Summary:
We look at two kings - David and Saul, the decisions they made and the qualities they had that led to their respective ends. Two characteristics of Saul that caused him to change for the worse: (a) God was not his priority; (b) He was always unrepentant.
Let’s reflect on ourselves in these aspects. Will we become a Saul or David?

Can/do people change?

Sometimes we think people really change because of the rapidly changing environment. They have no choice but to change. But others think: “No, it’s difficult for a person to change!” That’s why we hear phrases like “this stubborn old man!” “He’s so rigid in his ways.” “So and so is always like that. This is his normal operating behaviour.” Sometimes we also use this as an excuse for ourselves! “I can’t change. So just accept this. I’m born this way. I’ve been like this since I was young. This is me!”

But the Bible constantly gives us examples of people who have changed. This could’ve happened throughout the whole lives of the individual or at a particular point of time. There have been people who were selfish and only did things for themselves. But over time, they learnt the true treasure of holding on to God and changed. While there were others who were rash and always acted on impulse, but when the Holy Spirit came, people like the disciple Peter were filled with boldness and wisdom to expound on the word of God. These are examples of people who have changed for the better. But there are also examples of people who have turned for the worse. There are people who started off with very admirable traits, some of which we as Christians might not even have. But this person would continue down a road towards destruction, their traits getting worse and worse.

This sermon will discuss two kings in the Bible and the changes in their individual character and traits through their lives.

King Saul

Many of us remember how evil Saul was. We remember how, because of his deep jealousy of David, he even went against his own son Jonathan and tried to pin him with a spear. We also remember Saul for his cowardly behaviour when Goliath challenged the people of Israel and blasphemed God. While he himself was a man of great stature, he didn’t stand up to fight. More importantly, we remember clearly how Saul was disobedient to God. That led to his kingdom not lasting. His end was so tragic; we can sense he had no support whatsoever around him. He had already lost God; God was no longer abiding with him. His own son Jonathan went against him to protect David, his enemy. If we think about what happened to Saul close to his end, where he had no one to turn to, we see that he turned to a soothsayer. All this ultimately led to his own death. But we must recall that while this was his tragic end, Saul wasn’t always such an evil character. In fact when he started out, he had admirable traits that we as Christians ought to emulate too.

Let’s look at some examples from which we should learn, taken from the early stages of Saul’s life.

1. Obedient and considerate

1 Sam 9:3-5
3 Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. And Kish said to his son Saul, “Please take one of the servants with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.”
4 So he passed through the mountains of Ephraim and through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them.
5 When they had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us return, lest my father cease caring about the donkeys and become worried about us.”

When Saul was instructed by his father to look for the donkeys, which wasn’t an easy task (he spent days going through several lands to find them), we see Saul was one obedient to his father. Not only was he obedient to his father, he was also considerate about the feelings and thoughts his father might have (v5). “I’ve been away from home for so long. What would my father think?”
As teenagers, when we’re out late, would we be concerned that our parents would be worried we’re still out? How many of us would take the time to text them to tell them what’s going on or that we’ll be back later or are we too busy to think about them worrying? Saul was concerned for his father.

2. Humble

1 Sam 10:20-27
20 And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.
21 When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was chosen. And Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they sought him, he could not be found.
22 Therefore they inquired of the Lord further, “Has the man come here yet?” And the Lord answered, “There he is, hidden among the equipment.”
23 So they ran and brought him from there; and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.
24 And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?” So all the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”
25 Then Samuel explained to the people the behavior of royalty, and wrote it in a book and laid it up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.
26 And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and valiant men went with him, whose hearts God had touched.
27 But some rebels said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.

When the lot for the king was drawn and Saul was picked, he was nowhere to be found. He was hiding amongst the equipment; he didn’t want to show off. It’s important to think deeper about what pride does to someone. When a person’s pride is hurt because someone is better than him, and someone says he’s not good, how would he react? v27 We see how the people rebels said, “How can this man save us?” But he held his peace. Often a proud man will act in an angry fashion. Pride leads to jealousy and even anger when one’s pride is insulted. The fact he held his peace wasn’t for show; it was not fake humility; it was not humble bragging.

1 Sam 11:12-14
12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is he who said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.”
13 But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has accomplished salvation in Israel.”
14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there.”

After the people were victorious, they felt that the rebels who had insulted Saul in v27 earlier should be punished. But Saul again held his peace. This convinces us that Saul truly had humility.
That was a double confirm. To triple confirm, God Himself said, through Samuel, that Saul saw himself as little in his own eyes. (1 Sam 15:17 So Samuel said, “When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel?)
He truly was humble at the start.

Not only was Saul obedient and considerate of his parents, he was one who was not prideful but humble. He wasn’t vengeful as a result of his pride.

3. Courageous

Saul was also one who was courageous. If we continue reading chapter 11, we see how the spirit of God came upon Saul and how he told the people they had to unite together.

1 Sam 11:6
Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard this news, and his anger was greatly aroused.

Saul was one who was courageous and fought for the people of God. He was someone moved for the people of God.

Today, do we as Christians also have such good attributes and traits?

Sadly, as he continued to reign as king, he started to change. The good traits he had had slowly withered and he became very evil. He wasn’t proud at the beginning but when it came to the time of David, he started to become jealous. This stemmed from pride, where he thought “How can someone be better than me?” His pride was bad to such an extent that it caused him to even want to kill his own son Jonathan. He even tried to use his daughter‘s love for David to get David in a position that would put his life at risk. He said he would give his daughter to David if David did some very dangerous task.

Saul was also disobedient to God. Being disobedient to God is connected to being disobedient to parents and the elderly. The Bible tells us the source of honouring our parents is our fear of God. We must rise before the grey headed because we must fear God. But Saul’s sin was being disobedient to God; to the Ancient of days the ‘most grey headed of all’.

While he was moved by the Spirit of God in the early days and was courageous to fight for God, God’s spirit later left him and a distressing spirit came upon him. While he was courageous then, the incident of Goliath later on is a display of his lack of bravery.

We notice the changes of such a good person. It wasn’t sudden, it happened over time.

Two reasons why Saul changed for the worse:

1. God was not his priority. God was not important to him. He didn’t place God as his only vision. To Saul, it was out of sight, out of mind. His thoughts were probably as such, “If no one mentions God, I don’t think about Him. But if someone does, ok lorh, I’ll consider it.”

1 Sam 9:6-10
6 And he said to him, “Look now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man; all that he says surely comes to pass. So let us go there; perhaps he can show us the way that we should go.”
7 Then Saul said to his servant, “But look, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread in our vessels is all gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?”
8 And the servant answered Saul again and said, “Look, I have here at hand one-fourth of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man of God, to tell us our way.”
9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus: “Come, let us go to the seer”; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.)
10 Then Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

Going back to the incident of the donkeys, we find that it was actually Saul’s servant who brought up the fact that the man of God was nearby and suggested looking for him. Saul was a bit hesitant, because he felt he had nothing to bring and didn’t know if God would accept him if this was the case.

Another example that clearly shows God wasn’t his priority and wasn’t foremost in his mind is recorded in 1 Sam 14:35.
Then Saul built an altar to the Lord. This was the first altar that he built to the Lord.

If we were to read this verse on its own, we may think it’s a good thing because this was the first altar Saul built for God. But if we read v4 we see this wasn’t the first time Saul fought a battle for God. Before he built an altar, he had made a rash vow that no man should eat any food before they had overcome the enemies. When the people were so hungry, they ate the animals without removing the blood and Saul had to stop them to get rid of the blood first. Probably, since a large stone had already been prepared to kill the animals, he decided that he might as well use it as an altar for God. The first altar Saul built was almost as an afterthought. He didn’t think deeply about it. His thoughts might have been, “It’s there already, ok la. I’ll dedicate my first altar to God.”

If we think deeper, Saul had the spirit of God in him. He experienced God’s power working with him and around him. After experiencing all the workings of God, how could he not make God a priority? This is an important point for us to consider as well because we may have received the Holy Spirit, and have experienced God working through or around us. But have we placed God truly as a priority? Or do we only come for service and worship God as an afterthought?

King David

David was the exact opposite from Saul. From a young age, he had experienced the workings of God. He was a shepherd. When the sheep was taken away by bears and lions, he relied on God to rescue the sheep. He was one who received the spirit of God upon anointing. This was at a young age. But what’s most precious about David was his attitude towards God. We examine his thoughts towards God. There are many we can learn from, but for the purposes of this sermon, only two will be picked out.

Psa 16:2
O my soul, you have said to the Lord,
“You are my Lord,
My goodness is nothing apart from You.”

From his soul, David says God is his Lord. “My goodness is nothing apart from you.” All the goodness I have in this world is nothing if I don’t have you. Or all the good character I have is nothing if I don’t have you. This was David. God was his priority. God was his vision.

Psa 63:1
O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.

Here he says to God “I will seek you early”. Whether it’s early in one’s lifetime or early in a day, he wants to seek God. Unlike Saul who didn’t treat God as a priority in his life, David treated God as the first thing he must seek in his life. God was always foremost in David’s mind.

Hymn 452: “Be thou my vision” - that was probably David’s hope towards God.

Back to Saul: why did he change for the worse?

2. He was always unrepentant and gave excuses.

Saul did not want to admit his own mistakes and admit he was wrong even when sin was pointed out to him. We see this at least twice, in 1 Sam 13 and 1 Sam 15. Every time it was pointed out he was wrong, he would make excuses such as, “Samuel, it’s because you were late! The people were leaving me! I was afraid! So I offered sacrifices to God.”
Or when he didn’t annihilate the Amalekites and kept the best sheep, Samuel told him to (in a not so nice phrase) ‘shut up’, Saul said it was the people who had wanted the sheep and he was afraid that the soldiers would go against him. It was because of this kind of attitude of always giving excuses, not acknowledging the sin he had and the need to repent, which was why it was no wonder he would continue in a downward spiral. His character and traits became worse and worse.

Again in contrast, we think about David. David committed very grave sins against Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah. More importantly, he realised it was a very great sin against God. He didn’t realise it at the beginning but when it was pointed out to him, he was truly in deep repentance. He was in deep sorrow; in the Psalms we see how his tears flooded the bed - he truly was in deep repentance.

The two points are related. If one does not prioritise God, it is not likely he will admit his sins and seek His forgiveness.

We have contrasted these two kings - Saul and David. One had a downward spiral. The other grew and grew and got closer to God. Saul’s downward spiral was because he didn’t prioritise God. Secondly, he wasn’t willing to admit his mistakes and repent. We’ve also seen what David did, which was the opposite of Saul.

Now, we need to direct the attention to ourselves and our own lives. Have we been changing over the course of our lives? If there’s been a change, is it a change for the better or worse? Or if we have remained the same, are we always using the same excuse of “I’m born this way. I’m always like that.”? If we don’t change for the better, is it because we don’t prioritise God? Even if we may have received the Holy Spirit, even if we are listening to this sermon right now, is God really a foremost priority? Saying “I’m always like that” means we’re not willing to admit our weakness and truly repent.

If we think about David, he had those two qualities. He truly repented. God was his priority; God was whom he sought early in his life and throughout his life. As a result, he grew more and more virtuous, although his life was not always plain sailing.
Sometimes we say our environment is very hard so we have no choice but to use maybe sneaky ways to live. But David’s life wasn’t always smooth sailing too. Yet, if we look at the trajectory of his life, he grew more and more courageous because he trusted God in his life. Because he knew that if he could experience God while he was a shepherd, he could fight Goliath. What was Goliath compared to a lion and a bear? Although David sometimes grew proud (because power naturally makes a person proud - we see this when he went to number his people to see how strong his army was), yet we also know David learnt to be humble.

Psa 131:1-2
1 Lord, my heart is not haughty,
Nor my eyes lofty.
Neither do I concern myself with great matters,
Nor with things too profound for me.
2 Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,
Like a weaned child with his mother;
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.

In this Psalm, David no longer has lofty thoughts. He has quieted his soul like a child weaned from his mother.
David learnt to be humble in his life. Of course he’s one obedient to God and treasured the abidance of the Holy Spirit. While the Spirit of god came upon Saul and he did great works, Saul didn’t treasure God’s spirit.

Psa 51 is a psalm of repentance. He asked God to create in him a new heart but also that God won’t take the Holy Spirit away from him. Unlike Saul who had the Holy Spirit taken away from him.

Both Saul and David changed in their lives. But David’s trajectory always went upwards. Yes he sinned but he repented and always got up.

What about us? As we sing the closing hymn (224: Search Me, O God), let us ask God to search us.

Let us honestly ask ourselves if God is our priority. Let us honestly ask ourselves if we have admitted our wrong and truly repented. So we can all be better and meet each other in the Kingdom of Heaven.