But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command. 1 Samuel 13:14 NLT
Read 1 Samuel 13.
I have heard it said that there are 365 “Fear nots” in the Bible, one for each day of the year. That is a nice thought! In my research, however, I have not seen that command or phrase even close to that many times in the Bible. Does that debunk the validity of the command? Certainly not! Perhaps we may be able to interpret other Bible verses to have the same meaning, even if they don’t contain the precise phrase. OK, I can live with that. However, even one time is plenty! Jesus Himself told us to not be afraid, and that is enough for me!
God has promised to be with us everywhere we go and to never ever abandon us. His track record is flawless! So, what reason would there be to fear?
Fear can play crazy games with our minds and can prompt us to do things we would not do under normal circumstances. It also prevents us from being and doing all the remarkable things God has planned for our lives. It is paralyzing!
What is the source of fear? Fear is fed by lack of faith. It says that we don’t believe God is big enough or good enough to take care of us, so we panic and recoil. Something else is fueled by lack of faith, and it is also birthed out of fear – disobedience! Have you ever considered how fear and disobedience could be close cousins? It’s true! Disobedience is based on the same message as fear, that we don’t believe God is big enough or good enough to have our best interest at heart when He gives us commands. Therefore, through our fear, we choose to do things our own way instead of obeying God.
This is the foundation of 1 Samuel 13. Saul may be a fierce warrior and a mighty king, but fear plays into his grave error in this chapter.
He had begun his reign as king by leading Israel into a great victory, and the people hailed him as their victorious leader. Now, they are severely outnumbered, and the people are trembling in utter terror. Saul had assembled 3,000 men and allowed the rest to go home. He took 2,000, and Jonathan took 1,000. Jonathan trusted God to be with him, and he lead his men into a great victory at Geba. However, this was like rattling the cage of a ferocious lion!
The Philistines were madder than a hornet’s nest, and they were riled up to completely destroy their enemies! When the people of Israel heard about the mighty army the Philistines had assembled against them, the men of Israel began cowardly slipping away little by little. Fear had consumed them!
Do you remember the command Samuel had given Saul previously? He had instructed Saul to wait seven days, and he would come and offer burnt offerings to the Lord. When Samuel was running a little late, Saul began to panic. Here he was on the brink of being wiped out by the Philistines while his own army was disappearing before him. He knew he needed God’s help, but where was Samuel? What was he to do?
In his fear, he had justified in his mind that he would simply have to offer the burnt offering himself so that the Lord would be with them in battle. He couldn’t wait for Samuel any longer! Apparently, God doesn’t do things on time, so he must take matters into his own hands. Surely God would understand if he disobeyed this once due to the severe circumstances!
After all, what does God know? When He gives a command, surely, He doesn’t take into consideration the unique situations a person may face. God will understand if we must do things our own way from time to time. Wrong!
Do you see how fear causes us to make justifications for disobedience? That is why we must choose to trust. We can intentionally remove fear from our hearts by having faith in God. This isn’t merely a feeling, but it is a command. We are commanded to have faith and commanded to not fear; therefore, these cannot be an excuse for disobedience in other areas. We are to obey God fully, regardless of our circumstances.
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6 NIV
Saul didn’t get this. He gave in to his fear because his faith was weak. However, he was busted! Here comes Samuel after all, and he catches Saul red-handed!
“What have you done?” Samuel shouted!
Saul tried to explain himself, but he had blown it! It had only been a week, and he proved he didn’t fear the Lord. Samuel’s words must have stung…
“How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” 1 Samuel 13:13-14 NLT
This was the beginning of the end for Saul, and events were set in motion that would forever shift the course of history for the nation of Israel. All because of an act of disobedience built on lack of faith and paralyzing fear.
I don’t know about you, but I’d rather trust and obey!
Pride may have contributed as well, but we’ll talk more about this one later. The rest of the book of 1 Samuel is going to be quite an adventure, and I am so looking forward to it!
See you tomorrow!
