To be sorry is to feel regret or disappointment about a situation or something we have done. We all face things from time to time that cause us to react the wrong way and a feeling of remorse comes to us. We may have inflicted something on someone else and felt sorry for the action. We may even apologize for it, but being sorry we did something, is not the same as repenting for our actions. To repent is to be sorry enough that we turn away from our sin, and repeat it no more. When we turn away from our sin, we must turn unto God in obedience.
There is a sorrow that leads to repentance. It is a sorrow that God demands. A sorrow that comes from a heart that agrees with God about our sins. It is a sorrow that stems from knowing we have sinned against a Holy God.
II Corinthians 7:10 “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”
Many commit sins that cause them great loss, shame, or disappointment, but they are not willing to surrender to God and change. Saul was a man who often felt sorry for his attitudes and actions, but instead of repenting and turning back to God, he sought ways to appease his conscience.
In I Samuel chapter 24 we find Saul weeping. David had the opportunity to kill him while Saul was asleep in the cave, but he refused to raise his hand against him. After Saul left the cave, David came out of the cave and yelled down to him explaining to Saul what had happened. Saul weeps and it seems as if he is sorry for seeking to kill David. He shows remorse and acknowledges that he knows David will be the next King. He only asks that David spare his family, David promises, and Saul goes home. It would seem that Saul is remorseful, and he is done with chasing David, but as with any sin that is not repented of, it rises again in the heart of Saul.
I Samuel 24:5 “And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt.”
I Samuel 24:16 “And it came to pass when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept.”
I Samuel 24:20-22 “And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand. Swear now therefore unto me by the LORD, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father’s house. And David swore unto Saul. And Saul went home, but David and his men get them up unto the hold.”
We find this same scenario playing out in chapter 26. David has the opportunity to kill Saul but refuses. He again gets a distance away and yells back to let Saul know he did not harm him when he had the opportunity. Again, Saul goes home. You would think Saul would understand that David could be an asset to him, but now his sin is controlling him.
I Samuel 26:9 “And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD’S anointed, and be guiltless?”
Sins that you don’t repent of will only lead you to commit other sins. Soon, just like Saul, you can’t see the truth. Saul is now in a battle with the Philistines. He is fearful and begins to plan a way to find out the outcome of the encounter. A man who was once right with God would seem to turn to God, to beg forgiveness and wisdom. However, when we live willfully against God, we become deceived. He may have tried to pray, but God had now removed His Spirit from Him. At one point in Saul’s reign, he put all of those of the occult out of the land, however, since there was no repentance it made it easy for him to seek them out later. He continues his path of seeking answers from sources other than God. We never see Saul repent. In I Samuel 28:6, Saul sought the Lord, but God would not answer him. God had enough, and he was done with Saul.
I Samuel 28:3 “Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land.”
I Samuel 28:5-8 “And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor. And Saul disguised himself, and put on another raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.”
Things could have been different, but Saul chose to defy God and do it his way. Each time he was sorry for his actions he should have gone to God in repentance, but he didn’t. When you do wrong it is not enough to feel sorry, you must feel the weight of your sin and repent. Turn away from your sin and walk toward God.
