[0:00] the book of 1 Samuel. We are really right into the heart of the matter, no longer focusing on Samuel. Now we're in the heart of the chapters that focus on Saul. Samuel has been the bridge person who has taken us from the period of the judges to the period of the kings. Saul has been called as king, he's anointed as king, he's been commissioned as king, and he's even fought battles as king. So we see here now he is really in the grips of his reign. And if you remember last week when we began to look at these things, he has walked in disobedience and that he did not wait on Samuel for the full seven days. He decided to offer the sacrifice himself, and therefore he has forfeited his right to have an everlasting dynasty. So he's given up that right because he did not walk in complete obedience. But still the purpose for his serving, or the people at least requesting for him, would be that they may have a king that would go before them into battle.
[1:07] And God has called him and commissioned him, just like it started all the way back with Samson, to deliver his people from the hand of the Philistines. That would be the one, the instrument, and the tool that was used of the Lord to bring full deliverance to his people from the enemy, which oppressed them the greatest. And this enemy are the Philistines. Jonathan, his son, has pushed back the garrison. The Philistines have raised up an army, and it's an army of great size and great numbers. It's got chariots and horsemen and soldiers like the sand of the seashore, it says.
[1:37] And the nation of Israel, really most of their army has been sent home. And Saul had maintained a small army, but now it seems impossible to win this battle. We're putting it in context until we get to this 14th chapter. Most of this is discussed in chapter 13. As a matter of fact, Saul was left with just his 600 men. Some of the people of Israel have defected. They went over to the Philistine side. Some are hiding in holes. If you remember, there are no blacksmiths in the land of Israel at that time. So only two people had swords. That was Saul and Jonathan. Everybody else was using farm implements and equipment to fight the battles. So it seems like an impossibility, and that's where we left it. Because Saul was sitting here looking at the enemy that was mounting around him, remembering this is the enemy that God said he was going to use him to deliver his people from.
[2:26] An enemy of great size, sure, but was the purpose, one of the primary purposes that Saul is appointed to this office. David later will be the one that fully delivers the people of Israel from the hand of the Philistines. But this is kind of the calling of Saul, if you will. And that's where we're at. So we look in 1 Samuel chapter 14, and we pick it up from there. It says, Now the day came that Jonathan, the son of Saul, said to the young man who was carrying his armor, Come and let us cross over to the Philistine's garrison that is on the other side. But he did not tell his father Saul, but he did not tell his father. And Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gebeah under the pomegranate tree, which is in Migron. And the people who were with him were about 600 men.
[3:15] And Ahijah, the son of Ahitab, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of the Lord at Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.
[3:27] Between the passes by which Jonathan sought to cross over to the Philistine's garrison, and there was a sharp crag on one side, and a sharp crag on the other side. And the name of the one was Bozes, and the name of the other, Sina. And the one crag rose on the north opposite Michmash, and the other on the south opposite Gebeah. Then Jonathan said to the young man who was carrying his armor, Come and let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. Perhaps the Lord will work for us, for the Lord is not restrained to save by many or by few. His armor bearers said to him, Do all that is in your heart. Turn yourself, and here I am with you according to your desire.
[4:06] Then Jonathan said, Behold, we will cross over to the men and reveal ourselves to them. If they say to us, Wait until we come to you, then we will stand in our place and not go up to them. But if they say, Come up to us, then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hands, and this shall be the sign to us. When both of them revealed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines, the Philistines said, Behold, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves. So the men of the garrison held Jonathan and his armor bearer and said, Come up to us, and we will tell you something.
[4:39] And Jonathan said to his armor bearer, Come up after me, for the Lord has given them into the hands of Israel. Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet and his armor bearer behind him, and they fell before Jonathan and his armor bearer put some to death after him. The first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armor bearer made, was about twenty men within about half a furrow and an acre of land. And there was a trembling in the camp and the field and among all the people.
[5:08] Even the garrison and the raiders trembled, and the earth quaked so that it became a great trembling. Now Saul's watchmen in Gebeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude melted away, and they went here and there. And Saul said to the people who were with them, Number now and see who is gone from us. And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there.
[5:31] Then Saul said to Ahijah, Bring the ark of God here, for the ark of God was at that time with the sons of Israel. While Saul talked to the priests, the commotion in the camp of the Philistines continued and increased. So Saul said to the priests, Withdraw your hand. Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and came to the battle. And behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion. Now the Hebrews who were with the Philistines previously, who went up with them all around in the camp, even they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. When all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines had fled, even they also pursued them closely in the battle. So the Lord delivered Israel that day, and the battle spread beyond Beth-Avon.
[6:19] Now the men of Israel were hard-pressed on that day, for Saul had put the people under oath, saying, Cursed be the man who eats food before evening, until I have avenged myself of my enemies.
[6:30] So none of the people tasted food, and all the people of the land entered the forest, and there was honey on the ground. When the people entered the forest, behold, there was a flow of honey, but no man put his hand to his mouth, for people feared the oath. But Jonathan had not heard when his father put the people under oath. Therefore, he put out the end of his staff that was in his hand, and dipped it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened. Then one of the people said, Your father strictly put the people under oath, saying, Cursed be the man who eats food today. And the people were weary. Then Jonathan said, My father has troubled the land. See now how my eyes have brightened, because I tasted a little of this honey. How much more, if only the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies, which they found. For now the slaughter among the Philistines has not been great.
[7:20] They struck among the Philistines that day from Michmash to Ajalon, and the people were very weary. The people rushed greedily upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground, and the people ate them with the blood. Then they told Saul, saying, Behold, the people are sinning against the Lord by eating with the blood. And he said, You have acted treacherously. Roll a great stone to me today. Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say to them, Each of you, bring me his ox or his sheep, and slaughter it here, and eat. And do not sin against the Lord by eating with the blood. So all the people that night brought each one his ox with him, and slaughtered it there. And Saul built an altar to the Lord, and it was the first altar that he built to the Lord. Then Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and take spoil among them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatever seems good to you. So the priest said, Let us draw near to God here. Saul inquired of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel? But he did not answer him on that day.
[8:31] And Saul said, Draw near here, all you chiefs of the people, and investigate, and see how this sin has happened today. For as the Lord lives, who delivers Israel, though it is in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But not one of the people answered him. Then he said to all Israel, You shall be on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people said to Saul, Do whatever seems good to you. Therefore Saul said to the Lord, the God of Israel, Give a perfect lot.
[8:58] And Jonathan and Saul were taken, but the people escaped. Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken. Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what you have done. So Jonathan told him and said, I indeed tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand.
[9:17] Here I am. I must die. Saul said, May God do this to me, and more also, if you shall surely die. For you shall surely die, Jonathan. But the people said to Saul, Must Jonathan die, who has brought about this great deliverance in Israel? Far from it. As the Lord lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.
[9:45] Then Saul went up from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place. Now when Saul had taken the kingdom over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, the sons of Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. And wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment. He acted valiantly, and defeated the Amalekites, and defeated and delivered Israel from the hands of those who plundered them. Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishvi, and Mount Jeshua. And the names of his two daughters were these, the names of the firstborn, Merib, and the name of the younger, Michael. The name of Saul's wife was Ahinnom, daughter of Ahimaz, and the name of the captain of his army was Abner, the son of Ner, Saul's uncle. Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner, the father of Abner, was the son of Abel. Now the war against the Philistines was severe all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any mighty man, or any valiant man, he attached him to his staff. 1 Samuel 14. I know it's kind of long and cumbersome, but I wanted us to read it so that we can have it in proper context, because we're looking at really one great event, which reveals a number of truths. And that's what I want us to see. Truths discovered in the conflict. Some truths discovered in the conflict. Conflict is inevitable. It was going to be inevitable in the life of Saul, because God had called him and appointed him for these purposes. The people had asked for a king that would go before them in battle, so they anticipated a battle. They had went through a period of judges where there would be local deliverances. Now they're asking for a national deliverer. God was to be the one who would go before them in battle. He had promised that from the very beginning. He had declared that he would go before them and fight the battle for them, and that they would win as long as they trusted in him.
[11:33] The people rebelled against that and asked for a man like the other nations. So God had appeased and given them what they wanted. Remember that? That's kind of a scary thing at times when God gives us what we want. But we also know that Saul is the man that God had called and appointed to this hour to fight the conflicts, to engage the enemy that opposed the people. We read at the end of that chapter that he did that during his reign. Some were successful, some were not. But we're understanding here really the true nature of who Saul is. There are truths that are discovered in the middle of conflict. That is, when it gets really tough, when the conflict which is inevitable finally shows up, certain truths about individuals begin to magnify themselves. It is easy to appear one way when everything is going well, but it is when it gets difficult and when it gets tiresome, and when really that which we thought was coming finally comes, do truths begin to manifest themselves?
[12:29] We see that in our own personal lives, right? In difficult days, things begin to manifest themselves. In difficult moments, what we thought about certain individuals seems to change in an instant. But we begin to see these truths as they pertain not only to Saul, but also to his son, Jonathan. We see a number of things that are put on display because the conflict which was coming is there. So the first truth we see is the freedom of faith. Faith brings freedom, and it is the freedom to take action in spite of the enemy that is opposing you. We see the freedom of faith. It says, now there came a day when Jonathan turned and said to his armor bearer. Now armor bearers, much more than just a kid carrying your weapons. Armor bearers, especially for higher ranking officials like Jonathan, the son of the king, were to be true soldiers. We kind of have in mind David's mighty men. I love those portions of scripture which speak of David's mighty men. How it, you know, we kind of get into what seems to be monotonous, but they just declare the works that David's mighty men did. One of the most unique, interesting one is about the man who killed a lion in a pit on a snowy day. The only reason we know that is because scripture tells us that. And why does scripture tell us that? It was just to show us that these guys were true warriors, right? I don't know any other story than that, that they were real men. So the armor bearers and the mighty men that they had around them were true soldiers. But we understand this, that there came a day when Jonathan turned and said to his armor bearer. And now
[14:00] Jonathan made this declaration in spite of the enemy that was before them. Go back a chapter and see the 30,000, or if we want to take the smaller number that some have, the 3,000 chariots and horsemen and the foot soldiers like to sand on the seashore. The ones that have, it says that people were following Saul and trembling. The 600 men that were with Saul are trembling. These same enemies that are causing trembling among the multitudes don't seem to cause Jonathan to tremble. And he's looking out there.
[14:35] Nobody else is moving. Everybody else is keeping their distance. And it's almost the same picture we get of David and Goliath. We'll see it later on with the Philistines, right? There come out Goliath, this giant, this champion of the Philistines. And all of Israel is just looking on and watching this.
[14:53] And no one is willing to do anything. It's the same picture here. But what we have is Jonathan is looking at the same enemy, the same numbers, the same strength, and he has the same weaknesses that everybody else around him. But there came a day when he said, we're going to go. And his armor bearer says, the same thing that the men eventually said to Saul, whatever is in your heart, do it. Now, by the way, it really matters. The ones we're following, it really matters what's in their heart.
[15:27] So this armor bearer is trusting whatever's in the heart of Jonathan. And Jonathan says, we're going to go and we're not just going to walk up to him. This isn't Gideon's battle in the middle of the night breaking pictures, right? This is walking up in the middle of the daylight and revealing yourself to the enemy. He says, whatever you want to do. But here's the kind of, not the secret, but the reasoning behind that. Jonathan makes this declaration because the Lord will deliver us from the hand of these uncircumcised, right? There's, he's differentiating the enemy and who the enemy is, much like David and himself. David declares, shall this uncircumcised Philistine blaspheme, blaspheme a holy God. Jonathan said, we're going to reveal ourselves to the uncircumcised.
[16:13] Circumcision was a sign of the, what? The covenants. Jonathan understood he was in a covenantal relationship with the Lord God, the creator of heaven and earth. And he made this statement, for the Lord is not restrained to save by many or by few. It is the faith that declares not the ability and the capabilities of man, but the character of God. He declares that God can save however he wants to save. That what we know about God based upon Gideon and based upon the period of the judges, that though the enemy is great, God is greater. And what we know about God is that God is not restrained. He doesn't have to work in a certain way. He doesn't have to have a certain number of people. God can save with many or he can save with few. And it is the knowledge of that character trait of God that is the faith that moves Jonathan. Jonathan did not go out haphazardly and take an unnecessary risk. He went out in a full assurance of faith and took action because true faith moves us to do something. He climbed the steeps. He revealed himself. And then it says that he climbed on his hands and knees and went into the camp. Now the earthquake that comes following this is the intervention of God into the battle. But I want you to notice something. God didn't cause the earthquake until Jonathan and his armor bearer already started fighting. Because it was the faith that moved them to reveal themselves to the Philistines that they engaged the enemy. Then God defeated them. It is knowing who we are and who God is that gives us the confidence to engage the enemy and expect that God will engage with us. There is the freedom of faith. Jonathan had the freedom to move forward. You say, well, he was taking a great risk. Right. He was risking it all based upon the character of God. God is not restrained. And an unrestrained God, and he began to fight the battle, and then God caused the earthquake to defeat the enemy. But we need to understand that, that God did not move. It's not like God let the earthquake come as he was climbing over the crags and the steeps.
[18:39] It was after they had began fighting that the earthquake came. Friend, listen to me. Sometimes we have faith that God's going to do something, and that's awesome. But it is not, it should not be a faith that sets and waits for God to do something. It ought to be a faith that moves us to begin to take action knowing God's going to do something. It is the freedom of faith. The second thing that we notice is the hindrance of fear. Jonathan had the freedom to move. But then we are astounded because it tells us, right after it says, there came a day that Jonathan, the son of Saul, said to the young man who was carrying his armor, come and let's go. We come on down, and it says in verse 2, now Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gebeah. Saul is about four to five miles away from the Philistines. Saul, the man God had anointed and appointed to deliver his people from the Philistines, sees the enemy but is afraid.
[19:35] Saul, the one that God has declared he would use him, is on the outskirts because there's fear that has gripped his heart. But look at what it says. He said he's staying in the outskirts of Gebeah under the pomegranate tree, which is in Migron. Migron is kind of a weird word. It could be in the heights. That could be on a high place looking down. So he's got a good vantage point of the enemy.
[19:56] He can see clearly of the enemy. He even has a watchman watching the enemy, but he's not doing anything to the enemy. He's keeping an eye on the enemy. As long as he stays over there, everything's fine, but he's not engaging the enemy. Why? Because of fear. Remember, the 600 men who were with him were trembling. He even had the right people with him. He had a descendant. Well, we say the right people legally. I don't think it's the right people spiritually. He had a descendant of Eli. Now, that's not the right people spiritually because God had declared a curse upon every one of the male descendants of Eli, right? But from the legal standing, at least he had the right man there.
[20:33] He had a guy that was wearing an ephod. That is, someone who could cast the lots. He could throw the Urim and Thummim and declare the will of God. He had all the right tools with him. He had the watchman. He had all that there and all that was present. But the problem is, is that fear hindered them from moving forward? I don't care how well equipped we are. I don't care how well accompanied we are.
[20:55] I don't care how good of a vantage point we have. As long as we're looking at the enemy in fear, we'll never engage it and win the battle. Because fear is a hindrance.
[21:09] Faith gives freedom, but fear brings a hindrance. Did it look impossible? Yes. Thousands of chariots and horsemen. Thousands and thousands of soldiers.
[21:23] And he could see them and he could look at them. And the problem is, is fear looks outwardly rather than looking inward. Fear looks at the enemy rather than looking, as Jonathan did, at the unrestrained possibilities of the Lord God. Fear looks too long at that which was created, rather than acknowledging the creator. The creator who is with us is always greater than the enemy who was created by him before us. There is the hindrance of fear. And the reason fear had such a grip is quite possibly the third thing. It is the revelation of falsehood. Nothing brings falsehood to light greater than conflict. That is, who we truly are or who an individual truly is before the Lord is revealed in a greater way in conflict than in any other time. Saul put on a good front. He had a descendant of a priest wearing the right garments. When they heard the commotion and the ground was quaked, the watchman says, hey, there's a battle going on over there. The Philistines are leaving.
[22:38] So they took a census real quick. Didn't take long because there wasn't but 600 men in the camp. And they found out the two of them was missing, Jonathan and his armor bearer. Now that probably brought a little angst to Saul because if you remember when the garrison of the Philistines was pushed out, it was Jonathan and his thousand men who did it in the last chapter. But Saul made the declaration, come and join me for Saul has pushed out the garrison of the Philistines. It wasn't Saul.
[23:01] It was his son. But he sees this. Now his son and his armor bearer are gone. He didn't know anything about that. The battle seems to be swaying. So Saul makes this declaration, bring the Ark of the Covenant. For then the Ark of the Covenant was in the land of Israel. It was. It was some ways away.
[23:17] Remember when it came back and it was at that house that it stayed at for a long time and it's in that house that's being covered because those people looked in it. Remember all that? So it's hanging out at that house. So he said, go get it, go get it. But then the priest comes up and is here casting lots, trying to determine. And we read this story because then it says, then the commotion got louder. That is the battle began to rage. The Philistines were slaying one another. The ground was quaking.
[23:45] And there's this real disturbing verse, verse 19. While Saul talked to the priests, the commotion in the camp of the Philistines continued to increase. That is, he was consulting the will of God for the battle before him. That's why he would talk to the priests. He was a political leader, not a spiritual leader. That's what got him in problem the first time, right? He came to look at himself as a spiritual leader and offer a sacrifice. That wasn't right. He is a political leader. And the political leader is to consult the spiritual before he takes action in the physical. That is, God determines what he does.
[24:24] So while he was talking to the priest, the commotion gets louder. And Saul said to the priest, look at this, withdraw your hand. You know what that is really? I don't care what God has to say about the matter.
[24:37] I'm going to go fight. He had all appearances of being spiritual. But when the push came to shove, he said, be quiet. It doesn't matter. I'm going to go fight. The falsehood begins to be revealed.
[24:59] Withdraw your hand. That means I don't have time to wait on what God has to say. Because I'm going to miss my opportunity for my glory. See, at that moment, Jonathan's not even fighting the battle. God is fighting the battle. We read down a little bit longer in verse 23.
[25:17] So the Lord delivered Israel that day and the battle spread beyond Beth Avon. It was the Lord fighting the battle and Saul was consulting the Lord, but Saul determined that he was going to miss his opportunity. So he told the priest, withdraw your hand. I don't care what God has to say. I'm going to engage in the battle. And we kind of get light of that even in this rash vow he makes.
[25:44] This vow that becomes a hindrance. So the men of Israel were hard pressed on that day. Now it says, for Saul had put the people under oath saying, listen to this oath, cursed be the man who eats food before evening. Listen to this until I avenge myself of my enemies.
[26:04] That vow was made in self-centeredness. God had called Saul to deliver his people from their enemies. Saul puts himself in the place of God. I want to avenge myself from my enemies. These were not the enemies of Saul. These were the enemies of God's people. And God was going to avenge himself.
[26:30] Saul began to make it all about him. This is why we begin to see this spirit of jealousy arise within him. He gets jealous of his own son, Jonathan. Later on, he's mad at Jonathan because of his friendship with David. He gets jealous of David's praises. Remember the song, Saul has slain his thousand, David his tens of thousands. And his heart of jealousy comes up. Why? Because his reign and his rule was self-centered. And we begin to see that here. Though he has the priest, though he requests the ark, it never came. Though he seems to be seeking the will of God, the reality is he wants the recognition. Falsehood is revealed in conflict. Who we are on the inside will manifest itself on the outside the moment conflict presents itself to us. And we see this. Jonathan is a man of faith who has freedom to move. Everybody else was standing in fear and were hindered. And the falsehood of Saul begins to make itself known. It is revealed very clearly in the midst of the conflict. Because if Saul didn't hurry up and get in there, he wouldn't get any credit at all. And even this rash vow that just about cost the life of his son, Jonathan, is a result of self-centeredness. God had not declared it.
[27:51] And we know this because of the fourth thing. The fourth thing we see is a displayed failure. Remember last week when we came together, actually it was Sunday night, so it was this week.
[28:03] Sunday night we came together, we looked at the 13th chapter. And we looked at the 13th chapter and we saw one of the traits of a man of an unsettled heart is that they failed to lead effectively.
[28:14] And we see this displayed failure here. Because Saul was to lead God's people. And if you're leading God's people effectively, you would lead them to godliness and righteousness. Right? But yet in his leadership, it says that the people were weary and tired. They weren't being nourished. God didn't call them to fast. A fast that God calls you to will be sustained by him. And you will not feel the effects of it. Well, you'll feel the effects of it, but he'll give you the strength to push through it.
[28:44] So we know this is a self-centered, self-focused vow that he puts upon God's people. But the display of that failure is seen in what he leads the people to do. Because as soon as the sun sets, the Bible tells us that they rushed upon the spoil and each man began eating the animals with the blood in them. Now to us, that seems slight. But God had very clearly declared to his people, they should never eat animals with blood in them because that is their life. There was a manner and a way in which they were to slay the animals and drain the blood. And to God, God had declared that if they did this, they would cast themselves out from God's presence. They would be defiled and unclean.
[29:30] What I want you to see is the manner in which Saul led the people of God led them to sin, not righteousness. The vow he put upon them caused them to sin greatly rather than to draw closer to the presence of God. Anytime leadership moves us further away from God, it is a failure.
[29:57] Anytime we lead others in a manner that pulls them away from God, it is a failure. And we see this displayed very clearly in the life of Saul. He even manifests another vow which declares upon the presence of God that whoever committed this sin would die.
[30:23] Now we see that there's a failure here because God remained silent. He had requested a word from God here finally in the camp, gets settled down. And that night Saul says, okay, we've got it all right.
[30:37] We brought this stone up. He built an altar so they could have a peace offering. Again, something he probably should not have done. He should have never built an altar. But he built this altar so that they could drain the blood, at least roast the animals. They would eat it as a peace offering, which is like a fellowship meal. After everyone was nourished, he said, okay, let's go into the camp of the Philistines and let's raid and plunder throughout the night. They said, whatever's in your heart.
[30:58] The priest stands up and said, let's talk to God about it. He said, okay, let's do it. And God says nothing. God is silent. The silence of God is a very revealing factor in an individual's life.
[31:11] God says nothing. So Saul determines that the result of this silence is sin in the camp. And that's where we get this next vow where it says, okay, whoever the sin is found in, that individual is going to die. Now he didn't know Jonathan had eaten honey. I mean, he dipped his spear in honey and eaten just a little bit. But in his legalism and self-centeredness, Saul is willing to kill his own son who has worked hand in hand with the Lord God that day and brought about deliverance.
[31:46] That's utter failure. And if it had not been for the people's intercession on behalf of Jonathan, Saul would have killed him.
[31:58] The people are more concerned about the things of God than Saul is concerned about the things of God. Now all of this, I know these are just historical facts and we'll wrap up with this.
[32:12] We need to understand these matters that conflict reveals truths about us. We see what is revealed about Jonathan, what's revealed about Saul, what's revealed about the people. Conflict has a way of revealing things about ourselves.
[32:27] And our desire is that we see who we are truly. Saul never repents of these things. He never turns back. As a matter of fact, he just continues to go down this road.
[32:37] God is revealing truths to the people and to Saul, and yet they just continue pushing on. The greatest testimony is that Saul fought the Philistines all the days of his life.
[32:49] It tells us there in verse 52. Now the war against the Philistines was severe all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any mighty man or valiant man, he attached him to his staff. The truth is, Saul was never able to conquer the enemy because of the faults that were exhibited in his own life.
[33:10] We will never overcome the enemy until we are completely surrendered to the plans and purposes of God, to be used by him, to be glorified through him, and to be, as we find out later with David, stumbling and falling and tripping.
[33:29] Sure, absolutely. But repentant, broken, letting the conflict reveal things about us that would search us out so that we would know who we are, so that we can repent.
[33:40] We don't read any repentant Psalms of Saul. Notice that they're not there. Some of the greatest repentant Psalms we have are of David. Why?
[33:50] Because in the middle of conflict, the truths about himself were revealed to him, and the heart was molded and shaped by those truths. And he offered these penitent Psalms of search me and try me and know me, search out my desperate ways, reveal to me who I am, so that he could renew his stance with the Lord God.
[34:10] Sure, conflict, troubles, times, they reveal truths about ourselves. But how we respond to those truths we see really dictates how God uses us moving forward.
[34:22] And we see this beginning in the life of Saul in 1 Samuel 14. Thank you, brother. Thank you.
[35:14] Thank you. Thank you.
[36:14] Thank you. Thank you.
[37:14] Thank you. Thank you.
[38:14] Thank you.
[38:45] Thank you.