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Stubbornness
Text: 1 Samuel 15:10-35
Saul has disobeyed God. His continual stubbornness is a grief to God and a grief to Samuel and a trouble to the nation of Israel.
Covering up stubbornness (vss 10-21)
- Saul attempts to create an alibi in verse 12. Saul just wants Samuel to know that he was there. You try harder to figure out how to disobey than to just do what you’re told. If people spent as much time obeying as they do covering up their disobedience, things would be a lot better and people would be a lot less stressed out.
- Saul acts so spiritual in verse 13.
- Verse 14, Be sure your sin will find you out.
- Saul says we disobeyed because we’re going to put it to use for God. (Ben brought this up last week after church. He said, God already said He didn’t want anything the Amalekites had. So even if Saul does offer the best to God, the LORD already said He’s not interested in anything the Amalekites have. That’s exactly right. And that’s what Samuel will say.)
- Vss 17-19 Samuel says the evil Saul did was failing to contend with God’s enemies as the LORD told him to do. Jude 3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
- Saul blames the people in verse 21.
Characteristics of stubbornness (vss 22-23)
- Obedience is better than sacrifice
- Rebellion is as witchcraft
- A people in rebellion to God are fascinated with witchcraft and sorcery.
- Saul will end up consulting a witch. Even after he’s banished them from the country.
- People who don’t know where the book of Genesis is can name all the books in the Lord of the Rings. People who can’t show you where Paul’s epistles are in the Bible can tell you what their horoscope says. Americans who don’t know why Noah had to build an ark, but could tell you who Harry Potter learned his magic from.
- Isaiah 8:19-20 Looking among the dead? Why?! People will do anything and look to anything as long as it’s not God.
- Isaiah 47:8-13 – Given to pleasures associated with witchcraft. Nobody’s watching. God is not interested in what I’m doing.
- Acts 16:16-21, there has always been money in it. People will tolerate unclean spirits. People will use unclean spirits to make money and will spend money on unclean spirits.
- Acts 19:16-20 This stuff has always been a main staple of literature and entertainment.
- Revelation 9:20-21 Neither repented of their sorceries
- Stubbornness is as idolatry
- Idolatry is making others gods.
- Stubbornness is ignoring the authority and wisdom of God and ascribing authority and wisdom to something else.
Consequences of stubbornness (vss 24-28)
- Saul attempts to confess his sin to get God on his side. But his confession is empty. His life is a rejection of the word of God in verse 26.
- 2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
- Kingdom is taken from Saul. His reign will be the last in his family.
Christ in the midst of stubbornness (vss 29-35)
- Strength of Israel is Jesus Christ. He is Israel’s true king and reigns over Israel from heaven. Christ, the Strength of Israel, has shepherded the nation without needing any earthly king up until this time. And Christ has even worked around Saul to help the nation in spite of the king they chose for themselves.
- Saul desperately tries to make things right so he doesn’t lose his place, but it’s not going to change anything.
- Samuel, as Christ, performs the will of God (vss 31-33).
- Though Saul will not be forgiven here, there is a valuable lesson on asking forgiveness.
- Illustration of mortgage and asking the bank for forgiveness. Then going away saying I’ll see you tomorrow. No plan to pay, never addressing the debt that is owed. But you treat God that way. God forgive me! Gladly, but who is paying your debt? If you take ____ with you along with their checkbook. Bank will not offer forgiveness unless there is a payment of what is due.
- Why is it important that the will of God be performed? Because God doesn’t give commandments just to hear Himself talk. The commandment serves a purpose. The purpose of the commandment is to free His people from enemies who will cause His people trouble.
- If you read this account and say, Saul asked for forgiveness can’t God just forgive him and move on? That assumes that what God said at the beginning to Saul was just a commandment that you could either take it or leave it. The important thing from the commandment going forth is the performance of the commandment. The important thing is not asking for forgiveness. Someone still has to do what God said.
- Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
- Conclude with salvation in Jesus Christ for a sinner – 1 John 2:1-2 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
