What Can We Learn From King Saul’s Life and Backsliding?

Summary

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Grace in Focus Podcast Summary

Episode Title: What Can We Learn From King Saul’s Life and Backsliding?
Date: August 12, 2026
Host: Bob Wilkin
Guest: Phillipe Sterling
Podcast: Grace in Focus – Grace Evangelical Society
Episode Length: ~13 minutes

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Bob Wilkin and guest Phillipe Sterling explore the biblical life of King Saul, Israel’s first king, focusing on valuable lessons from his initial promise, subsequent decline, and ultimate legacy. The discussion addresses theological implications regarding regeneration, backsliding, and the Old Testament’s unique view of the Holy Spirit. Listeners are encouraged to reflect on both Saul’s strengths and failures as instructive for their spiritual walk.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Saul’s Initial Promise and Humility

• Private Anointing & Spiritual Change:
  • Saul was privately anointed king by Samuel and became “a new man by the work of the Holy Spirit” (03:00).
• Public Acclamation & Humility:
  • Early public acclaim showed his hesitance and humility, refraining from punishing dissenters (03:18–03:40).
  • “He was humble at the beginning.” —Bob (03:20)
• Military Victory:
  • Saul united Israel to defeat the Ammonites, bravely leading and giving glory to God (03:22).

2. Early Warnings & Spiritual Weaknesses

• Despite good beginnings, subtle weaknesses appeared: a lack of consistent dependence and trust in God (02:51; 03:00).

3. Key Incidents of Disobedience

• Unlawful Sacrifice:
  • Saul grew impatient waiting for Samuel and offered sacrifices without proper authority—a significant breach (03:50–04:06).
  • “He has no authority to offer sacrifices…he’s not allowed to do that himself.” —Bob (03:57)
• Partial Obedience with the Amalekites:
  • Commanded to destroy all the Amalekites and their possessions, Saul preserved the best spoils, disobeying God’s explicit command (04:45–05:28).
  • Attempted justification “to sacrifice to the Lord,” but was truly motivated by people-pleasing and rationalization (05:48–06:00).

4. Divine Judgment and Saul’s Backsliding

• God’s Regret & Removal of Kingship:
  • Samuel conveys God’s regret:
    • Quote: “I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not performed My commandments.” —Samuel reading God’s words (06:00; 1 Sam 15:10-11 quoted 05:48–06:46)
  • Saul’s trajectory turns further away from true spiritual leadership, including self-glorification (setting up a monument for himself) (06:46).
• Failing to “Walk with the Lord”:
  • “He turned back from following the Lord.” —Phillipe (07:22)
  • Bob links this to the New Testament idea of “walking with the Lord,” relating Saul’s failures to ongoing spiritual struggles (07:26).

5. Refusing God’s Next Step

• When God chose David as Saul’s successor, Saul should have willingly abdicated:
  • “If he had, he could have extended his life instead of dying at the hand of the Philistines along with his sons.” —Bob (08:48–08:55)

6. Never a Total Forsaking – Saul’s Spiritual Status

• Despite significant carnality and decline, Saul never became an idolater or wholly rejected God (09:00–09:27).
• Saul eventually recognized David’s righteousness:
  • “You’re more righteous than I.” —Saul to David (09:35–09:41)

7. Old Testament Holy Spirit vs. New Testament Indwelling

• The Spirit empowered Saul and David for tasks but did not indwell permanently as in the New Testament (10:06–10:19).
  • Reference to Jesus’ words: “The Holy Spirit has been with you and he will be in you.” —Bob (10:19)
• David’s plea in Psalm 51 (“do not take your Holy Spirit from me”) reflects the OT dynamic of empowerment, not loss of salvation (10:35–10:51).
• Modern Parallels:
  • Bob shares personal thoughts about times of special empowerment in ministry today (11:40–12:01).

8. Lessons for Believers

• Saul provides both positive and negative examples:
  • “We can all learn a lot from King Saul and we shouldn’t just think this is a man that has nothing positive to teach us.” —Bob (12:09)
• Encouragement to Value the Old Testament:
  • “A lot of believers don’t spend much time in the Old Testament. But that’s quite a shame, isn’t it?” —Bob (12:18)
  • Phillipe shares his personal enrichment from OT study:
    • “Often I felt my heart burning within me.” (12:33)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Saul’s Humility:
  • “He was humble at the beginning.” —Bob (03:20)
• On Obedience:
  • “It was pretty simple. Just do what I tell you to do. Don’t overthink this.” —Bob (07:55)
• On Blame-Shifting:
  • “He tended to blame his men. And then he rationalized what he did.” —Phillipe (08:01)
• On Special Godly Empowerment:
  • “At times I can look back…that seemed especially effective. I wonder if the Lord was giving me special enablement.” —Bob (11:40)
• On the Joy of Old Testament Study:
  • “Often I felt my heart burning within me.” —Phillipe (12:33)
  • “You were like two disciples on the road to Emmaus. And scripture will do that to us if we’re receptive.” —Bob (12:40)

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Key Segment Timestamps

• 01:21: Introduction to Saul’s regeneration and spiritual trajectory
• 03:00–03:40: Saul’s anointing and early humility
• 03:50–04:06: Saul’s unlawful sacrifice and Samuel’s rebuke
• 04:45–05:28: The Amalekite episode; partial obedience
• 05:48–06:46: God’s regret and the outcome of Saul’s disobedience
• 07:22–07:26: “He turned back from following the Lord”
• 08:48–08:55: Potential for a different legacy if Saul had submitted to God’s plan
• 09:35–09:41: Saul’s recognition of David’s righteousness
• 10:06–10:51: Old Testament vs. New Testament ministry of the Holy Spirit
• 11:40–12:01: Modern experiences of special spiritual empowerment
• 12:33–12:40: The joy and value of Old Testament study

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Takeaways

• King Saul’s story illustrates both the peril of backsliding and the possibility of spiritual renewal.
• Obedience matters, but so does humility and the willingness to accept God’s will (even when it means stepping aside).
• The Old Testament’s examples remain vital to Christian understanding and spiritual growth.
• Believers should not neglect lessons from the whole of Scripture.

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End of Summary

Transcript

[A]

The following is a listener supported ministry from the Grace Evangelical Society. King Saul, head and shoulders above the others. He had it made, but in the end he had a sad legacy. He perhaps started well, but made some poor misguided decisions. But is there anything positive about his life? How should we think and what should we learn from it? An important discussion just ahead here on Grace in Focus. Thanks for being here, friend. This is a ministry of the Grace Evangelical Society. Find [e-mail] and when you come to that website, make sure and stop by our store and see all the books that we have to offer and a few free ebooks as well. Our newly published first volume of our Old Testament commentary is available. You will want to have it. And by the way, each May for the next two years, we will be subsequently publishing volume two and volume three also at the store, Bob Wilkins most recent book, the Gospel, is still under siege. And on our web site you can also find a way to donate if you so choose, to our ministry. We do appreciate that. It's faithalone.org now with today's discussion, here is Bob Wilkin along with Phillipe Sterling Philippe.

[B]

We've been discussing King Saul, Israel's first king. Last time we talked about his regeneration, how he was given a new heart and made into another man. And now I thought we'd look at what can we learn from his life and even from his backsliding, or we might call it degeneration, that he was acting like a degenerate man at places not degenerate in the sense of unregenerate, but in the sense of he was carnally minded. He was not making good decisions, he was not making spiritually minded decisions. He kind of reminds me of the Corinthians, right, where he says, you know, you're not spiritual, but you're carnal. So let's take a look at some of the things from King Saul's life. And you have a chart, right, with the trajectory of his life. Maybe you could go over that.

[C]

Yes, and I entitled it the Sad Saga of King Saul.

[B]

I think you have. We have a YouTube video on that, don't we?

[C]

Yes, a YouTube video and also a couple of Grayson Focus articles. Okay, so King Saul, that dwells upon the commentary, right?

[B]

You want to hold that up so the audience can see it.

[C]

Okay?

[B]

Now in January, we're going to be doing video podcasts. And so when you come on next year, you will be able to hold it up and people will be able to see it. But for right now, just tell us about it.

[C]

All right. Saul actually began pretty well, even though there were some early indicators also of the weakness of his dependence and walk with God. But he was privately anointed king by Samuel, and he became then a new man by the work of the Holy Spirit in him. And he's publicly acclaimed king, but he's kind of shy about it, right? Yeah.

[B]

Which is a good thing.

[C]

Which is a good thing.

[B]

He was humble at the beginning.

[C]

Yeah. Initially he was a humble man and the Ammonites. Then came the army, you know, against the nation. And he bravely did rally the nation together and defeated the Ammonites and gave credit to God for that. But soon after, though, he does disobey Samuel. You know, Samuel had told him, no, wait for me and I'll come and offer the appropriate sacrifice.

[B]

Seven days, Right.

[C]

And Samuel delayed. Saul grew impatient and offered the sacrifices himself.

[B]

And he has no authority to offer sacrifices whether it was seven days or seven months. He's not allowed to do that himself.

[C]

Right. So Samuel does rebuke him for that, and he accepts the rebuke, which is

[B]

commendable that he accepts it.

[C]

Right. And even with that initial victory over the Ammonites, and then when the nation acclaims him as king, there's a few bad characters there that don't honor him as king. And he doesn't react to that. He again just bides his time. Does, in fact, he says, you know, let us not kill them or anything. So his showings is good traits initially. But then God gives him the command to Samuel to destroy the Amalekites completely. Completely.

[B]

All. Not only all of the men, but all of them. Women, children, and all the animals too, right? Yeah.

[C]

To use an Old Testament expression, they were all put under the bane. The Amalekites were people who actually persecuted Israel as they emerged out of Egypt and were making their way, they were killing off all the stragglers in the back and everything. And God said, the Amalekites will ultimately be wholly rejected and the judgment on them is given to Saul. And Saul does not obey completely.

[B]

He just does what would have been popular with his soldiers. His soldiers would have liked keeping the

[C]

animal the best of the animals, all the booty and all of that.

[B]

Like, remember, Achan, when Aiken is. What do you keep some silver inside

[C]

a mantle from Babylon? Silver and gold, beautiful garments.

[B]

And it's kind of like that. Here they're saving some of the best. Now Saul is going to say the reason that they kept all that was to sacrifice. All right.

[C]

They sacrificed the best, but they had killed all the lame and all the undesirable animals, but kept the best there. So this was a clear disobedience to Yahweh, to the Lord. So we read then the outcome of that when Samuel come and he declares a judgment of God in chapter 15, verse 11, if I can quote that verses 10 and 11. Now the word of the Lord came to Samuel saying, I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments. And it grieves Samuel. And he cried out to the Lord all night. And he arises early to meet Saul. And Saul had actually set up a monument to himself. He had been humble earlier, but after the victory over the Amalekites, he actually set up a monument himself.

[A]

Just jumping in here to make you aware of our magazine, Grace in Focus. It is a bi monthly, six issues per year, 48 page magazine, full color, and we want you to subscribe by emailing your name and your snail mail address to gesaithalone.org the subscription is free. It can be accessed electronically or can be actually physically sent to you. If you live in the lower 48 United States. That's our Grace and Focus magazine. Send your name and snail mail address to gesaithalone.org but he turned back from

[C]

following the Lord is the expression here.

[B]

Which is interesting because that's a New Testament idea too. Yes, and there are some places in the Old Testament, like for example, Enoch walked with the Lord, Genesis 5, and following the Lord would be the same kind of thing as walking with the Lord. So he he was not following what God had said. Yes, and God gave some pretty clear commands. I mean, it was pretty simple. Just do what I tell you to do. Don't overthink this. Kill them all. And of course, whatever Saul says for his reasoning, I think his reasoning was

[C]

because he tended to blame his man. And then he rationalized what he did,

[B]

but it was ultimately all on him. Yes, because his men would have done what he said.

[C]

And so Samuel then tells him, you know, the Lord is taking away the kingdom from you. Now it will take a while for all that to unfold, but chapter 16 will follow, which is the anointing of David as a young man to be the king after Saul.

[B]

So when David comes on the scene, Saul, having recognized this as a word from the Lord, should have embraced him as the new king and even gone to Samuel and said, I'm ready for him to be the new king.

[C]

Abdicate and I'll submit to the Lord.

[B]

He should have done that, right?

[C]

Yes.

[B]

And if he had, he could have extended his life instead of dying at the hand of the Philistines along with his sons.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

And so we can learn a lot from King Saul, because he started out very well, then he starts backsliding. And initially he seems to be spiritually minded, but later on he becomes carnally minded. But what's interesting is there's never a point at which he becomes an idolater. There's never a point at which he turns his back on the Lord. The Lord does remove the spirit from

[C]

him, and he does come fully to acknowledge David as a person more righteous than he.

[B]

Right.

[C]

And that will be the king.

[B]

Wasn't that the case when he was going into the cave to relieve himself? And then David spares, on two occasions,

[C]

David spares his life, and that would

[B]

be one of them.

[C]

And he says, yes, you're more righteous than I.

[B]

And so he's an example of somebody who, although he was carnally minded at the end, he was someone that was still seeking in some sense, to please the Lord in a misguided sense. But by the way, let's talk for a minute about how could the Spirit be taken away from King Saul? In the New Testament, nobody can take the Holy Spirit from a believer, right?

[C]

Well, the Holy Spirit will come upon Saul, upon David, a special empowerment for given tasks. But they were not indwelt by the Holy Spirit as we are in the New Testament. Yes.

[B]

Didn't Jesus say to the disciples, the Holy Spirit has been with you and he will be in you. And so in the Old Testament economy, the Spirit could be with someone for a period of time, like the people building the tabernacle and building the temple,

[C]

Bezalel and others who know there were foreigners actually, but spiritually endowed and enabled, you know, to do their task. And if you remember, even concerning David, David in Psalm 51, you know, his Psalm of repentance, he asked God, do not take your Holy Spirit from me.

[B]

Yeah. And that has nothing to do with regeneration. That has to do with empowerment. And by the way, the case can be made that even today, when the Holy Spirit permanently indwells us, there probably is special enablement today. In other words, the filling of the Spirit in the Book of Acts. If we look at it, sometimes it refers to someone who is simply spiritually minded, like Acts 6, 3, they picked the first deacons who were full of wisdom and full of the Holy Spirit. And that meant they were wise and they were spiritual. But then there are Other places where they were all together in a room and the Holy Spirit fell upon them and they spoke the word boldly. That seems to be special in the name of it.

[C]

Yeah, from Acts chapter four. I told that the whole place shook as they went out and started speaking.

[B]

And I personally think that does still happen today. In other words, I'm not charismatic, but I do believe even though we don't know for sure when it's happening, at times I can look back to some of my speaking and say that seemed especially effective. I wonder if the Lord was giving me special enablement.

[C]

Matter of fact, in my drive over here, I was praying. Yes, whatever my prayer was, God, give me some wisdom, enable our conversation.

[B]

Amen. And so we can all learn a lot from King Saul and we shouldn't just think this is a man that has nothing positive to teach us. Yes, there are some things we need to avoid that he did, but there are things he did that we should follow. Ultimately, a lot of believers don't spend much time in the Old Testament. But that's quite a shame, isn't it?

[C]

Oh, yes. I mean, as I was writing some of this commentary, often I felt my heart burning within me.

[B]

You were like two disciples on the road to Emmaus. And scripture will do that to us if we're receptive. Well, that's so good. Well, thanks, Phillipe and thank you all. And remember, let's keep grace in focus.

[A]

We invite you to check out our Monday, Wednesday and Friday five minute YouTube videos at YouTube Grace Evangelical Society. You will love the content and learn a lot. Maybe you've got a question or comment or feedback. If so, please send us a message. Here's our email address. It's radioaithalone.org that's radioaithalone.org Please make sure your question is as succinct and clear as possible. That would be a great big help on our next episode. What can we learn from David Sparing King Saul's life? Please join us again and until then, let's keep grace in focus. The proceeding has been a listener supported ministry from the Grace Evangelical Society.