GOD WILL WITHDRAW MERCY

II Samuel 7:12-17

Sunday Night Sermon

September 20, 1998

Fair Avenue Baptist Church

In these verses we have the prophecy from the prophet Nathan of the promises to David. God is promising that through David that the throne would be established forever.

But VERSE 15 is our text verse in this message.

“But my mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.”

Notice that God withdrew His mercy from Saul.

That’s a serious statement,

A statement with serious repercussions,

A solemn statement.

“I took it from Saul.”

God withdrew His mercy from Saul, let that roll around in our minds for a few moments.

Now, why did God withdraw His mercy from Saul?

Saul was the first king of Israel,

Saul was chosen by God.

I Samuel 9:2, “And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.” 

I Samuel 10:2, “Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?”

I Samuel 10:24, “And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people?  And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king.”

Saul had the potential,

He had been chosen,

He had been anointed,

He was the people’s choice,

He had their support.

How did Saul get from I Samuel Chapters 9 & 10 to II Samuel Chapter 7?

How did Saul go from the LORD’s choice to the losing of God’s mercy on his life?

How do we go from serving the LORD faithfully to just barely coming to church?

How do we go from faithful to God’s house service after service to staying home on Thursday nights and watching TV or piddling around?

How do we go from being involved, teaching, working, witnessing, and tithing to just barely hanging on?

We do it the same way Saul did,

And as we will learn,

We are going to suffer much the same as Saul did.

Saul did basically three things:

1.       He trusted his own judgment

2.       He disobeyed the LORD

3.       He rebelled against the LORD

1.       HE TRUSTED HIS OWN JUDGMENT

As you study through the life of Saul, he started out as a good servant of the LORD.

But somewhere, somehow, he started making decisions on his own.  And they were usually the wrong ones.

In I Samuel 13 we see an instance of Saul making the wrong decision because he trusted his own judgment.

I Samuel 13:11-13, “And Samuel said, What hast thou done?  And Saul said, Because I saw the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the  days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves at Michmash; Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself there, and offered a burnt offering.  And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.”

Samuel       “What hast thou done?”

Saul            “Because I saw”

Saul            “Therefore said I”

Saul            “I forced myself”

Samuel       “Thou hast done foolishly”

Samuel       “Thou hast not kept the                                              commandment of the LORD”

Saul was doing what so many of us do today, we trust our own judgment instead of what the Word of God commands and says.

Prov. 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct all thy paths.”

“Thou hast done foolishly”

We do foolishly when we stay home from church because we are commanded to be faithful to God’s house.

“Thou hast done foolishly”

We do foolishly when we do not tithe because we are commanded to tithe and give offerings.

“Thou hast done foolishly”

We do foolishly when we do not go soul winning because we are commanded to go soul winning.

We simply cannot trust our own judgment, we must obey the Word of God.

1.       He trusted his own judgment

2.       HE JUST FLAT OUT DISOBEYED

Once Saul began trusting his own judgment, it was only a matter of time before he simply disobeyed.

In fact, we read that a few moments ago that he disobeyed by failing to do as he was commanded.

“Thou hast not kept the commandments...”

Saul knew what was right,

He knew what was wrong,

But since he was trusting his own judgment,

He disobeyed.

And we do the very same thing.

We know what is right,

We have read the Bible,

We know what is wrong,

But we trust our own judgment,

And we disobey.

1.       He trusted his own judgment

2.       He disobeyed the LORD

3.       HE OUTRIGHT REBELLED

As we move on in the life of Saul, we see where his life went from making wrong decisions to disobedience to outright rebellion.

In I Samuel Chapter 15 we find where God told Saul and his armies to totally destroy the Amalekites.

I Samuel 15:3, “Now to and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.”

God told Saul to “utterly destroy” the Amalekites.

But Saul rebelled.

Now, he tried to reason his way out of his rebellion.  He is trying to use his own judgment again.  And, of course, he makes the wrong decision.

I Sam. 15:15, “And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD they God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.”

But notice what the prophet Samuel told him in VERSES 22-23, “And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD?  Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.”

Rebellion - that’s what the Word of God called it.

And when we try to reason away the commandments of God, we will eventually rebel against the LORD.

And even in our rebellion, we will think we are right.

Saul did.

He thought he was doing right.

In his eyes, he was doing right.

Saul continued his downward trek.

He continued to use his own judgment.

He continued to disobey.

He continued to rebel against the LORD.

And it only got worse.

In I Samuel Chapter 28 Saul went to a witch and ask her for help.

Preacher, do you believe in witches?  Of course, I do, the Bible says so.  Now, I don’t believe they fly around in the air and twinkle their noses and make things disappear.  But, I do believe they are agents of the Devil.

Saul got so backslidden and rebellious he went to a witch for advice.

Now, we may not go to a witch for advice, but we have a tendency to go to the world for advice.

We will trust unsaved university professors over the Bible when it comes to rearing our children.

We will trust some unsaved counselor over the Bible when it comes to trying to make our marriage work.

Far too often we will just rebel against the LORD and the things of God.

And more often than not, we will meet with the same fate that Saul and his family did.  Saul and each member of his family died tragic and unnecessary deaths.

Now, you may not die a physical death, but you most certainly will die a spiritual death.

Your family may not die a physical death, but they will most certainly die a spiritual death.

1.       We trust in our own judgment

2.       We disobey the LORD

3.       We rebel against God

A formula for failure.