“‘I didn’t start consulting God for him just today. Heaven forbid! The king shouldn’t accuse me or my father’s family of anything! Your servant knows nothing at all about any of this!’ But the king said, ‘You must die, you and your father’s whole family.'”-1 Samuel 22:15-16
Saul has just accused the High Priest Achimelech of betrayal.
Achimelech pushes back by asserting his innocence.
“The king shouldn’t accuse me
or my father’s family of anything!
Your servant knows nothing
at all about any of this!”
But Saul wasn’t having any of it.
In his state of delusion, Saul couldn’t trust anyone anymore.
The evil inclination in his soul had completely taken over.
Saul tells Achimelech…
“You must die.
You and your father’s
whole family.”
WOW!
I hope you’re grasping the horrible significance of what’s just happened.
Saul had condemned Achimelech’s family…
But not just that.
He had condemned his father’s family as well.
In other words, Saul had just ordered the elimination of the entire priesthood.
Not because of lawlessness…
Or because they had failed to serve the people of Israel…
Or because of some great sin against God…
But simply because they had shown kindness to David…
A person whom Saul in his paranoia had deemed his sworn enemy.
There’s a huge takeaway here and I hope you catch it.
In the beginning, Saul started life off as an innocent young lad.
While still a young teenager, God through the prophet Samuel chose him to be king.
Saul was described as tall and handsome and was loved by the people (mainly the Northern Coalition).
His reign began with promise as he led Israel to victories against its enemies, including the Ammonites and Philistines.
However, Saul’s downfall began when he disobeyed God’s command to completely destroy the Amalekites and their possessions.
He spared their king, Agag, and some of the best livestock, which angered God and led to Samuel prophesying that Saul’s kingdom would not endure.
After that, Saul’s mental state deteriorated over time.
He became increasingly paranoid and jealous of David to the point where he sought to kill the son of Jesse, forcing him to flee and become an outlaw.
All of this would have never happened had Saul not adopted a careless and casual attitude towards God’s commands in the first place.
That’s the insidious nature of sin.
It starts small…
You break one small command here…
And another one there.
Over time, you begin to adopt a frivolous attitude toward God’s instructions about how to live a holy life…
And before you know it, you’ve completely turned yourself over to the dark side.
Like Cain who let his jealousy get out of control to the point where he murdered his brother.
Or like Saul here, whose out-of-control hatred and paranoia will lead to the death of Israel’s entire priesthood.
Ya feeling me?
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