1 Samuel 31:7 Higher Responsibility-Blameless

 ”And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were on the other side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.“ ‭‭I Samuel‬ ‭31‬:‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. They forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them: The victory of the Philistines was so complete that even those on the other side of the Jordan fled in terror before the Philistines. With the Philistine army occupying territory on the other side of the Jordan, they had cut Israel in half, drawing a line from west to east. The rest of the nation was ripe for total conquest by the Philistines.

b. The men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead: This was a great defeat. When the leader (King Saul) was struck, it spread panic among God’s people. Jesus knew this same principle would be used against His own disciples: Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered’” (Mark 14:27).

i. Saul’s sin, hardened rebellion, and eventual ruin affected far more people than himself and even his immediate family. It literally endangered the entire people of Israel.

ii. This shows why leaders have a higher responsibility, because their fall can endanger many more people than the fall of someone who is not a leader. This is why the New Testament openly presents a higher standard for leaders, even saying they should be blameless for just cause before the world and God’s people (1 Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:6). (Guzik)

Higher Responsibility-Blameless 

”An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, having children who are believers and who are not open to accusation of indiscretion or insubordination.“

‭‭Titus‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬ ‭BSB‬‬

”An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,“

‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭2‬ ‭BSB‬‬

As we just learned with Saul his fall affected the whole nation. I recall pastor Robert explaining when he was a young believer that he became involved in a church and one day he went in and found it in disarray because the pastor had an affair with the secretary. It affected the whole church and ruined it because the pastor didn’t accept his higher responsibility to be blameless.

As Christian’s we have to remember that people are watching us and we have a higher responsibility to be blameless. 

Remember the acronym, WWJD. What would Jesus do?

Blessings