Humility
So the last shall be first, and the first last.”
Matthew 20:17 NASB
King Saul ascended to greatness, but was never a great man. Instead of living with humility and gratitude for his opportunities, he lived the tragic life of presumption. He presumed to decide which of God’s commands he would follow and which he wouldn’t. God told him to utterly destroy the Amalekites-he chose to spare some of them and keep the spoils of battle. On another occasion, he presumed to offer sacrifices unto the Lord, a task that was reserved for the priests. The psalmist wrote, “Also keep back Thy servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.” (Psalm 19:13 NASB) A prayer Saul would have done well to pray. Instead, he gave into his base desires. Deut. 17:12 gives the penalty for presumptuous sin, it says, “And the man who acts presumptuously by not listening to the priest who stands there to serve the Lord your God, nor to the judge, that man shall die; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel.” (NASB) In falling on his own weapon, Saul was executing the judgement of Deuteronomy 17.
Saul’s tragic life proves the old adage, “evil carries within itself the seed of its own destruction.” Saul’s presumptuous life ended at his own hands. His remains would fall into the hands of the Philistines who would make a spectacle out of them to bring great shame upon the people of God.
What a waste, Saul could have been so much more if only he hadn’t tried to be so much. I don’t think he ever fully understood that he simply had stewardship over his throne, it didn’t belong to him. Because he exalted himself, he was abased. Too bad he didn’t humble himself so that he could have been a blessed tool of God.
Jim L. Wilson, Fresh Start Devotionals (Fresno, CA: Willow City Press, 2009).
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