The other day I was reading 1 Samuel. When I came to 1 Samuel 13:11, when the prophet Samuel asked King Saul, ‘What have you done?’ this really grabbed my attention. Samuel seemed so shocked, upset, or surprised; he wasn’t expecting the God chosen and anointed King of Israel to have so blatantly disobeyed God’s instructions. And then King Saul saying, ‘… I felt compelled …’; this got me thinking more deeply about this and other situations in the Bible where people knowingly and deliberately chose to rebel against God.
Saul – The First King of Israel
What have you done?
The Sin
- King Saul deliberately disobeyed a direct command from God that had been given to him through the prophet Samuel.
- 1 Samuel 13:11-12 And Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, 12 then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”
- Can you sense Samuel’s shock? Can you believe Saul’s reasoning (‘I felt compelled’)? There is never a good reason to intentionally disobey God.
- Saul had been given very clear instructions.
- 1 Samuel 10:8 You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do.”
- Study the Bible under the leading of the Holy Spirit, learn from God-called pastors and mature Christian teachers to understand how God expects you to live. Heed the truth of God’s Word.
- Saul didn’t repent – he just made excuses. There were serious consequences for Saul’s rebellion against God; God would end Saul’s rule as King of Israel.
- 1 Samuel 13:13-14 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”
David – The Greatest King of Israel
What have you done?
The Sin
- David, the ‘man after His (God’s) own heart’ mentioned in 1 Samuel 13:14, from whom Jesus Christ would be a descendent, not only committed adultery, he had the husband of the woman he committed adultery with killed.
- 2 Samuel 12:9 Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon.
- Again, another shocked prophet. David knew God’s Law; he was without excuse. After all the blessing he had received from God, David chose what He wanted, not what God wanted for him.
- Two of the Ten Commandments deal explicitly with murder and adultery.
- Exodus 2013-14 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery.
- God has clearly told us how to live a life that honors Him and protects us.
- David begged for God’s forgiveness (Psalm 51). Yet he still faced serious consequences for his sin. There would be unrest and violence in David’s family line and the child that resulted from the adulterous relationship would die.
- 2 Samuel 12:10 Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’
- 2 Samuel 12:14 However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.”
- A note about a child dying – if a child dies before they reach the point where they can understand and make a clear choice between God and Satan (righteousness and evil) through salvation in Jesus Christ, that child goes to Heaven. David understood this (see 2 Samuel 12:23).
What about:
Jonah – The Disobedient Prophet of God
- Read Jonah Chapter 1
Judas Iscariot – The Disloyal Disciple of Christ
- Read Matthew 26:14-16, Luke 22:47-48, Matthew 27:5 and John 17:12
Ananias and Sapphira – The Deceitful Benefactors
- Read Acts 5:1-10
And so many more!
Kings, Prophets, Disciples and People in the Church: the depravity of man knows no limits.
But there is an answer. There is a way to forgiveness. You can have eternal life with God through Jesus Christ. You can live a God honoring life!
Now let’s ask our question a little differently.
Jesus – The Only Begotten Son of God the Father
What have You done?
- I have existed for eternity!
- Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
- I made all things!
- John 1:3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
- Hebrews 1:2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
- I stepped out of eternity and into time as a man because of My love for you!
- Philippians 2:7-8 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
- I was born of a virgin!
- Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
- I lived a sinless life!
- Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
- I died to pay for your sins and rose from the dead guaranteeing eternal life for those who follow Me!
- 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
- 1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
- I ascended to Heaven and have interceded for you before God the Father!
- Romans 8:34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
- And so much more!!!
- John 21:25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.
You – Follower of Jesus
What have you done?
- I have accepted the truth that:
- I am a sinner and Jesus died to pay my sin dept.
- Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to Heaven so that I might have eternal life with God.
- Surrendering all that I am to Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior is the only way to a right relationship with God the Father.
- I have been made righteous before God the Father by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ (God the Son) and have been indwelled with the Holy Spirit of God.
- I am to grow in the grace and knowledge and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
- I have started a journey of faith and hope where, through the years, by His power and grace, despite my faults and failures, I am living more and more like Jesus Christ.
You – Rejecter of Jesus
What have you done?
- You have fallen short of the standards God has set, just like everyone else.
- You have been loved unconditionally by God.
- You have rejected the payment Jesus Christ made for your sin by dying on a cross.
- You have taken responsibility for your righteousness – trusting in your good intentions and good works instead of the righteousness of Jesus.
- You have denied the grace and truth of God and chosen eternal separation from Him in a place called Hell – a place of suffering and torment.
No matter what you have done, you can be at peace with God and enjoy the benefits of an eternal relationship with Him in Heaven. Jesus’ blood was shed to cover all sin!
- John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Prayer
God in Heaven, please use You Word and the conviction of Your Holy Spirit to: 1. Bring peace and purpose to those who have chosen eternal life through Jesus Christ. 2. Open the hearts and minds of those who have rejected the truth about sin and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. I pray for Your will to be done, and I pray all this in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son and my Savior. Amen.
