First Samuel 15:24

The Bible says in First Samuel 15:24-25, “And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.[25] Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.” This almost sounds like true confession of sin, but it is not. The reason that it is not true confession of sin is because Saul is not taking responsibility for his own actions. Notice the last phrase of verse twenty-four. Saul said “because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.” In other words, it was the people’s fault, not Saul’s fault for what he did. Most people have heard the phrase, “The devil made me do it.” That is false. The devil can tempt you, but he cannot make you do anything. You decide what you do, and if you sin, it is because you chose to sin. It says to Christians in First John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This is the great teaching on how a Christian continues to walk in fellowship with Christ. Of course, the confession is made directly to Jesus. Jesus forgives sin. The word “confess” is very revealing. It comes from a word that means literally “to say the same thing as.” In other words, I am confessing my sins to the Lord Jesus when I say the same thing that God says about my sin: it was wrong, I should not have done it, and it is my determination to never do it again. But do not use the word that Saul used: “because.” Do not say what Saul said. Do not say, “I sinned because…” It is your fault and not anyone else’s. For example, you should have been kind. You should have been loving no matter what anyone else said or did. The wonderful thing is that if you make a true confession in honesty about your guilt, the Lord will always forgive. Even if you fail at the same thing again, He will always forgive if you make an honest confession to Him. There is no reason to ever be out of fellowship with Christ as long as you live a life of repentance and confession no matter how weak you are.

The Bible says in First Samuel 15:26-28, “And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.[27] And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.[28] And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.” The Lord Jesus opens the door that no man can shut, and He shuts the door that no man can open. That is true concerning getting into heaven, and it is also true concerning opportunities in life. The Lord might give you a great opportunity, but if you are not going to go through that door of opportunity, then He might close it. Saul’s opportunity was not just to be king of Israel, but to be king of Israel according to the Word of God and the will of God. Since Saul had rejected the Word of the Lord, the Lord had rejected him from being king over Israel. It is a great privilege and honor to be given something to do for the Lord, but if you are not going to do it God’s way, then the Lord just might give it to someone else to do. The Lord was already preparing someone else to replace Saul, a young man by the name of David. David would defeat the giant Goliath. David was the sweet Psalmist of Israel. David was a man after God’s own heart. David would establish the city of Jerusalem. David sinned, but was forgiven of his sin, and would be an example of the sure mercies of God that we would all have available in the New Covenant through Christ. David would typify the Messiah. The Messiah would come in the lineage of David. David showed that a young man dedicated to the Lord and loving the Lord could be “better” than the elders. Yes, David was better than Saul.

The Bible says in First Samuel 15:29, “And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.” To repent means to change one’s mind. Once God makes up His mind to do something, it is going to happen. God certainly has the ability to make it happen. He is called here “the Strength of Israel.” How much strength does He have? He has all power. He can make anything happen. That is the basis of praying with confidence. I cannot do it, but God can. That is why Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.” Human beings often fail to do what they say they will do. But God does not have that weakness. That is why all the prophecies of the Bible are always fulfilled. When God says something is going to happen, it happens. One of the many benefits of studying the Bible is that we have a view into the future. We know some of the things that will happen because God tells us. He always keeps His word.

The Bible says in First Samuel 15:30-35, “Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God.[31] So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD.[32] Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.[33] And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.[34] Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.[35] And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.” Samuel the prophet killed Agag. This was the Old Testament times, and they were at war. God gives victory to one nation over another when God so chooses. Also, Agag was a killer. He deserved to be punished with capital punishment because of the innocent ones that he had killed as the king of a violent people. Samuel said to Agag in verse thirty-three, “…thy sword hath made women childless…” If someone murders, that person deserves to lose their life. That is justice. Justice delayed is not justice. Our current judicial system often lets horrible murderers live a long life taken care of in prison. Even those who get the death penalty are allowed to live as long as twenty years or more before being executed. That is not justice for the victims.

The Bible says in First Samuel 16:1-3, “And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.[2] And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD.[3] And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee.” It is never good to see someone fail. It would be best if they did the right thing and succeeded. But people make their choices and must live with the results. And life goes on. God’s wheels keep moving. His truth is marching on. It was time to anoint David as the future king of Israel. Notice that Samuel said in verse two, “How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me.” Saul had become a terrible person, and everyone knew it. Saul would kill if he could in order to stay king. Later Saul would try to kill David. But God kept that from happening. God is the life-giver. God keeps everyone alive as long as He wants us to live.

The Bible says in First Samuel 16:4-7, “And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably?[5] And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.[6] And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD's anointed is before him.[7] But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” Samuel now knows that one of the sons of Jesse is going to be chosen to be the next king. And of course, just like today, everyone wants to know what is going to happen before it happens. Surely, it would be the oldest son, Eliab, because he was the oldest and because he was tall and strong and handsome. Eliab must have had the look of a king. But that was only the outward appearance. The new king was to replace Saul, and Saul had all the outward appearances already. What was needed this time was someone who had a better heart and a better spirit. But man cannot see the heart. Only God can see the heart, and therefore, we need God’s choice, not man’s choice. It says at the end of verse seven, “for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” The heart refers to the innermost being of a person: the seat of the emotions and the will of man. The heart is what a person truly is. Only God sees the heart. That is one reason that we should not judge. It is also why we should look at our own hearts and make sure that we believe in our hearts and that we are right with Jesus in our heart. It says in Romans 10:9-10, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.[10] For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

The Bible says in First Samuel 16:8-11, “Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.[9] Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.[10] Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these.[11] And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.” We see from these verses why the Lord used Samuel so much. Samuel did what the Lord wanted. Human logic was to bring each of the sons from the oldest to the least, but they did not bring David because they thought he was too insignificant. He was the youngest and was not a full-grown man yet. David was probably still a teenager and was given a task that probably no one else wanted: to tend the sheep. And so to the others, David was insignificant. But not to God. God sees what man cannot see: the heart.

The Bible says in First Samuel 16:12-13, “And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.[13] Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.” David, the shepherd boy, was anointed to be the next king of Israel. David was God’s choice. The anointing symbolized that God made a choice. The Messiah would come in the lineage of David, and the very word Messiah means “the anointed One.” Jesus is the Anointed One who came to die for the sins of the world, and to make all things straight. From the standpoint of becoming one of the chosen, every believer is also anointed. David was anointed to show that God had a specific plan for his life. God also has a specific plan for each of our lives. Jesus said in John 15:16, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.”

It says in verse thirteen that “the Spirit of the LORD came upon David.” In the Old Testament the Spirit of God only came upon a few individuals in specific circumstances. In the New Testament times things are much different. We are all very blessed because as soon as one believes in Jesus, the Holy Spirit fills and indwells that person. That is why John said in Matthew 3:11, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” That is why Jesus said in John 3:6, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” It also says in Romans 8:9, “…if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Seeing we have this great blessing of the indwelling Spirit, make sure that you listen to the Spirit and how He wants to guide you.

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