Saul's Fall

1 Samuel 15:1-23 Saul's Fall

I. HIS DISOBEDIENCE

Disobedience is the first sin and it is responsible for all others. Adam disobeyed and was driven from the garden. Cain disobeyed and killed his brother

Lot's wife disobeyed and was turned into a pillar of salt.

Israel disobeyed and wandered forty years in a wilderness. Saul disobeyed and it marked for him the beginning of the end. A. His Simple Commission - 3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. B. His Sinful Compromise 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly What Saul did might seem small but it was not. It was open treason C. His Sorrowful Collapse - 11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night. D. His Shocking Claim - 13 and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD. II. HIS DISCOVERY - 14 Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? He said nothing about the sheep, so the sheep said plenty about him A. He Had a Preacher He Couldn't Fool - 14 And Samuel said B. He Had a Problem He Couldn't Face - 15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: - It was Saul who sinned C. He Had a Position He Couldn't Fill - 17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?

III. HIS DISGRACE - 23 Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. Saul's rejection of God resulted in God’s rejection of him. A. He Explained the Necessary - 22 Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. In sacrifice man gives what he has. In obedience man gives what he is B. He Exposed the Nasty - 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. C. He Expressed the Next - 23 Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. IV. HIS DISQUALIFICATION - he hath also rejected thee from being king Heb 6:8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. V. HIS DISTRESS - 24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

Acts 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

Samuel did what Saul failed to do - 33 And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal. Agag reaped what he had sown. i. He Repented but Was Not Renewed. 30 Then he said, I have sinned

ii. He Was Religious but Was Not Right. 26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel iii. He Ruled but Was Not Respected. 30 yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God VI. HIS DESERTION -

35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death