I’m sure you have been around many people who are full of themselves. They are arrogant, prideful, and consumed with themselves. Without God, we all would be this way. It’s called self-preservation. If a person lives life this way, they will die and miss Heaven. Jesus gives us the directive for this in Matthew 16:24-25. We are called to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Jesus. The result of a life filled with self is a life lost for all eternity in Hell. A good example of this was the life of Saul in the Old Testament.
Matthew 16:24-25 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”
Early in his life, Saul loved God and followed God’s commands. However, after he became King, he let his ego and pride dominate his life. Before he became king, we see Saul in I Samuel 9 as a good son looking for his father’s lost donkeys. He is respectful and thoughtful. They had been gone for some time, and he tells his servant they need to return home because his father would worry. The servant suggested they visit the prophet Samuel to ask where the donkeys might be or how to get home. Again, Saul shows character by wanting to make sure they have a gift to take to Samuel.
I Samuel 9:6-7 “And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can show us our way that we should go. Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we?”
Saul never sought after the throne; at this time, Israel had no king. Israel decided they wanted a king like all the other countries around them. Israel chose a king based on the outward appearance of Saul. He was tall, good-looking, and appealing to the flesh. When God anointed Saul king of Israel, he was a confident young man who followed God. God chose him to be their king, and at first he was humble and continued to fight for Israel. For various reasons, the tribes of Israel had scattered, but Saul united them again, giving them greater strength.
Saul reigned in Israel for 42 years. God blessed them, and the people loved him, but somewhere along the path to success, Saul became dependent on himself instead of God. In I Samuel 15:13, Samuel is speaking with Saul about the battle where the Lord had instructed Saul to fight against the Amalekites and destroy everything and everyone. Saul had brought back King Agag and the best of the livestock, which was disobedience. In I Samuel 15:22-24, Samuel tells Saul he has sinned, and God sees this sin as equal to the sin of witchcraft, iniquity, and idolatry. Faith and trust in God were soon nowhere to be found. Saul became spiritually defiant in his heart, and God rejected him.
I Samuel 15:22-23 “And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 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.”
He disobeys God several times, and God finally removes His Spirit from him. A life that had honored God, a life that had been blessed by God, was now in shambles. Because of his pride, arrogance, and willful disobedience, God withdrew His Spirit from Saul. When God’s Spirit was gone, an evil spirit came upon Saul.
I Samuel 16:14 “But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.”
Saul yielded to his own desires and reasoning above obeying God, and God rejected him forever! Oh, that Saul had only listened and obeyed. If he had, his life would have been a life that was honorable, and it would have been an example to all of the Great God of Israel. Instead, Saul’s life was one of dishonor and tragedy.
