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"Saul Had A Prophetic Song to Sing
Before David Did"
Those of us involved in music ministry or who consider ourselves to
be worship leaders most often try to identify with the life of David.
Many times I have been put into the position of trying to minister and
counsel creative people who feel they have been treated unjustly or
misunderstood by those in leadership who they consider to be a Saul
in their life. We are so given to this idea of singing the songs of
David and upholding the creative and musical world of David that we
sometimes fail to see that there can be some Saul in us all. I would
like for us to consider the song of Saul's life here so that we can
learn from the good and avoid the bad. For, after all, Saul was a king
anointed by God too. And as we can see in I Samuel 10, Saul had a prophetic
song to sing before David did.
There are four ingredients that make up the structure of a song that
can also be applied to the four ingredients that make up a life. This
principle relates to Saul's life as well as ours. Just as a song, we
all have an introduction or call, we have a verse which typically embodies
the lyrical content and imagery which prepares us for the day of our
chorus to be sung or our course to be run. This brings us into our finale,
or the way in which we finish our life song. If you think of Saul's
life as an opera it would certainly be a triumph turned to tragedy.
Saul's INTRO:
There was no debating that young Saul had all of the qualities and characteristics
needed for such a position as king over God's chosen people. Scripture
shows us that he was modest and humble, he was generous and full of
love. Saul was considerate of his father and full of courage. He even
carried a great repulsion for evil and impurity.
In addition to all of his godly characteristics, he was an extremely
good-looking man who stood heads above the rest. Everything about him,
even down to his looks, commanded respect and honor. He was made for
the job.
Besides his appearance and his character there are some special things
that God equipped him with when he became king. First of all, God gave
him another heart so that he became another man (10:6, 9). The Spirit
of God actually came upon him so that he prophesied (10:10). These things
tell us that Saul became completely renewed on the inside and was operating
under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And that isn't all! He was given
a band of men whose hearts God had touched. He also had the trusty prophet
counselor, Samuel, at his side. God also gave Saul respect and notoriety
at the beginning of his reign by giving a spectacular military victory
which gave the people great confidence in their new king.
When God first told Samuel the prophet of His intention to give Israel
a king, Samuel immediately sent for Saul to receive this anointing.
When Saul learned that he was God's choice for king over Israel, he
was overwhelmed and insisted that he was not qualified for the job.
God had to prove His word to Saul before he would accept the call. This
was simply the beginning of an incredible drama that still challenges
us today. If Saul was God's anointed king, Israel's leader, and the
"man of the hour," what went wrong? How did Saul's life come to end
in such dramatic tragedy? And what can we learn today from his glorious
rise and dreadful fall?
Saul's Downfall
So he was physically and supernaturally equipped, as well as anointed
king over God's people. This was a spectacular opportunity for a spectacular
young man. He was put in a position to magnificently cooperate with
God's will. What an opportunity he had been given to be used of God
and to bless men. Saul had no symptoms of vanity and self-glory, which
typically betray us when we are suddenly exalted to such a position.
It was a shock to everyone when his first major mistake occurred very
early in his career. It was a severe act of disrespectful and wicked
presumption (chapter 13). The Philistines had come against Israel. Saul
was told to wait for Samuel at Gilgal. When Samuel didn't show up in
what he considered to be fast enough, Saul, in his impatience, violated
the priesthood and foolishly presumed to offer up sacrifices to the
Lord with his own hand. Saul's anxiety is understandable, but anxiety
should never give us permission to violate obedience to the voice and
Word of God. Later Samuel rebuked him saying, "Saul, thou has done foolishly:
Thou hast not kept the commandment of Jehovah."
How many times has irreverent
presumption and just plain old impatience robbed us of God's best in
fulfilling our God-ordained positions in ministry? This seems to be
especially true among those who appear to carry all of those noble and
attractive qualities like Saul did. Those who have many talents and
gifts from the Lord are known to have more of the negative traits of
Saul as well.
The next fault we see arise in him was an act of impulsive and reckless
willfulness. God had used Jonathan to spread confusion among the Philistines.
Israel's watchmen reported what they saw, so Saul called the priest
to ask God's guidance. But before they were able to bring wisdom and
counsel as to what should be done, Saul ignorantly and impatiently rushed
his men off into battle without a sure word. He also rashly imposed
a death sentence on any man who should eat food that day (v24). The
result was that his starving men were too weak to carry out the victory
(v30) and ended up in sin by eating flesh with the blood (v32). Jonathan
even came under the death sentence and was only rescued by the intervention
of the people (v27, v45). Basically, Saul panicked, did not hear a clear
word from God, and the results were devastating.
Rejection of
the Word of God Became Paramount
In I Samuel 15 came an even greater failure. It is a mixture of disobedience
and deceit. When Saul was told to utterly destroy the Amalekites, he
spared the king and the best livestock. And instead of taking responsibility
for his actions he attempted to throw the blame on the people. When
that didn't work he lied and pretended that this unsanctified spoil
was for a sacrifice to God. Samuel had to rebuke him again with a reminder
of, "When thou was little in thine own sight." He was implying that
humility had now given place to arrogance. Samuel saw right through
Saul's sham and declared, "You did not obey. You have rejected the word
of God."
Sooner or later arrogance always takes its toll and leads to
error and ultimately a rejection of the Word of God. From this point
on we see a steep decline for Saul. In I Samuel 16:14 we see that "the
Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul," and, "an evil spirit troubled
him." He gave way to a petty jealousy until it became hate and malice
against David. We see that his rejection of the Word of God truly became
the paramount issue in his life. For he knew that in seeking to slay
David he was actually fighting against God. He eventually admitted in
I Samuel 24:20, "I know well that thou shalt surely be king." Yet, even
after this, he resumed his blood-thirsty pursuit. Saul had come a long
way from the day he received his "new heart" to now having "murder in
his heart."
The last tragic act in this man's mournful drama is found in chapters
28-31. You find him with the witch of Endor. Only now he is no longer
the handsome, young, gifted, anointed man. He is now an embittered and
desolate-hearted fugitive. He is a wreck of a man who once enjoyed direct
counsel from heaven, who had been given a new heart, a new song, a company
of prophets, and godly counsel. But now he is listening to the voices
of the underworld. So the finale of his song is a final plunge into
witchcraft and suicide. At his own admission, he said, "I have played
the fool" (I Samuel 26:21). We must ask how a man can come from such
heights of glory to such depths of despair. How did he go from the songs
of the prophets and the new heart, to the dirge of despair and death?
The Moral of the Story
If we were to take this tragic opera and attempt to capture the complexities
of his life, I am sure that we would hear some sad and awesome tones.
However, I feel that even his song, as sad as it is, could be one of
sweet redemption if we will today heed the lessons that he so aptly
teaches. When we consider it fully, Saul started off with far greater
promise and possibilities than even David did. Saul had everything David
had and much more. We see that they were not so different in their capacity
to sin either. David was full of his own fleshly lusts, pride, and
deceit. We find the key difference between the heart of Saul and the
heart of David was not in their actions, but in their responses. Where
Saul would make excuses, David would repent. When Saul would try to
hide his wicked actions, David would confess. When Saul would act impetuously,
David would wait patiently for the Lord. When Saul became jealous of
his successor, David responded by supplying his successor with everything
he would need to fulfill his destiny.
Obedience To the Will of God
We are all called and equipped to kingship through Jesus. Just as Saul,
David, and Solomon, we are called to a Theocratic kingship. This means
that we have been anointed to execute the will of God and not our own.
Just like them, we can only rule to the extent that we obey the Lord
who rules above us. Saul and David's worst enemies were always themselves.
Saul's song of fools teaches us that to sing of self will be our gravest
mistake. David's song of broken and desperate praise shows us that to
focus our life's actions and responses on God's glory will be our only
hope.
We need to acknowledge that these king's character traits are potentially
in us all. We will all be confronted with these things like envy, anxiety,
strife, pride, presumption, impatience, fear, and willfulness in our
own lives. It is our response to them and to God that will distinguish
our songs from being a song of Saul or a song of David.
Upon Saul's tragic death, David grieved and wrote a song mourning over,
"How the mighty have fallen." I pray that we will all take the time
to really consider Saul and David -- how the mighty have fallen through
pride, and how the mighty were able to stand by humility.
--Ray Hughes
http://www.selahministries.com
info@selahministries.com
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