David's Final Encounter with Saul

Father, we thank you, Lord, for tonight and the opportunity we have to study your Word and the opportunity we have to understand the principles of Scripture as they apply to our lives, to the life of King David, and how it is you used him in a mighty way And our prayer, Lord, is that you would revolutionize the way we think about life, relationships, but most importantly, the way we think about you and who you are and what you've done Teach us tonight, Lord, that we might walk in a way that brings glory and honor to your precious, wonderful name We ask in Jesus' name, amen

If you've got your Bible, 1 Samuel chapter 26, 1 Samuel chapter 26, we are having a great time studying the life of David Unfortunately for you, you're in it once a week on Wednesday nights. I'm in it probably five to six days out of the week, so I'm able to read it and reread it and build it over in my mind to understand just the whole thing that's happening in David's life And so I have a great time every day understanding more and more about King David and what God is doing in and through his life And tonight we look at David's final encounter with Saul

This is the last time they have a conversation This is the last time they see one another Saul will soon die David will live David will ascend the throne, but Saul will soon die And when you think about this encounter with Saul and how it is David once again is able to overcome the temptation to kill this man, you begin to understand how bloodthirsty Saul was, how relentless he was As you go back and you begin to understand the different avenues that Saul used to kill David, it was quite numerous It all began because they sang the praises of David

They sang the praises of David that he had slain his 10,000, why Saul had only slain his thousands back in 1 Samuel 18, many, many weeks ago And when that happened, something took place in the life of Saul He became extremely bitter, extremely bitter Now I don't know about you. I don't know where you're at in your pilgrimage, but I would hope that bitterness is not a part of your present lifestyle Bitterness is such an evil thing It's such a destructive attitude

Way back in the book of Hebrews, the writer of Hebrews says these words in Hebrews 12, verse number 14, pursue peace with all men and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God, that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled, that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau who sold his own birthright for a single meal For you know that even afterwards when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was ejected for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears

Bitterness is an attitude that goes way beyond your life It destroys everybody around you It defiles many people And you're going to see tonight how it is that Saul's attitude defiled those closest to him It really defiled the nation, but it led to one of his cousins, whose name is Abner, and his bitter spirit, and how he would turn against David and cause every tribe except for one, that is Judah, to turn against David so that when David would ascend the throne, he would only be king over Judah for the first seven years

And so later he'd become king over all of Israel because Abner would become a very bitter person because of what takes place in this story in 1 Samuel 26 But he learned it, he learned it from Saul, and Saul had defiled many people because of his bitterness And see, we don't think it goes that far We kind of think that we can just kind of go through life with an angry, bitter spirit and it'll not affect anybody, but it does The Bible says it defiles many people

So when that root of bitterness begins to spring up within you, you've got to depend upon the grace of God and you've got to repent of your sin and you've got to go to the Lord and ask Him to remove that spirit of bitterness because it is going to defile your family It's going to defile your church It's going to defile your workplace It's going to defile the team you're on It's going to defile the school you attend It defiles so many people and you don't even know it until it's too late Saul was that kind of person He was so bitter

And so on three occasions he threw his javelin, his spear, the spear that David will steal this evening in 1 Samuel 26 Three times he threw it at David and he missed But those are three personal opportunities that Saul would use to kill David He was a bloodthirsty person because of his bitterness Twice, indirectly, he tried to kill David by having him go to battle against the Philistines with the promise that if you go to battle and you win, you can have my daughter, Michael So twice he went to battle against the Philistines and twice he won

And of course he got the daughter, Michael. I'm not so sure she was that much of a prize, but that's another sermon for another day And if you go on through the life of Saul, you realize that Saul tried to persuade the people of his court to kill David He tried to persuade his own son, Jonathan, to turn David in so that David would be killed

We also know that on four different occasions, four efforts were made, I'm sorry, there were four efforts made to kill David at Naoth and Ramah at the House of Prophets, where he sent a group of men in to kill David and they all began to prophesy because the Spirit of the Lord came upon them And Saul would went in and then he began to prophesy And you'd think that Saul would get the idea that he can't kill this man, but he doesn't get that idea So he searches for him in the wilderness of Zith He searches for him in the wilderness of Mahon He searches for him in the wilderness of En Gedi

There's this relentless pursuit, so much so that 1 Samuel 23, 14 says that Saul sought him every day continually That was his life's pursuit. I mean this man was so bitter, he was so angry that he could not think about anything else than ridding his life of David, of killing David And David will tell us in the story, I'm a flea, I'm just but a flea, I'm like a partridge That is, I'm a flea because it's hard to see me, let alone catch me, and once you catch me I'm like a partridge, I don't resist, I just run, I'm not going to fight you

But yet Saul would continue to pursue him until this day, this would be it, this is when it's going to be over, Saul will soon die and David confronts him Let's read the story, here it is, 1 Samuel 26, it goes like this, Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gebeah, saying, Is not David hiding on the hill of Hekelah, which is before Yeshama? So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Zith, having with him 3,000 chosen men of Israel, to search for David in the wilderness of Zith

Saul camped in the hill of Hekelah, which is before Yeshama, beside the road, and David was staying in the wilderness When he saw that Saul came after him in the wilderness, David sent out spies, and he knew that Saul was definitely coming David then arose and came to the place where Saul had camped, and David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army, and Saul was lying in the circle of the camp, and the people were camped around him

Then David answered and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zerui, Joab's brother, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with you So David and Abishai came to the people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping inside the circle of the camp, and a spear stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the people were lying around him Then Abishai said to David today, God has delivered your enemy into your hand

Now therefore, please let me strike him with the spear to the ground with one stroke, and I will not strike him the second time But David said to Abishai, Do not destroy him, for who can stretch out his hand against the Lord's anointed and be without guilt? David also said, As the Lord lives, surely the Lord will strike him, or his day will come that he dies, or he will go down into battle and perish The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord's anointed, but now please take the spear that is at his head, and the jug of water, and let us go

So David took the spear and the jug of water from beside Saul's head, and they went away, but no one saw or knew it, nor did anyone awake, for they were all asleep, because a sound sleep from the Lord had fallen on them Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the mountain at a distance with a large area between them

And David called to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Will you not answer Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who are you who calls to the king? So David said to Abner, Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came to destroy the king your lord This thing that you have done is not good As the Lord lives, all of you must surely die, because you did not guard your lord, the Lord's anointed And now see where the king's spear is, and the jug of water that was at his head

Then Saul recognized David's voice and said, Is this your voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord the king He also said, Why then is my lord pursuing his servant? For what have I done? Or what evil is in my hand? Now therefore please let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let him accept an offering, but if it is his men, cursed are they before the Lord For they have driven me out today, that I should have no attachment with the inheritance of the Lord Saying, Go serve other gods

Now then, do not let my blood fall to the ground away from the presence of the Lord For the king of Israel has come out to search for a single flea, just as one hunts a partridge in the mountains Then Saul said, I have sinned Return my son David, for I will not harm you again, because my life was precious in your sight this day Then David said, Behold, I have played the fool and have committed a serious error And David answered and said, Behold the spear of the king Now let one of the young men come over and take it, and the Lord will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness

For the Lord delivered you into my hand today, but I refuse to stretch out my hand against the Lord's anointed Now behold, as your life was highly valued in my sight this day, so may my life be highly valued in the sight of the Lord, and may he deliver me from all distress Then Saul said to David, Blessed are you my son David, you will both accomplish much and surely prevail So David went on his way and Saul returned to his place Four things I want you to see The first is David's realization The second is David's temptation The third is David's accusation And then David's conversation

And then we'll conclude with some words that Saul said to help you understand how you don't have to play the fool, okay? So first of all, we're going to look at David's realization David realized once again that Saul was in pursuit of him This is important because David was probably thinking it's over, especially because of the whole situation in En Gedi When he cut a piece of Saul's robe off and showed it to him to prove that he could have taken Saul's life, but he didn't And Saul had a little bit of remorse and realized that David could have killed him and he didn't

And David's probably thinking, you know what, he realizes now he's not going to get me He can't get me. I could have killed him. I spared his life He's probably done now, but he's not He's not done Because evil men are never done, because evil controls them And Saul was a foolish man by his own admittance And he would play the fool time and time again His statement, I have played the fool, is the exact phrase that describes this man's life That was his autobiography, I've played the fool His whole life was filled with foolishness, unfortunately And he would pursue David

Now the Zephites were from the tribe of Judah And we saw in 1 Samuel 23 that they had told Saul where David was And now again, they do the exact same thing You know, it's one thing when people turn on you that are your enemy It's another when people who are of your family turn on you, those who are closest to you We can realize and understand why people who don't like us would turn on us But those who are our friends, those from the same tribe who were supposed to be supporters of David, lovers of David, turned against him again This is the way David's life was

And all of us have people who turn against us We all have people who speak against us and accuse us of things that aren't true How do you handle that? David becomes a model for how to handle those things And sure enough, they told Saul this is where David is And so they began to pursue him once more with 3,000 chosen men You know, evil men always are in pursuit of good men to destroy their lives And this is the way it was with Saul and David And what happened is that these Ziphites turned Saul once again toward destructive behavior Not that he wasn't willing He was willing

But you know, it's important that we turn people towards purity, not towards iniquity And if you are associated with people who turn you toward iniquity, who turn you away from the Lord, who turn you toward things that are evil, those are the people you can't afford to hang around with You need people who are going to challenge your purity, challenge your holiness, challenge you to follow after God, to serve him and to honor him, and to pursue godliness These Ziphites, they challenged Saul to turn once again to David, to kill him So David realized once again that the battle continues on

What was said earlier in 1 Samuel 23 about how Saul would pursue David continually, that is true That was the first part of his ministry life He was always pursued by the king Until he dies What's interesting is David's temptation David searches out the camp He wants to make sure it's true That's why he sends out other men See, he doesn't believe it's true He's coming after me again, still Are you kidding me? I had him in the palm of my hand. I spared his life and he still wants more So when he found out that Saul had camped in the area where he was, David says, I need somebody to go with me

Abishai, you want to go? Sure, I'll go Now, Abishai is David's nephew Okay? So is Joab, by the way And so David is Uncle David to Abishai So he says, Uncle David, I'll go. I'll go, I'll be with you. I'll go down into the camp Really? You want to go down with me into Saul's camp? Sure And that's what they did Three thousand chosen men, they walk into the camp Everybody's asleep Why are they asleep? Because God put them to sleep

Can you imagine walking into the enemy's camp? Walking right up to your chief enemy and standing over him with his spear stuck in the ground? And all you have to do is, it's over And the temptation was huge And Abishai says, the Lord has delivered him into your hands again God is so good to you, David He did it in Gedi two chapters ago, and now he's doing it again You have the opportunity Let me, let me kill him And I'll only strike him once, just once. I won't strike him twice or three times. I won't plunder his head. I'll just strike him one time That's it Just give me one opportunity

What does David do? Oh, no Oh, no Very forcefully and very fast does he resist temptation And that's how temptation must be resisted You can't sit back and say, you know what, let me think about this just for a second Let me ponder the pros and cons of beheading Saul right here Let me think if this is a good thing or a bad thing You know what, let's go to prayer about this That wasn't the issue It was, you know, we're not doing that This is the Lord's anointing You can't do that Number one, it's unholy And number two, it's unnecessary Number one, it's unholy Number two, it's unnecessary

It's unholy because it violates God's law It violates God's law You see, one thing about David here is that he realizes that he can't violate God's law You know, I wish that we would get a hold of that and live that way David didn't even learn that way Because remember last week? He violated the law of God by wanting to take vengeance into his own hands by killing Nabal Remember that? Because Nabal had violated the law of God, according to Levitical law Now David was going to violate Levitical law by going and seeking revenge on Nabal Until Abigail came and turned his heart

But yet again, he would violate the law of God by taking for himself another wife But this time, he obeys the law It's just like us One day, we obey God Next day, we disobey God One day, God says we can't do that, so we're not going to do that Next day, I know what God says, but I'm going to do it anyway That's David That's us That's why he is just like you and me Unlike any other biblical character, David fits your life to a T Oh, I know you're not going to be the president of our country or the king of Israel. I understand that

But his own personal character, his own temptations, the things he deals with every day, is the same thing you and I deal with every single day And the Bible says, in the book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel chapter 44, verse number 23, that priests shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the profane and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean The priest's job, the spiritual leader of Israel, they had a job to teach people what is right, what is wrong, what is pure, what is impure, what is clean, what is unclean, what is true, what is false

That's the same job of a father who acts as a priest, a prophet, a provider, protector of his home, right? He teaches his wife He teaches his children what's right and wrong As a man, I have a responsibility to lead my family. I've got to teach them what's right and wrong How am I going to do that? I can't say, well, you know, when I was growing up, this is what my mom used to tell me, so this is what we're going to do today You can't do that You've got to say, you know what, thus saith the Lord, thus we do As a husband, you're never wrong You're never wrong if you do that

Your wife might not agree That's irrelevant What's relevant is if God agrees, right? So thus saith the Lord, that's what we do That's how we're going to do it because God said it Because the priest is to tell people what is right, what is wrong That's why in a church, the pastor is supposed to tell people, this is what God's Word says You've got to do what God's Word says Now, you might choose to disobey that, but my job is to tell you what's right and what is wrong based on the truth of God's Word, not my own personal opinion, but what God's Word says

So Paul says to Timothy, preach the Word in season, out of season Why? Because that helps people discern between what is right and what is wrong And David had learned you can't lay your hand against the Lord's anointed God said that So it's unholy if we kill him It's also unnecessary We don't need to do this because God will take care of him God will take care of him And David would help his nephew understand a basic principle of Scripture, that vengeance truly is the Lord's and he will deal, deal with people And David overcame his temptation

Oh, was it a strong temptation? You bet it was because it was secret Who would know? Everybody was asleep Abishai and David, only ones who knew They could kill Saul right there and no one would know who killed him No one would know except, except God He would know Numbers 32, be sure your sins will find you out, right? I mean, you can sin in secret, but sooner or later it's going to be on the big screen and everybody's going to know No matter how secret you think it's going to be, it's going to be on the big screen one day And sure enough, David knew it was unnecessary to kill him

God will deal with him Which leads us to the third point and that's David's accusation David, you know, he takes a spear Why does he take a spear? A spear is a symbol of royalty Plus, I'm not sure he wants Saul throwing that spear at him anymore So he's going to take it from him You know, it's almost kind of humorous. I'm taking the spear You know the spear you threw at me three times and missed? I'm going to take it just as a little souvenir Just so I can hang it in my office when I become king So I can remember all the times you missed when you threw it at me

But he took it because it symbolized royalty And the royalty of Saul would be taken from him As a spear was taken from him on that night He took the jug of water Why? Because, you know, when you go to Israel with us, you'll hear this phrase over and over again by our guide, where there is water, there is life Right? Water is crucial You've got to have water to survive And when you go to Israel, you look at all these forts and camps and you realize, how did they ever get water into the place where everybody lived? We go to Petra in February

You'll see that in Petra, how did the Nabataeans build a waterway to get water into the rose red city of the rocks? Because there's no water in there But you've got to get water in there or people are going to die Where there is water, there is life So he takes a jug of water to symbolize the fact that Saul is going to lose his life His life will soon be gone And sure enough, a few chapters later, he loses his life So David, in a very symbolic way, takes a spear, takes a jug of water, goes to the other side of the valley, to the other side of the mountain, and yells across and accuses Abner

This is very important Listen to what he says It says, David crossed over to the other side, verse 13, stood on top of the mountain at a distance with a large area between them And David called to the people and to Abner, the son of Ner, saying, Will you not answer Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who are you who calls to the king? Time out David wasn't calling to the king He was calling to Abner But Abner wanted to shift responsibility to the king Now this is very telltale

Why? Because what he's doing is he's going to make a public accusation against the number one chief protector of the king That's Abner And he's going to use that to prove who the true friend of the king is Because Abner, the protector of the king, did not protect the king And the enemy came, that's David, came to the camp, and he protected the king And that's the whole accusation he brings against Abner Hey, Abner, listen, you are designed to protect your king You're the chief commander of the army You are the protector of the king You're sitting right next to the king

And your job, you got one job, to make sure the king stays alive And guess what? You failed You failed miserably And me, I'm the guy who has the opportunity to kill the king, and I protect the king's life The enemy protects him His so-called friend does it Now, you tell me who's the true friend You tell me who the true friend is It's not you, Abner It's me Now, I know people are always wondering, now, how do you yell across this big valley and they hear you? Well, you know what? If you've been to the land of Israel, you can understand how this happens very easily

Okay? Remember, there are no, you know, trucks and cars and planes flying over around and driving It's just completely quiet out there, completely quiet And the way those hills are placed, if you're on one and someone's on the other, they can yell across that valley and you can hear them very clearly And David wanted to get far enough away so that he'd be able to speak without, you know, fearing for his own life And he accuses Abner that he failed in the one area he was designed to protect the king and he failed, which leads us to David's conversation with the king

Oh, by the way, this is where Abner, I believe, develops a bitter spirit It's this place Because you see, David tells him, as the Lord lives, all of you must surely die because you did not guard your Lord, the Lord's anointed That's verse number 16 The law says you got to die because you didn't do your job And I got the spear in my hand and the jug of water in my other hand to prove that I was there He had to have proof he was there, right? How would they know he was there? Unless he held up the spear and the jug of water So he held it up and said, I was there, see, told you

And you failed, Abner Well, I'm not sure Abner really liked this because he was publicly humiliated And rightly so Because by the law of the land, he should have lost his life because he failed in doing the one job he was designed to do But note this If you turn to 2 Samuel and 2 Samuel chapter 8, I think it's 2 Samuel chapter 8 Nope, it's not 2 Samuel chapter 8 It is 2 Samuel chapter 3, I think Okay? No, it's 2 Samuel chapter 2 If I just keep naming chapters, I'm not going to get it right yet. 2 Samuel chapter 2, verse number 8 David ascends the throne in chapter 2 He's made king of Judah

Verse 8, But Abner, the son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, had taken Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim, and he made him king over Gilead, and over the Asherites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, even over all Israel Abner would not accept David as king of Israel And so he anointed another king, the son of Saul And God already said, Saul, you're not going to be the king, and nobody in your line will be the king

But Abner was so humiliated and embarrassed by what David did, his bitter spirit caused him to raise up another king, and he would rule over all the other tribes of Israel for the next seven years He caused them all to turn against David because he was so bitter as to what David did He learned that bitter spirit from Saul He learned how to live his life by following after Saul and modeling his life after the king of Israel So, if you have a bitter spirit tonight, you've got to deal with that thing

You've got to give it to the Lord and ask the Lord to remove it from you because many people are defiled because of it This is David's conversation with Saul Saul is awake by now because Abner is yelling across the valley So, Saul wakes up Is that the voice of my son David? Of course it is Who else would it be, right? Your archenemy And they had this conversation between them And David's saying, you know what? I haven't done anything wrong. I still have not sinned against you. I still haven't harmed you

This is the second time I could have killed you and I did not do that. I am your friend and I'm not your enemy And David said something very unique He says, you know what? Your people have driven me from the land of my inheritance The land designed by God for his people And you have driven me from the land where the glory of God dwells See, David was concerned about the worship of God That's why in Psalm 27 he said, one thing I desire That one thing I seek That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord David longed to worship his king

And the one thing that bothered him the most was that Saul's men had driven him as a fugitive, running from place to place to place And he loses the inheritance that was rightfully his And they've said in effect as he says, go serve other gods. I don't want to serve other gods. I just want to serve the one true God That's all I want to do And your people have robbed me of that opportunity. I can't go to the tabernacle. I can't behold the beauty of my God You've driven me away And in this conversation, Saul to some degree is convicted

It's not true repentance because you can't trust Saul's word because what he says here he said before And he lied about that He told Jonathan, okay, I'm no longer going to pursue David He's safe That was a lie That was deceit He did pursue David And Saul makes this confession He says, I've sinned Return my son David for I will not harm you again because my life was precious in your sight this day You spared my life again, David Come on back Are you kidding me? David's thinking, I'm not doing that. I can't trust you further than I can throw you. I'm not going to come back Return to me, David

Come on It's okay. I'm sorry. I sinned. I sinned. I was wrong But David wasn't going to go back again And then Saul says those very telling words, I have played the fool and have committed a serious error Oh, yeah, you bet Huge error Tremendous error His whole life was an error because his whole life was in rebellion against what God said not to do He did it anyway He disobeyed God throughout his kingship for the most part of it. I've made a serious error And David answered and said, Behold the spear of the king. I got your spear

The one you threw at me three times and missed. I got it right here Okay If you're looking for it, I got it right here Send somebody over to go get it. I'm not going to come back over there You got to send somebody over here to pick it up And then he says, The Lord will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness For the Lord delivered you into my hand today, but I refuse to stretch out my hand against the Lord's anointed

Now behold, as your life was highly valued in my sight this day, so may my life be highly valued in the sight of the Lord and may he deliver me from all distress That was the theme of David's Psalms Prayed out to God that he would deliver him, protect him from all of his distress And then Saul makes this comment Blessed are you, my son David You will both accomplish much and surely prevail He acknowledges the truth The problem is it's too late It's too late It's like those people who die in an unconverted state

And the Lord said that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father Yet they refuse to bow the knee to Christ Then one day when they finally admit that Jesus is king, it's too late because they have to bow before him in eternity That was Saul Surely you will accomplish much Oh, Saul had no idea what David would accomplish But David would be the king But let me close with this Saul says, I have played the fool. I don't want you to play the fool And how do you know if you are? Turn with me if you would to the book of Proverbs

The book of Proverbs As you're turning, remember the words of the apostle Paul in Ephesians 5.15? See then that you walk circumspectly, carefully, not as fools, but as wise Paul was concerned that those in Ephesus walked wisely, not foolishly Let's be honest For the most part, we walk foolishly, not wisely Not necessarily because that's our intentions, but that's just the natural man, the nature of a man And so Paul has to remind those in Ephesus, you know what? You got to be careful Got to watch out You got to be on the alert that you don't walk like a fool, but you walk like a wise man

And the Bible says in Proverbs 1, verse number 7, fools despise wisdom and instruction That was Saul He despised wisdom and instruction Let me give you a portrait of a fool because the portrait that the book of Proverbs gives us, most of them written, of course, by Solomon, son of King David, would depict for us the foolishness of Saul So, fools treat sin lightly Did you know that? They treat sin lightly Proverbs chapter 10, verse number 23, says it this way Proverbs 10, 23, doing wickedness is like sport to a fool Doing wickedness is like sport to a fool

They treat sin so lightly that sin becomes almost an athletic event to them It's a sport Over in Proverbs 13, verse number 19, it says, "'Desire, realize, is sweet to the soul, but it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil.'" You see, it's an abomination for the wise person to engage in evil But for the foolish person, it's an abomination to depart from evil Why? It's so much like a sport to them They engage in it as if it's a competition

And then over in Proverbs chapter 14, verse number 8, "'The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, but the folly of fools is deceit.'" Fools mock at sin They mock it And then over in chapter 19, verse number 3, "'The foolishness of man subverts his way, but his heart rages against the Lord.'" Foolish man's heart rages against the Lord That's why Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 5, verse number 1

Remember what he said? He said these words, "'Guard your steps as you go to the house of God, and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools.'" Listen, if you go to the house of God and you don't go there to listen, you will offer a sacrifice of fools You must go to listen because wisdom loves to listen And the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom But fools hate instruction and they hate wisdom They don't want to listen Foolish people just don't want to listen They treat sin lightly That's what Saul did God told Saul, you know what? Wipe out the Amalekites

Kill everybody Kill everything, women, children, men, kings Kill them all Saul says, you know, I'm not sure I'm going to do that It's not a big deal if I keep a few sheep back We'll sacrifice them to the Lord We'll give them back to God It's okay. I'll spare the king because I know that I'm a king and if people came after me, I'd want them to spare my life too So, I'm going to spare the king Samuel shows up and says, you didn't obey the Lord You did something that was equal to witchcraft, divination What you did was satanic, Saul You disobeyed the Lord

And Saul says, you know what? I'm sorry. I was wrong Do me a favor Go before the people and tell them everything's okay Don't paint me in a bad light See, you want to treat sin lightly It didn't make that big a deal to him Whenever you violate God's word, it's a big deal The foolish person treats sin lightly Number two, the foolish person harbors anger and resentment He harbors or she harbors anger and resentment Proverbs 12, verse number 16 Proverbs 12, verse number 16, says this Verse 15, the way of a fool is right in his own eyes

But a wise man is he who listens to counsel. A fool's vexation is known at once Anger, resentment Chapter 14, verse number 29, says this He who is slow to anger has great understanding But he who is quick tempered exalts folly In other words, they just demonstrate how foolish they are Tip to 27, verse number 3 Proverbs 27, verse number 3. A stone is heavy and the sand is weighty But the provocation of a fool is heavier than both of them The foolish person not only treats sin lightly, but they harbor anger They harbor resentment

That was Saul. I mean, he harbored this bitter spirit in his soul for so long that all he could think about was killing David And the anger would well up within him And he would pursue David relentlessly because of the anger that controlled his life Number 3 The fool is one who practices deceit and practices lying Proverbs 14, verse number 8 Proverbs 14, verse number 8, says the fool or the folly of fools is deceit They love to deceive. 15, verse number 7 The hearts of fools are not so That is, verse 7 says, the lips of the wise spread knowledge, but the hearts of fools are not so

They don't spread knowledge They don't spread truth They don't spread wisdom They spread deceit and they spread lies That's what Saul did He lied to his son David He lied to his son Jonathan by saying, Jonathan, I'm not going to kill David But he did He lied to his soldiers by telling them they were going to protect the city, but in essence they were going to destroy David He lied to everybody He deceived everybody That's what fools do Fools is one who does not respond to reproof

Proverbs 17, verse number 10, says this. A rebuke goes deeper into one who has understanding than a hundred blows into a fool Proverbs 23, verse number 9 Proverbs 23, verse number 9, says, do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words Proverbs 27, verse number 22, says, though you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestilence, or a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his folly will not depart from him Let me tell you something about a fool You can pound and pound and pound You can beat a fool to a pulp, but his folly will not leave because they are so angry

They are so bitter They don't want to be reproved They don't want to hear what you have to say They don't care They don't want to listen to reproof And Samuel, the prophet of God, would come to Saul and say, Saul, you have sinned You have played the fool, 1 Samuel 13 You have played the fool by thinking as a king you can offer priestly incense to the Lord You can't do that You can't do that But you played the fool thinking you could And Saul says, you know, it's not that big a deal, Samuel You're making a big deal out of nothing Really? God says, your kingdom is gone from you

But Saul never got that He didn't like to be reproved He didn't like anybody to rebuke him because he was a king He thought he was above reproof But that's what fools do. A fool will trust in his own heart Proverbs 28 Proverbs 28, verse number 25 says this, An arrogant man stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the Lord will prosper He who trusts in his own heart is a fool Is a fool Trusting in my own heart That's what the Bible says Trust in the Lord with all your heart Lean not unto your own understanding In all your ways acknowledge him, he'll direct your paths But we trust in our own heart

How do we feel? Here's all the time How do I feel? When I go to church, how do I feel? If I feel good at church, that's church I go to. I don't feel good, I don't go All right? How do I feel around you? If I feel good around you, I'll hang around you If I don't feel good around you, I'm not going to hang around you anymore. A fool trusts his heart You can't do that The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked Jeremiah 17, right? So the fool says, I'll trust in that which is desperately wicked, my heart. I'll trust in that which is deceptive, my heart

Why trust God when I can trust my own wicked heart, right? That's what the fool does He doesn't want to listen to the Lord Proverbs 1.22, the fool hates knowledge So it says, oh, how long, oh, naive ones, will you love simplicity? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing, and fools hate knowledge That's the portrait of the fool So there's a plea for the fool, a plea for the fool That's Proverbs chapter 9, verse number 6 Forsake your folly and live and go in the way of understanding Proverbs chapter 8, verse number 5, says, oh, naive ones, discern prudence and oh, fools, discern wisdom

Listen, for I shall speak noble things, and the opening of my lips will produce right things He speaks and pleads for the fool to become wise

How do you do that? Are you the kind of person that hates knowledge? Hates reproof? Doesn't like to be reproved and rebuked? Are you the kind of person that is filled with deceit and lies? Are you the kind of person that hates knowledge? Are you the kind of person that harbors anger and resentment in your spirit? Maybe it's toward your husband, maybe it's toward your wife, maybe it's toward your children, maybe it's toward somebody at church, maybe it's toward your pastor, I don't know, okay? Are you the kind of person that treats sin lightly? It's no big deal It's not that big of a deal

God's grace covers everything He'll forgive me It's not a big deal What do you do? How do you handle that? Remember way back on the Emmaus Road? There were two disciples who were walking, and they were so discouraged They thought for sure that Jesus was Messiah And Jesus shows up and walks with them They didn't recognize Him because He was in His glorified body He unveiled Himself so they could not see Him for who He was And He walked with them He says these words to them in Luke 24, verse number 25, O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all the prophets have spoken

He says, I want to tell you something, you're foolish Because you refuse to believe in all the words of the prophets Could it be that we are foolish because we just believe in part of the Scripture, not all the Scripture? You're foolish You're slow of heart Was it not necessary, verse 26, for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory? And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures Jesus says, you guys are fools because you don't believe in everything that the prophets said

So let me explain to you what the prophets said about the Christ, the Messiah And then they would go and say, did not our hearts burn within us as He spoke to us on the way? These foolish men became wise because they listened to the Word of the Lord and followed it That's how you turn from your foolishness to wisdom You listen to what God says and you follow what He says It's not that difficult It's not that hard It's pretty basic, it's pretty simple But that's what the book of Proverbs is all about How to love wisdom, how to love knowledge, how to love understanding and not be a fool

How to learn knowledge, how to learn wisdom, how to learn understanding and not be a fool How to long for wisdom, how to long for knowledge, how to long for understanding and not be a fool How to live wisdom, how to live knowledge, how to live understanding and not be a fool That's what the book of Proverbs is all about That's why it's written to young people Only book of the Bible written to young people Why? Because where does foolishness begin? When you're young, right? It just grows with you as you get older And so there's this portrait of a fool all throughout the book of Proverbs

And the Proverbs gives a plea to the fool Oh, naive ones, discern what is right, turn from your wicked ways, go after wisdom, go after knowledge, go after understanding And the process from turning from foolishness to wisdom is to listen to what God says and obey it That's it It's not that difficult And the product, the product of doing that Proverbs 22, verse number 17, says these words Proverbs 22, verse number 17 Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise Apply your mind to my knowledge

For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, that they may be ready on your lips, so that your trust may be in the Lord. I have taught you today, even you, have I not written to you excellent things of counsels and knowledge to make you know the certainty of the words of truth that you may correctly answer to him who sent you And then over in Proverbs chapter 8, Proverbs chapter 8, listen to the words of Solomon Now therefore, O sons, listen to me This is wisdom speaking Wisdom speaks throughout chapter 8

Listen to me, for blessed are they who keep my ways, heed instruction, and be wise Do not neglect it Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my doorpost For he who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord But he who sins against me injures himself All those who hate me love death That is King Saul He hated wisdom Therefore he loved death He played the fool Oh, I have played the fool He did Folks, we learn from the life of King Saul how not to do that, that we might walk in wisdom, walk in a way that honors and glorifies the name of God

Let me pray with you Father, we thank you, Lord, for today and all that you do Truly you are a great God and worthy to be praised Thank you for this event in David's life that you have put in the pages of Scripture You don't put anything in the Scripture that's not absolutely necessary for our souls, Lord We're so grateful that we can read it, we can begin to understand it Help us, Lord, to apply it, that we might not play the fool, that we might truly serve you and fall out to wisdom We pray in Jesus' name, amen.