Passage: 1 Samuel 31

Join us as our pastor, Jonathan Brooks, teaches on 1 Samuel 31. As we come to the end of Saul’s life, we see the fruit of a faithless life. This is the outcome of a life filled with unrepentant sin and a life that took obedience to the Lord lightly. This is the judgment of God against a man who made his rule all about himself instead of the glory of God and the good of his people.

Therefore, the narrative of Saul’s death – the fruit of a faithless life – serves two purposes: It definitively proves that God had removed his favor from Saul; he was no longer the man God desired to be on the throne. And, second, the end of Saul’s life serves as a warning to us. It serves as a warning against how we ought to shape our own lives, but also a warning about in whom we ought to put our trust. What kind of man should we look to?

So, let’s work our way through chapter 31 and see the fruit of a faithless leader of God’s people. And, we should let these three tragic outcomes serve as a warning to us for how we conduct our own lives and in whom we are willing to place our trust and confidence. In the end, these are the three outcomes of a faithless leader of God’s people:
  1. Driven by Fear of Man (1-5)
  2. Downfall Destroys Others (6-7)
  3. Degrades God’s Name (8-10)