Sheep in the Jungle • 1 Samuel 31

39:07 Teaching begins

Notes

When you are a sheep and you live in the jungle being nice and civilised is no advantage. That only makes you die faster. Sheep don’t have natural defences.

Nice and civilised is not the goal for you if you want to live. What a sheep in the jungle needs is a shepherd. The shepherd has the defence, the offence, the pasture, the watering.

This chapter is hard to teach because it’s a chapter with no hope. There’s only death, destruction, dishonour, and grief.

Even so we can listen to what it says and learn: it’s not enough in the jungle to be civilised and nice. A sheep has to have a shepherd and stay close to him and listen to him. If you wander away from your shepherd you will die. That’s the law of the jungle.

Do not choose to be a sheep alone in the jungle.

I’m reading in 1 Samuel 31.

1. The Philistines completely defeat Israel and kill Saul and three of his sons, vv. 1-6.

A. At first it seems the men of Israel engage with the Philistines on the valley floor. But there the Philistines prove to be too powerful. Israel flees back to Mount Gilboa, where they were camped. It’s easier to defend because the Philistines have to attack uphill. But even then the Philistines are wiping out Israel.

B. Their main strategy is to focus on Saul and his sons. If you kill the leadership then resistance evaporates. The biblical way to express this is in Zechariah 13:7 Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered.

C. First they kill three of Saul’s sons, then they go after Saul himself. The archers find him as a target and hit him badly. He’s in great pain and suffering.

D. He asks his armour bearer to kill him because these Philistines are uncircumcised. That means they have no relationship with God. They don’t live under God’s law, which would mean they would practice mercy, grace, love, compassion. Saul doesn’t expect any mercy from them. They are merciless, brutal, cruel.

E. Saul prevents his torture by falling on his sword. The armour bearer feels the same way: death is preferable to the Philistines mistreating him for sport.

F. So it’s a complete loss for Israel, a complete win for Philistia.

2. Now the Philistines begin raking in their winnings, vv. 7-10.

A. They start with stripping the dead the next day. You get their armour, their weapons, their clothing, anything of value, you get to take it. In days to come they will take whole towns and villages because Israel has no leader to stand up to the Philistines. The Israelites flee and leave everything.

B. They find Saul and his sons, cut off their heads, and take them and their weapons and bodies as trophies.

C. They preach the good news all over Philistia and in the temples of their gods. Our gods are better than their God. We’re victorious! We proved we’re better than them. We have more stuff. We win, they lose. This is great.

D. Israel is scattered, leaderless, weak, degraded, impoverished. It’s a mess.

3. All this begs a few questions.

A. Like what was this war about? It was about the Philistines attacking Israel to take their things.

1. Israel is weaker than Philistia. The rule is: you always attack those weaker than you. You never attack a strong nation or empire to take their things. You’ll lose. That means competition without mercy.

2. You want what they have. The rule is: why do they have it and not me? I should have it. That’s called coveting.

3. The next rule is: if you want it, and you think you’re strong enough, you should take it. If you can intimidate your prey, then you get what you want without having to fight. This is called stealing.

4. The next rule is: But if it comes to battle, kill the people whose things you want. The strong win, the weak die. This is called murder.

B. This is the law of the jungle. This is how people live without God. They live like merciless animals. Saul wanted to avoid being tortured for fun while he was dying. How much pain could he endure? We’ll see what kind of a man he is!

4. But then why did Saul lose? Israel was defeated because of its own choice: they wanted to be like all the nations.

A. Back in chapter 8 Samuel’s sons are not trustworthy and Samuel’s getting old. So the elders of Israel ask Samuel to make them a king who will go before us and fight out battles like all the nations.

B. God tells Samuel, do what they say. Tell them how a king will take from them and they will regret it. But realise they are not rejecting you, they’re rejecting Me that I should reign over them.

C. You see, Israel wants to pick and choose.

1. All the good things that Israel had came from God. Peace, prosperity, no trouble from the Philistines, God solved that decades ago.

2. But it would be fun to have a king like all the other nations, someone we could see who could be impressive and go before us and fight our battles. Take responsibility for us.

3. So we want the good things of God and we want our own way at the same time.

4. But no man can go two directions at the same time. You either go one way or the other but not both. And they chose their way. They chose to be like all the nations.

D. God let them have a man who was just like them. He accepted the good things of God, the kingship, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and then he went after his own will. That is not pursuing the law, the will of God, the way He wants you to live. That’s pursuing the law of the jungle. Me first.

1. Saul’s first great crisis as king was dealing with Nahash the Ammonite attacking Jabesh-gilead. Nahash was another law of the jungle type. He attacked Jabesh-gilead to bring shame on all Israel. He was putting himself up by putting others around him down.

2. The Holy Spirit came upon Saul mightily, enabling Saul to be such a leader and planner as to unite all Israel to come against Nahash and wipe him out.

3. But then Saul didn’t seek God after that. He did his own will, he partially disobeyed God, then he completely disobeyed God. God fired Saul but he wouldn’t get off the throne. God spared Saul’s life twice through David, Saul doesn’t repent and get off the throne. No. Not listening to God is the law of the jungle.

E. So Saul is met by the Philistines and they’re full on law of the jungle types, merciless and cruel. Saul has chosen that way for himself, only he was just a nice law of the jungle type. That means he’s in the jungle defenceless, a sheep for the slaughter.

5. That’s what makes it so touching and emotional that the men of Jabesh-gilead show mercy and respect to Saul, vv. 11-13.

A. They hear the news of Saul’s death and degradation and they say that’s not right. They do something about it: travel all night, get the bodies off the wall. Burn them clean, bury their bones with honour and mourning.

B. They remembered how Saul saved them when they were threatened by Nahash the bully. They remembered the mercy, the kindness, the relief, when all Israel pulled together as one and saved them all. It’s natural for them to show love and honour and respect.

C. It reminds us: when Saul responded to the Holy Spirit coming mightily upon him to save the Jabesh-gileadites, then God’s people were not sheep for the slaughter but the very opposite: sheep with a shepherd.

6. So what?

A. You can either be a sheep in the jungle, for the slaughter, or a sheep with a shepherd, but you can’t be both.

B. Why would you want to be both? Because you want the good bits of both.

1. People like the love, the joy, the peace. Forgiveness, fellowship with others, relationship.

2. But you also like doing your own thing, making your own choices about what you want to do. Freedom.

3. There will be things you don’t like about following Jesus, that you maybe don’t want to do. You will be persecuted if you live godly in Christ Jesus. It will cost you your life. You must deny yourself, pick up your cross daily, and follow Jesus. It’s different things for different people, some don’t like continually reading the Bible. Praying, witnessing, giving money, loving people that you don’t like.

4. There are the bad points about doing your own thing. There’s the destruction that sin brings. There’s slavery to sin. There’s all the side effects that accompany sin. Guilt, regret, sorrow, discouragement, that sense of isolation, and being far away from God.

5. What some people think without thinking it through, is that you can somehow choose the good parts of both ways and make it all work.

C. The point here is embrace all of Jesus’ way. The parts you like and those that you don’t. Don’t go halfway. Go one way or the other, but you can’t mix them. If you try then you you will find that you don’t have God. Saul and Israel are the proof.

D. If you are picking and choosing what parts of following Jesus you like and which you don’t, you’re choosing to be a sheep under the law of the jungle. You are really deciding to be a sheep for the slaughter just like Israel did. It doesn’t matter that you are a nice sheep. You have no shepherd and no protection. In the jungle, nice is a liability, not an asset. Nice just means you die faster.

E. If you have received Jesus, you are a sheep with a shepherd.

1. He said I am with you to the end of the age. Thank God for that today. Do not be afraid of the law of the jungle types because you have a shepherd. Don’t let them intimidate you. Ask your Shepherd to take care of them. Their time is coming.

2. What do you do about a heart that kind of wants to go with Jesus and kind of doesn’t? You pray what David prayed in Psalm 86:11-13 Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and will glorify Your name forever. For Your lovingkindness toward me is great, and You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

F. If you haven’t received Jesus you are a sheep alone in the jungle. There’s no mercy, no kindness, no forgiveness, no future, because God is not with you there. If you stay alone out in the jungle you will die forever. Come in out of the jungle, and come under the lordship and authority of Jesus, because He wants you to.

Let’s pray.