“In those days there
was no king in
Israel: every man
did that which was
right in his own
eyes” (Judges
21:25).
I would like to, in
this message,
explore when a
nation rejects God
as their ruler and
asks for a king to
protect them. This
is a story of three
kings. We all know
the story of how
Israel asked for a
king, and God let
them choose a king
through Samuel to
reign over them.
Follow the sad story
found in your Bible,
of a man standing a
head above everyone
else. This man was
strong physically,
but weak mentally
and spiritually in
what counts before
God. The first king
I name was Saul and
you may find his
story in the pages
of 1st Samuel
beginning in chapter
8. Samuel the
prophet was sore
displeased with the
people’s choice for
wanting a king, but
God gave them free
will to choose a
king to reign over
them. They wanted a
king to do their
battles. A king to
protect them, and
also, to be like the
nations round about
them. And these
nations were pagan
and God haters.
SAMUEL ANOINTS SAUL
KING OVER ISRAEL
1 Samuel 8.7-8: “And
the LORD said unto
Samuel, Hearken unto
the voice of the
people in all that
they say unto thee:
for they have not
rejected thee, but
they have rejected
me, that I should
not reign over them.
According
to all the works
which they have done
since the day that I
brought them up out
of Egypt even unto
this day, wherewith
they have forsaken
me, and served other
gods, so do they
also unto thee.”
Samuel tried to
reason with them and
protested solemnly
about what a king
would impose upon
them. They would
loose their freedom
of choice, their
sons and daughters
would be drafted
into service of this
king, and a portion
of everything they
possessed he would
require. Some today
call it: taxes.
1 Samuel 8.19:
“Nevertheless the
people refused to
obey the voice of
Samuel; and they
said, Nay; but we
will have a king
over us.”
Saul was not unlike
any other man. He
had flaws, and he
sinned because he
was mortal. But Saul
had a fatal flaw
within his
character; he never
took responsibility
for anything that
went wrong. When God
gave him directions
in dealing with the
pagan nations around
him, he never would
take it upon himself
to repent of sinning
against God. Let us
point to the one
event that ended
God’s blessing upon
the reign of this
man, called Saul.
1 Samuel 15.2-3:
“Thus saith the LORD
of hosts, I remember
that which Amalek
did to Israel, how
he laid wait for him
in the way, when he
came up from Egypt.
Now go and smite
Amalek, and utterly
destroy all that
they have, and spare
them not; but slay
both man and woman,
infant and suckling,
ox and sheep, camel
and ass.”
Now many people
wonder why would God
command this. If we
read our context of
the passage and dig
for the reasons, it
was because of the
murders committed by
these people against
the people of
Israel. They slew
the defenseless, the
stragglers, the weak
and the lame that
followed on the tail
end of the trail of
people in the
Exodus. They showed
no mercy, and though
they received not
judgment
immediately, God was
pronouncing judgment
immediately and Saul
was commanded to
smite the nation of
the Amelekites and
destroy them all.
What did Saul do?
If you follow
the story in chapter
15 of 1st Samuel,
you find Saul did
what he thought
would be pleasing to
God and to the
people, by keeping
the best of the
livestock and the
king of the
Amalekites, Agag
alive. The Lord
spoke to Samuel and
repented of making
Saul, king:
“Then came the word
of the LORD unto
Samuel, saying, It
repenteth me that I
have set up Saul to
be king: for he is
turned back from
following me, and
hath not performed
my commandments. And
it grieved Samuel;
and he cried unto
the LORD all night”
(1 Samuel 15:10-11).
As the story
progresses, Saul
boasts to Samuel
when he came unto
him and said:
“And Samuel came to
Saul: and Saul said
unto him, Blessed be
thou of the LORD: I
have performed the
commandment of the
LORD” (1 Samuel
15:13).
Had Saul performed
what God gave
implicit
instructions through
Samuel to carry out?
No, obviously, he
had not, but did
what he thought God
wanted, in his own
mind. Not what God
said, but what Saul
wanted. And why was
that?
“And Saul said unto
Samuel, Yea, I have
obeyed the voice of
the LORD, and have
gone the way which
the LORD sent me,
and have brought
Agag the king of
Amalek, and have
utterly destroyed
the Amalekites.
But the people
took of the spoil,
sheep and oxen, the
chief of the things
which should have
been utterly
destroyed, to
sacrifice unto the
LORD thy God in
Gilgal”
(1 Samuel 15:20-21,
emphasis mine).
Notice the finger
pointing? “The
people made me do
it...” “I’m not
responsible.” “I did
what was politically
correct.” “I wanted
the adoration of the
people.” “I was
scared to do as You
said, Lord.” “I
decided to lie about
it.” “The devil made
me do it”...to coin
a Flip Wilson
phrase.
And what was
Samuel’s response
speaking for the
Lord God through
him?
“For rebellion is as
the sin of
witchcraft, and
stubbornness is as
iniquity and
idolatry. Because
thou hast rejected
the word of the
LORD, he hath also
rejected thee from
being king” (1
Samuel 15:23).
God rejected Saul as
ruler over Israel. A
harsh sentence was
passed. Not because
Saul was unable to
sin. No, he was like
any other man, but
the problem was
before God, he made
excuses.
He rejected
responsibility. The
buck did not stop
with him, as he
pointed out the
flaws of everyone
else, and not
looking inward and
repented of his
sins. In other
words, he lied to
God. Until:
1 Samuel 16.14: “But
the Spirit of the
LORD departed from
Saul, and an evil
spirit from the LORD
troubled him.” (Some
translations
interpret this evil
spirit as a sadness,
bitterness, or
chronic depression.)
GOD CHOOSES DAVID
TO REIGN OVER ISRAEL
1 Samuel 16.1: “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.”
Samuel was afraid to
go down to
Bethlehem, for fear
that Saul would
murder him for the
plans of anointing
another king, as our
Bible tells us:
1 Samuel 16.2-3:
“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.
And call
Jesse to the
sacrifice, and I
will show thee what
thou shalt do: and
thou shalt anoint
unto me him whom I
name unto thee.”
Saul had changed
from when he was
made king. He was
not to be trusted,
and Samuel believed
him to be a murderer
that would take his
life should he find
out what Samuel was
about to do. All
along, Saul was a
mortal man prone to
sin, but with the
spirit of depression
and bitterness, his
mental stability and
his ability to stay
away from doing
wrong had caused
Samuel to fear
Saul’s intentions
toward him, even
though he being a
prophet of God.
The story continues
of a little shepherd
boy, who Samuel
would never have
imagined that God
would choose. But
God had been
preparing David for
a long time. He was
a ruddy, good
looking lad that had
killed a lion and a
bear to protect his
father’s herd of
sheep, showing his
strength and his
courage. Read the
passages of how each
son came before
Samuel, and the
prophet just knew
that this one, or
that one was the
chosen by his
outward appearance.
But we learn that
God looks on the
heart, not the
outward appearance.
Read 1st Samuel
chapter 16.
1 Samuel 16.13-14:
“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. But the
Spirit of the LORD
departed from Saul,
and an evil spirit
from the LORD
troubled him.”
The Holy Spirit of
God rested on David,
but departed from
Saul because of his
not following the
commandments of God
and adding insult to
injury, he lied
about fulfilling the
commandments of God,
when he knew
full-well, that he
had not, but made
excuses to justify
himself before
Samuel and before
God.
What follows in
Scripture is an
unfolding story of a
man in torment
because of his
unrepentant heart
before God and the
relationship between
Saul and David.
David was a
righteous man who
would not dare harm
the chosen king of
Israel as God’s
protector of the
people, as David
viewed Saul as God’s
anointed one to the
throne. But
jealously filled
Saul with rage, as
David was known to
have God being with
him and Saul feared
him greatly.
DAVID, A MAN AFTER
GOD’S OWN HEART
Why is there a
difference between
the two men, the
actions of Saul and
David not being
provoked to strike
back at Saul who
wished to kill him,
but respected the
office of the king
who was over him?
Both men were mortal
and prone to sin.
David committed some
terrible acts of
sin, as king,
regarding Bathsheba
in an adulterous
affair and the
indirect killing of
her husband. But why
was David forgiven
by God and Saul not?
There are several
reasons that God
repented of allowing
Saul to be king over
Israel. David was a
born leader. A man
of character, a man
of strong belief and
faith in Almighty
God as his
benefactor, and
David was a man
after God’s own
heart. When David
failed and sinned,
he took
responsibility and
repented of his sin.
He didn’t cast blame
on anybody but
himself. David was
the epitome of the
seven reasons listed
later below, of a
man after God’s own
heart and who loved
God enough to change
his behavior.
Saul proved time and
again that he was
not a leader and
that he would not
repent of sins that
transgressed God’s
commandments, but
harbored ill will
against God’s
authority over him
concerning David
being called of God
to replace him. He
was proven to be not
fit to rule and lead
the people of Israel
according to the
Laws of God. The
most important thing
before God was what
were the feelings of
David about God. Did
he really love God?
Did he love to
fellowship with Him?
We begin to see as
we read 1st and 2nd
Samuel all the way
into Psalms, why God
said of this
man—even when he was
a teenager, “Here is
somebody after My
own heart!” David
was in love with
God! It is spoken of
in Acts chapter 13:
Acts 13.22: “And
when he had removed
him (Saul), he
raised up unto them
David to be their
king; to whom also
he gave their
testimony, and said,
I have found David
the son of Jesse, a
man after mine own
heart, which shall
fulfill all my
will.”
In contrast, did
Saul love God? Saul
proved that Saul was
in love with Saul.
Some call that
having a
narcissistic
personality
disorder, or being
in love with your
self only. Also,
Saul was not
sensitive to the
leading of the Holy
Spirit or the Word
of God through His
mouthpiece, Samuel
the prophet. Nor
would he lead his
people in the
full-knowledge of
the will of God. God
was looking for
repentance of the
failure to keep
God’s commands and
sinning against God,
but all Saul did was
become bitter and
commit suicide in
the end. There are
seven reasons why I
believe God removed
Saul from being king
over Israel and
called David.
Examples of a good
leader, that Saul
never learned:
1. Don’t blame other
people for your
mistakes. Look at
yourself.
2. Do not minimize
your mistakes, but
take ownership of
them.
3. Don’t justify
yourself. Only God
can do that.
4. Accept
responsibility for
your failures.
5. Admit when you
are wrong.
6. Apologize for
your mistakes to the
people and to God.
7. And the most
important is to
repent and turn
around from where
you have been going.
Why am I comparing
Saul with David? Why
is there a lesson
between a leader who
is lacking in
character and the
ability to take
ownership for his
actions and a leader
who displays all
seven
characteristics
mentioned above, as
David did? I move
onto to a modern
“unrepentant king”
who is Saul in our
time.
BARACK OBAMA, THE
UNREPENTANT KING?
Proverbs 29.2: “When
the righteous are in
authority, the
people rejoice: but
when the wicked
beareth rule, the
people mourn.”
I use the word
“king” when
mentioning this
man’s name. Has he
not made himself
king over us? When
this man was elected
by whatever means
the first and sadly,
the second time, he
promised change. Did
we not get change,
but was it the
change we expected
or promised? Like
our ancient king of
Israel who would not
repent and/or take
responsibility for
anything that went
wrong, Obama has
become our modern
day, King Saul. Have
you ever seen or has
anyone ever seen a
man who has a knack
for finger pointing?
Some say that Obama
oozes the
narcissistic
personality disorder
trait that is
evident in those of
an immature nature
or extreme self-love
and adoration that
they can’t admit
doing wrong. We have
seen him lie to us
all. Now you can lie
to the people, and
you are a deceiver.
You can lie to
yourself and you’re
crazy. But you lie
to God, you’re
...well, you fill in
the blank!
CASES IN POINT
Note the latest
scandals that plague
this administration?
Let us briefly
discuss those
scandals, not to
mention all the
failures to lead in
the past, but for
brevity let’s look
at only three.
The attack on our
U.S. mission in
Benghazi, and the
details hidden from
the public of the
gun running through
Turkey to Syria to
arm the rebels
wishing to overthrow
Assad’s regime.
These rebels are
hand in hand with
Al-Qaeda and wish to
institute Sharia law
and further an
Islamic Caliphate.
“Christopher
Stevens, the U.S.
Ambassador to Libya,
who was killed along
with three other
Americans after
terrorists stormed
the mission, was
twice turned down
from senior military
officials for
additional security
at the facility,”
McClatchy news
services reported.
Ambassador Stevens
was Obama’s point
man for this gunning
running scheme and
Obama wanted to keep
it quiet.
By all the evidence,
the political
fall-out during an
election year kept
them from doing
anything and let
four American’s die
without attempting
to intervene and
lied about the
details of what
could and should
have been done in a
blatant cover-up.
During and after
this known terrorist
attack, how did our
illustrious
administration
respond? They flat
out lied. Blamed it
on some unknown
video that was
proven rather
quickly to be false.
Out came the fingers
that pointed in
misdirection of who
was responsible.
“Not I,” bleeted
Obama. “Not I,”
clucked Secretary
Clinton. “We’re not
to blame. It’s that
dastardly video
that’s to blame”
They would NOT
accept
responsibility for
incompetence or the
lack of leadership
on either of their
parts or the
cover-up of the
details. From where
I stand, the “buck
stops here,” ended
with Harry Truman’s
White House. I’ll
bet my beanie that
if the American
people knew the full
story of this whole
sordid affair, heads
would roll and Obama
would be leading the
parade in
impeachment followed
by tar and feathers.
Second, the IRS
intimidation of
conservative groups
that dare have
“Patriot” or “Tea
Party” or anything
conservative
associated with
their names being
targeted for audits
and intimidation to
muzzle their
political beliefs.
At first blush, I
shudder to think
that this is the
same hated group of
bureaucrats who will
be administering
“Obamacare” and
leveling fines for
non-compliance. Can
you smell a dead
fish in Denmark? Are
they a part of this
administration’s
attempt, to
eliminate political
dissent? News
agencies report:
The IRS
department in charge
of deciding on
tax-exempt status
requested its
specialists to be
on the
lookout for Tea
Party applications.
Criteria included
“…various local
organizations in
the Tea Party
movement” seeking
501(c)(3) or
501(c)(4) status
between 2010 and
2012.
The results of
the investigation by
the Inspector
General, has led to
actions by the U.S.
Congress.
Yeah, right!
And lastly, the NSA
wire tapping scandal
of news reporters,
and American
citizens on the
pretense of national
security and the
flagrant violation
of the 1st, the 2nd
and the 4th
amendment of the
Bill of Rights to
our Constitution.
The age of big
brother and the
Orwellian saga of
1984, has
arrived. And who is
doing the
investigation of the
NSA and this IRS
scandal? You got it,
the fox is in the
hen house. DOJ
Attorney General
Eric Holder is
investigating
himself. Don’t you
feel relieved and
confident that
justice will
prevail? No? Me
neither!
The three stories
are so complex and
inter-related that I
could spend several
hundred pages of
comments about where
this is all leading.
But for simplicity
it is the
nullification of our
basic freedoms given
by God and
substituting
tyranny. But those
of you who are
following more
closely even than
myself on these
matters, when was
the last time that
you observed this
president taking
responsibility for
anything that goes
on in his executive
branch of
government? Can’t
think of a time?
Neither can I.
If you haven’t
started to mourn, as
the verse in
Proverbs 29:2
testifies, you may
just soon start, as
either God will
remove this man from
office, or allow him
to stay to further
his judgment on this
nation for the sins
she has committed.
Face it: Obama is
our King Saul. What
we need is a King
David to set things
right on this earth.
As it was in the
days of ancient
Israel, we have left
following after the
commandments of God.
We have thrown God
out of every aspect
of our lives in our
courts, in our
legislatures, in our
schools, in our
military, and have
opted out for a
“king” to make us
feel safe all at the
expense of a little
liberty. Who needs
liberty?
“We don’t
need no stinking
liberty.” Give
us more welfare,
government handouts,
Obama phones, and
food stamps. Make us
impossible to think
for ourselves with
“big brother”
telling us when to
turn our heads and
cough in a physical
examination. Ben
Franklin said, “Those
who would give up
essential liberty to
purchase a little
temporary safety,
deserve neither
liberty nor safety.”
In
our national apathy
we have elected an
official who mirrors
our depravity.
That is what we have
given up as a
nation. Security for
less freedom has
been our cry by
allowing the above
scandals and every
other attack on our
freedoms to stand
without fierce
resistance. This
administration paves
the way for the
“lawless one” to
come on the scene.
This final
“unrepentant" king
is coming. In all
unrighteousness he
will rule this world
we know.
The stage is
being set as I
write.
Revelation 13.5-6:
“And there
was given unto him a
mouth speaking great
things and
blasphemies; and
power was given unto
him to continue
forty and two
months. And he
opened his mouth in
blasphemy against
God, to blaspheme
his name, and his
tabernacle, and them
that dwell in
heaven.”
KINGS OF KINGS,
AFTER THE LINEAGE OF
DAVID
I mentioned we need
a King David. But as
a matter of fact, we
do have a descendant
of King David from
the tribe of Judah.
He will be the
righteous KING we so
desire to set our
course straight in
this world. As David
was after God’s own
heart, this mighty
KING of kings will
be after God’s own
heart, as the Father
and He are one. I
speak of the Son of
God, our KING: Jesus
Christ.
Our Lord will return
soon:
Revelation 19.11:
“And I saw heaven
opened, and behold a
white horse; and he
that sat upon him
was called Faithful
and True, and in
righteousness he
doth judge and make
war.”
Are you ready for
the righteous King
of kings, or do you
follow an
“unrepentant king?”
Wake-up and choose
wisely as our
redemption draweth
nigh. So come Lord
Jesus.
This is Pastor Mike
Taylor praying God’s
salvation comes into
your life. If you
have prayer request,
needs for
counseling, or just
a listening ear,
email me at
realteam1999@sbcglobal.net,
or visit me online
at
www.churchofgod-usa.org
for more biblical
messages from God’s
Word. God bless you
all, till we meet at
Jesus’ feet.