As I said last week, it is neither proper nor honorable to use the pulpit in a "partisan" manner; I believe it is a prostitution of the pulpit to do so. It is not the place of the pulpit to endorse or sanction any political candidate or party. However, it is the place of the pulpit to proclaim biblical teaching and principle, to affirm what is right and good, and to exhort to righteousness. With that said, I repeat that it is biblically incumbent upon all of us that our commitment to justice, our commitment to the rule of law, our commitment to honesty, righteousness, honor ought to be first and foremost, and should most certainly come before our commitment to our pocketbooks, or Social Security, or Medicare. Time and again the Bible warns that if we value prosperity over justice, we'll end up losing both. If we want prosperity, if we want security and stability, we should do all we can to choose virtuous leaders committed to justice, integrity, and honor.

We left off last time looking at I Samuel 12, where Samuel acknowledges the transition of leadership in Israel from the judges to the monarchy. In way of review: remember that even though the transition of leadership in Israel was less than ideal, even though the transition of leadership may have been far short of what God desired, even though the transition of leadership was far short of what Samuel desired, Samuel said to the people, and, I believe, to himself: "Don't be afraid." He encouraged the people of God to remain faithful, no matter what. He encouraged them to persist in doing good, and warned them not to give up or give in to doing evil. All is not lost, if only the people of God will remember that their true King is God and live accordingly. Samuel urged them to do all they can to "serve the LORD with all your heart." Samuel then closed by declaring his unwillingness to sin against God by failing to pray for his country, especially as it underwent the transition to new leadership. Yes, he may not be pleased with this transition, but he promises to do all he can by word and example to "teach" them "the way that is good and right." Samuel, after all, had "enlisted for the duration in service to the truth."

Chapter 14 gives a one-verse overview of Saul's reign: "Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel 42 years." Chapter 15 starts off with a visit from Samuel to Saul. Samuel addresses Saul, "I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now, to the message, to the words of the Lord." Samuel starts off by reminding Saul of the source of Saul's legitimacy as a leader, which is his greatest qualification for leadership. Saul's leadership is derived, he is under authority, the people belong to the Lord who remains the divine Sovereign. The previous chapters show many strengths and leadership qualities of Saul; he shows himself as able organizer, an effective leader, and a potent and powerful commander in chief. When Saul became king, Israel was in serious trouble. It had been a loose confederation of tribes that fell easy prey to all their stronger neighbors. As chapter 14 summarizes (v.47) After Saul had assumed rule over Israel, he fought against their enemies on every side: Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment on them. He fought valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, delivering Israel from the hands of those who had plundered them. He effectively rescued Israel out of the hands of those who were constantly plundering them. But again, Saul's leadership was derivative, it was not absolute. His chief credential, his greatest leadership qualification, was that God had anointed him, and he therefore had a solemn duty and obligation to "listen to the words of the Lord." To act outside of that authority would jeopardize his very legitimacy as a ruler. What defines an anointed leader of God, a deputized leader of God, is that the leader recognizes first and foremost the divine leadership and "listens to the word of the Lord." It does not matter who the leader leads; whether the leader is a king, a CEO, a pastor, or a stay-at-home parent. If you are God's leader, wherever you may be or in whatever capacity God has placed you, you will not and cannot know how to lead effectively unless you are listening to what God tells you to do. Thus, our primary duty is to listen to God, so we can go down the right paths and lead others in the right paths.

To paraphrase and read between the lines of this first verse, imagine Samuel saying, "Saul, you are indeed the king. Never forget, though, that your legitimacy as king rests in your loyalty and obedience to your true King, the king who anointed you, the king who deputized you. If you fail to be bound by His authority, if you act beyond the rule of law, specifically, His law, you lose your very legitimacy as a leader in the eyes of God and in the eyes of the people." Samuel then gives very specific (although somewhat harsh) instructions to Saul from the Lord. Saul is told to attack the vicious and ruthless Amalekites who have plundered Israel for a long time. He is specifically commanded not to take any spoils from the campaign. "Saul, don't take anything." In fact, he is actually told to destroy it all. So Saul goes into battle and defeats the Amalekites, but he does NOT destroy all of their goods because, it seems, Saul's people want the goods; the PEOPLE want the goodies from this political and military victory. Verse 9: But Saul and the army spared ... the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs - everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed." We then read in verse 10: "Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel: 'I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.' Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the LORD all that night." God reiterates that Saul has spurned the greatest credential of his leadership. In his disobedience, in his acting "beyond the law" of God, Saul has divorced himself from his foundational legitimacy as king. He has in effect put himself above God. In chapter 16, which is shortly afterward, we are told that the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul ... Saul lost his divine "election" ... and the spirit of God came mightily upon a young man named David. (16:13 -14).

We read that when Samuel comes to Saul, Saul says, "The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD's instructions." Samuel responds, "What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?" Saul offers a rather lame excuse. "Ah, er, oh THOSE. Well, we were saving them to give to God as a sacrifice." (Notice that in speaking to Samuel, Saul referred to "the Lord your God"; not the Lord OUR God. Again, he has cut himself off from the source of his legitimacy as king) Samuel yells, "Saul, Stop! Just stop!" and he again reminds Saul of the source of his legitimacy as king. Samuel said, "Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. And he sent you on a mission, saying, `Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.' Why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the LORD?" "But I did obey the Lord," Saul said. "I went on the mission the LORD assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king." And he repeats his story, "The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal." In other words, "This is the will of the people, Samuel; they wanted to do this." And Samuel replies, in so many words, "Saul, you are God's appointed leader. Does God need sheep?" Verses 20-23 "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king."

The undoing of King Saul was that he got distracted from obeying God by his fears and desires; specifically, his desire to please "the people." Verse 24: Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned. I violated the LORD's command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them." Saul was afraid of his own people who wanted the goodies and spoils of war. Notice a bit of irony, here: By obeying the voice of God's people rather than the voice of God, Saul became his enemy. He is now little more than a strong-armed thief who plunders the wealth of his neighbors, as were so many of the nations who plagued Israel. Leaders can make a lot of sacrifices in leadership trying to make people happy. Leaders can even burn themselves out trying to satisfy them. But in doing so they must never forget the moral authority and foundation of their leadership. The tragic irony is that since Saul was so eager to stay in leadership, he listened to the voice of the people instead of God, and in that moment, he lost his very qualification and credential for leadership. He ended up becoming like those he despised and fought. And most importantly, he de-legitimized himself as a leader in the eyes of God and the people of God.

He tried to apologize to Samuel, but the "retired" judge said it was too late. By God's grace to us, the failures of his leaders can be forgiven, but by His grace to His people, God will more often than not find someone else to lead them. Someone like David, who has a heart for God, and who is not afraid of the people he is appointed to lead. Realizing it is too late, Saul does a commendable thing. He worships before the Lord with Samuel. We aren't told that he tries to bargain with God. We don't read that he tries to make excuses or to talk God out of His decision. Saul just worships. It is the humble response of a failed leader who, at last, realizes what is important. His primary mission was not to make the people safe, comfortable, fat and happy. His primary mission was not to be victorious. His primary mission was to worship, and listen to God. If he had done that all along, quite possibly his worship would not have been with regretful lament but with joyous thanksgiving.

We'll continue with our study of Saul this next time.