### Point 2: The people’s king fails to trust God (1 Sam. 13:6-9,13-14).

6 The men of Israel saw that they were in trouble because the troops were in a difficult situation. They hid in caves, in thickets, among rocks, and in holes and cisterns. 7 Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul, however, was still at Gilgal, and all his troops were gripped with fear. 8 He waited seven days for the appointed time that Samuel had set, but Samuel didn’t come to Gilgal, and the troops were deserting him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” Then he offered the burnt offering.

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13 Samuel said to Saul, “You have been foolish. You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you. It was at this time that the LORD would have permanently established your reign over Israel, 14 but now your reign will not endure. The LORD has found a man after his own heart, and the LORD has appointed him as ruler over his people, because you have not done what the LORD commanded.” Saul looked the part of a king, and his first actions as king secured the approval of his people. But faithful leadership is more than skin deep—it is a matter of the heart. Saul was commanded by Samuel to wait for him for seven days in Gilgal, when he would come to offer sacrifices and give instructions for the battle (10:8). Saul waited, but all the while his troops were deserting him in fear. When he couldn’t take it any longer, he gave up waiting and made the sacrifices himself; in his own fear, Saul took into his own hands a responsibility that belonged to priests alone. And then Samuel arrived (13:10).

What is the relationship between fear and patience?

Samuel listened to Saul’s excuses: he saw his people deserting, he had not yet seen Samuel, and he feared the Philistines (13:10-12). But no excuse justified Saul’s rash action. He disobeyed Samuel’s command and thereby disobeyed God. The people’s foolish request for a king like the nations’ had resulted in a king who made a foolish decision on behalf of his people. Saul’s lack of faith led to disobedience and to consequences—there would be no dynasty for Saul and his descendants.

What is the relationship between faith and obedience?

### Point 3: The people’s king fails to obey God (1 Sam. 15:10-11,22-23).

10 Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel, 11 “I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned away from following me and has not carried out my instructions.” So Samuel became angry and cried out to the LORD all night.

###### ………………………….. 22 Then Samuel said:

Does the LORD take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? Look: to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and defiance is like wickedness and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.

The time had come for God’s judgment to fall on the Amalekites for attacking the Israelites during the exodus. According to God’s command through Samuel, Saul was to kill all the Amalekites and their animals (1 Sam. 15:1-3; see Ex. 17:14; Deut. 25:17-19), but he spared King Agag and the best of the animals to use as sacrifices to the Lord. When confronted by Samuel for his disobedience, Saul insisted that he had obeyed; he could neither see nor hear how he had fallen short of God’s command. Sin as Missing the Mark: One aspect of sin is missing the mark of God’s \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ set for humanity. This missing of the mark is not a simple mistake but a falling short of God’s \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ through conscious \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ of sin. The Lord “regretted” making Saul king over Israel, not because He didn’t know the end result of his appointment but because