← Don't Miss This Study
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Hi, there. Welcome to Don't Miss this, a scripture study podcast with Dave Butler and Grace Freeman.
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Each week, we point out things in the scriptures that we love and think you don't want to miss.
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Thanks for listening. Hey, everyone, I'm Dave Butler.
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I'm Grace Freeman.
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Welcome to Don't Miss this. Grace, this. We should. I should have asked you this before we started recording.
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B
I'm so scared about what this is.
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No, no, no, no, it's good. I just saw the movie project Hail Mary.
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B
Everyone's seeing that.
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It's fantastic. Listen, we're recording a little early, so it's June, so everyone's seen it. At this point, I'm not going to give any parts away.
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B
I have, too.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I just. I don't. You know, that's everyone. Hi. We normally don't start with movie recommendations, but I just feel like I should. I feel like I have to go.
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B
I have to go tonight.
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So good. It's so good. It's different than you think a little bit.
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B
I've never even seen the trailer.
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Perfect. Little quirky, but so good. Okay, we can talk more about that later. If it's your first week with us. We normally don't do movie recommendations. That's a bonus.
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B
We could if we need to.
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It's a bonus for today. We move through the scriptures just sections at a time, pointing out things that we think you don't want to. There's so many good parts to the scriptures. I was thinking today, though, or yesterday, whenever it was I was reading through this, that sometimes it's hard. The Old Testament is an old book, and it's hard because the culture is different. So it feels like we're straining a little bit sometimes to find, you know, the. What.
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Relevance.
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Yeah. What's the relevance?
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Yeah.
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To this. And I think above all, that's the. The greatest way to read scripture is to find what's relevant, what's inspir. Inspiring, what. You know, what's. It's gonna teach me. Yeah. What matters to me, what's gonna teach me about the character of the Lord. So we're gonna focus on all those things. But give yourself a little bit of grace as you read that. It's. It's tough. It's a different culture. So there are gonna be some things that cause you to stop and be like, wait, that is different than the world that I live in. And that's okay. That's okay. We have. Where we're at in the timeline. This is actually a transition period in the timeline. And there's this piece that you can put the three crowns for the. The three different kings. Because up till now we've had tribes and we've had 12 different tribes that live kind of separately, but kind of together. This period of Judges and most of the judges was about. We got ourselves into trouble and we needed help getting out. And now we enter this to the monarchy, the kingdom section of the Old Testament, and we're going to be introduced to our first of three kings that unite all the tribes into kingdom. That's so that's today. So as you go through and think about where am I at in the timeline of the Bible? And as we get to the prophets later on, we'll start talking about, oh, this was during the time of the kings, or we'll. We'll kind of refer back to this time period. So that's the piece that you'll put on your timeline to kind of keep track of that. And let's open up to first Samuel, chapter eight. And this is the setup. The setup is Samuel's essentially the last judge from the Book of Judges, and he gets old and he has his sons who are essentially, most people think are going to be the next judges, but they. They take bribes. They're just. They're naughty boys. And so they come in chapter eight, verse five, and they say to Samuel, behold, you're old in your sons. Do not walk in your ways. So can you make us a king? We. We want to be like it says in verse five, like all the other nations. And that should. That's probably like the ding, ding, ding verse when, when we read it, the, the heart of what the problem is that's going to be here is that line, we want to be like everybody else. Sometimes that's good. You know, there's a general, like, brush your teeth. Yeah, right. These kind of things. But you're going to find out two verses later that this was seen as. Because Samuel's just heartbroken about it. And he says to the Lord, I don't like this at all. And the Lord says, well, they've actually rejected me, that I am not the one reigning over them. They're picking a new king. And that's the problem. It's not so much like we want to be like everybody else. It's that that statement is a rejection of the king. Right? They want, like, we want another king to reign and to rule over us. And I think one of the themes, maybe throughout the whole Old Testament, but particularly in these chapters, is the question of who's King of your heart, who do you have on the throne of your heart? Who do you look to for instruction, for protection, for help, for validation? Like, who's your king? Right. Who's the one who kind of is like that? I'm going to be, you know, looking to. And I heard this definition of repentance once that I really love, I think fits well here, is that repentance is putting King Jesus back on the throne of your heart. Because there are so many kings that we could put on the throne of our heart, the ones that we say, what do you think I should do? How do you think I should handle this situation? Guide me, direct me, show me the way. And sometimes we put ourselves on that throne and. Or whatever it may be. And I just love that idea of they're choosing a different king, they're choosing somebody else to rule and reign over them. And that kind of becomes, I think, the problem for the tribes of Israel right now.
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And it is interesting because I think that is a very human need to want a king. And maybe I'm like, I'm not even talking, like, politically or like, in our, like, lives, like, oh, like I want, like that. Like, there is something in our souls and in our hearts that says, I want someone to be in charge because this is chaos. And everything that's going on is too much for me. And I can't take control over all the things that are happening in mortality. And our soul does crave, like, okay, I just need someone who will take control of this situation. And I think that sometimes in those times of need, we're less careful about the king we select because we just want someone to be in charge so bad. And it feels like this section and these chapters in the Old Testament kind of walk through. There is a need in mortality in a human that want someone to take control over things. And I think in desperate times, it's really easy for us to fill that throne with the quickest solution or what looks the nicest or what seems to be a good idea. When in reality there is a better way. There is someone who is in control, who is in charge of all of the things that are going on in our mortality. The question is, are we going to let him be the king?
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Yeah, right. So I think it's interesting, the next thing that Samuel does is he starts to warn them. Starting in verse 10, the Lord says, tell the people this is what's going to happen if you choose to do life this way. And I word it like that, because again, none of us are trying to find a king or anything like that. So to make it relevant, if you choose to follow the, you know, to be like all the other nations, to be like everybody else, this is the warning of what is going to happen. And he lists some of the warnings, right? He's going to take your sons, he's going to take your daughters, he's going to tax you. He's going to do all of these things. But I just like that section starting in verse 11 through, you know, 13, 14, 15, that, that just says, essentially, here's the Lord coming in and saying, you, you can choose this. But what you need to know is this is what it looks like to, to be like all the other nations. This is what that particular choice is going to be like. And I, I appreciate that. I appreciate that showing up. I, I like looking at sections like these and saying, this is not a threat from the Lord, it's a warning. He says, just so you know, these are the consequences of that particular choice of being like all the other nations.
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It's that verse at the very end of chapter eight is the one from this chapter that's so interesting to me. It's verse number 20. It says that we may also be like all the nations and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles. And they knew they needed someone to fight their battles. They realized they weren't strong enough on their own. And then they said, we need someone to be in charge of us. That is really true. And I just think that in my head when I read that verse, like, I just wanted to write down in my margins, in my notes, I just wanted to say, like, you've really gotta be careful who you choose to be your king. Because if that's the role that they're gonna have to judge you and to, like, fight your battles with you before you, for you. I wanna look at these people and be like, do you know your history?
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Yeah.
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Like, the answer should be obvious because you have had someone who is willing to do that, that parted seas and fought the battles for you and did everything that you want a king to do. Did you forget who was supposed to be the king? Like, it makes me want to grab their shoulders and shake them and be like, wait, you know, you know better. You already know that. But also, it made me sit and think, I still do need a king to rule over my life. And I sit and I think, who do I want to judge me and who do I want to go before me? And who do I want to fight my Battles. And we're sitting here and, like, obviously, if you're listening to this podcast, you're in a spiritual mindset. That's, like, why you started the podcast. And so it's so easy to be like, oh, yeah, Like, I want King Jesus to be the king of my heart. And it's like, well, yeah, I do, objectively. But are those the choices that I'm making throughout the rest of my week when I'm not deeply engaged in spiritual things? Because I think there's far off in times that I let my phone be the king of my heart. And I think that there are many times that I let my phone be my judge. I let my phone go before me, and I let my phone fight my battles. And when I'm struggling like that. So I don't know if I'm gonna explain this right. So, sorry if this is a jumble. I like it, but I'm like. I was just thinking how quickly I am when I'm in a battle to let my phone be where I go to for solace. Like, I'm like, oh, I need peace right now. I'm lonely. Where am I gonna go? My phone. I'm bored. Where am I gonna go? My phone. I'm stressed. Where am I gonna go? My phone?
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And I like that you're saying like, sorry, let me just interrupt. No, you're good. Just use the words of that verse. Like, if I wanna battle loneliness, where do I go if I wanna battle, you know, feelings of not being good enough? Where. Where do I go for that? That, you know?
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And you can do it with the rest of it. Judge me, my phone.
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Right.
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Why? Okay, because I'm scrolling reels, I'm scrolling TikToks. I'm scrolling Instagram. And all these random people that I've never met are giving me advice, and I'm letting them judge me. I'm hearing what they're saying. I'm like, oh, yeah, I must be doing something wrong. They don't even know who I am.
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Right?
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And I'm letting them judge me. And I don't think it's just our phone that we let be our king of our heart. But I think it's really easy for us to read this verse and be like, oh, like, how foolish of these people to not know who the king of their heart should be. It should be Jesus. Yeah. Of course we're thinking that when we're opening our Old Testament and reading 1st Samuel 9. But what about when it's three in the afternoon on a Wednesday what are we letting be the king of our heart then?
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Yeah. And also, the king kind of directs the. The culture of, like, the kingdom, right. That we're going to do things a certain way. And when Jesus comes into the New Testament, he introduces a new kingdom as a new king and a new way of doing things. He was like, in this kingdom, we forgive people. That's the way that we do things in this kingdom. In this kingdom, we act selfless, selflessly. Right? And the king kind of introduces that, and so he's war them. Your king might introduce patterns and might introduce just a way of dealing with the world, a way of dealing with feelings of doing those things that might not end up the way that you want them to, you know, because it seems at first like, well, it's. It's hard to live the law of love and the law of selflessness. And. And the warning in here might be. Is like, yeah, well, if. If you live the worldly kingdom way, you'll see the consequences of that. But it's interesting that in chapter nine, he says, okay, if you want a king, though, I. Let me choose the king for you. And there's something. Let's come back to that maybe a little bit later, about just what we learn about the Lord from this whole section at the end. But he says, let me pick one for you. And we get introduced to the first king of Israel, whose name is Saul, starting in chapter nine. And if you want to open up your journal, these sections are a great way to just kind of. I don't know, they sort of become a warning to everybody. A person who has goals, has ambitions, has hopes in their life of something that they want to do and the principles that help, those kind of come about in the way that God would want us to. And then. And then. So which is the section in here? The Rise of Saul. And then you have this section called the Fall of Saul. And these are sort of the principles and practices that sort of brought about his downfall. And it's sad. It's sad. This ends up being a really sad story. But also, I think, in part, is in here for two reasons. One, to serve as a warning, but second, to show that nobody's, like, either bad or good in scripture. There's. There's no, like, that's a bad guy. That's a good guy for the most part. Right? Everybody has different motivations. Everybody is choosing choices that they probably shouldn't have or wish they wouldn't have or, you know, that people are far more complicated than just simple, like, Good or evil. And I love being introduced to a person like Saul who just gives you a window into how complicated it is to live in the world and to try and have Jesus as the king of your heart at the same time with. With all the pressures and all the, you know, everything about that. So I think that there's something that's great about looking at his story in that light. So we'll just kind of point out some of these as. As we go through. So there's several verses in here, and I think you're kind of the section of the rise of Saul would be Samuel first, Samuel nine, eleven. And the principles that you can see in their patterns and practices, you know, where it's just like, wait, these seem to bring the best fruits. Right. They seem to be the ones that match the Sermon on the Mount. And the Lord just lays out that pattern and says, you know, I would advise this way. Okay, so let's just look at them. The first one, we meet him in nine, chapter two. And they meet this guy. Here's this boy, Saul, a choice young man, a goodly. And there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he. From his shoulders and upward, he was higher than any of the people. And I don't know, I just. I like right off the bat having this description of somebody with great potential, someone that looks like, oh, it seems as if some great things are going to come out of you, which I. Which I really like.
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And it's so cute to me that, why do they call him a goodly?
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Yeah, I just.
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I couldn't. I don't even know what to say.
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Don't you want to say that to somebody who's graduating this year from high school? You're such a goodly.
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Yeah.
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Or a goodly.
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Oh, that's the cutest thing I've ever read.
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So good. Now, these verses are in the journal, but I actually like these. His dad's donkeys get lost, and so he goes out searching for him. And I. First of all, you get into Ford. He says, I went to Ephraim and passed through here, but I didn't find him. And I went to Shalem and I didn't find him. And I went to this place and I didn't find them. And I went to Zof, and I didn't find them. Right. And that shows to me. I was like, oh, here's somebody who just doesn't give up. You know, you just start to see some of these fantastic qualities in him. And then at the end of verse five, he says, we better go back home because my dad is going to start caring less about the donkeys and more about. About us. And I love a kid who's like, I care about my dad's feelings. I care about my parents. I care that they're worried.
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He doesn't want him to be stressed.
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Exactly. There's something so sweet about that. I remember teaching. Yeah, I remember teaching this kid in seminary one time, and we had just had a heart to heart after class one time, and I was like, you know, he wasn't that into lessons, you know, and he wasn't like, you know, wild thing or whatever. I could just tell he wasn't into him. So I asked him after class. I was like, hey, hey, you know, just. Hey, tell me a little bit, you know, just chatting or whatever. And I said, so why do you. Why do you come to seminary? What do you like about seminary? Why do you take it? And he was like, honestly, it just makes my mom really happy to do it. And for me, that's enough. I don't like it, but I like my mom being happy. And I was like, sir, I actually don't care that you don't crack open your Bible one time during this class. But anybody who has such a concern about, you know, the feelings of their parents is a winner in my book.
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Oh, so good. Then we keep going. And the next place that the journal takes us is chapter nine, verse 21. And it's interesting to me that this comes right after what we first learn, our introduction to Saul, because then it's gonna go. And he meets Samuel. It's kind of like a crazy turn of events. Samuel knows he's looking for him, and he goes and finds him. And they start talking, and he's like, listen. And Samuel says, I'm a seer, and I know kind of what's gonna happen. I've seen you, and I know that I'm supposed to meet you. And there's a lot of things that are gonna happen. And they're kind of having this moment, and then all of a sudden, Saul looks at him and he's like, whoa, whoa, whoa. He says, am I not a Benjamite of the smallest of the tribes of Israel and my family, the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why on earth are you talking to me? And it's so interesting to me that that's his first response when our introduction to Saul is that he's such a good kid and he's really smart, and he's just Good. And he's tall. It seems to be so. And he just has all this going for him. And we just, like, went through all these verses about he's not gonna give up and he cares about his dad and he's doing his very best. And then when he meets Samuel, he just looks and he says, I'm not really all that special, and I'm kind of small. And you have no business to be talking to someone as insignificant as I am. And there is something to know about sweet Saul. That when he sees himself, he might be small. Even if the rest of the world knows his potential, that his heart did start out really humble and just like, what do you mean, you want to talk to me? What do you mean, you have big plans for me? What do you mean, you've chosen me? That doesn't make any sense. And. And I just do think there's something to be said about someone who's that good who still looks at themselves and says, I don't really know. Like, I actually might need someone to look at me and see my potential.
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A
Yeah. Which I think is like. I read those verses and I think. I think everybody needs that. Everybody needs somebody else. Just makes me think about, like, my patriarchal blessing as one example of God kind of looking at me and saying, I see something in you that you don't see in yourself. And just how valuable that can be for a parent or, you know, or a friend, a neighbor. Somebody who can look at somebody else and just see how goodly they are and see what potential that they have in them. I mean, I think it's the reason we weren't all born on the same day is like, I don't know. We need people who are older, farther along in life. It's so easy to get caught up in your own thoughts and your own, like, insecurities. It's so great to have somebody objectively look at you from the outside and look at you with a seer's eyes. Right. That's a gift that Samuel has. He says, I see something in you that you don't see in yourself. Or perhaps others don't see in you. And I think that is a gift, seership that God gives to more people than just those we sustain in general conference. I think it's a gift he gives to every parent. He gives them the gift of seership. To be able to see something in their children. To be able to see gifts and qualities in them and be able to point them out and encourage them in their kids or in those People that
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they love and the journal talks about. This whole entire section is the rise of Saul. And I do think there is something to be said about lifting up another person's heart by speaking their potential to them and saying, I know who you can be. And even on the day that you feel the smallest, I will speak the great things that you will do to you.
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So great. So many awesome things. This conversation that he has in chapter nine with Samuel just shows you, like this. Like he's just this. I want to learn. Show me the way. Point me the way. So many great principles in there. But the next one takes us to his 10:1, which is Samuel does a tradition that is common in the old testament. And 10:1 he says, then Samuel takes a vial of oil and he poured it upon his head and he kissed him, and he said, is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance? First of all, I love several things here. Just so you know, it was a practice in Old Testament times to take consecrated olive oil and to anoint somebody's head. We saw this in the tabernacle. It happened as people were anointed as priests. And it happens when people are anointed as prophets. And it happens also with kings in Old Testament times. They. And up till today, if you. If you look like a coronation ceremony of England or something like that, there's actually, you know, a pouring of consecrated oil. That's actually our word of the week. Let's point out now, this is not the verse that it comes from, but we might as well point it out right now. That word anointed in Scripture is actually meshiach, or we would say Messiah, which means to consecrate, to set apart for a certain cause. And so they're being set apart. And that olive oil in Old Testament times is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. It's a symbol of the gifting of God upon a person. And so you have in verse 10 two things happening. Saul's like, well, I don't understand why you would pick someone like me. And Samuel's like, I know you can do it because God picked you, so you should know that. And second, this anointing is sort of like getting a gift of grace. It's a gift of power. It's a gift of ability and means beyond your own. It's heaven being poured out onto someone. I was in a meeting the other day and working with this guy who was trying to pick music for this, you know, presentation and. And. And someone in that conversation I was like, you are so good at this. You're picking the right song for the right moment. That's incredible. And this other lady was like, that's his anointing. She was like, that's his. That's his gift. He's able to do it because God gave him a particular gift to be able to do it. And later on, I can't even remember where it is. Oh, it comes in just a minute, minute.
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I'll.
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I'll. Well, should I just point it out and say, where is this verse? Is it where. Where Saul shows up and people are like, who? What is this? Saul?
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B
Oh, yeah. That's so cute.
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Oh, yeah, yeah. Eleven. There it is. It came to pass when all that knew him before time saw that he was prophesied among the prophets. And the people said, one to another, this is 10, 11, if you miss me, say that. What is this that has come unto the son of kid? Is he also among the prophets? And I think that would be a great way to. You know, it's just cool that the people who used to know him as the old Saul are now seeing anointed Saul, now seeing Saul who's crowned with the. With the gifts of heaven, Saul who's equipped with the grace of God. And people. And people are noticing. It's like, oh, you're able to do such great things because of that. That anointing that's happened to you so good and right.
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B
There's like a little transition between the two that David just said those two verses, and right in the middle, you see the change. Because what happens is Saul gets anointed. And then afterwards, Samuel looks at him and he says, listen, you might be overwhelmed right now. You might not know what to do next. You might not know how this is gonna go. You might need to have a change of heart. And then he says, so I'm gonna tell you what's gonna happen next. And he gives him all these signs, like all these little miracles that are gonna happen. And as Saul goes throughout his day, all of the things start happening. And little by little by little, he starts experiencing every single thing that Samuel said to him. And then he gets to verse number seven. And Samuel looks at him and says, listen, when these signs are come unto thee, you that thou do as an occasion to serve thee, for God is with you. And just like that, he goes down, and all of the things happened, just like Samuel says. And then verse number nine. And it was so that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all those signs came to pass that day. And I love that he was called before he was ready. There was not a chance in the world that Saul was prepared for the calling God had to him. And God didn't wait. He didn't say, oh, let's make sure his testimony is strong enough. Let's make sure he knows who he is. Let's make sure he is 100% capable. God just called him. And then Samuel said, everything that needs to happen to get you ready will happen before it's your moment. Trust me on that. There will be miracles. There will be moments. There will be things that have come. Come to pass in your life that will change you in a way to get you ready for who you are meant to be. Don't worry that the calling came first. You will be made ready. God will not let that fail. And he goes through and he has all the signs. And I also just think there's something really cool to think about letting the experiences you have change your heart. And it would have been easy for Saul to walk down the street that day and go through all those signs and be like, oh, yeah, that's like. That's crazy. That's crazy that that really happened. But he didn't. Those experiences changed who he was. He saw each one of those things as a sign, a moment from God. And he was different because of it. So different that he completely changed that people didn't even recognize him. And it feels like there. I just do think that there are some of those moments when I was talking to my friend a year ago or so, and he. He was telling me, and he's like, you would not believe what happened. And we were kind of talking. He's like, I walked into a restaurant and someone called me over, and they said my name. And he's like, I walked over to him and I had no idea who they were. And I was like, kind of like, he teaches seminary. So he was like, maybe they were one of my students. Or maybe it was like somebody that I used to go to school with. And, like, the whole time, you know the conversation that you're, like, trying to pretend like you know who they are. And in the back of your mind, like, you're like, who is talking to me right now? He's doing one of the. And so he's like, asking more questions to, like, get, what are you up to? Like, how you been? And he's like saying. He's like, oh, like, I was an FSY counselor. I just got home from my mission, and he's saying all these things and still my friend was like, who is this guy? And then right at the very end, he realized who it was. And it was someone he knew from high school that was just a punk and wild and crazy. And he turned around and he walked away from that conversation and he thought I didn't even recognize him. And that is how Jesus works. It does not matter who you were, but he will give you experiences that give you a new heart so much that you can walk away unrecognizable from the person you once were.
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A
And I just love that in that, you know, if you read back, he has all these signs that, you know, Samuel says these things are going to happen. Like they miraculously find the lost donkey is one of them, for example. But I love that the one that people notice and remember, the one that had the biggest impression on them, was the Saul's change of character and his. His new heart and he was a new man. Where does it say that back in verse six, you will be turned into an entirely different person. And I just love that that is in this chapter expressed as this is the ultimate miracle. This is the ultimate purpose of that anointing. This is the ultimate aim of God in heaven and his greatest work and his most fascinating jaw dropping miracles are what he can do with a human heart. And I think that's so sweet. And I think it's worth saying here that as you look back on those chapters, Saul, the reason it happened is because of that anointing of the Spirit that came on him, right? And as you read in chapter nine, it talks about he went up to the high places to go visit Samuel. And he waited and he sat with him in moments of sacrifice. And he woke up, it says, at the spring of the day on that great verse. And I just think it's worth noting that Saul put himself in position and in places where the Spirit of the Lord could come upon him and then do his work. I can't reach in my own heart and change it, but I can put myself in position and places where God can. And I think that's worth noting. And saying worth noting sounding so fancy. It's worth saying in, you know, in
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B
this chapter, which is really tender, that in the journal. I just love that it's called the rise of Saul, because I do like that it was a rise.
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A
Yeah, I like what I love. I love what you said. Well, he wasn't ready before this call. And it just was. This is the. These chapters are the work of becoming. We have A fancy word for that in scripture called exaltation. To exalt is to go from one station to a higher one. That's too fancy to say. It sounds too big. But really this is just this progression. It's just this becoming. It's just this elevating of who he is. And now we just to want to stop the whole lesson and say, and that was the life.
- [30:18]
B
Don't you love Saul?
- [30:19]
A
And that was the life of Saul now. But now I take that back. I take that back because like I said at the beginning, all of our stories are complicated, right? And they all have ups and downs in them. In fact, I think the chart of progression looks like the stock market, right? Where it's sort of like, you know, like. And then you got a big dip in there somewhere and you're like, oh, yeah, that was, that was, that was 09. It was 09. I can't even remember. It was a spiritual recession for me. But all, all in all, we rebound from that, you know, and just every day it's like this, but it trends, you know, it trends upward. And I think if Saul Paul will hold on to that principle we found in him from chapter nine, verse four of not giving up, he's like, well, it's not here, let me try here. When he was looking for the donkeys. Isn't here, let me try here. Isn't here, let me try here. Just keep going back. And he does throughout this whole thing, he keeps his relationship with Samuel, he keeps his relationship with the Lord. And I think because of that, even though you're gonna see kind of a true, you know, tragic. It is kind of a tragic ending. I feel bad to say that, you know.
- [31:38]
B
Yeah. Because you just don't want it to be.
- [31:40]
A
Yeah. But I, but I don't think it's over. You know, he. He dies several chapters later. And then I think hopefully that stock market trend just continues on in the next life for him. So I do think it's worth. One of the purposes of scripture is to warn us and to show us. Right from the very beginning of the Old Testament, the Lord says to Cain that sin croucheth at the door. And there are some things that have. That you, that you think I, I would never get there. And it's just, And I know this is an age old lesson in church, but it's just worth being. Learning from the mistakes of other people. Is, is. Is what this is? Because can we just jump to the very end, 1st Samuel 28, which is way out of the lessons of this, this is Saul, Paul in a disguise going to get help for his problem from witches. It's just like. It just. You're like, how in the world did we get, you know, to that place? And we're just going to see maybe some of the patterns that, you know, could lead to a. A person's downfall. So we're going to jump to chapter 13. And this is the first of a couple. Just a couple of these stories here in 13. And Saul is about to fight this battle, and the Philistines are the army that is there. These people are always here, and they're just surrounding him. And Samuel says, wait seven days. And when I get there, I am going to offer the offering, right? And give a blessing to the people. And it says that all of, like, start. Some of Saul's army starts deserting. The Philistines start gathering in bigger and bigger numbers. And Samuel hasn't shown up yet. And it says in verse eight, and he tarried, he waited seven days according to the set time Samuel had appointed. But Samuel came not, and the people were scattering. And Saul said, bring me the burnt offering and the peace offering. He offered it, and it came to pass. As soon as he did that, Samuel showed up and it goes. I know. Right after. Yeah, Wait, why? What, wait a day?
- [33:46]
B
Yeah.
- [33:48]
A
Not in the moment. Wait till the 8th. Don't catch me. Yeah. So he comes and then he says, what have you done? And so. And Saul says, because I saw that the people were scattered for me and you hadn't shown up yet, and the Philistines had gathered, I forced myself, it says in verse 12, to offer that burnt offering. Now, first, you know, especially for a modern audience, we look at this and we're like. Like, it doesn't feel like that. You know, it was like you were maybe just trying to do what, you know, what was best. But I think the warning from these chapters is, if we could say the sin of Saul is that he cares more about what other people think. And to some degree, that's a great quality. You ought to care about other people and what they think and their feelings and those kind of things. But his paramount concern is what other people think about him. And that seems to be, I think, the general pattern to his fall.
- [34:49]
B
Absolutely. And you see a little bit more. The more chapters you read, the more of the story you get. And by chapter 15, there is a moment that Saul is commanded by God to smite and destroy. His goal is to just get completely rid of the Amalekites. I'm hoping I'M saying that, right? Everyone's learning that I'm not great at reading. And I just need you to forgive me for that. Okay, everyone. And usually I'm good at reading in my head. Cause I could just make up however they're said. But saying out loud is like a little bit of accountability. And he is like, okay, I'm gonna do it. And then he decides that before destroying all of them, he's going to keep a few things for sacrifice. And even right now, when you say it, you're like, oh, good idea, Saul. Yeah, that's nice of you to keep something for sacrifice. That seems like you're doing the right thing. And so he does it. And then Samuel shows up again and he looks at him and he says, wait, you forgot. God didn't ask you to make a sacrifice. God asked you to destroy them. And verse 22 is so interesting to me. And Samuel said, has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord. And just as a good pause and reminder that empty rituals or doing things just to do them, or checking something off your list or just doing it because someone told you that you need to do it is so much less important to God than you really listening to Him. God is not up there saying, oh, yeah, here's your checklist of things to do. Your grocery list. Here's all of your chores for the day. Make sure you get them done. And then I'm gonna love you at the end. That's not the goal of the Lord. That's not his hope up in heaven. That's not how he raises us. That's not his life. His goal is a relationship. And that is far more important to him than anything else. So he's like, wait, I don't need empty rituals because are you getting closer to. To me when you're doing them? No, you're doing them. And that's something to be said like, okay, like, great job. I'm proud of you for being disciplined. But I don't want you to do empty rituals. I want a relationship with you. And that looks like trust. I think that something I've been thinking a lot about is how much obedience plays a role in trust. And that the Lord wants to know that we trust him. And we need to know that the Lord trusts us. And the only way you can build that relationship is if you are asked to do things and you say you're going to do them. And you ask him to do things and he says he's going to do them. That's how a relationship works. And why would it be any different for the Lord?
- [37:20]
A
Yeah, I actually was kind of going through the same thing. Because you actually find out in verse 24 that Saul says to Samuel, I sinned. I went against what the Lord said because I feared the people and I obeyed their voice. Y. But I was just justifying it. And I was trying to say, no, no, no, look at all the good things that I did. And I started to try and think through this, you know, because I was like, why? Why is he saying that obedience is better than that sacrifice? Because the sacrifice was kind of an obedience. It's what the Lord had asked him to do. And I think what we're finding out here is it's the heart that matters and it's the intention, because the relationship is what matters most. And I started to think about, like, Jenny and I, or in. In a marriage or whatever, because the Hebrew for that word, obey, I was looking that up, means not just to. It means to hear, to listen intently, and then to respond. It means to find out, like, the feelings in the heart of the other person and then respond to the feelings in the heart of that person. That's what the word obey means. And I started thinking, like, what if Jenny had. Jenny has things that bother her and things that she wishes and things. Things that hope. Sometimes we say the will of the Lord, But I could also say, like, the will of Jenny would be. You know, those would be synonymous with each other. Right. Like, I want you to listen to me. And what if I didn't? What if I completely ignored her feelings, her wants, her desires, what actually made her happy? And then I came home with a gift at night, you know, and then I was like, oh, I bought you a necklace, or I bought you flowers, or I bought. And you. And I could just hear Jenny saying. I was like, that's not a real enriching, fulfilling relationship. I don't want you to just buy me things. Cause on paper, yes, buying me things looks good. Buying me things is like what you do to strengthen a relationship. But what I really want is your heart. I want your heart, and I want you to love my heart. And I want this to. Not just on paper and on. And, you know, and on list of deeds look like a good relationship. I want it to actually be one where we listen to each other and we love each other and we respond to. To the feelings of each other. And I think that's kind. You know, what. What we're kind of seeing, you know, that Happens here anyways, so you can read through and just. I think that's probably just the main principle. And there's just other examples of that we're going to, I think just maybe a cool way to end. And this is. I just one way you might want to study this as you watch the rise and fall of Saul is to look for the role that the Lord plays through both parts of it. Look at how intent and how involved he is in the entire story of Saul. And maybe just a couple examples of that that we can run through some that we've already said. But now, now let's look at it from the perspective of the Lord and here's just some. So back in chapter 8, 7, 7, 7 through 9 is I like that in the very, very beginning, when the people are wanting to. Wanting to choose a king, that the Lord gives them the dignity to choose. He's just like, okay, you're wrong. But I'm actually going to. To give you the opportunity to choose. Because like we said earlier, a relationship or a love that is forced is not actually love at all. And God is allowing them to choose him or not choose him because he cares about the heart. He doesn't care about how many followers he has, how many. You know, he's like, I'm actually going to let you choose. And even though they're going against his advice and they're choosing what he thinks is not going to be good for them, and he still says, can I step in and help you with your wrong choice? Isn't that so interesting that he's like, there's something so sweet about them saying, like, we're picking a B level choice here or a C level. And God's like, can I help you do a C plus Then if you're going to choose it this way, let me help you. Let me help you. This is a lesser path, but can I help you do the very best that this lesser path has to offer? Like, that is so, so cute, so sweet. I love seeing that heart of the Lord here and the fact that he warns him, you know, in that same chapter too. Yeah, he's like, okay, I will let you choose. But I want, I want to warn you, I think we saw in chapter nine that yes, our parents see what's best. Yes, our friends see what best. But in this chapter, it's God who notices what is best about him. He doesn't look in Saul and say, oh, do you know what? I know what you're going to end up doing. But he's like, I see what is so good about you. And I. And I see that. And let me bless you and let me help your best become something better. Let me give you a new heart. We saw the Lord correct, directing Saul through the prophet Samuel. When he did that in chapter 13, him coming in and saying, hey, this is. This is why that was. This is why that was. Was wrong. Anyways, I just love looking at this whole thing and just noticing that God is still a main character in this story through the whole. Through the whole stock market, you know, journey of Saul's heart. Now we're going to save the story of David for next time. We're going to introduce David and tell that whole story next. Yeah, next time. But I do think it's awesome that, you know, the one last thing we learned from the Lord is he's going to redeem the story. Okay. I'll give a new king if we've messed up this part of the story. That. That's okay. Let's. Let's start over again. And the presence of a second king is. Is showing that God doesn't give up either. That I'm just. I'm going to keep on reaching. I'm going to keep on. I'm going to keep on trying. So I. I do love seeing that throughout the whole thing. So. All right, hope you love that. Get excited, because next week is David. See you then. If you want to follow along in everything we're doing and you can find us on Instagram @don'tmissthis study at this week's Grace&rdavebutler.
- [43:51]
B
And if you want to subscribe to the app or get our weekly newsletter, all of the information can be found at don'tmissthisstudy.com See you next week.