Saul had to wait seven days as instructed by Samuel and at the end of these seven days Samuel would come to offer sacrifices then Samuel have to give Saul some instructions what he needs to do according to I Samuel 10:8 "And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do." In spite of clear instructions of Samuel given to Saul, did Saul patiently followed the given instruction of Samuel? ___________ (Know the answer in I Samuel 13:8-10 "And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. ⁹And Saul said, Bring hither a burt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him." In this verse we learned that Saul became impatient. Saul tarried seven days but instead of doing in God's way, Saul panicked so he did it his own way and did not wait for the perfect instruction of Samuel what is the right thing to do. Since, Saul was in hurry and impatient to obey exactly Samuel instructions, Saul did something that only the priest should perform and that is to offer the burn offerings and peace offerings.

What did Saul do according to what Samuel described in I Samuel 13:9? ________________________.

I Samuel 13:9 "And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering."

It was clear evidence that Saul had done the foolish act of disobedience because Saul had not done what the Lord commanded according to what Samuel had said to Saul in I Samuel 13:13 "And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandement of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever."

Because Saul did not obey what the Lord hath commanded him, his kingship shall not continue. Saul was not a spiritual man for he was a fleshly man and does not have a heart for God. David was the kind of man God was looking for, not Saul, that is why David is a man after God’s heart not Saul (I Samuel 13:14 "But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.").

II - SAUL'S STATEMENT THAT IS FOOLISH

We can see in I Samuel 14, how the children of Israel have a great victory given by God when they defeated the Philistines as God used Jonathan in a special way. On the other hand, the whole army of Saul was discouraged because of foolish statements that Saul put a curse on any man that did what? ___________. Give the answer by reading I Samuel 14:24.

I Samuel 14:24 "And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food." This is a very unreasonable foolish words of Saul. It was untimely discretion of command because the men involved in battle needed much proper nourishment in the heat of the battle.

Now, there was one who violated the command of Saul, can you name who? ______________ Please identify who that person violated the command of Saul in Samuel 14:27.

I Samuel 14:27 "But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened."

When Saul found out what does the man has done for violating his command, what did Saul want to do to that person? Know what Saul wanted to happen in I Samuel 14:43-44 ___________________________.

I Samuel 14:43-44 "Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him, and said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in mine hand, and, lo, I must die. ⁴⁴ And Saul answered, God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan."

When Jonathan violated his foolish command, Saul wanted to kill Jonathan, and it was a serious move that Saul wanted to happen, but the question is would the people allow this terrible thing to happen? __________________________________ . Look for the answer in I Samuel 14:45.

I Samuel 14:45 "And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid; as the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of his hear fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not."

Here, we basically conclude that Saul made a foolish and hasty statement which Saul never should have made. It shows his impatient spirit that leads to say foolish statements. When a person is impatient, he will do something contrary to the will of God that would result to say something foolish words.

- - - - - -TO BE CONTINUED - - - - - -

III - SAUL'S REBELLION

We learn something about the carnal man in Roman 8:7 “Because the carnal mind is enmity ______________ God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”

The man’s sinful nature that was inherited from Adam which is the flesh is against God and refuses to submit to God. The flesh would fight God, rebels against the command of God and refuses to obey God. Rebellion is part of man’s sinful nature.

In I Samuel 15, we find the rebellion and disobedience of Saul. The clear command is stated in verse 3.

I Samuel 15:3 “Now go 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.”

According to verses 8-9, did Saul obey this command? __________ .

I Samuel 15:8-9 “And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. ⁹But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.”

According to verse 11, did Saul perform the commandments of God? _______________ .

I Samuel 15:11 “It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the Lord all night.”

According to verse 13, find out what did the fleshly man Saul say? ___________________ .

I Samuel 15:13 “And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord.”

Remember: Half Obedience is disobedience.

According to verse 23a, Samuel said Saul was guilty, what are the two sins that Saul was guilty of?

1. _______________________________________

2. _______________________________________

I Samuel 15:23a “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.”

According to verse 23b, know what did Saul reject?

I Samuel 15:23b “Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”

IV - SAUL'S COWARDICE

The story of David killed Goliath in I Samuel 17.

According to I Samuel 9:2 Saul was the tallest and strongest man in all of Israel.

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 person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.”

What is the reason why Saul did not face the giant Goliath on the battlefield? ___________________

Is it because Saul did not trust God for the victory over Goliath? _________________________ .

Saul who was the strongest and tallest man in all Israel, was a coward.

David was a spiritual man who trusted a Great God and Saul was a fleshly man who did not trust God.

V - SAUL'S JEALOUSY

Read Galatians 5:20-21 “Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, ²¹Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Notice in verse 20 the word “emulations” that means jealousy, it is one of the works of the flesh. And also notice in verse 21 the word “envyings” which means desiring what another person has.

Read I Samuel 18:6-8 then answers several questions.

I Samuel 18:6-8 “And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of musick. ⁷And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. ⁸And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?”

What made Saul jealous? _________________________________________________ .

Who was the man whom Saul jealous of? ____________________________________ .

What David had that Saul enviously wanted? _________________________________ .

What other sin that this sinful jealousy led to? (verse 8) _________________________ .

VI - SAUL'S HATRED

Read Galatians 5:19-21, can you say that hatred is one of the works of the flesh? _________________ .

Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, ²⁰Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, ²¹Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

According to I Samuel 18:11, we can see that the jealousy and anger of Saul turned into a bitter hatred for David. How did Saul evidently show his hatred to David?

I Samuel 18:11 “And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice.”

How did Saul evidently show his hatred to David? ______________________________________ .

Let us compare I Samuel 18:11 and I Samuel 19:10 and answer the question.

I Samuel 18:11 “And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice.”

I Samuel 19:10 “And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin: but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.”

Can you tell how many times Saul tries to do the things he wanted to do for David? ______________ .

Saul had a poor aim when he throws the javelin to smite David. But we must see that the hand of God protected David in a very amazingly.

VII - SAUL'S ANGER

Read Galatians 5:19-21, and know if anger or wrath are considered the works of the flesh? _______ .

Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, ²⁰Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, ²¹Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Saul hated David very much, that is why Saul also become angry to everyone who seemed to be sympathizer of David.

Read I Samuel 20:30 then answer the question:

I Samuel 20:30 “Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother's nakedness?”

Saul was angry with someone, know who he was? ________________________ .

Why Saul was angry with that person? __________________________________________ .

Read I Samuel 20:31-32 to learn of the story that Saul instructed Jonathan to fetch David and bring David so that David might die. Jonathan replied and asked Saul “Why shall he be slain? What hath he done?”

I Samuel 20:31-32 “For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die. ³²And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done?”

When Jonathan asked Saul reasonably in I Samuel 20:31-32, what David hath done and why David shall be killed, how did Saul answer the question of Jonathan in I Samuel 20:33? ___________________________ .

I Samuel 20:33 “And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David.”

Imagine Saul cast a javelin to kill Jonathan his own flesh and blood son. But again, Saul missed his attempts. So far Saul still had no success within four attempts.

- - - - - - TO BE CONTINUED - - - - - -

VIII - SAUL'S MURDERS

Do you find “murders” included in the list of the works of the flesh? _________________

When David was fleeing from king Saul at the time because of the evil intention to kill David, we learn in I Samuel 21, that Ahimelech the priest helped David and gave David bread. We should not forget that Saul hated David very much, so Saul was also angry to anyone who sympathize with David and anyone who helped David became Saul’s enemy.

King Saul asked Ahimelech why he helped David in I Samuel 22:13 “And Saul said unto him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a sword, and hast enquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?”

In reply Ahimelech’s answered Saul in I Samuel 22:14 “Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, And who is so faithful among all thy servants as David, which is the king's son in law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is honourable in thine house?”

According to this verse, did Ahimelech describe David as faithful or unfaithful? _________________

According to this verse, did Ahimelech consider David as honorable or dishonorable? ______________

In response to all Ahimelech wonderful statements regarding David, please complete what Saul said to Ahimelech in I Samuel 22:16 “Thou shalt surely ___”

The situation becomes worst, because Saul was not content to kill just one man, Saul desires becomes increasingly evil when he had that intention to kill the whole household of priests.

Saul instructed first his footmen that the priests must be slain. Read I Samuel 22:17 and answer some questions.

I Samuel 22:17 “And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the Lord: because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not shew it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the Lord.”

What is the reason why Saul ordered these priests be killed? ________________________________

Remember anyone who was on the David’s side, Saul thought was against him.

According to this verse, were the footmen of Saul willing to do what Saul told them to do? ______________ .

We see in this verse that these footmen knew better and knew the right thing to do.

However, Saul convinced someone to accomplish his evil plan. The wicked crime was willingly to be carried out by one man. Read and answer some questions.

I Samuel 22:18 “And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod.”

Give the name of one man who was willing to carry out the evil crime instructed of Saul? _______________ .

Based in this verse, can you give the number of the priests on that day that were killed? ________________ .

Read I Samuel 22:20- 21 and answer that has to do with this crime.

I Samuel 22:20- 21 “And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David. ²¹And Abiathar shewed David that Saul had slain the Lord's priests.”

According to this verse, Doeg was the one who actually performed the crime, but who was really responsible for killing the priests? _________________ .

Saul the fleshly man was guilty of murder. Now, we learned that “murder” is one of the works of the flesh.

IX - SAUL'S FAKE REPENTANCE

Let us see if David desires to kill King Saul, please read I Samuel 24:2-15 to answer the question.

I Samuel 24:2-15 “Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. ³And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. ⁴And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily. ⁵And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt. ⁶And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord's anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord. ⁷So David stayed his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way. ⁸David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself. ⁹And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men's words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? ¹⁰Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the Lord had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the Lord's anointed. ¹¹Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it. ¹²The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. ¹³As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. ¹⁴After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea. ¹⁵The Lord therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand.”

Did David have a perfect opportunity to kill King Saul? ______________________ .

Saul knew that David had spared his life in I Samuel 24:16-21.

I Samuel 24:16-21 "And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. ¹⁷And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil, ¹⁸And thou hast shewed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the Lord had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. ¹⁹For if a man find this enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day.²⁰And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand. ²¹Swear now therefore unto me by the Lord, that thou will not out off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father's house."

According to verse 16, when Saul learned that David had spared his life, what did Saul said? _____________ .

According to verse 16, after David had spared Saul’s life, Saul wept and called David “my son ____________ “

According to verse 17, Saul is saying to David, “Thou art more _______________ than I: for thou hast rewarded me __________, whereas I have rewarded thee __________.”

According to verse 20, Saul said that David was the one who should be king. ( ) true ( ) false

According to the way Saul spoke and treat David, can you say that Saul was really very sorry for the way he had acted toward David? _______ . It all sounded very kind but was Saul's attitude genuine? _______________ .

Read I Samuel 26:2 to know if Saul had changed his attitude and action toward David.

I Samuel 26:2 “Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.”

Saul was back to his old ways again. Saul was a great pretender.

Read I Samuel 26:5-16 to know David’s attitude and action if given a second chance to kill Saul.

I Samuel 26:5-16 "And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and David behold the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him. ⁶Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee.⁷So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster: but Abner and the people lay round about him ⁸Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time. ⁹And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord's anointed, and be guiltless? ¹⁰David said furthermore, As the Lord liveth, the Lord shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish. ¹¹The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lord's anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go. ¹²So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul's bolster; and they gat them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked: for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the Lord was fallen upon them. ¹³Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of an hill afar off; a great space being between them: ¹⁴And David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king? ¹⁵And David said to Abner, Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like to thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord. ¹⁶This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the Lord liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master, the Lord's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his bolster.”

Did David have a second perfect opportunity to kill King Saul? ________________________ .

Read I Samuel 26:17-21 to discover what happened when David had spared again the life of Saul.

I Samuel 26:17-21 “And Saul knew David's voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king. ¹⁸And he said, Wherefore doth my lord thus pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in mine hand? ¹⁹Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the Lord have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they be the children of men, cursed be they before the Lord; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go, serve other gods. ²⁰Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of the Lord: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains. ²¹Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.”

According to verse 17, when Saul learned that David had spared his life for the second time, what Saul had said? ____________ .

According to verse 21 “Then said Saul, I have ______: return, my son, David; for I will ______ ___________ do thee harm,”

According to verse 21, Saul admitted that he was what? Complete the verse “I have played the _________ .”

Can you say now that Saul was really sorry for his sins? __________________ .

Can you say now that Saul had truly repented? (changing his mind about sin, self and the Saviour)_________ .

According to the way Saul spoke and treat David, can you say that Saul was really very sorry for the way he had acted toward David? ______ . It all sounded very good but was Saul’s attitude genuine? _____________ .

Read I Samuel 27:1 to know if what think of David is right.

I Samuel 27:1 "And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand."

By this time David knew Saul well. According to this verse, was David thinks that he had no reason to worry because Saul have sincerely repented and would never harm him anymore? _________________________ .

We need to remember the Bible tell us that the flesh can sound good and can pretend to be repentant, but the whole thing is deceitful and false! Saul never had the "godly sorrow" that was mentioned by Paul in II Corinthians 7:9-10 "Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death."

X - SAUL'S WITCHCRAFT

Read again Galatians 5:19-21 to know of all the works of the flesh.

Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, ²⁰Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, ²¹Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Did you see in this verse the “witchcraft” (sorcery) included on the lists of the works of the flesh? _______ .

Read I Samuel 28:7 and learn about the witchcraft in Paul’s life.

i Samuel 28:7 "Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor."

According to this verse, did Saul decided to seek out a witch or a medium at the end of his life? ___________ .

This was witch woman who was supposed to be able to communicate with the dead. Saul was interested to know about the future. Saul decided to turned to the world of the occult, because God would not communicate with him for Saul rejected the Word of God (I Samuel 15:23).

Would a spiritual man turn to the witchcraft or occultism? ________________ .

Read Deuteronomy 18:9-14 and see if the spiritual man has to do with practice of witchcraft.

Deuteronomy 18:9-14 "When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.¹⁰There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. ¹¹Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.¹²For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee. ¹³Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God.¹⁴For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do."

According to this verse, would a spiritual man practice witchcraft or sorcery? And why? ________________ .

Lessons to learn from our Summary:

1. If disobedience to the Word of God characterized the life of Saul, therefore what should characterize the life of the believer? _______________ . Read and find the answer: I John 2:3-4; I John 5:3

I John 2:3-5 "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.⁴ He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him."

I John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”

2. If hatred towards David, a man who belonged to God characterized the life of Saul, therefore what should characterize the life of the believer? _______ . Read and find the answer: I John 3:14-15; I John 2:9-10; I John 4:20-21

I John 3:14-15 "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. ¹⁵ Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him."

I John 2:9-10 “He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. ¹⁰He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.”

I John 4:20-21 “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? ²¹And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.”

3. If evil deeds and unrighteous acts characterize the life of Saul, therefore what should characterize the life of the believer? ______________________ . Read and find the answer: I John 2:29; I John 3:7-12.

I John 2:29 "If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him."

I John 3:7-12 “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. ⁸He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. ⁹Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. ¹⁰In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. ¹¹For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. ¹²Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.”

Possibly you think of yourself and saying: “I am different from Saul. If Saul throws a javelin at David and Jonathan, I would never throw javelin to anybody. If Saul killed many priests, of course I would never kill 100 pastors in our days. If Saul visits a witch (sorcerer) or a medium, surely I would never visit a witch that consult dead that is abomination to God.” But we need to remember that the flesh or sinful nature that Saul have is the same flesh or sinful nature that we have. Our fleshly nature is just as evil and as corrupt as of Saul. Sometimes we could do the right things in some circumstances that Saul did and we could do the worst and bad things most of the times. Now, Christ died and save us from this flesh. To know this bible truth, read Romans 8:3 and answer the blank space.

Romans 8:3 "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful ____________ , and for sin, condemned sin in the __________________:"

Has Christ saved you?

Are you a spiritual person?