a. You have done foolishly: This is a stronger phrase than we might think. Samuel did not mean Saul was unintelligent or silly. The Bible speaks of the fool as someone morally and spiritually lacking.
b. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you: Despite all the excuses, all the reasons, all the blaming of someone else, the bottom line was still the bottom line. Samuel put it plainly: you have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God. God commanded him to do something, and he did the opposite.
c. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever: The whole point in being a king was to establish a dynasty, where one’s sons sat on the throne afterwards. God told Saul that his descendants would not reign after him. Though he was a king, he would not establish the monarchy in Israel.
d. But now your kingdom shall not continue: From these words we might expect Saul to be removed as king at that moment. But Saul would reign for another 20 years. He would still be on the throne as a king, but it would never be the same because the end of his kingdom and his dynasty was now certain.
i. This was no small sin. “To disobey God in the smallest matter is sin enough: there can be no sin little, because there is no little God to sin against.” (Trapp)
ii. Because the actual judgment for this sin was so far off we should regard Samuel’s pronouncement of judgment as an invitation to repentance. Many times, when God announces judgment, He will relent if His people repent. “Though God threaten Saul with the loss of his kingdom for this sin, yet it is not improbable that there was a tacit condition implied, as is usual in such cases.” (Poole)
e. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people: Though God rejected Saul He did not reject Israel. Because God loved Israel He would raise up a king, a man after His own heart.
i. Saul was a man after Israel’s heart. He was all about image, prestige, and the things men look at. But God will now give Israel a man after His own heart and raise that man up to be the next king.
ii. It would be easy to say that the kingdom was taken from Saul because he sinned and on one level, that was true; but it was more than that. David also sinned yet God never took the kingdom from David and his descendants. The issue was bigger than an incident of sin; the issue was being a man after God’s own heart.
f. A man after His own heart: What does this mean? We can discover this by looking at the man who was not a man after His own heart (Saul) and comparing him to the man who was a man after His own heart (David).
i. A man after God’s heart honors the LORD. Saul was more concerned with his will than God’s will. David knew God’s will was most important. Even when David didn’t do God’s will, he still knew God’s will was more important. All sin is a disregard of God, but David sinned more out of weakness and Saul more out of a disregard for God.
ii. A man after God’s heart enthrones God as king. For Saul, Saul was king. For David, the LORD Godwas king. Both David and Saul knew sacrifice before a battle was important. But David thought it was important because it pleased and honored God. Saul thought it was important because it might help him win the battle. Saul thought God would help him achieve his goals. David thought that God was the goal.
iii. A man after God’s heart has a soft, repentant heart. When Saul was confronted with his sin he offered excuses. When David was confronted with his sin he confessed his sin and repented (2 Samuel 12:13).
iv. A man after God’s heart loves other people. Saul became increasingly bitter against people and lived more and more for himself, but David loved people. When David was down and out he still loved and served those who were even more down and out (1 Samuel 22:1-2).
g. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart: God was looking for this kind of man and God found this man in an unlikely place. In fact at this time, he wasn’t a man at all! God is still looking for men and women after His own heart.
(Guzik)
After God’s own heart!
We can’t be sinless because of our human nature but we can try to sin less and be like David, “A man after God’s heart has a soft, repentant heart.”
God looks into our soul and see’s who we really are!
Are we seeking Him?
Is our heart soft or hard?
Are we repentant?
Are you a man or woman after God’s own heart?
Blessings
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