Hi all,
I wanted to follow up about the internal process we seen when leaders fall, as that process can be seen in the life of King Saul, Israel's first king.
Though the presence of God was with him, his character never changed. He never dealt with core issues. He never let the presence of God in his life truly change him. It was easier to deal with issues 'out there' like the Philistines and such, than deal with his internal issues.
Poor self image and fear of man
I Samuel 9:2 says of the future king:"...Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else." NIV
He may have been a giant, like Goliath, nearly 10' or 3m tall. Take a whole nation of people, look at the tallest people, and 1 person is head and shoulders taller than that next tallest person. That's the future King Saul.
Flash forward to his downfall where the prophet Samuel made this statement to him:"When you were little in your own eyes weren't you made over the tribes of Israel, as King of Israel?"
"When you were little in your own eyes". This shows us this big handsome young man had a self-image issue. This led to a fear of man, a deep insecurity because he did not have within that strong love of self.
When Samuel had anointed him with oil and proclaimed him king, Saul met his uncle before the anointing had been made public. They talked business about some lost donkeys, but I Samuel 10:16 says:"...but of the matter of the kingdom, he did not tell him."
Wouldn't you think any young man just told he would be king, would rush to his family to tell them? But Saul did not. We can see that poor self-image and fear of man at work.
Saul was not letting the presence of God on him change how he thought about himself.
We flash forward again to coronation day
In I Samuel 10:22 the people gathered to see their new king, but he could not be found. Samuel had to ask the Lord, who gave him a word of knowledge:"He is hiding with the stuff." The 'stuff' means the supplies, where they parked their carts and tents and food supplies - their new king was so afraid of the people at his coronation, he hid himself out of the way among the supplies!
He was still not letting the presence of God change how he thought about himself. He was still little in his own eyes.
Three chapters later, In I Samuel 13:11-14, Saul has reigned for 2 years, and has had some success against the Philistines. But once again the Philistines are preparing to battle Israel. Samuel tells King Saul that he will come in a week to offer sacrifices to the Lord before Israel goes to war. Samuel is late, and Saul saw that all the people started to turn away and walk back home.
He was still not letting the presence of God change his self-image or the fear of man.
Fearing the people when they started to leave him, Saul himself made the sacrifice, just as Samuel arrived. Saul blames Samuel being late rather than taking responsibility and admitting his sin. Samuel tells him because of this, God will not continue Saul's family line as kings. He tells him the Lord has sought out another man, after His own heart, to be the next king. I Samuel 13:14
The last failed test
In I Samuel 15 King Saul is commanded to destroy Amalek, who had fought against Israel about 400 years earlier when they were just out of Egypt. God swore to Moses back then in Exodus 17:16 that He Himself would war with Amalek from generation to generation.
Saul disobeys Samuel's word from the Lord, and saves the king (and his family) alive, as well as the best of the animals. When confronted, Saul once again blames someone else - the people saved the best of the animals for sacrifice. Samuel's reply is known to most every Christian:
"To obey is better than sacrifice...for rebellion is as witchcraft..." (Witchcraft is the manipulation of God's Word or others for one's own uses and desires. Saul was manipulating God's command by telling half truths. Paul said the Galatians had been bewitched in Galatians 3:1 by Messianic believers who were causing them to leave grace to go back under the Mosaic law)."
This sin resulted in God's presence leaving Saul immediately, and v33 says the prophet Samuel never came to see him for the rest of his life. In the next chapter, 16, David is anointed, in chapter 17 Goliath is defeated. The rest of I Samuel, chapters 18-31, are about Saul trying to kill David until Saul and his sons are killed in battle.
The lesson for this discussion is...
King Saul never let the presence of God in his life to change his self-image or his fear of man. This is what we see in fallen leaders. It is the process also at work in all of us who call Christ our King. Every one of us has a degree of King Saul working in him.
Our old nature is in the process of letting the Spirit of God, the anointing on us, change us. It is a life-long process. Saul never yielded, to that, never forced himself to think what God said about him. Never took his old thoughts about himself captive to what the Lord said about him.
Saul wanted to maintain being 'little in his own sight', and having the fear of man while also reigning as King. Isn't that human nature? We boldly proclaim in song*:"He has made us a kingdom of priests to God, to reign with the Son" as we battle our character flaws. *From the song; Is He Worthy?
Unlike Saul, we have Christ in us and can allow ourselves to be changed, bringing old thoughts captive, forcing ourselves to think thoughts of New Testament realities in their place. As I said at the start of the series 'When Leaders Fall', it is about lust in the heart, and then the action that became public. Paul wrote to Timothy that when an elder falls, make it known 'that others may fear'. That fear, is being aware God is working in all our hearts in these same types of things.
It is in the fear of God we can walk humbly with Him, knowing from which we have been saved. When Peter was told how he would die by the Lord in John 21:18-22, Peter asked about the apostle John. Jesus told him:"What if I wanted him to remain alive until I come. What is that to you? You must follow me."
In the Greek it is much simpler:"You me follow." (sy moi akolouthei)
You me follow. Sounds like good advice. New subject next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at [email protected] or [email protected]
I wanted to follow up about the internal process we seen when leaders fall, as that process can be seen in the life of King Saul, Israel's first king.
Though the presence of God was with him, his character never changed. He never dealt with core issues. He never let the presence of God in his life truly change him. It was easier to deal with issues 'out there' like the Philistines and such, than deal with his internal issues.
Poor self image and fear of man
I Samuel 9:2 says of the future king:"...Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else." NIV
He may have been a giant, like Goliath, nearly 10' or 3m tall. Take a whole nation of people, look at the tallest people, and 1 person is head and shoulders taller than that next tallest person. That's the future King Saul.
Flash forward to his downfall where the prophet Samuel made this statement to him:"When you were little in your own eyes weren't you made over the tribes of Israel, as King of Israel?"
"When you were little in your own eyes". This shows us this big handsome young man had a self-image issue. This led to a fear of man, a deep insecurity because he did not have within that strong love of self.
When Samuel had anointed him with oil and proclaimed him king, Saul met his uncle before the anointing had been made public. They talked business about some lost donkeys, but I Samuel 10:16 says:"...but of the matter of the kingdom, he did not tell him."
Wouldn't you think any young man just told he would be king, would rush to his family to tell them? But Saul did not. We can see that poor self-image and fear of man at work.
Saul was not letting the presence of God on him change how he thought about himself.
We flash forward again to coronation day
In I Samuel 10:22 the people gathered to see their new king, but he could not be found. Samuel had to ask the Lord, who gave him a word of knowledge:"He is hiding with the stuff." The 'stuff' means the supplies, where they parked their carts and tents and food supplies - their new king was so afraid of the people at his coronation, he hid himself out of the way among the supplies!
He was still not letting the presence of God change how he thought about himself. He was still little in his own eyes.
Three chapters later, In I Samuel 13:11-14, Saul has reigned for 2 years, and has had some success against the Philistines. But once again the Philistines are preparing to battle Israel. Samuel tells King Saul that he will come in a week to offer sacrifices to the Lord before Israel goes to war. Samuel is late, and Saul saw that all the people started to turn away and walk back home.
He was still not letting the presence of God change his self-image or the fear of man.
Fearing the people when they started to leave him, Saul himself made the sacrifice, just as Samuel arrived. Saul blames Samuel being late rather than taking responsibility and admitting his sin. Samuel tells him because of this, God will not continue Saul's family line as kings. He tells him the Lord has sought out another man, after His own heart, to be the next king. I Samuel 13:14
The last failed test
In I Samuel 15 King Saul is commanded to destroy Amalek, who had fought against Israel about 400 years earlier when they were just out of Egypt. God swore to Moses back then in Exodus 17:16 that He Himself would war with Amalek from generation to generation.
Saul disobeys Samuel's word from the Lord, and saves the king (and his family) alive, as well as the best of the animals. When confronted, Saul once again blames someone else - the people saved the best of the animals for sacrifice. Samuel's reply is known to most every Christian:
"To obey is better than sacrifice...for rebellion is as witchcraft..." (Witchcraft is the manipulation of God's Word or others for one's own uses and desires. Saul was manipulating God's command by telling half truths. Paul said the Galatians had been bewitched in Galatians 3:1 by Messianic believers who were causing them to leave grace to go back under the Mosaic law)."
This sin resulted in God's presence leaving Saul immediately, and v33 says the prophet Samuel never came to see him for the rest of his life. In the next chapter, 16, David is anointed, in chapter 17 Goliath is defeated. The rest of I Samuel, chapters 18-31, are about Saul trying to kill David until Saul and his sons are killed in battle.
The lesson for this discussion is...
King Saul never let the presence of God in his life to change his self-image or his fear of man. This is what we see in fallen leaders. It is the process also at work in all of us who call Christ our King. Every one of us has a degree of King Saul working in him.
Our old nature is in the process of letting the Spirit of God, the anointing on us, change us. It is a life-long process. Saul never yielded, to that, never forced himself to think what God said about him. Never took his old thoughts about himself captive to what the Lord said about him.
Saul wanted to maintain being 'little in his own sight', and having the fear of man while also reigning as King. Isn't that human nature? We boldly proclaim in song*:"He has made us a kingdom of priests to God, to reign with the Son" as we battle our character flaws. *From the song; Is He Worthy?
Unlike Saul, we have Christ in us and can allow ourselves to be changed, bringing old thoughts captive, forcing ourselves to think thoughts of New Testament realities in their place. As I said at the start of the series 'When Leaders Fall', it is about lust in the heart, and then the action that became public. Paul wrote to Timothy that when an elder falls, make it known 'that others may fear'. That fear, is being aware God is working in all our hearts in these same types of things.
It is in the fear of God we can walk humbly with Him, knowing from which we have been saved. When Peter was told how he would die by the Lord in John 21:18-22, Peter asked about the apostle John. Jesus told him:"What if I wanted him to remain alive until I come. What is that to you? You must follow me."
In the Greek it is much simpler:"You me follow." (sy moi akolouthei)
You me follow. Sounds like good advice. New subject next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at [email protected] or [email protected]
RSS Feed