The Anatomy of a Failing Success: Text: 1 Samuel 14:47-52
Introduction: The Kingdom of Man's Choice
We live in an age that is obsessed with metrics. We want to see the numbers. We want to know the poll results, the economic indicators, the quarterly reports, the box office returns. We have been trained to measure success by what is visible, what is quantifiable, and what is impressive to the eye. If the kingdom is growing, if the enemies are being pushed back, if the administration is staffed with strong men, then we conclude that all is well. By all the world's standards, this is what success looks like.
And this is precisely why the Word of God is so jarring to our modern sensibilities. It consistently forces us to look underneath the hood. It compels us to check the foundations, not just admire the paint job. The people of Israel had demanded a king "like all the nations." And in Saul, God gave them exactly what they asked for. He was tall, he was handsome, he was a warrior. He looked the part. And as we come to this summary statement at the end of chapter 14, we see a resume that any worldly head of state would be proud of. He fought, he won, he punished his enemies, he consolidated power, he built a standing army. By all outward appearances, the project of the Israelite monarchy was a rousing success.
But we know the rest of the story. We know that this entire enterprise is rotting from the inside out. This passage is a description of a hollow crown. It is a portrait of a kingdom that has the form of strength but denies its ultimate source. Saul is winning battles, but he is losing the war, because the central war is not with the Philistines but with the God who anointed him. This is the kingdom of man's choice, built by man's strength, for man's glory. And because of that, it is doomed to fail. This passage is not a celebration of Saul's reign; it is the anatomy of its ultimate failure, a failure that was disguised as success.
We must pay close attention, because the temptation to build Saul's kind of kingdom, whether in our nations, our churches, or our own lives, is perennial. It is the temptation to trust in the arm of the flesh, to value outward conformity over inward fidelity, and to believe that God is pleased with our victories, even when we have achieved them through disobedience.
The Text
Now Saul had taken the kingdom over Israel, and he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, the sons of Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines; and wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment. And he acted valiantly and struck down the Amalekites and delivered Israel from the hands of those who plundered them.
Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan and Ishvi and Malchi-shua; and the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn Merab and the name of the younger Michal. And the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. And Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.
Now the war against the Philistines was severe all the days of Saul; and Saul would see any mighty man or any man of valor and would gather him to his staff.
(1 Samuel 14:47-52 LSB)
A Whack-a-Mole Kingdom (v. 47-48)
We begin with a summary of Saul's military career.
"Now Saul had taken the kingdom over Israel, and he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, the sons of Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines; and wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment. And he acted valiantly and struck down the Amalekites and delivered Israel from the hands of those who plundered them." (1 Samuel 14:47-48)
The text says Saul "had taken the kingdom." This is an active, grasping sort of verb. While God certainly gave him the kingdom, Saul's posture is one of human effort and control. He is a king who rules by his own grit. And what does he do? He fights. He fights everyone, on every side. Moab, Ammon, Edom, Zobah, the Philistines. It is a picture of constant, exhausting warfare. "Wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment."
On the surface, this sounds like what a king is supposed to do. He is supposed to defend the borders and execute justice. And indeed, Saul brings a measure of external deliverance to Israel. But there is a frantic quality to it. Because Saul's rule is not established on the foundation of confident obedience to Yahweh, he is constantly having to put out fires. His kingdom is a game of whack-a-mole. An enemy pops up here, he smacks it down. Another pops up there, he rushes to smack it down. There is activity, there is valor, but there is no rest. There is no settled peace, because there is no settled covenant faithfulness at the center.
And then we have a line that is pregnant with dramatic irony: "he acted valiantly and struck down the Amalekites." We are about to see in the very next chapter that this is, at best, a half-truth. He does strike them, but he does not strike them in the way God commanded. He spares the king, Agag, and the best of the livestock. He performs the part of the command that suits him, the part that looks good to the people and enriches the nation, and he neglects the part that requires absolute, costly obedience. This verse is the official press release. Chapter 15 is what actually happened behind the scenes. And this is the nature of all man-centered religion. It presents a sanitized, successful version of events to the public, while the private reality is one of compromise and rebellion. Saul's valor is real, but it is a carnal valor, disconnected from the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of all true wisdom and strength.
A House Built on Sand (v. 49-51)
Next, the historian gives us a glimpse into Saul's household and administration. This is not just a collection of names; it is a catalog of what could have been.
"Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan and Ishvi and Malchi-shua; and the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn Merab and the name of the younger Michal. And the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. And Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel." (1 Samuel 14:49-51 LSB)
Here we see the foundation of a dynasty. He has sons to carry on the name. He has daughters to be used for political alliances. He has a wife. He has a powerful cousin, Abner, as his chief general. Everything is in place for a long and prosperous royal line. But we, the readers, know that this entire house is under a divine curse. God has already told Saul through Samuel that his kingdom will not continue (1 Sam. 13:14).
The listing of these names is therefore tragic. We see Jonathan, one of the noblest men in all of Scripture, a man of profound faith and loyalty, a man who loved David as his own soul. He is the son a king should be proud of, the rightful heir. But because of his father's sin, this great man will die on the battlefield, and the throne that should have been his will pass to another. We see Michal, who will become a pawn in the political games between her father and her future husband, David, and whose love will curdle into bitterness. We see Abner, a formidable warrior, but a man whose loyalty is ultimately to the house of Saul and not to the God of Israel. After Saul's death, he will try to prop up this failing dynasty, leading to civil war.
This is a family tree with its roots cut. It looks healthy for a season, but it is already dead and is simply waiting to fall over. This is what happens when a man builds his house on the sand of his own achievements and disobedience. The storm of God's judgment is coming, and it will wash the entire structure away. Covenantal succession is a great blessing, but it is a blessing that flows from covenantal faithfulness. Saul's rebellion ensures that his sons will not inherit what he fought so hard to secure.
The Manpower Solution (v. 52)
The section concludes with a summary of Saul's military strategy and philosophy of government.
"Now the war against the Philistines was severe all the days of Saul; and Saul would see any mighty man or any man of valor and would gather him to his staff." (1 Samuel 14:52 LSB)
First, notice the state of the kingdom: "the war against the Philistines was severe all the days of Saul." Constant, severe, grinding war. This is the fruit of a disobedient reign. When David, a man after God's own heart, comes to the throne, he will subdue the Philistines and bring rest to the land. But under Saul, there is no rest. His partial obedience and self-reliance mean that Israel is in a perpetual state of emergency. This is a crucial principle. When we compromise with sin, we do not get peace; we get unending conflict.
And what is Saul's solution to this constant state of war? It is a human solution. It is a political solution. It is a military recruitment program. "Saul would see any mighty man or any man of valor and would gather him to his staff." His strategy is to accumulate human strength. He sees a strong man, a capable man, and he conscripts him. He is building his kingdom by collecting the best and the brightest that the world has to offer.
This is the way of man. It is the way of Babylon. Build a tower with human hands that reaches to the heavens. But it is not God's way. God's method is entirely different. God does not look for the mighty man or the man of valor. He looks for the shepherd boy with a faithful heart. He looks for the youngest son, the one overlooked by everyone else. God's strength is made perfect in weakness. Saul looks on the outward appearance, just as the people did when they chose him. He is replicating the sin of Israel in his own administration. He is trusting in horses and chariots, in mighty men and men of valor. But the psalmist tells us, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God" (Psalm 20:7).
Saul's kingdom is a collection of impressive individuals. David's kingdom will be a collection of distressed, indebted, and discontented men who gather to him in a cave (1 Sam. 22:2), whom God will forge into the mighty men of Israel. Saul's method is accumulation; God's method is transformation. Saul gathers strength; God gives strength.
The Tale of Two Kingdoms
This passage, then, serves as a crucial pivot. It summarizes the nature of Saul's kingdom in order to set up the great contrast with what is to come. Saul's kingdom is the best that man can do. It is valiant, it is active, it has a dynasty in place, and it has a strategy for success. And it is utterly bankrupt before God.
This is a picture of the kingdom of this world. It is the kingdom of flesh and blood. It is the religion of human effort. It is the church that measures success by buildings, budgets, and bodies. It is the Christian life that is a flurry of activity, fighting this sin, battling that temptation, but without the deep, settled rest that comes from trusting in the finished work of another.
But God is preparing another King and another Kingdom. While Saul is busy fighting on every side, God is quietly preparing a shepherd in the hills of Bethlehem. While Saul is recruiting the mighty, God is training a boy with a sling and a harp. While Saul is building a house that will not stand, God is promising an eternal dynasty to a man after His own heart. The kingdom of Saul is all about what man can do for God. The kingdom of David, and ultimately the kingdom of Christ, is all about what God has done for man.
The gospel is not a recruitment program where Jesus sees our valor and gathers us to His staff. The gospel is a rescue mission. Christ did not come for the mighty, but for the weak. He did not come for the righteous, but for sinners. He did not come to reward our valor, but to die for our cowardice. He builds His kingdom not by conscripting the strong, but by raising the dead.
The war against our great Philistine, sin, death, and the devil, was severe. And we could not win it. But God sent His Son, the true David, who fought not with carnal weapons but with perfect obedience. He struck down our Amalekite, Satan, completely and without compromise on the cross. He established a kingdom that cannot be shaken and a house that will endure forever. Do not be content with the appearance of success that Saul's kingdom offers. Do not trust in your own valor or might. Flee from the kingdom of self-reliance, which is a kingdom of constant, severe warfare, and take refuge in the kingdom of the Son, where we find true and lasting rest.