A Leader God Honors – Part 1

Today everyone is interested in leadership. There are books and magazines and seminars on everything from leadership principles to leadership styles, even dressing like a leader. But what does God think about leadership? Lots of books on that too, actually. So, without wanting to sound redundant, I present a “case study” of sorts on two leaders in Scripture. Maybe that will give us some helpful insight into this important issue.

Let us observe what type of leader God chooses to honor. What are the elements that made this particular leader outstanding? And we should also observe a leader which displeased God, and why. Much can be gained through the comparison.

First let’s look at King Saul in 1 Samuel 13.

This chapter recounts the growing hostilities between Israel and the Philistines. Saul had been reigning for about 2 years, and had gained a victory over a Philistine garrison. This made the Philistines angry so they came out to fight with Israel. Saul called his army together and pitched their camp at Gilgal.

The Israelites were vastly outnumbered. Scripture says that the Philistines were as numerous as the sand by the sea, along with thousands of chariots and horsemen. This caused immense fear in the Israelite camp, to the point that some of them even crossed over the Jordan River (effectively leaving the country) to get away. Many of them hid in caves, pits, and mountains. Most of us cannot imagine mass fear on such a magnitude.

This moment in history was a pivotal point of leadership for Saul as the new king of Israel. Sadly, he displays three key failures that caused great personal loss to him and his descendants, and nearly cost him the battle. He displayed a lack of faith, a disobedience to God’s laws, and a shameful passivity (or inaction) when his people were in danger.

Lack of Faith

King Saul was supposed to wait for the prophet Samuel to arrive and offer sacrifices to the Lord God, and make supplication for the victory. Saul waited seven days, but the prophet did not show up when expected. Saul then decides he cannot wait any longer, and goes himself to offer the sacrifice.

Now remember, this was not Saul building an altar and offering a sacrifice in the way others have done in Scripture, and been honored for their actions. This was a very serious sin, because it involved Saul taking the place of a priest. Since it is likely that the Tabernacle of God was in Gilgal at this time, it is possible that Saul ascended to the Altar of God, THE Altar, to make this sacrifice. This was a ceremony reserved for Levites. And not just Levites, but priests. And not just priests, but sanctified priests who had gone through the proper ceremonies to approach that very holy altar and make offering to God. Samuel qualified, but Saul most certainly did not. No, this was not a little sin.

As soon as Saul finished offering the sacrifice, Samuel arrived. (What interesting timing God has.) When Samuel confronted him about it, Saul gives some interesting responses that reveal his lack of faith.

And Saul said, “Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.” (1 Sam. 13:11-12)

He lacked faith in God’s perfect timing. When Samuel was late, Saul became worried. Saul believed he had to fix the problem. God had Samuel perfectly timed, but Saul did not believe that to be true. Saul did not trust that God knew what he was doing and instead thought that somehow God had forgotten to set His alarm.

He also lacked faith in God’s power to deliver through small numbers. When the people started running because of fright, Saul began to be worried. Why? Because he believed one needs a lot of people to win a battle. He did not believe that God could deliver by many or by few. So in an attempt to strengthen their courage, he offered the sacrifice.

Lastly, Saul did not believe in God’s protection. He was fearful that the Philistines would come upon him before he was ready. (“…I have not made supplication unto the Lord.”) He did not trust God to protect him if he followed God’s instructions. God instructed him to wait on Samuel, but he was fearful that if he waited too long God would allow a defeat. So instead of trusting God for protection, he believed God would punish him for obeying the commandment! What a warped, harsh view of God he had created in his mind.

Because of Saul’s lack of faith, he fell back on his flesh. He did not have anything else to trust in. He also failed to impart any faith to his people. They continued to follow him, but in trembling fear. When a leader does not have faith, he cannot impart it to those under him. Saul’s lack of faith led him to his next failure, disobeying God.

Disobedience to God’s Law

Saul disobeyed a clear command of God. He did not trust God to do things right, so he took matters into his own hands and justified his sin. He said “I forced myself…” This was an excuse. Essentially he is saying “I didn’t want to, but…” It doesn’t matter why he sinned. He still sinned. We can come up with all the reasons and excuses we want, but in the end…sin is sin no matter the reason.

He tried to justify his actions with religious words in verse 12, saying he did not want to go to battle without making “supplication to the Lord.” So he was basically telling Samuel “I wanted God’s blessing, so I directly disobeyed one of his laws.” No wonder Samuel said “You have done foolishly.”

Saul was willing to obey God, but only to a point. He obeyed God for seven days. He waited for Samuel to arrive, and did exactly as he was told. But he reached a point at which he decided that it was no longer necessary, or in his best interest, to continue in obedience to God. He started to do things his own way. Was it the point when the people scattered? Was it when Samuel didn’t show up? Was it when the scouts came back and reported the size of the enemy force, ready to pounce at any moment? Perhaps it was all three. We are not told exactly when that point was for Saul.

The question we must ask ourselves is this: What is my point? How far am I willing to obey my heavenly Father? Have I rejected all “points of no obedience?”

Inaction/Passivity

Samuel rebuked Saul for his sin and told him that God would pass over his descendants and choose another king. A very severe judgment, especially when you consider that Saul’s successor, David, was the ancestor of the King of kings.

But Saul was completely inactive in responding to the prophet’s rebuke. He did not repent. At least there is no response of any kind recorded. He took no action to mend his ways or seek God’s forgiveness. He did not pray. He did not seek God’s blessing. Nothing.

He allowed the people to wallow in fear. He did not respond when the “spoilers” from the Philistine camp went in three different directions to terrorize the countryside. (13:7-8) Did he send even a detachment or regiment to defend his people? No! What caused this passivity? We are not told specifically. Perhaps it was fear of failure, or maybe guilt. But the fact remains that he did nothing, and it serves as a sharp warning to men. What does it take for evil to prosper? Do-nothing men. That’s what.

King Saul serves as an example of failure in leadership. This is helpful to us because sometimes being a success means knowing what behaviors to avoid.

In part 2 we will examine the life of another leader who was honored by God with miraculous victory, and was also closely related to King Saul.