the failure of Saul, the king who looked like a king but failed; in this he pointed toward Jesus, the King who did not look like a king but who brought victory over sin and death.

In what ways do you see Jesus reflecting the qualities of a king, and in what ways was He an unexpected king?

### Day 3: Read 1 Samuel 11–12

Saul had led God’s people to a great victory, and as the people basked in the aftermath, perhaps fueled by massive quantities of adrenaline left over from the fight, some called for those who had doubted their new king to be put to death (11:12). Hearing this, Saul could have heartily consented to this demand, thereby ridding himself of potential adversaries or at least resisters. Instead, he stood before the people and declared that no one would be executed; instead, everyone should focus on the victory the Lord had given them (11:13). In this critical moment, Saul demonstrated wisdom, mercy, and grace and pointed his people to the Lord. We should give credit where credit is due. But we should also look more broadly at Saul’s reign than just one moment. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish that matters. We need to be careful never to rest on past accomplishments and moments of obedience. Yes, we should be grateful for them and recognize God’s kindness to give us these victories, but we should also never forget that our race is not done until we, by God’s sustaining grace, cross the finish line.

What victories has God given you in the past? How can these help you when you are tempted to give up or fall back into habitual sin?

### Day 4: Read 1 Samuel 13–14

Samuel, the man of God, had given Saul clear instructions: “Wait for seven days, then I will come to you to make a sacrifice and show you what to do” (see 10:8). Easy enough, until everything began falling apart around Saul. The king’s army was in a bad place and his men began to leave. Saul had to do something. He had to act, so he did. He made the offerings to the Lord himself (13:6-10). And just as he was finishing, Samuel arrived, as he had said—on the seventh day. Samuel the prophet would not be happy with Saul the king. Saul had done what he should not have done—the king does not make the sacrifice, the priest does. In Saul’s moment of desperation, he sinned by stepping out of his God-given role and into that of another. Sometimes doing something is the worst thing we can do. Sometimes the best thing we can do is nothing. That was what Saul should have done. He should have done nothing but wait on Samuel and, more importantly, trust in the Lord. Sometimes it takes more courage and faith to do nothing and prayerfully wait on the Lord than to do something.

What might you be trying to do in your own wisdom and strength instead of waiting on the Lord?

### Day 5: Read 1 Samuel 15

Soon after Saul performed a sacrifice he should not have made, he failed to obey God’s explicit instruction to completely destroy the Amalekites and their possessions. Saul kept King Agag alive as well as some of the animals, presumably to perform a sacrifice to the Lord. When Samuel confronted the king in his sin, he told him something quite profound, “to obey is better than sacrifice” (v. 22). Samuel was surely not saying that sacrifice—worship—is unimportant. We know that we were created to worship God and God expects worship from us. These words were not a matter of worship being unimportant but rather the centrality of obedience. If we truly are worshiping God, recognizing His great worth, then we will obey. We must. We cannot proclaim the glory of God from a posture of disobedience. Our disobedience disproves our worship. Obedience, on the other hand, affirms it. Saul’s supposed act of worship was nothing of the sort because he was in a state of disobedience. Obedience and worship are fused together.