Samuel, a prophet and priest in Israel, grew old, and the elders of Israel petitioned for a king (1 Samuel 8:1) . They wanted an earthly king, like “other nations” and no longer wanted God to reign over them (1 Samuel 8:4). Samuel warned them of the consequences. A king will take advantage of their people and seek his own interests (1 Samuel 8:10-18).

Despite the warning, they still pushed for a king, and God honoured their free will (1 Samuel 8:19-22). Saul was anointed as king with Samuel to guide him on how to lead and protect God’s people. Although he started well, along the way, he missed the mark.

How is it that a man like Saul, chosen and anointed by God, ended up being rejected as king and disconnected from God? It’s not about how you start. What matters is how you finish. The same pitfalls that ensnared King Saul can easily ensnare us as well. What can we learn from his story?

1. He walked in pride rather than humility.

In the opening chapter, Samuel reminded Saul that it was the Lord who anointed him as king (1 Samuel 15:1). He instructed them to go to war with the Amalekites, for the Lord had not forgotten their opposition towards the Israelites when they tried to leave Egypt (1 Samuel 15:2).

1 Samuel 15:3a
Now go, attack the Amalekites. Destroy everything that belongs to them as an offering to the Lord. Don’t let anything live. 

Usually, when a nation was defeated, the opposing nation would take their riches, livestock, army, weapons, prized possessions, or whatever was considered beneficial. Sometimes God would allow the Israelites to take plunder when they won a battle, and other times, He would warn them not to take anything because it was devoted to destruction (for e.g. Joshua 6:18-19).

The instruction that Samuel relayed to Saul was no different. He was not to spare anything, for it was devoted to destruction. Unfortunately, Saul didn’t fully obey God’s instruction.

1 Samuel 15:9
But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not destroy them. All that was despised and worthless, they devoted to destruction.

The Lord was grieved by Saul (1 Samuel 15:10-11) and sent Samuel to rebuke him. To make things worse, Saul could not see that he had disobeyed God (1 Samuel 15:13) and was adamant that he did what the Lord had commanded him to do. Pride was the first pitfall.  

Often pride goes hand in hand with deception. It blinds the person who is in error; they are unable to discern the truth, from acknowledging their sin, and it hinders them from receiving correction.

When Samuel asked him why he heard the ‘bleating of sheep’ and ‘lowing of oxen’ (1 Samuel 15:14),  Saul tried to justify his actions. He told Samuel that they kept the best of the spoil so that they could sacrifice unto the Lord (1 Samuel 15:15). Samuel’s response was this,

1 Samuel 15:17
And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel”. And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ ¹⁹ Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? 

Samuel reminded Saul that before the Lord chose him, Saul considered himself “small”. He reminded Saul of where he started from. He was a Benjaminite who faithfully tended to his father’s donkeys (1 Samuel 9). No one knew who he was, and even when he was announced as king, he hid himself because of insecurity (1 Samuel 10: 20-23). Despite being in a position of authority and power, he did not steward it well. 

In previous chapters, he succumbed to pressure, offered unlawful sacrifices (1 Samuel 13:8-15), and acted impulsively (1 Samuel 14:24-46). Selectively choosing which command to follow was the last straw. Saul failed to understand that partial obedience was still disobedience. Samuel continues on,

1 Samuel 15:22
“Has 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 listen than the fat of rams.

Though Saul was an earthly king, he still needed to submit to heavenly authority. Being the head of Israel doesn’t mean that he can make decisions in isolation. These are God’s people, not his. In the same way, being “anointed” doesn’t mean that consecration can be ignored (remember Samson?). 

As much as God delighted in burnt offerings, He also delighted in his obedience. God is the only person who gets to decide what is considered pleasing to Him. When we become familiar with God, we assume that we know best or try to bend the rules. 


2. He feared men more than he feared God.

For Saul to disregard the instructions of God showed that he did not fear God anymore. The second pitfall that Saul faced was the fear of man. He disobeyed God because he was afraid of what he would lose. Instead of obeying God’s voice, Saul obeyed the voice of the people.

1 Samuel 15:24
Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.”

This situation revealed that Saul struggled with insecurity. It was for this reason that he got jealous when the women sang ‘Saul has struck down his thousands and David his ten thousand (1 Samuel 18:7). He cared about the applause of men.  

It also shows us that people-pleasing is a subtle form of idolatry. It’s when we have more reverence for people that God created than the Creator Himself. The fear of men is a genuine fear for most Christians because we know that obeying God will cost us. It can cost us friendships, relationships, popularity, opportunities, and even cause backlash (cancel culture).

Proverbs 29:25
The fear of man is a snare, but those who trust in the Lord are secure.

This verse warns us that the fear of man is a trap. In our pursuit for people’s approval, we don’t even realise that we’ve become enslaved to their opinions. We conform to their will rather than to the will of God. Their voice becomes louder than His word. Instead of standing firm, we compromise.        

The antidote to the fear of man is to fear the Lord. When we trust in the Lord, He becomes our refuge, not people. He will protect us regardless of what happens around us. If the scenario were different, where Saul was obedient, God would have defended him even if the people rebelled against him, because His name was honoured.


3. He chose reputation over repentance.

When the instructions from the Lord are considered ‘suggestions’, when conviction is taken lightly, when obedience becomes an option, wise counsel and/or correction is despised – please know that a fall is imminent. Pride comes before a fall (Proverbs 16:18).

The Lord could see that Saul’s heart had hardened towards Him because of his continual disobedience. He desired someone humble, had a surrendered heart, who would build His kingdom and not theirs. It was for this reason that the following decision was made,

1 Samuel 15:23b
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”

After being rejected as king, he begged Samuel to come with him to worship the Lord. Samuel reinforced to Saul that God’s judgment was final, and God had found someone else who would do His will. Still, Saul persisted. 

1 Samuel 15:30
Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honour me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the Lord your God.” 

Saul cared more about how he looked in the eyes of the people than how he looked in the sight of God. “…yet honour me now” shows us that his heart wasn’t broken over his sin. He didn’t want the congregation to know that the Lord had rejected him from being king and was willing to do whatever it took to protect his image. 

“…yet honour me now” is an attitude that some people can have when they have sinned. Like Saul, their focus is on being honoured rather than walking in humility. Instead of showing genuine repentance, there is a pretence. 

They are more concerned about their reputation, even if it comes at the expense of their relationship with God. They are more concerned about their ‘image’ before people, instead of getting right with God. It takes humility to acknowledge that we have sinned against God and need his mercy and forgiveness. 

Saul could have turned back to God in sincerity. But his statement “…that I may bow before the Lord your God” revealed that he lost his awe of God and intimacy. From that moment, the presence of God left him, and he was spiritually oppressed (1 Samuel 16:14-15).


A final note.

Towards the end of 1 Samuel, it tells us how it ended for King Saul. In his desperation to hear from God, he seeks a medium (one who acts as a mediator between the living and the dead). Despite knowing that such a decision was a transgression, he wanted to know the will of God (1 Samuel 28:1-24). This was the final act of disobedience before he took his own life (1 Samuel 30:1-5). 

This was how ‘the mighty have fallen’ (2 Samuel 1:19), a cry from King David when he heard the news of Saul’s death and the tragedies that befell Saul’s family. It’s easy to read the accounts of men and women in the Old Testament and treat them as merely “stories”, but Paul reminds Timothy,

2 Timothy 3:16 (AMP)
All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately – behaving honourably with personal integrity and moral courage].

In the Old Testament, priests, prophets, and judges would relay messages from God to the Israelites. The spirit of God (the Holy Spirit) would come upon people whom God had anointed for a specific assignment and then leave. Sometimes the spirit of God would depart due to grief or regret. But now, we are under the new covenant.

In the new covenant, Christ is our mediator (middleman). We have the Holy Spirit who dwells inside of us because we are vessels that have been sanctified. The Holy Spirit was given to us as a gift, to help and guide us (John 14:26).

Even so, we are encouraged not to grieve the Holy Spirit in whom we have been ‘marked with a seal until the day of redemption’ (Ephesians 4:30). It’s a privilege to be able to walk in close fellowship with the Lord. Let us continue to walk in humility, in the fear of the Lord, and live a lifestyle of repentance.

God bless,
Susan.