1 Samuel 28
Bible Passage: 1 Samuel 28
This chapter illustrates what happens when one leaves the grace of God through continual sinning. God will leave him to his folly and in process he continues to get further entrenched in sin and ultimately faces judgment and death.
Initially God was with Saul and through the hand of God, Saul was victorious in battles and had the respect of his countryman. However over time, pride grew in him and his heart got entangled in his vicious jealousy of David. David was unlike Saul, in that he was after the heart of God. Although David was not so big in stature like Saul, and was like a ‘young boy’ compared to Saul, God was with him as he knew how to rely on God and give glory to Him.
The climax of Saul’s pride came about when he could not wait for Samuel and offered sacrifices that were unlawful for him. He thought he was above the law of God. God’s power and abidance left him such that Saul when he was afraid again of the Philistines, could not call out to God. He even had to resort to asking a medium for answers. Instead of humbly seeking God in repentance, he sought after the devil.
“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.” Heb 6:4-6
Just as Saul, we are partakers of God’s grace and power. We should examine ourselves always just as the Saul (a.k.a Paul) in the New Testament. For he even said that he should examine himself if he was qualified to be in God’s grace. Have we gone astray from God’s grace? Has God left us and not answered our prayers?
If we are in such a situation as Saul in the Old Testament, instead of relying on others for answers and going farther astray in faith, we should humbly and quickly return to Jesus and ask for His mercy. Surely, our merciful God will accept us if our hearts bow before Him. However, if we behave like Saul who feigned repentance before God, this pride will lead to destruction.
As a conclusion,
“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” James 4:10
1 Samuel 27
2 Comments
Camelinaneedle
I am not too sure if I have mentioned this before, but I will say it again.
(I apologize for this rather lengthy comment. Thank you very much for reading it until the end… if you do.)
God’s grace is not something to be taken for granted.
And I think a lot of Christians know this even better than I do.
In all honesty, I have taken His grace for granted. And I am terribly ashamed of this 19 year old body He has given me. Not because of the way I look physically, but because of how much it has disintegrated on the inside. I’m blacker than ash now even though I may seem otherwise.
Humans are, after all, the factors that make a simple job a challenge.
I am my own stumbling block.
I’ve sinned time and time again, and I sometimes stoop so low to the point where I actually feel as if all I really have to do to make up for sinning is to pray for repentance. Now, I am afraid to pray and I don’t feel worthy of stepping into the church hall.
I am always at war with myself; with the things I do, the things I say, the things I hear, the things I think, the things I feel.
I do not have self control and I’ve lost the self discipline I once had. I don’t know how it left me, but I do know that I am not in a good place right now.
My spiritual health is declining and reading these entries on this website is like rubbing salt into my open wounds.
Nevertheless I am grateful for these painful reminders, because at least I know that I still have a conscience that has been pricking me uncontrollably.
Don’t test the mercy of God. Don’t test God at all. We never will know how far we’ve gone, but by then, He probably would’ve already shut His door behind us.
biblereader
All of us have ups and downs in our faith. In fact the more we read the Bible, the more we find out how far we are short of God’s requirements. His will is that all of us are to be perfect and holy as He is, but how many of us are able to do that? Perhaps even none.
However, that does not mean we should not strive to be holy and perfect. The more we struggle, the more actually we know that we are still in the grace of God. The time we do not struggle and let go to our flesh, is admitting that we have been defeated by our carnal self. Just as Saul had let go His pursuit of God and went to seek the medium.
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3:12-14)
Everytime we struggle, we are pressing on towards this goal of heaven. Everytime we partake the Holy Communion, it is renewal of our pledge to God. Everytime we pray in the Spirit, He renews us and forgives us of our weaknesses when we confess them.
To be saved is about our faith in Jesus and our striving to be perfect. What is shortfall, God will forgive if we humbly admit our wrongs. Most importantly we must grab hold of Jesus, just as Paul did and we must work hard and strive in our faith.
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Heb 11:6)
God will reward us if we continually strive to seek Him even if we have weaknesses. For Jesus came to the world to save sinners.