And so it was when He selected Saul to be the first king of Israel. When Saul's kingship failed it wasn't God's fault, it was Saul who disregarded the Spirit and walked willfully and disobediently in his own way. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ but can be quenched and grieved whereby the divine enablement, so graciously given, is ineffectual. The 'new person' may quickly revert to the old self.
The prophet Samuel uniquely appointed Saul to be the king, sent him on his way, and among other supernatural indicators, he promised that at a certain location the prophets of God would be present and a most miraculous thing would take place. Here is what Samuel prophesied:
"Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man" (1 Samuel
210:6).
Here are a few observations:
1. Doing God's bidding necessitates God's enabling grace. Mere humans, in and of themselves, can't do what God orders. Christians can't live 'the life' on their own. And so, He freely gives His servants all things pertaining to life and godliness. In faith and obedience we must avail ourselves of them. And, talk about the extraordinary! He even gives the presence of the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit Himself. How meager and foolish ever to attempt to live for and serve God in our own strength.
2. God in no way skimps when giving His servants what they need. The Spirit came "mightily" upon Saul. When Saul failed, he could never blame God. It was his own rebellious heart that led him away. He listened to his inner voice (as many advise today) and failed to hearken to God's. Are we not also prone in the same way?
3. What happened to Saul happened publicly. Others were present and immediately recognized the divine nature of the occasion. Ponder the 'public' nature of being a Christian. We confess Jesus before others, go to a public house of worship, are publicly baptized and obediently participate in the church administered ordinances, and, among other such visible activities, are instructed not to be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
4. The work of God must always be in concert with the Word of God. Saul would prophecy. He would handle the very words of the Almighty. He would be communicated to by God Himself and would share those messages with others. Love must always rejoice in the truth. The purposes of God and His daily guidance are communicated through His words of truth. Today, the Bible is God's authoritative Book for all faith and practice. It is replete in and of itself.
5. Saul would be changed into another man. He would become a new creature. He now was divinely indwelt and enabled. His entire being was sanctified for God's service. The man from a lowly family in Benjamin now was the leader of God's nation on earth. He was transformed from chasing animals to leading God's chosen ones.
In each of these observations Saul undoubtedly marveled. He sensed how special was his appointment and so proceeded to do the work.
But chapter 15 of 1 Samuel spells out his downfall. He pitted his will against the will of God. God expects attention to the details of His plan. Every word is important. Saul, in a seemingly insignificant way disobeyed. All he did was leave out the word "all." When he went against the enemy, God said "utterly destroy all." He failed due to his own human reasoning. Great was his fall and disgrace. In his own strength he faltered, became murderous, turned to a witch for answers and proceeded down and down to a ignominious death.
Lesson: Get serious about God's purposes and determine to do God's work in God's enabling grace. Beware of the inbred obstinacy of the fallen human will and its foolish disregard for God's will and enabling grace to live for Him. How are the mighty fallen! The paths of history are strewn with the wrecks of such failures. No one of us is above such disaster and therefore need to submit fully to God, do this moment by moment, to put on the whole armor of God and ever watch and pray that we will not enter into temptation.
The evidence of saving faith is not how much you believe but how well we behave. The key to the Christian life is OBEDIENCE. Hereby the world sees Jesus in us, the new you!
rc
