1 Samuel #28: This is an exposition of 1 Samuel 28:3-20. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, September 30, 2012.
Intro:
He showed such promise. The people demanded a king and he certainly seemed like the man for the job. He literally stood head and shoulders above the crowd. He had a “kingly” bearing and the beginning of his reign showed some promise. He brought reform ridding the land of soothsayers and other forms of pagan worship and the occult. He stood up to Israel’s enemies. He sought the will of God. Somewhere along the line lust for power took control. His anger burned as the women sang, “Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands.” David’s success ate at him like a cancer. Before long Saul was convinced no one could be trusted. All where out to rob him of his power. His rage was fuel when the prophet of God declared, “Because you have not listened to God He will not listen to you. Your kingdom is being torn from you and given to another who is better than you.” It was James, the half brother of our Lord, who warned, “…desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:15). Our text this evening deals with the last futile attempts of a desperate man as he seeks to hold on to what he cannot possibly keep. Our text is found in 1 Samuel 28. We will focus on verse 3-20.
Text: 1 Samuel 28:3-20
The apostle Paul reminds us the Old Testament is written for our benefit.
We are to learn from it.
We are to avoid Israel’s mistakes and learn from their victories.
Our text this evening is a painful lesson.
You cannot read it and not feel for the embattled king.
Though we know he brought it on himself, it is painful to watch.
It goes from bad to worse.
But we cannot afford to ignore its message.
Thesis: Saul’s tragic life is a bitter reminder of the devastating consequences of sin.
There are three things I want us to note:
- The absolute misery of a life abandoned by God. (28:3-6, 15)
- Spiritual desperation can lead to foolish even corrupt plans. (28:7-14)
- God’s judgment falls with devastating accuracy. (28:15-20)
Conclusion:
There is nothing as devastating as hopelessness. Nothing else is quite so crippling or damning. It is easy to think, “I’m glad I’m not like Saul.” It is possible to think you deserve better than he but you don’t. Your sin is every bit as damning. You only hope, my only hope is in the One who entered into the darkness on my behalf. The One who was forsaken by God so that I would never be forsaken. “There was darkness from the sixth hour until the ninth. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’”
He drank the cup of God’s wrath for you.
He suffered the pain and humiliation of abandonment for you.
To overcome the devastating consequences of sin.