SERIES I --- THE NATION UNITES --- LESSON 16

SAUL REJECTED

SOMETHING BETTER THAN SACRIFICE

From 1 Samuel 15

One day Samuel presented King Saul with orders from Adonai. ‘You are king because Adonai anointed you,’ he said. ‘Now He has special work for you. Destroy the nation of Amalek completely, for it must be punished for waylaying the Israelites as they came from Egypt. You must destroy all that the Amalekites have; every person, sheep, ox, camel and donkey. Saul gathered his army at Telaim, with about two hundred thousand men plus ten thousand men of Judah. As he came near the city of the Amalekites, he set up an ambush in the valley. Saul sent word to the Kenites, who lived among the Amalekites. ‘Move away from the Amalekites so we do not destroy you with them, for you were kind to the people of Israel when they came from Egypt.’ The Kenites listened to Saul and moved away immediately. From Havilah to Shur, east of Egypt, Saul cut down the Amalekites. He killed them all except King Agag, whom he captured and thus Saul disobeyed Adonai. Saul also disobeyed Adonai’s orders to destroy all their animals. Instead, he kept the best sheep, oxen and lambs and destroyed the others. Then Adonai told Samuel what had happened. ‘I’m sorry that I made Saul king, for he will not obey Me,’ Adonai said. Samuel was so upset when he heard what Adonai said that he cried out to Him all through the night. Early the next morning Samuel arose and went to search for Saul. ‘He went to Carmel earlier and built a monument to himself, someone told Samuel. Then he went down to Gilgal.’ Samuel kept searching until he found Saul. ‘I did exactly what Adonai said,’ Saul told Samuel when they met. ‘Is that so?’ said Samuel. ‘Then what is all the bleating of sheep and lowing of oxen that I hear?’ ‘Oh, those?’ Saul answered. ‘Those are just a few choice animals that my men brought here to sacrifice to Adonai. But we destroyed all the other animals.’ ‘Let me tell you what Adonai said about you last night!’ Samuel said. ‘Tell me!’ Saul asked anxiously. ‘When you were a nobody, Adonai made you king of Israel,’ said Samuel. ‘He gave you a job to do, telling you to destroy the Amalekites completely. Why didn’t you do as Adonai told you? Why did you steal the spoils and do what Adonai told you not to do?’ ‘But I did obey Adonai,’ Saul protested. ‘I went against the enemy as YHVH ordered. I killed everyone except King Agag. And I kept the spoils only because my men insisted that I keep them to sacrifice to Adonai at Gilgal.’ ‘Did you think your sacrifices would please Adonai as much as your obedience?’ Samuel asked. ‘It is much better to obey Him than to sacrifice. It is better to listen than to give Him the fat of rams. Rebellion is as bad as sorcery and stubbornness is as bad as sin and idolatry. Since you have rejected Him as Adonai, He has rejected you as king.’ ‘I have sinned!’ Saul confessed. ‘I have disobeyed Adonai and you, but only because I was afraid of my people and listened to them. Forgive me and go with me to worship Adonai.’ ‘No, I will not go with you,’ Samuel answered. ‘You have rejected Adonai’s Word, so He has already rejected you as king of Israel.’ As Samuel turned to leave, Saul clutched at his robe to keep him there and tore it. ‘Adonai has torn your kingdom from you today and has given it to a better man than you,’ said Samuel. ‘Adonai will not lie to you or change His mind about this.’ ‘I have sinned!’ Saul cried out again. ‘But show me some honour before my people and their leaders by going with me to worship Adonai.’ Then Samuel agreed and went with him. But when they arrived at the place of worship, Samuel had a surprise for Saul. ‘Bring King Agag to me!’ Samuel ordered. King Agag was cheerful when he came before Samuel, for he thought that he was safe now. ‘Surely the bitterness of death has passed by me,’ King Agag said. ‘No!’ said Samuel. ‘With your sword you have made many mothers childless. Now your own mother will be childless.’ Then Samuel cut Agag into pieces before Adonai at Gilgal. When Samuel left Gilgal, he went to Ramah and Saul returned home to Gibeah. Never again did Samuel see Saul until the day Samuel died, but he continued grieving for Saul. And Adonai continued to be sorry that He had made Saul king over Israel.”

COMMENTARY

SAUL’S KINGDOM

The king was supposed to lead YHVH’s people in His ways. But King Saul disobeyed YHVH by keeping some sheep, oxen and lambs which had belonged to the enemy. [You have rejected the Word of Adonai,] Samuel said angrily to Saul, [and Adonai has rejected you as king over Israel.] When Saul became king, the Israelite tribes united their fighting power behind a single leader for the first time in years. He established a capital at Gibeah and began to train an army. His soldiers had few weapons, but they managed to do together what the tribes alone could not do. Saul focused most of his strength against the Philistines, Israel’s most dangerous enemy. He did not end the Philistine threat; conflict continued throughout his reign; but battles such as those at Michmash and the Valley of Elab gradually broke the Philistines’ grip of power. The army forced them out of Israelite hill country and back to the coastal plain. The king also succeeded in pushing other enemies back to their traditional borders. These battles gave Israel control over five areas. Asher in the north extended down through the mountains of Galilee. Just south of this was the wide plain of Jezreel. Between Jezreel and the capital city were the wooded hills of Ephraim, where so many battles took place. Territory belonging to the tribes of Benjamin and Judah formed the southernmost region. Across the Jordan was the last area, the long strip of land called Gilead. Small areas in foreign control remained scattered throughout the country, but Saul ended the chaos of earlier years. Land where the Israelites lived was clearly under their control. Later kings used this as a foundation to make Israel even stronger.

"What availeth it my brethren, though a man saith, he hath faith, when he hath no works? can that faith save him?"

Ja 2

I’ve been struggling how to respond to a certain topic since I saw it in the rules on this site. I’ve heard of this in our movement just once before but apparently it’s got some fringe traction. And I’m talking about polygamy.

I used to go to a Sukkot where there was ONE husband and wife out of 1000 people who promoted polygamy. It was their hobby horse and really repulsed a lot of people. And, yes, they always corrected that it’s really polygyny, not polygamy. But I have to say that it’s just gross and creepy.

Polygamy has no place today. That's from a culture that hasn't existed for more than 2000 years. Yahweh permitted some patriarchs to have multiple spouses but we are not patriarchs. There’s something in our movement when people learn the truth of Torah all of a sudden they think they can not only live today like it’s the days of Abraham or Moses, they actually believe the can ACTUALLY BE Abraham or Moses. Brethren, just because we have a better handle on the scriptures than most doesn’t make us patriarchs. Heck, Paul didn’t even get married ONCE and none of us are fit to tie Paul’s sandals.

The men who push this in our movement today are creepy. The WOMEN who push it, just wow. None of the Apostles had multiple wives and if that was a thing in the 1st century, I'm not aware of it. And to slam this one home, there is no behavior under the sun in the last 70 years that screams CULT than a man having multiple wives or concubines. So can we just unite for once and say “no”?

The Torah Portion reading for this week is now up on our app and website. Give it a look! www.triumphintruth.global/torah

Happy purim to those that observe!

In the parable of the royal wedding feast in Matthew 22:1-14, who is the guest without wedding clothes? How did he get into the feast and where exactly does the king command his servants to throw him?
#yeshua #biblestudy

https://rumble.com/v2bv4ec-who....-is-the-guest-withou

Anyone else feeling like there's a trap that is close to being sprung?

When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the LORD when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them.
#exodus 30:12

The census was set between the atonement for the priests and the atonement for the people. It was an integral part of the process of atonement. The 1/2 shekel tax that was used to take the census in Exodus 30:11-16 is a token given in place of the donor's blood, but it is also a statement of willingness to give all if necessary. Silver symbolizes blood and the atonement and redemption that is enabled by blood. The exact same amount of silver required of each man means that the same blood atones for all. Atonement doesn't cost more for the rich or poor, the criminal or the police.

https://soilfromstone.blogspot.....com/2009/03/judgmen

SERIES I --- THE NATION UNITES --- LESSON 15

SAUL’S OATH

A TASTE OF HONEY

From 1 Samuel 14:24-52

Saul was so excited about his victory over the Philistines that he made a foolish vow. ‘By evening I will have revenge on the Philistines,’ he said. ‘Whoever eats food before evening will have a curse upon him.’ Even though Saul’s men found honeycomb in the forest that day, they would not eat it, for they were all afraid of Saul’s foolish vow. But Jonathan had not heard the vow, so when he found a honeycomb, he dipped a stick into the honey and ate some of it. Like the rest of the men, Jonathan was tired and weakened from fighting the Philistines. The honey gave Jonathan immediate energy and his eyes brightened. ‘Your father made a vow!’ someone told Jonathan. ‘He put a curse on anyone who eats food today.’ ‘My father’s vow is foolish,’ Jonathan answered. ‘Do you see how my strength has revived since I ate some honey? Think how much greater our victory would be if the men could eat some of the food we took from the Philistines.’ Saul’s men kept on fighting with what little strength they had left, cutting down the Philistines all that day, from Michmash to Aijalon. But as the day wore on, they grew more faint. At last, when evening came and the time of the vow had ended, Saul’s men were so hungry that they butchered some sheep, oxen and calves that they had captured from the Philistines and began to eat the raw meat with blood in it. Someone told Saul about this and reminded him that it was considered a sin to eat bloody meat. ‘They can’t do that!’ Saul said. ‘Roll a big stone over here to me. Then go out among the men and tell them to butcher their animals here and drain the blood from the meat so that we don’t sin against Adonai.’ When the men had finished, Saul built his first altar to Adonai there. ‘Now let’s keep on chasing the Philistines tonight,’ said Saul. ‘By morning we will have complete victory over them.’ ‘We’ll do whatever you think is best,’ the men answered. But the priest who was with them restrained them. ‘We must first ask YHVH what to do,’ he said. Saul asked Adonai what they should do. ‘If we pursue the Philistines tonight, will You go with us and give us victory?’ Saul asked. But Adonai would not answer. ‘Someone has sinned,’ Saul said to the leaders. ‘Gather all the men and we will find out who he is. Whoever is guilty will die, even if it is my own son Jonathan.’ Although Saul’s men knew, not one of them would tell him that Jonathan had eaten the honey. ‘Stand over there,’ Saul told his men. ‘Jonathan and I will stand over here.’ ‘We will do whatever you think is right,’ the people responded. Then Saul prayed. ‘Adonai, YHVH of Israel, show us why You have not answered. Show us who has sinned. If Jonathan or I have sinned, show us when I cast lots. But if the sin is among our people, then let the lots show us that when I cast them.’ When the lots were cast, they showed that the guilt was on Saul and Jonathan instead of the people. ‘Now we will cast lots to show which of us is guilty,’ said Saul. When they did, the lots revealed that the guilt was on Jonathan. ‘What have you done?’ Saul asked Jonathan. ‘I ate some honey,’ Jonathan answered. ‘I picked up a little on the end of a stick and ate it. But I’m ready to die if I must.’ ‘You must die!’ said Saul. ‘May YHVH strike me dead if you don’t.’ But the people did not like this. ‘Why should Jonathan, who saved Israel today, die because he ate some honey? This must never happen! Not one hair of his head will be lost, for he has brought a great victory to Israel.’ The people saved Jonathan from execution. But Saul would not go after the Philistines and they fled in safety to their homes. Now that Saul, as king, had united his own people behind him, he turned his attention to fighting Israel’s enemies; the Moabites, Ammonites, the people of Edom, the kings of Zobah and the Philistines. Saul had many victories, conquering the Amalekites and saving the Israelites from those who held them in bondage. Saul’s three sons were Jonathan, Ishvi and Malchishua and his daughters were Merab and Michal. His wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaz. The commander-in-chief of his army was his cousin Abner, son of his Uncle Ner. Ner was a brother of Saul’s father Kish and their father was Abiel. As long as Saul was king, there was a constant struggle between the Israelites and the Philistines. Whenever Saul found a strong, courageous young Israelite man, he drafted him into his army.

COMMENTARY

SAUL’S FAMILY

While the Israelite army was pursuing the fleeing Philistines, Saul commanded the soldiers not to eat until nightfall and to continue to pursue and kill the enemy. Saul never expected Jonathan, his son to disobey this order by eating some honey. Would Saul punish his own son, the man YHVH had used to bring victory? A foolish oath was soon to bring grief and shame to the royal family. Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin, descendants of Jacob’s youngest son. Saul’s father was a wealthy land owner, who raised Saul to continue as a farmer, but neither Saul nor any of his six children would earn their fame as farmers. Saul’s oldest son aided him in commanding the Israelite army. Although he was heir to his father’s throne, Jonathan never inherited it. He and two younger brothers, Abinadab and Malchishua, died at the hands of Philistine warriors. The youngest son, Ishbosheth, sometimes called Eshbaal, ruled for a brief time at Saul’s death. Saul’s oldest daughter, Merab, married Adriel, a wealthy man in a town across the Jordan. Another daughter, Michal and David were at first happily married, but Saul’s hatred allowed them to live together for only a short time. When David replaced Saul as Israel’s king, historians began to record David’s family tree. Saul’s descendants after that were recorded only through his eldest son Jonathan.

The message, "Be the Salt & Light," was delivered on location at 60 Bailey Ave., Manchester, NH for First Fruits Ministries Sabbath celebration of March 3, 2023: https://bit.ly/3Zqowgg.

For the presentation transcript, download the PDF here: https://bit.ly/3mur3Y1

Sermons at First Fruits Ministries are based on weekly Torah Portion readings announced each week in the church bulletin. This week's messages are based on: Exodus 27:20-30:10; 1 Samuel 15:1-34; Ezekiel 43:10-27; Matthew 5:13-20; Hebrews 13:10-16 (https://bit.ly/3J7rBMo).