Saul and Samuel - The Book of 1 Samuel

In this Bible Story, Saul's pride and disobedience begins to show. Although he claims many victories, his attitude against God was muddied by his own pride and anxiety. This story is inspired by 1 Samuel 13. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is 1 Samuel 13:11 from the King James Version.

Episode 81: While Samuel was aging and retiring from his role as judge, Saul was gaining favor with the people with every battle won. Saul was swelling with pride and becoming addicted to the praise of his people, while Samuel led the people into habitually seeking God before every battle. One day, while preparing for battle against the Philistines at Gilgal, Saul gave in to his anxiety and people-pleasing attitude by taking on the duties of a priest, duties that at this time belonged solely to Samuel. Saul’s disobedience and petty excuses led to God removing the kingship from his dynasty and passing it onto one whose heart would seek after God.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray, And Samuel said, what hast thou done?
And Saul said, because I saw that the people were
scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the
days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Migmash,
First Samuel thirteen eleven. Dear God, to day, I declare

(00:24):
that a new day is upon me. To day, I
declare that a living a victorious life is my new
norm and not my exception. As the victory over my
circumstances increases, I will not act as Saul in First
Samuel thirteen and allow my ambition and anxieties cause me

(00:44):
to move and act on things that you have commanded
me to wait on. Holy Spirit, quicken my courage so
that I will not let the appearance of troubles cause
me to step outside my character and God given peace.
I will wait patiently for you and your instructions as

(01:04):
it pertains to the plans for my future. I denounce negative,
prideful behaviors and arrogance from my mind. I declare that
I am calm, centered, and clear headed in the face
of trials, for I know that you are always with me.
I thank you that my resolve has been strengthened, and

(01:27):
that my reliance is on my obedience, which pleases you
more than my sacrifices in Jesus name, Amen. Listening to
these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God. Continue hearing
from the Lord by listening to today's Bible in a Year,

(01:49):
brought to you by Bible in a Year dot com.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Paul and Samuel. In our last story, we witnessed Saul's
rise as king. He led the Israelites into victory over
the Ammonites, and all the people rejoiced over their new leader. However,
a flickering light of pride dwelt within Saul's heart. In
this story, we learn how Samuel sees right through Saul's

(02:22):
strong and noble appearance and confronts him, inspired by the
Book of First Samuel.

Speaker 3 (02:30):
Hello, this is Jack Graham with today's episode of the
Bible in a Year podcast. Yesterday, we heard about King
Saul's first battle as the leader of God's people. His
heart was focused on God and his army soundly defeated
the Ammonites. Saul gave glory to God in that moment,
recognizing the Lord for delivering Israel from her enemy. But

(02:51):
even In that moment, pride began to creep in. And
in today's scripture we'll see that God's Prophet Samuel isn't
fooled by Saul's outwards of humility. The great Prophet recognizes
the pride that is seeping into the king's heart. God's
man will call out the king, But how will the
young ruler respond? Let's listen now to find out.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
Samuel was old and weary. The people's grumbling for a
king was answered, and Samuel retired himself to the outskirts
of Israel, where he dwelt. Samuel watched over Israel silently,
being attentive to the voice of God. Though Saul was king,
Samuel was still priest over Israel. All matters of worship, prayer,

(03:38):
and speaking for God were solely Samuel's responsibility. Saul had
been ruling for two years and had established himself as
a great warrior king. Saul's tact strength, and image of
humility made him beloved by the people. After a while,
it was time for Saul to mount an offence against

(03:58):
the Philistines. Saul chose three thousand of his finest warriors
and took two thousand to the hill country of Bethel.
The other thousand went with his son Jonathan, to the
land of Benjamin, where some Philistines had begun attacking. Jonathan
was a young man, strong and also loved by the people.

(04:18):
While Saul wore humility like a costume, Jonathan was truly humble.
With his men behind him, Jonathan stormed the city where
the Philistines held Israelites hostage, and struck them down swiftly.
All of the Philistines caught word of their victory, and
their anger against Israel grew. That day, Saul blew the

(04:39):
trumpet of victory, signifying that they had taken back the
land of Benjamin. This riled up the rest of Israel
to join Saul for another battle at Gilgal. Saul was
glowing with pride, and his heart grew addicted to the
praise and loyalty of his people. It did not take
long for the Philistines to retaliate in the distance. Thirty

(05:01):
thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen scattered like sand on
the sea shore. The horizon was blackened by the soldiers.
The Philistine foot soldiers hid in caves, holes and rocks
near by and waiting for Israel. It was an army
unlike any of them had ever seen. The vastness of
their people coupled with the strength of their chariots, sent

(05:24):
chills down the Israelite spines. If Saul wanted to fight them,
he had to cross below the canyons. Slowly, the men
of Israel walked towards Gilgal. Every sound and movement startled them.
They were all waiting for the Philistine hoarde to emerge
from the darkness to attack. The sound of armors shaking

(05:45):
echoed through the canyons. They finally came to a place
to camp at Gilgal and waited for Samuel. For Samuel
had told them he would come to make a sacrifice
to God before they went into battle. The people of
Israel had finally found a rhythm of obedience to God.
Before every battle, Samuel would lead them in worship to

(06:06):
ask God for favor. This was a pattern they had
not had in years, and God was very pleased with
their obedience. Yet seven days had passed and Samuel had
still not arrived. Saul grew anxious. He wanted bloodshed, He
wanted the battle to be over with the people were
growing restless, and Saul's men began to depart. Saul, out

(06:28):
of fear people would not trust him, spoke saying, just
bring the peace offering to me. I will make the
sacrifice to God. Saul hastily and sloppily offered the sacrifice
and led people in worship. Saul worshiped God with no reverence, love,
or intensity. Instead, he sought as a chore that needed
to be done quickly before they went into battle. As

(06:51):
Saul had finished, behold, Samuel stood behind him. Saul looked
at Samuel's eyes. They shot right through him. His gaze
was piercing and reflected the intensity of God. What have
you done, Samuel said to Saul. Saul gave a nervous
laugh and said, the people were growing nervous because you
were late, and the Philistines are ready for battle. Saul

(07:15):
continued to smile and feign ignorance. I had no choice
but to begin the offering as king. I had to
seek favor from God. Samuel saw right through Saul. He
knew Saul only did it out of compulsion. He rushed
the worship of God to appease his own anxiety. Not
only that, but he was not a priest or chosen

(07:36):
by God to speak for him. You are a fool, Saul,
Samuel said, your kingdom will be as temporary as your
obedience to God. God has already set his gaze on
another king, a man after his own heart. After saying this,
Samuel vanished and the people followed Saul into battle.

Speaker 3 (08:02):
Our story begins with Samuel, now an aged man. He
is no longer judged over Israel, as a new era
has begun and Saul is now king, leading the people
of Israel. But Samuel is still God's chosen priest and
his prophet. He is still God's man. While Saul was
in charge of leading the nation and going into battle
as the commander, Samuel was charged with worship and leading

(08:25):
the children of Israel spiritually. In just two years as king,
Saul had gained the people's admiration, respect, and loyalty. They
followed him into battle, and God granted them great victories.
If only Saul had remembered his first battle, when he
acknowledged that the victory belonged to the Lord, then his
life would have gone in a different direction. But when

(08:47):
everyone around you tells you how great you are, you
begin to believe it. And Saul was hearing a lot
about how great he was from the people. Saul called
up an army to do battle with the Philistines, was
split into two camps. Saul's son Jonathan, defeated the first
of the enemy's units, and the people celebrated the victory,
praising Saul for the wind. But there were other Philistines

(09:11):
mounting an attack in Gilgo. This was a much larger
army and the people of Israel were fearful, so Saul
called on Samuel to offer sacrifices to God before the battle.
It was an act of worship that pleased God. All
was going well until Samuel delayed his arriving. The frightened
Israelites began to disperse, and Saul felt his control slipping.

(09:34):
He must have thought to himself, I can do this
on my own. I don't need Samuel, I don't need God.
But he did. He needed God and God's men. This
was a sacred position, and it was Samuel's responsibility in calling.
Saul was now impulsive and too sure of himself, so
he offered the sacrifices himself on his own. This was disobedience,

(10:00):
just like when a child has acted impatiently and disobeyed
a parent. Samuel shows up just in time to catch
Saul in the act. When Samuel confronts Sau, he hears
no contrition or apologies and sees no repentance. Saul only
had excuses. He tried to rationalize his way out of it.
But Samuel and of course God saw right through the facade,

(10:21):
and the cause of his pride and arrogance was impulsively high.
Samuel speaks to Saul in First Samuel thirteen fourteen and
says this, but now your kingdom shall not continue. The
Lord has sought out a man after his own heart,
and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over
his people. Because you have not kept what the Lord

(10:41):
commanded you, Saul forfeits his right to be king because
he disobeyed God. After Samuel confronts Saul, he then went away,
leaving Saul to go into battle. But Saul's story isn't over.
So much needs to happen before the new king comes
on the scene, and will hear more of Saul's story
next time. God, may we obey you, and not partially

(11:06):
but completely. May we humbly and obediently do what you
tell us to do. Always help us not to seek
the praise of men, but only you. May we be
men and women after your heart. And we pray this
in the name of your son Jesus. Amen. Thank you
for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm

(11:26):
pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download thepray dot Com
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(11:47):
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