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Common Sins of Rulers

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• Well, let's open our Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 13. 1 Samuel 13. And let me tell you that I'm going to be preaching from 1 Samuel 13 and 15, and we'll be looking at a lot of passages in 1 Samuel as well. The title of the message is Common Sins of Rulers. Common Sins of Rulers. Lord willing, next week I'm going to be bringing a message on unlikely revolutionaries from 1 Samuel as well, and you'll understand that when we get to that text. But 1 Samuel chapter 13, verse 1, "Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash, and in mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent."

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• "And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear. And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal. And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude."

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• "And they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Beth-aven. When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits. And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering."

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• "And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee." Common sins of rulers. You know there is a passage in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 13 that says this, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man."

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• Now all that means is simply this, that none of us ever face superhuman temptations. Everything that Doc faces, I face. Everything that I face, Ernie faces. In other words, our temptations are common and I can tell you what goes on in your life because I know what goes on in my life. I can tell you what you're going through because I go through the same thing. But it's true that not only are there common sins and common tests and common trials to individuals, but it is also equally true that each group or each class have their own common sins as well. Preachers have common sins, just like politicians have common sins, just like business people have common sins. In other words, there are sins that are common usually to a collective or a specific group.

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• Now, when we're talking about common sins of rulers, I'm sure you've heard the old saying that a politician is a politician is a politician. And I know you've heard the old joke, how can you tell if a politician is lying? And the answer is you watch his lips. If they move, he's lying. Well, let's ask a question. How is it that those that are elected to office usually have a horrible reputation and are known to be liars, thieves, immoral, corrupt, and oftentimes perverts? Rulers down through the ages have committed the same sins over and over. It seems as if not only men never learn, but civil rulers never learn.

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• The Bible says very plainly in Galatians 6:7-8, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." That is true of individuals, that is true of civil rulers, it's true of everyone. And in spite of scriptural testimony, in spite of historical proof, in spite of individual testimony, men, civil rulers, fall into the same sins over and over and over. Now today I'm primarily speaking of civil rulers. However, we've got to remember there are family rulers according to Ephesians chapter 6. There are also ecclesiastical rulers according to Hebrews chapter 13. But although our text is dealing primarily with civil rulers, that's exactly what we're going to be dealing with primarily today.

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• Now let me give you the background and let you know what has happened. Israel has desired a man to rule over her rather than having God himself to rule over them. God was the king in Israel. If you will look back to 1 Samuel chapter 8 at verses 7 and 8, when the children of Israel had come to Samuel and asked for a man to be king over them, of course it grieved him and he went to the Lord in prayer. And notice in 1 Samuel chapter 8, and let's begin reading with verse 6, "But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them."

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• "According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee." So notice what God says to him. They have not rejected thee, they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

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• Now if you look in 1 Samuel chapter 12 and verse 12, I want you to note please that it was Samuel who singled out this particular sin of Israel. He said in 1 Samuel chapter 12 and verse 12, "And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us: when the LORD your God was your king." So when they asked for Saul, or for a man, they were in essence rejecting the kingship of God. Now, I want you to go back to 1 Samuel chapter 8, and let me just lay this out for you. I want you to see that the rejection of God as king, let me restate this. The rejection of God as civil ruler and the establishment of man as civil ruler brought with it the seeds of corruption, confiscation, and tyranny. Now, I want you to watch carefully in 1 Samuel chapter 8 and let's begin reading there with verse 9.

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• Note what God tells Samuel. He says, "Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them." And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king.

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• Now, I want you to listen as I emphasize one word as we read down through verse 20. Listen to what Samuel is saying. man as king, man as civil ruler is going to be like. Verse 11, "And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers."

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• "And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants."

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• "And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day." In light of all of this, look if you would please at verse 19. "Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles."

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• Now I want you to note, according to 1 Kings chapter 8, the penalty for rejecting the kingship of God was and is oppression, confiscation, taxation, loss of liberty, and judgment. Is it any wonder in this day and age that we cannot find a man who will rule biblically and scripturally and justly. Should we expect anything else than 1 Samuel chapter 8 verses 11 through 20 from ungodly, wicked, depraved and fallen men. I can assure you without the grace of God, without the law of God and without the mercy of God in the lives of men, they are not fit to rule. Period.

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• You know what the Bible says in Proverbs 28, verse 28? Listen to this. God says, "When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase." So when wicked rise, men hide themselves. Why? Because they know there's going to be oppression, confiscation, loss of lives, loss of liberty. But when the wicked perish, the righteous increase. Then in Proverbs 29, verse 2, he further states this. "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn." Now, it is true that wicked men cannot and will not rule justly or scripturally.

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• You remember the passage, I read it last week, from 2 Samuel 23, especially verses 2 and 3, where David claims inspiration four times for one simple statement. He said this, "The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God." So very clearly, the Bible tells us if a man is going to be a ruler, he has to rule in the fear of God. You cannot rule justly unless you're ruling in the fear of God. So in order to rule in the fear of God, one must be regenerated, one must be converted, one must be in submission to the Word of God.

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• Now, I want to show you today, from the life of King Saul, some of the common sins of rulers. And what I would like you to do is this. I want you to make application from what I'm going to show you from the scripture to our present-day situation. I want you to think and see everything that we observe in the life of King Saul can be made applicable in this day and time. So let's begin and ask, what are the common sins of rulers? Here's the first one. One of the most common sins of civil rulers, is usurpation of authority, not only in the civil realm, but in the spiritual realm as well. Now, in 1 Samuel chapter 13, you remember the passage that I just read, the Philistines have gathered together now against King Saul. Saul has reigned one year, and then a second year over Israel, and the war then was brewing between the Israelites and the Philistines. Now, we just read where the people were trembling and the people were afraid and a lot of them were hiding themselves.

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• Well, let me show you one reason why. If you look in 1 Samuel chapter 13, you see the Philistines had a gun control law. Well, it wasn't guns, but it was a sword control law. So if you look in 1 Samuel chapter 13, begin there with verse 19. "Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears: But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock. Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads."

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• "So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found." In other words, Saul and Jonathan were the only two that had a sword or spear. None of the other people had them.

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• They didn't have any weapons. They may have had sticks, they may have had ox goads, but they never had any real weapons. So the Israelites now, are facing this humongous horde of Philistines who are well-armed, who outnumber them, and of course, they get scared. And look in 1 Samuel chapter 13 and verse 5. "And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Beth-aven. When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits."

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• "And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling." What was happening was very simple. Most of the Israelites were getting out of Dodge. They knew they were outnumbered. They were outgunned. They were basically outmanned. And they said, now's the time to get out of here. Well, Saul saw his army dissipating, evaporating before his eyes. And so Saul then forces himself to offer a sacrifice. Now I want you to note that Samuel had appointed a time to be there. Samuel was the prophet of God. Samuel was the man of God. Samuel was to offer the sacrifice. But if you'll notice verse 8, "And he," that is Saul, "tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering."

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• "And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. And Samuel said, What hast thou done?" Now, when Samuel did not appear, when Saul thought he should appear, he ordered the burnt offering. He ordered the peace offerings. And here is Saul's excuse. It was an emergency situation.

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• There's a crisis at hand. I didn't want to do it, but I forced myself. So he intruded then into the prophetic and the priestly office by way of exigency. In other words, here is a crisis. Something had to be done. Someone had to do something and therefore I did what needed to be done. I took control.

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• Now Saul was just a normal politician. He could not wait upon God. He could not wait upon Samuel. He said he had to act and he had to act immediately.

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• Now look if you would please in verse 13. "And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee." Saul's usurpation cost him his kingdom. God rejected Saul because Saul had rejected God. He rejected God by refusing to abide by His commandments.

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• Many rulers simply arrogantly assume that they have authority over the church, its mission, its message, and its ministers. Many assume that they can just simply waltz into the church and run it and tell the church and the preachers and the people what to do, what to say, what not to say, simply because they are civil authorities. Do you remember in 2 Chronicles 26, and I read this to you several weeks ago, but there was a king, and he was a good king, king of Judah, king Uzziah.

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• He ruled, I think it was for 52 years. And he decided one day that he was going to go into the temple and offer incense. And he took the incense and waltzed into the temple. And Azariah, the priest, looked at him and said, what are you doing in here? Get out of here. This is not going to be for your honor and your glory. And he was mad. He was angry. And while he had the incense in his hand, being angry at the priest for getting on to him, God smote him with leprosy in the forehead. And when he saw the leprosy, when he knew it was there, the Bible said he hastened to get out. An 85 priest forced him out, basically. But he himself was willing to get out after God smote him. And the Bible says he remained a leper the rest of his life.

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• Here was a man who thought that he could just simply waltz into the temple and take over authority that he did not have. When civil rulers endeavor to take over the church, they are usurping the authority of the Son of God. Let me tell you, the Bible specifically tells us that Jesus Christ is King of the church. He's the head of the church. And I'll go further than that. Jesus Christ is head of everything. He's head of the state. He's head of the civil government. He's head of the family. He's head of everything because He's King of kings and Lord of lords. But when a civil ruler comes into the temple or into the church, what he's saying is this. Christ has no authority over me.

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• I don't listen to Him. I'm not bound by His limitations. I'm not bound by His definitions. I'm not bound by His control. No, no, no. I may do whatever I please. I do not recognize Jesus Christ as King. It's kind of like that verse in Hosea 5 and verse 11 when the Bible says this, "The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water." So the princes of Judah did not like the boundaries that God placed upon them. And so they removed those boundaries and usurped and stole authority that they did not have. And God then poured out his wrath upon them like water.

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• Now, I want you to note something. King Saul did not create this crisis. It was a real, genuine threat. The Philistines were there. He was outnumbered. He was outgunned. It was a real, genuine crisis. He did not create it, but he used it. You know what Rahm Emanuel said? Never waste a good crisis. Never waste a good crisis. What we have today is when there's a real crisis, it is used against us, the people normally. And if there is no crisis, then they create one so that at the same time they may abuse their office and steal the liberty and the freedom of the people, so that they may implement their predetermined solutions.

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• I hope you're familiar with the Marxist paradigm of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. So what they do is this. They will set forth this proposition or this problem. Then they will set forth the opposite of it. Then they will combine them to make a synthesis to further their own party or their own program. In other words, everything is basically predetermined. I forget who it was that said, there are no accidents in politics. Yeah.

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• And it's just simply worked out. Now, you may ask this simple question. Why do civil rulers desire to control the church, the world, and everything and everyone else? Here's the answer. Fallen man likes to play God. If he claims he is a God in order to prove his claim, in order to prove his Godhood, then he must order and control everyone else. He must exercise complete control. Why? Because God is sovereign. And he wants to play God. You must remember that God and God alone is sovereign.

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• Let me read you two passages. Matthew 21 verse 38. Mark 12 verse 7. These two passages are in reference to the parable of the vineyard. Without me reading the entire parable, you remember how the man owned the vineyard, and he sent servant after servant after servant to collect the fruits of the vineyard, and they beat some and they killed the others.

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• Finally, last of all, the owner of the vineyard said, I will send my son, for they will reverence him. And of course, the owner of the vineyard is God the Father, the Son is Jesus Christ, and the vineyard is Israel. Okay? But here's what happens in Matthew 21, verse 38, "But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance." And in Mark 12 and verse 7, they said it a little differently, "But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours."

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• What is it that fallen man wants? The inheritance that belongs to Jesus Christ. They want the world. They desire to control the world and they're willing to attack and crucify the Son of God to obtain their desire. He is the true ruler of the world. This inheritance belongs to Him. Yes, they wish to steal His throne and His inheritance. Therefore, you have the language of Psalm 2, verses 2 and 3.

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• "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us." In other words, we're not going to listen to God. We'll usurp and steal authority that God never gave us. You see, civil rulers commonly, regularly, consistently, constantly usurp, steal power and authority. They steal it and take it to themselves when it is not rightly theirs.

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• Even the Declaration of Independence says this very plainly, that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. So if there is no consent, it is not a just power. It is an unjust power. It is that which is usurped and stolen. Power is power according to fallen man, and fallen man will steal it from God or man.

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• It does not matter to him. So the very first common sin of rulers is usurpation of authority, both in the civil realm and in the spiritual realm. The second one is disobedience to God and His law. You're going to find that in 1 Samuel chapter 15. Look if you would at the first three verses. 1 Samuel 15 verses 1 through 3. "Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD."

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• "Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass."

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• Now look, if you would, at verses 8 through 10. "And he," that is King Saul, "took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly."

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• Now, let's stop right there. The second common sin of civil rulers is disobedience to God and His law. I find it absolutely astounding that those few civil rulers who do claim to be Christians never do anything Christian. In fact, they do everything that is contrary to the Word of God. I remember years ago when Jimmy Carter was running for president. I don't know if you will remember this or not, but Jimmy Carter granted an interview to Playboy magazine. And there were a lot of Christians upset that Jimmy Carter would grant an interview to Playboy magazine, since Jimmy Carter was a professing Christian. Well, I tell you, Jimmy Carter has shown his colors a lot of ways, but he, lastly, last I read of him, he even said the Apostle Paul was a male chauvinist pig, and he didn't like the fact that, what Paul said about women. Well, you know, he's entitled to his opinion, but the scripture's still right. But anyhow, but what upset me was not his interview with Playboy magazine, but what he said in it.

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• Because they asked him specifically about adultery, sodomy, and a number of other sins, and Jimmy Carter said this, and I'm going to give you a quote, that he was not to judge. What? Well, let me tell you something, dear friend. You don't have to judge. God has already done the judging. God has said they're wicked and wrong and sinful. And here's what Jimmy Carter was saying, and please listen, I'm not picking on Carter.

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• All professing politicians, Christian politicians are like this today. What Jimmy Carter is saying is this, I'm not going to allow my Christianity to get in the way of my politics. That's what he was saying. That's what all of them say. They're going to always put politics and party and re-election before God and His Word. What's that mean? It means they're guilty of violating the first commandment, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. And therefore they're idolaters. Now, Saul was sent on a mission by God.

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• I want you to look back at 1 Samuel 15. Look how simple this is. Very simple. "Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel."

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• "Now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." Now let me tell you, there is no way that you can misunderstand what God commanded in verse 3. God said, kill everybody and kill everything. That was it. Kill everything. Spare them not. What did Saul do? He spared Agag the king, and the best of the sheep, and the best of the oxen, everything that was vile and refuse, that he utterly destroyed. But he just simply could not bring himself to obey God and do that which God commanded because he didn't think that that which was good needed to be destroyed. Yet his responsibility was to obey God. Now who made Saul king?

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• Look in verse 1. "Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel."

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• "Now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD." What did Samuel tell Saul? God made you king. You're responsible to him. You're accountable to him. You must hear his word. He's the one that instituted you as a civil ruler. By the way, God is the one who institutes anyone as a civil ruler. You know what the Bible says in Psalm 75 verses 6 and 7? Listen carefully.

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• "For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another." God puts up and God takes down. Daniel in Daniel chapter 2 and verse 21 tells us this about God. "And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings." Who is it that gives man authority? It's God. In fact, you remember Nebuchadnezzar was a proud, arrogant, haughty monarch, and he was a wicked man. But God is the one that put him in there, and here's what he said in Daniel 2 and verse 37, Daniel speaking to Nebuchadnezzar, "Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory." And if God had not given him that, he wouldn't have it. And when Nebuchadnezzar began to get proud and arrogant and display that arrogance, God decreed to cut him down to size.

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• And you remember how for years he was driven insane, live like an animal. Listen to what the Bible says, Daniel 4 and verse 17. "This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will." What does that mean? God is in control. Anyone who has an authority, God gave it to them. Listen, God is sovereign. The only authority that comes from God is delegated authority. What authority do I have as a pastor? It's delegated, it's coming from God through His Word and it's limited in the Word. What authority do I have as a husband and as a father? It comes from God and it's limited to and through His Word. What authority does the civil ruler have? It comes from God and it's limited to and through His Word. That's why the Bible says, in Romans 13, "there is no power but of God."

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• "The powers that be are ordained of God." You cannot have any power apart from God. So therefore, it doesn't matter if you are a family ruler, a church ruler, or civil ruler, you're still answerable and accountable to God. You're duty-bound to obey God, for God is the one who created those institutions, and God is the one who delegated that authority. But what has happened in our land is this, we have transgressed so much, we have advanced so far in our sins and our rebellion, in this day and time, that our civil rulers not only refuse to recognize and obey the sovereign God of heaven and earth, they even delight in ignoring Him and

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• rejecting Him and ridiculing Him. Not only that, His Word and His people. You look. You observe. They not only dishonor Him, yea, they fight against Him. They pass laws that are unbiblical, immoral, unethical, unrighteous. I would not be far off if I were to say, and I know there are a few exceptions, I understand that, but as a whole, the majority of our modern-day politicians have the morals of an alley cat and the manners of a Tasmanian devil.

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• I mean, let's be honest. They're proud. They're arrogant. They're haughty. They're stiff-necked. They refuse to listen to God. They refuse to listen to His Word. They refuse to listen to His people. They even refuse to listen to their own constituents. But I'll tell you what God says. Turn in your Bibles. Hold 1 Samuel 15, but turn to Psalm 82. Psalm 82 is a psalm directed against civil rulers and especially judges. I want to show you what God says in Psalm 82. Watch this carefully. In Psalm 82, the Bible says in verse 1, "God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods."

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• Now, let me explain that term. When he says he judgeth among the gods, that doesn't mean that there are other gods. Doesn't mean that at all. But in the Scripture, those who have been placed in positions of responsibility, especially judges, they're referred to as gods. You remember our Lord Himself referred to this verse in John 10 when He said, When he's quoting this verse and he said, God called your rulers judges. I mean, God called your rulers and judges gods. Then how is it that you're condemning me when I say that I'm the son of God? But I want you to notice what God said in here. Here's the dividing line. Here's where it all comes down. In Psalm 82, beginning of verse 5, God says concerning these rulers, "They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course."

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• "I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations." You see, it may be true that one of the common sins of civil rulers is they disobey God and God's law, and they may think they are above God and God's law, but the dividing line is when they come to die like men. They're going to find they're not God. They are not infallible. They are not immortal. They may be immoral, but not immortal. They will die like men. One of the common sins is usurpation of authority. Another common sin is disobeying God and God's law. Go back to 1 Samuel 15 because the third common sin is arrogance and greed. Look at it, 1 Samuel 15, verses 17 and 19. I want you to look what God says to King Saul through the prophet Samuel.

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• 1 Samuel 15, verse 17. "And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?"

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• Now I've already commented on the fact of the sin of arrogance, but I want you to note arrogance especially in its relationship to greed. Samuel said to Saul, when you were little in your own eyesight, God made you king. And what Samuel is referring to when he said, when you were little in your own eyesight, was when Samuel first told Saul that God had chosen him to be ruler over his people. And Saul's response, and let me just read it to you, is found in 1 Samuel 9 in verse 21. Here's what Saul answered. Saul said, "Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?"

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• In other words, he said, How can this be? I'm of the smallest tribe. And not only am I of the smallest tribe, my family is the least in Israel. Why would you make me a king? By the way, when it came time to anoint Saul king, in 1 Samuel 10 verse 22, guess what happened? They couldn't even find Saul.

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• And God told Samuel, he hideth himself among the stuff. Samuel had to go find Saul. Saul had hidden himself. He didn't think he was worthy to be made a king. So Samuel says, look, when you were little in your own eyesight, when you were humble, God made you king. Do you realize, in all probability, King Saul started out the way most rulers do? That is, he was fairly humble, depended upon God and the people, and had probably a real desire to serve God and serve the people. But it didn't take long for all of that to change.

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• Because suddenly, the power of his position turned him and he became corrupt. He saw the wealth that could be obtained, the money that could be made, the influence that he could wield, and that wealth that he could possess, he could lord it over all of his subjects. I want to just read this to you. I referred to this last week, but I never read it. Do you realize that God required that every king, every civil ruler have his own personal copy of the law of God? I want to read to you why. Deuteronomy 17 verses 18 through 20, here's what God says, "And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel."

  #60 | 43:27 to 44:45 | cleaned

• Now listen to what God said. God said that the king or the civil ruler is to have his own personal copy of the law of God. He is to read therein day and night that he may learn to fear the Lord God, so that he would not turn to the right hand nor to the left, that is, he would obey God constantly and consistently, and that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren. In other words, if he didn't read in the Bible and keep God's law, he was going to arrogantly elevate himself. He was going to be lifted up above his brethren. In other words, here's what God's saying. The civil ruler who disobeys God and God's word no longer considers himself one of us. He now considers us, His sheep, to be fleeced. We are His subjects. The arrogant mentality, now listen, is us against them.

  #61 | 44:45 to 46:11 | cleaned

• And He's one of the us, and we're the them. One of the most perfect illustrations of what I'm trying to tell you is found in George Orwell's book, The Animal Farm. I love that book. You remember when Napoleon and Snowball, the two hogs, the two pigs, after they got rid of the farmer and his wife, of course, they had posted all the rules out there. And the first rule was this, all animals were equal. But after the farmer and his wife was gone, then Napoleon and Snowball moved into the farmer's house. They took it. All the other animals had to stay out in the barn. And the other animals got to thinking, well, you know what? I don't think that was our rule. Why aren't we in the house, too?

  #62 | 46:13 to 47:03 | cleaned

• And then went back, and they read it. It said all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others. Well, that's exactly what an arrogant attitude will do. It leads to a superiority complex. We're superior. We're no longer your servants. We are your masters. Here's what Samuel did. He charged King Saul with arrogance and with greed. In his arrogance, he disobeyed God. And in his greed, he flew upon the spoil.

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• Look at it in verse 19. "Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?" Now this fly upon the spoil is illustrated by birds of prey. I know I have seen, and maybe you have seen, these red-tailed hawks, or some of these owls. I've only seen eagles in pictures do it, but I have seen a hawk.

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• Swoop down out of nowhere, catch a rabbit, and he's gone. I mean, instantly. He's always usually on target, on mark, and it is very swift. And here's what Samuel is saying, Wherefore didst thou fly upon the spoil? In other words, you rushed into it greedily. David uses the same illustration in Psalm 17 verse 12, but he likens it to a lion. He says, "Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places." So, here are birds of prey and here are animals, and that's what Saul is being compared to. An animal that just very arrogantly and greedily flies upon the spoil.

  #65 | 48:12 to 48:49 | cleaned

• I want you to note his arrogance, because in his arrogance he disobeyed God. Who is God? Why should I obey Him? I am the King. And as an arrogant attitude is displayed in Saul, that arrogant attitude is demonstrated by him flying upon the spoil. Listen, he believed that he was entitled to anything and everything that he could get.

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• Now, is that a modern day politician or is that a modern day politician? I mean, why do they openly talk about the spoils of office? Because once you get in, you greedily take. It's just always amazed me, amazed me that people would spend millions of dollars to get a job that paid 300,000 a year. You know, as well as I do, they're going to make up far more than what they ever spent on a campaign.

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• So King Saul then, in his arrogance and his greed, flew upon the spoil. He believed he had a right to it. He didn't care what God said. He was the ruler. He could do whatever he pleased. I want to tell you, David, although he was a man after God's own heart, David displayed this same arrogant attitude, this same greedy attitude when he took Bathsheba. I'm the king. I can take her. Arrogance does not make a distinction between God or man. It will take from either one easily, readily, and quickly. Arrogance believes that anything and everything belongs to them. Period. There are two Proverbs I want to quote, and I want you to listen to this first one very carefully. Proverbs 1 in verse 19, God says, "So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof." And then Proverbs 15 verse 27, the Bible says, "He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live." He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house.

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• Now, if you want to go back and consider Proverbs 1 and verse 19, ask yourself this question. You remember there have been men like Idi Amin, Mussolini, Stalin, Mao Zedong. Those fellows killed millions, millions. We still have modern day politicians who have not killed their millions yet, but some of it may be in plans, I don't know. But I can assure you some of it is indeed guilty of a number of deaths. I've read of people who ended up taking their own lives just simply because they were being persecuted wrongfully and unjustly and they couldn't handle it. I got news for you, the ones pushing the unjust persecution and prosecution are just as guilty of murder as the man who took his own life.

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• Because had they not done that, he would not have been pushed into that corner. But here's what the Bible says, so are the ways of everyone that are greedy of gain who take away the life of the owners thereof. A greedy, arrogant person does not care about life. He cares only about gain, whether it is political gain, economic gain, party gain, it doesn't matter. All he's concerned about is gain.

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• And if you want to know why, modern day governments, not only in this land but other lands, can arrogantly and insolently allow their people to die. It's because they're concerned more about gain than anything else. So one of the sins that is common is not just simply usurpation of power. It's not just simply disobeying God and His law. It is also arrogance and greed. There's a fourth one. The common sin of rulers here is blame shifting and failure to assume responsibility for their own office and actions. Look in 1 Samuel 15 and verse 15 because when Samuel confronted King Saul, verse 15, I want you to look, well let's go back to verse 13. "And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD. And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed."

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• Now, it is true as sinners we're all guilty of blame shifting. We're all guilty of a failure to assume responsibility for our actions. But here is one sin that is exceedingly common among civil rulers. Have you ever noticed that whenever anything goes wrong in this country, it is never the fault of a politician or a party? It's never, ever a result of anything that they have done. The fault is never theirs. They're not to blame.

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• Here's what King Saul said. Look in verse 15. "They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best." Ah, but notice this last, "and the rest we have utterly destroyed." Do you see that? Saul got in on we doing the destroying. Well, that's what I was told to do. But it was they, them, the people, they're the ones who did the sparing. There is something thoroughly wicked, vile, and contemptible in Saul's attempt to shift responsibility for what was done from his own kingly shoulders to those of the people. Every word that Saul utters indicates a breakdown of his moral character.

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• He's evidencing that he was not worthy to rule in any manner. He's a weak, contemptible, and irresponsible creature. He says, they. They spared. They're the people. Look in verse 21. He says it again. "But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal." Oh, no, no, no. Samuel, I didn't do that. I mean, that was the people who did that. It was the people who spared. Oh, let me ask you a question. Who was the ruler of the people?

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• Who was the director of the war? The king was. What did God tell King Saul? You go and you utterly destroy the Amalekites, man, woman, child, ox, suckling, ass, camel, you kill everything.

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• Now the people may have spared the best, that is true, but who was responsible to see that everything was killed and who was responsible to see that they were not spared? It was King Saul. God did not give these directions to the people. God gave these directions to King Saul. And what King Saul is attempting to do is to shift the responsibility to the people and try to say, but I obeyed.

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• I did that which is right. No. God said you did not obey. You did not do that which is right. Saul was responsible. He was accountable. And in the end, his lack of responsibility, his disobedience led to the destruction of his own kingdom. Let me tell you something. Every war that we have been in as a country that is unjust and wicked and vile, those men who pushed it, who initiated, who wanted it, who profited from it, will answer to God for the men and women that were killed in that war. You can try to shift the responsibility all you want to. But God holds those in authority responsible.

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• A common sin of rulers is blame shifting. I want to show you one last one. The fifth common sin of rulers is fearing man and a failure to fear God. I want you to look at Saul's lame excuse. Look in verse 24, 1 Samuel 15. "And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice." Now look in verse 30, he says it again. "Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God." Now, probably this statement that Saul feared the people was an empty excuse. You have to remember that Saul was the king.

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• He was the sovereign prince. The people were to stand in awe of him. In fact, the Bible tells us in 1 Samuel chapter 9 verse 2 that King Saul stood head and shoulders above all the people. What does that mean? That means the average Israelite probably came up just about it. He was a big man. He was a strong man.

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• On the other hand, let's suppose that he did fear the people. The truth is, had he feared God more, he would have had no need to fear the people. It was Jeb Stuart who said, let us fear God, and we'll have no need to fear any man. Proverbs 29 verse 25 tells us this, "The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe." Now, let me ask you, do our modern day politicians fear the people? Nah. Nah.

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• The only, well, I'm going to give you two. There's a possibility they may fear being voted out of the office, but since all voting now is done electronically, just about, they really have no fear of that. And if you don't understand what I'm saying, read the book, Vote Scam. Even in our last election, I read of individuals who voted for one man and the X went to another man right in front of the voter's eyes. Recast the ballot, it went to the other man again. Did it three times, call the poll worker over there, the poll worker observed it as well.

  #81 | 1:00:33 to 1:01:14 | cleaned

• Let me tell you something, folks. I don't trust electronic voting machines. If it's not in black and white, it cannot be verified. You can control a computer from a thousand miles away. They could, in one sense of the word, the lowliest politicians might get voted out, but I've got news for you. Those in the higher offices, they have no concern. And I'm going to tell you, when you have the choice of voting for two people, socialist A or socialist B, they don't care who gets in. You're still getting socialism.

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• And usually, the CFR and some of the other groups sponsor both candidates. They don't care. But let's suppose there is another sense in which rulers might fear the people. That is, they might fear that we might wise up and see the light and rise up against them. You know, we used to, in this country, tar and feather politicians, ride him out of town on a rail. That used to happen, literally. It surely did.

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• So to keep that from happening in this day and time, there's a little bread and a little circus given for us. And that little bread and little circus goes a long way distracting our minds and keeping us from even being concerned. I would really like to know outside of a few people really and truly who gave a flip over the funeral of Michael Jackson. I didn't watch it. Can you imagine the hour after hour after hour on TV concerning that funeral? Who cares about Professor Gates? Can you imagine the hour after hour that was given to Gates and the police officer, Obama, sitting down having a beer? Who cares? Let's find out what is happening. Let's find out what the news really is. Let's find out what people are doing behind the scenes and behind the back.

  #84 | 1:02:38 to 1:03:56 | cleaned

• That's what they don't want us to see. And the reason we have bread and circus and entertainment is to keep us distracted. And the reason they do what they do is because there's no fear of God before their eyes. Period. Let me tell you something. Any man who says he fears God will demonstrate that he fears God by obeying God. If you don't obey God, I don't care what your talk is, you don't fear God. Period.

  #85 | 1:03:57 to 1:04:28 | cleaned

• Look at verse 30 again. Look what Saul said. "Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God." Saul was more concerned about the praise and the recognition of man than he was with the praise and the recognition of God. What he wanted was the people to look up to him. He wanted the people to respect him and honor him. He did not wish to be humiliated in front of the people by them understanding that the kingdom had been taken from him. He wanted to pretend that everything was alright. Saul was a normal, everyday politician. Most politicians are more concerned with their legacies and their libraries than they are with the honor of God and obeying God. Saul said, I still want the people to look up to me. You know what our Lord said in John 5 and verse 44? Our Lord said it very plainly. He said, "How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?"

  #86 | 1:04:30 to 1:05:48 | cleaned

• Do you realize the desire for the praise and the recognition of man makes faith impossible? And everywhere you turn in our modern day civil realm, men want the praise and the recognition of other men far more than they want the praise and recognition from God.

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• Now, there's something interesting in verse 30. King Saul said, I have sinned. I have sinned. Notice in verse 24, "And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned." Saul admits that he sinned. Yet he was not sorry for his sin. He was sorry that he got caught and he lost the kingdom. You see, 2 Corinthians 7, verse 10 tells us, "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death." Now there's a difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow. Saul's repentance and Saul's confession was the effect of alarm at the rejection of himself and of his kingdom, and he did not evidence any fruit of genuine consciousness of sin.

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• He was not really grieved that he had sinned against God and violated God's law. What he was concerned about was incurring public disgrace. Saul confessed his sin twice, yet he was not forgiven, he was not reconciled. David who committed a far greater sin, confessed his sin and was forgiven. What was the difference? Saul shrank from the punishment of the sin. David shrank in abhorrence of the sin itself. Saul said, I have sinned, yet honor me before the people. David said, "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight." There's a big difference. Let me tell you, no civil ruler will ever rule justly or rightly until he fears God and obeys Him. And if he fears God, he'll have no need to fear the people. These are common sins.

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• Always have been, always will be. Now let me make a couple of applications. The first one is this. Common sins are indeed common, especially as they relate to civil rulers. Every sin that Saul committed can be easily detected, seen, and demonstrated in the lives of our modern-day civil rulers and politicians. Like Saul, they too will face the judgment of God. They will have to understand that they are men. And according to Psalm 82 verse 7, they will die like men.

  #90 | 1:08:14 to 1:08:49 | cleaned

• They will not live forever. They will not retain their power. They will stand before God and give an account. The second application, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 2, and I want you to see this because this passage is so often misused. Because usually we are told over and over that we are to pray for our civil rulers. We're exhorted to pray for our civil rulers. But no one ever notices exactly why or how we are to pray for them. I've asked people, why should we pray for our civil rulers? And I've received this answer. Well, we should pray for our civil rulers in order that they might be saved. Well, let me tell you something.

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• According to the Bible, they have no right to be in a position of rulership unless they were already saved. Period. God demands saved men to be rulers. Not unsaved men. Well, why do we pray for them? I want you to look in 1 Timothy 2 verse 1. The apostle writes, "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority;" Why should we pray for these men, Paul? Now watch carefully. Here's why.

  #92 | 1:09:37 to 1:10:18 | cleaned

• "That we," that is God's people, "may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour." Now, wait a minute, Paul. Why do you want us to pray for them? That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life. Let me explain this. Our prayer for the civil rulers is not for their salvation.

  #93 | 1:10:18 to 1:10:43 | cleaned

• It is not for their benefit. It is for our benefit. We pray for them that they will leave us alone, that we may do what we should do and live the way we should live before God. In other words, what the Apostle Paul says is, you pray for them, that they'll let us alone, that we can tend to our business. It's interesting that civil rulers are not only limited by the word of God, but in our land, they're also limited by the constitution. And if they are not held down, as Thomas Jefferson said, and chained down by the Constitution, they will dominate every area of our lives. So Jefferson said, bind them down with the chains of the Constitution. We should pray for them, yes. But pray for them in the way that God will either judge them, remove them, but meanwhile, that they will leave us alone so that we can have the liberty and the freedom to obey God and do that which is right and holy before Him. Common sins. Everybody has them.

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• Every group has them. Even civil rulers. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we do ask You and ask You to help us, Lord, to love Thee and to serve Thee. To be aware, Lord, of all of these sins so that we may avoid some of the consequences of them. The Bible says the prudent man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself, but the simple pass on and are punished. Lord, we do pray for wisdom. We do pray for insight and instruction and help us, Lord, to obey Thee. We pray for each of these on the prayer list again and ask that You would undertake for them and help them and give us grace that we may serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray. Amen.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T04:37:43Z