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10 signs from Saul's life that point to a leader "losing it."
1. The ministry he leads moves from being about the name of God to the name of the leader.
Matthew 7:12
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
(Compare I Samuel 14:35 with I Samuel 15:12!)
2. He gets impatient with the process that God is taking him through and thereby tries to "make something happen" rather than waiting on God's timing.
I Samuel 15:5-10
5 Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine.
6 Then he said to the Kenites, "Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt." So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.
7 Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt.
8 He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword.
9 But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.
10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel:
3. He makes self-centered leadership decisions that slow down the people he works with rather than empowering them.
I Samuel 15:24
Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them.
(notice the references to himself in this verse.)
4. He refuses to completely obey God because it places him in an uncomfortable situation.
I Samuel 15:1-9
1 Samuel said to Saul, "I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord.
2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt.
3 Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’"
4 So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim—two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand from Judah.
5 Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine.
6 Then he said to the Kenites, "Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt." So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.
7 Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt.
8 He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword.
9 But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.
5. He allows fear of man to trump his fear of God.
I Samuel 15:24
Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them.
6. He refuses to take action and deal with the obvious issue in front of him and if anyone attempts to do so he is quick to tell them they cannot!
I Samuel 17:32-33
32 David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."
33 Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth."
7. He cannot celebrate the success of others.
I Samuel 18:8-9
8 Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. "They have credited David with tens of thousands," he thought, "but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?"
9 And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.
8. He tries to discredit/destroy anyone or anything that looks like it is successful apart from him.
Saul actually became more obsessed with destroying David than he did leading the kingdom!
I Samuel 18:10-11
10 The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand
11 and he hurled it, saying to himself, "I’ll pin David to the wall." But David eluded him twice.
9. He resorts to trying to see the spectacular apart from the presence of God.
(I Samuel 28)
10. He refuses to deal with his issues.
The truth is, his jealousy, insecurity, disobedience and self-reliance is not only going to cost him but cost others as well!
I Samuel 31:1-3
1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa.
2 The Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua.
3 The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically.
Are we on the same boat?
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