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, I’m out of here! Saul’s madness grows. He kills priests, he hunts David, and eventually, he finds himself in a panic because God has stopped answering him.

1 Samuel 28:5-7 (NASB)

When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. When Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, ‘Seek for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.’ And his servants said to him, ‘Behold, there is a woman who is a medium at En-dor.’

In total desperation and disobedience, he visits a medium—a necromancer—to try to talk to the dead. This is as demonic as it gets. Finally, mortally wounded in battle, Saul falls on his own sword. He and his sons die on Mount Gilboa. He finished poorly.

1 Samuel 31:3-6 (NASB)

The battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was badly wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armor bearer, ‘Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, otherwise these uncircumcised will come and pierce me through and make sport of me.’ But his armor bearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. So Saul took his sword and fell on it. When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him. Thus Saul died with his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men on that day together.

Killing the Saul Within Us

Why are these stories in our Bible? There’s a great book by Gene Edwards called A Tale of Three Kings. The premise is that God put King Saul in David’s life to kill the “King Saul” that was inside of David. Saul is a mirror for us. Are there things in his life that look like us?

First, Saul wanted the perks of the kingdom more than he wanted a relationship with the King. Do we do the same? We want the blessing, the association, and the “good person” status of going to church, but we aren’t interested in the King Himself. Proximity is not the same as reconciliation. You can grow up in a Christian home and never know Jesus. Jesus warned that many will say “Lord, Lord,” but He will say, “I never knew you.”

Matthew 7:21-23 (NASB)

’Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven [will enter]. ’Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ ’And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

Second, Saul wanted the blessing of God without personal obedience. We see this when we ask God to bless our businesses while we’re cooking the books, or ask Him to bless our marriages while we abdicate our responsibilities as spiritual leaders. Men, if you have a problem in your marriage, it is your responsibility to fight for it and be obedient to what God called you to be. Your prayers are literally hindered if you aren’t treating your wife with honor.

1 Peter 3:7 (NASB)

You husbands in the same way, live with [your wives] in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

Finally, Saul was so fixated on himself that he refused to truly confess and repent. His words were shallow and performative. Compare that to David. When David blew it, he didn’t just manage his image; he let his heart be broken.

Psalms 32:3-5 (NASB)

When I kept silent [about my sin], my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away [as] with the fever heat of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD’; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.

When we hide our sin and blame everyone else, we destroy our relationships. But when we own our stuff, restoration begins. There is something beautiful about learning to say, “I have blown it. That’s on me. Please forgive me.”

1 John 1:9 (NASB)

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Saul is a cautionary tale. Don’t be the person who hardens their neck until they are broken beyond remedy. Instead, let’s be people who pursue reconciliation through honest repentance. May God use the story of Saul to kill the “Saul” in us, so that we might enjoy the joy of the King.

Father, what a gift it is to learn from those who have gone before us. May we take these lessons to heart. Help us not to seek the perks of Your kingdom while ignoring You. Help us to be obedient in the small things and the big things. And God, give us hearts that are quick to repent and slow to justify. We thank You for Your grace that allows us to start fresh today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.