Proverbs 28:13 says, “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” A perfect illustration of this would be the life of Israel’s first king; Saul of Kish. Though he seemingly started off on the right foot, it wasn’t long that this man chose to floor it down the highway leading toward destruction. As we follow his life through the book of 1 Samuel, we continually see him make decisions based on his own thoughts and feelings. Then, when confronted with his sins, he blames others, tries to justify or rationalize his sin, or he just denies it. But, as the proverb says, when we do this, we will not prosper, and we will not find mercy. Is this not the natural bent that we all have? You bet it is. And it is only when we humble ourselves enough to confess and renounce our sins that we will find the forgiveness of God.
We are going to examine two characters found in 1 Samuel who provide a picture of both of these attitudes. First, we’ll look at King Saul, who was filled with pride, which led to his destruction. And then we’ll take a look at King David, a man after God’s own heart who, when confronted with his sins, softened his heart and found mercy.
All of us are like one of these two. As you read this, all I ask is that you allow the Holy Spirit to prick your heart. If you are like Saul, then your only hope is immediate repentance. If you don’t repent, you will only dig your pit deeper and deeper. If you are more like David, then you’re in a good place. Does that mean your perfect? Absolutely not! That just means that you are the kind of person that, when you sin, you confess and renounce it.
I highly recommend that you study the entire book of 1 Samuel, in order to get a good grasp on who Saul really was. It will amaze you to see the hardness of this man. But, for sake of time, we’re just going to look at one chapter, to see what kind of man Saul was. So, open your Bibles and turn to 1 Samuel chapter fifteen.
As we read verses 1-3, we find that Samuel clearly commanded Saul to “attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death mean and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.” This command, in itself, might not seem right to us, but the Amalekites were a very wicked people. Saul was called to deal with them the same way a surgeon deals with cancer (removing every bit of it, lest it grow back and kill the patient). He was supposed to completely destroy them.
Then, in verses 4-9, we find that Saul decided to spare the wicked king Agag, along with “the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs-everything that was good.” He blatantly disobeyed the command of the Lord.
God spoke to Samuel in verses 10-11, saying, “I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.”
After crying out to the Lord all night, Samuel decided, early in the morning, to pay Saul a visit. When he set out to meet Saul, I’m sure he was shocked at what he saw. As he searched for him, he was told that, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.” Many of us are now saying to ourselves, “Well, I’m definitely not like Saul. I would never do anything like that.” Oh really? Well, that’s exactly what we do when we decide, in our own minds, what is right and what is wrong. We make ourselves into our own god.
Here’s something else we do. Look how Saul greeted Samuel, in verse 13. “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.” There are several things to point out here.
First of all, he’s speaking “Christianese.” Though he is walking in complete disobedience, he still has the Lord on his lips. Have you ever met a Christian like that? I certainly have. They are always saying things like, “Bless God!” or “Praise the Lord!”, yet everything they do would show you that they are clearly walking down the wrong path.
Secondly, Saul was so excited to tell Samuel about all that he had done in carrying out the instructions of the Lord. He believed very strongly that he had done what was right. The problem was that, what he thought was right, was contrary to the word of the Lord.
Last of all, pay attention to how Saul was so adamant that he was the one who orchestrated all of this. He was taking the credit for all that was done. At this point, he wanted that credit, but let’s see how well he sticks with that attitude, after Samuel rebukes him.
In verse 14, Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?” Uh-oh…busted. Now we see, in verse 15 that Saul changed his story about who orchestrated all of this. After Samuel confronted him, Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”
Did you see what Saul just did? He blamed the soldiers for carrying out the things that Samuel spoke against, but gave an excuse as to why they did it. And then, he took partial credit for the destruction of the rest. This shows you that Saul was very aware of what God had commanded him. But, like so many of us are prone to do, he was blaming others and trying to justify and rationalize why he didn’t do things the way God had commanded. We had better realize how serious this is. He actually thought that he could improve upon God’s commands.
In verse 16, we see Samuel’s response to Saul. “Stop!” Samuel said to Saul. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” He had had enough and he was about to show Saul that God had had enough, too. But, of course, Saul seemed eager to hear what God had to say. He actually thought that God was going to commend him. That’s how arrogant he had grown.
In verse 17-19, Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. 18 And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.’ 19 Why did you not obey the LORD ? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the LORD ?”
Here we see that God was not buying the excuses of Saul. He knew very well that Saul was the one responsible. Unfortunately, that is something Saul would never truly grasp.
This is made evident in the response Saul gave in verses 20-21. “But I did obey the LORD,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the LORD assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”
Saul is still trying to justify himself and blame others. Why is it that, when we disobey the word of God, we always resort to the same type of response that Saul gave? Many of us, even after many rebukes, will remain stiff-necked. If that fits you, you had better own up to it. For, if you hold on to your pride, you will never find the forgiveness of God. And, like Saul, you will die a bitter death, both spiritually and physically.
Finally, Samuel lays it all out to Saul. In verses 22-23, Samuel not only shows Saul the exact sin that he committed, but this time, he shows how Saul’s sin was of the spirit. His heart had become corrupted by pride, and he was now being compared to witches and idolaters.
“22 But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.” (1 Samuel 15:22-23)
If you only grasp one thing in all that I have written, let it be this. It doesn’t matter how much you think you are doing for the Lord. If you are blatantly disobeying his commands, you are in rebellion to the God of the universe. And God makes it very clear, “rebellion is like the sin of divination.” Just where does this rebellion stem from? Your arrogance. Oh, it’s one thing to disobey the command of God, but it’s entirely different when you sin with a high hand, begin to make excuses and try to justify what you did.
Woe be unto us if we do this. As the word of God says, when we do such things, we are no better than witches and idolaters. And, because we rejected the word of the LORD, he will reject us.
It’s clear that God is not calling us to perfection. He’s calling us to own up to our sins. If we don’t, we are in rebellion. And there is no hope for us. Yes, in the following verses we see a confession from Saul, but it was obviously worldly sorrow, which only leads to death. Even in his confession he makes excuses. Like I told a friend, recently, “When a confession is followed by an excuse, it completely negates the confession.” We are given an example of this in verses 24-26.
24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the LORD’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them. 25 Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD.” 26 But Samuel said to him, “I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you as king over Israel!” (1 Samuel 15:24-26)
Sounds harsh, doesn’t it? Well, that’s the way it is. If you won’t own up to your sin, you are rejecting the LORD, and he will reject you.
I almost wish this was the end of Saul’s story, but it continues to get worse. As you follow him throughout the end of this book, you see a man who started so well, finish in the worst way possible. He does it all. You see him slaughter innocent people, including priests. You see him attempt to kill his faithful servant, David. He even tries to kill his own son, Jonathan! And, then, he dies a cowards death, falling on his own sword.
Proverbs 16:25 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Beloved, when you do what seems right to you, it will always end in death. I don’t care who you think is to blame. It doesn’t matter how many excuses you give. You will have to answer for your sin. Hopefully, you won’t end up like Saul. And I’m not talking about your physical death. No, Saul really died far earlier than this. In 1 Samuel 16:14 we see the spiritual death of Saul. He passed the point of no return, and from here on out, all we see are the exploits of a madman. 1 Samuel 16:14 says, “Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.”
Remember the verse we began with? Proverbs 28:13 says, “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” Saul definitely fit the bill of someone who concealed his sin, therefore never finding mercy. But there was another man who, though he sinned greatly, confessed and renounced his sin, finding mercy and forgiveness. That being King David; a man after God’s own heart.
We won’t go through the life of David. Of course, he started well. But, unlike Saul, David finished well. The dark spot on his life, though, is found in 2 Samuel 11. David lusted after Bathsheba, he committed adultery with her, and then murdered her husband, Uriah, in order to cover up his sin. So, it appeared that he would not find mercy. And, indeed, he wouldn’t have, had he not had a man like Nathan in his life.
Nathan came to him and told him a parable, which showed that, if David could see what he did from the outside, looking in, he would have condemned his actions. And then, Nathan busts him in 2 Samuel 12:7. “You are the man!” he told him. Nathan then delivered a specific word for David, straight from the Lord. When David heard all of this, he could have followed in the footsteps of Saul, by blaming others and trying to justify his sin. But, had he done so, he would have never found mercy. No, David showed, by his response that he truly did have the kind of heart that God desires us to have.
He said, in verse 13, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Yes, Saul, at times, said this too. But this was different. David truly recognized that he had offended a holy God and he repented. A great example of the broken heart of David is found in Psalm 51. Listen how, in verse 4, he takes complete ownership for his sin. “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.” This is the path to the mercy of God.
When you have been confronted with the word of the Lord, you can do one of two things. You can allow it to soften your heart and repent, like David did. Or, like Saul, you can harden your heart and make excuses. It’s up to you. Do you want to be like David or like Saul. But I can assure you of this. If you choose to harden your heart today, don’t be sure that the day won’t come that God will harden it further. And don’t be sure that the day won’t come that God will send an evil spirit to torment you (1 Samuel 16:14).
So which one are you? Are you like Saul, always blaming others and justifying your sin? Or, are you like David, who confessed his sin and found forgiveness? Beloved, today is the day to own up to your sins. Search your heart and come clean. Today is the day of salvation!
For His Glory,
Adam Tennant
Posted by akatennant 
IF MY PEOPLE... 