While silk flowers sometimes appear real, they possess none of the beauty and quality of a real flower.
"By this point in the story, Saul is an absolute mess spiritually"--Dr. Stanley. No doubt, most of us tend to give more attention to our physical bodies, our clothes, the state of our homes, and vehicles, than we do our spiritual condition. If Saul had made his relationship with God his priority, the account of his life would have read much differently. Fear was evidently the common thread in Saul's life. As Dr. Stanley brings out, "If we do not deal with our fear by bringing it to the Lord, it will eventually crush us".
Saul allowed fear to once again control him by taking matters into his own hands. Saul was unstable. He had obviously done the right thing by putting the mediums and spiritists out of the land. Now we see him motivated by fear of the Philistine army and seeking out a medium to inquire about the outcome of the battle. Saul had experienced God not answering him. Instead of humbling himself, praying, repenting, and turning back to God--he sought spiritual help away from God. Once again, he failed to wait on God and took action that was contrary to God's way.
Proverbs 16:6, says "And by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil". Respect for God should lead to obedience toward Him, laying a solid foundation for our lives. Saul evidently did not seek this solid ground. Failing to know God keeps us from the atonement He provides for iniquity and makes us oblivious to God's mercy and truth (also Proverbs 16:6). In Psalm 61:2, we read, "When my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I". Saul's enemy, David, wrote this Psalm which emphasizes the spiritual difference in the lives of these two men. David had a "history" with God--he goes on to say, "For you have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy". Saul had a history of doing things his way and the Spirit of God had left him earlier in his rebellion. This Psalm reveals that David not only trusted God in the past, but planned to trust Him in the future: "I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings". (What is our history and what are our plans?)
I think it's interesting that in today's study Saul goes to the medium at night and in John 3, we read that Nicodemus sought out Jesus by night. Saul was seeking spiritual help as was Nicodemus. Saul, however, ended up with a counterfeit, while Nicodemus encountered the Truth. We, like Saul, will not find true spiritual help apart from God--apart from Truth. There are many spiritual counterfeits in the world today that appeal to people for different reasons. However, they will fail to deliver. God is the only source of spiritual help. Pride no doubt played a role in Saul's bypassing God. Rather than seeking God, Saul wanted to control how he went about meeting his own spiritual needs. He only received further condemnation for his trouble.
John 3:18, reveals that when we put our faith in Jesus, we will never be condemned. This is not easy for us to grasp! To live in the liberty of Christ where all our spiritual needs are met is an astounding possibility. To accept this reality is a matter of humility--recognizing our need for repentance--recognizing our need for a Savior. Jesus assures us in verse 17 that God did not send Him into the world to condemn us, but that through Him we might be saved. The "might be" depends on us--it's there for us if we do not allow our pride to keep us from God as Saul did.
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