A Good and Faithful Servant

God is seeking good and faithful servants. Jesus told his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Luke 10:2). All men work either for the Lord or for the devil, the god of this world. Paul exhorts us, “Do not offer the parts of your body sin as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer . . . the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness” (Rom. 6:13).

Whose servants are we? Whose will are we seeking to know and do? If we confess Jesus Christ is Lord, then we are the Lord’s servants, commissioned to do the work of the Lord. Let us live to please, not ourselves, but our Master so that he may say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” not, “You wicked, lazy, and worthless servant.”

A good and useful servant loves his Master: therefore, he obeys his Lord exactly, instantly, and gladly. Impelled by the love of Christ, his desire and joy is not to please himself, but his Master.

A good servant is dependable. Suppose you had a car that started only once in a while and whose brakes did not work all the time. Such an undependable vehicle would be useless to you. The Lord is seeking dependable workers whose delight is in faithful and sacrificial service to him who sacrificed himself for their salvation.

First Samuel 15 describes a man who was called to be God’s servant but who failed when tested. We want to examine Saul and the two tests he faced, and then look at the tested and approved true servant of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

I. Saul’s First Test

In 1 Samuel 8 the Israelites rejected their King, the Lord, and asked for a human king so that they could be like other nations. That was not God’s plan. God does not want his people to be like other nations; he wants us to be different. We are to be the light of the world. Nevertheless, the Lord gave the people a king-a tall, handsome Benjamite named Saul. I believe God gave the people their choice. It had nothing to do with God’s choice.

The first time God tested Saul, the question was whether he would obey the Lord as a deputy king exactly, instantly, and joyfully. In Israel, the king was not absolute sovereign. The human king was always the Lord’s deputy, the vicegerent.

Samuel commanded Saul: “Go down ahead of me to Gilgal.” Then he gave a promise: “I will surely come down to you. . . .” Then he gave another command: “I will . . . sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do” (1 Sam. 10:8).

First Samuel 13:8-10 describes Saul’s response to these commands. He waited seven days, but before Samuel came, Saul overstepped his authority by offering burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Just as he finished making his offerings, Samuel arrived. It had been a test for Saul.

Why didn’t Saul wait until Samuel came? Saul had his excuses, just like we do. He told Samuel, “My men were scattering and you had not come”; “The Philistines were assembling,” meaning, “I thought the Philistines would come against me”; “I had to seek the Lord”; and “I felt compelled to sacrifice.” All these excuses were nonsense. They had nothing to do with the will of God.

Saul was not a true servant because a true servant will wait until the directive word comes from the master. He will not take matters into his own hands without authorization. A true servant is not pressed by circumstances but depends on God alone. Isaiah speaks of such servants and their relationship to God: “Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him” (Isa. 64:4).

In Genesis 16 we read of a situation in which Abraham and Sarah also did not wait for God, but took matters into their own hands, with tragic consequences. Waiting for God’s direction, therefore, is a characteristic of a servant of God. But Saul refused to believe the word of the Lord. Samuel had clearly promised to come, and Saul was to wait until he came and sacrificed offerings. He was also to wait until Samuel gave the word of the Lord before he conducted war against the Philistines.

Saul could not be trusted because he refused to be controlled by God. He did not act like a servant; he did what pleased him. He refused to submit to God and his agent, Samuel. So Samuel rebuked Saul. If we hear and do, God will be pleased with us and bless us. But Saul was not blessed. Samuel told Saul, “You acted foolishly” (1 Sam. 13:13), meaning he had acted without reference to God. He was like the fool who says in his heart, “There is no God” (Pss. 14; 53). He did not obey the command of the Lord.

Samuel told Saul that because of his disobedience, his kingdom would not endure. This meant that the Messiah would not be known as Son of Saul. Then Samuel said, “The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command” (1 Sam. 13:14). And finally, because Saul did not obey him, God abandoned Saul and threw him out. God cannot use a Christian who will not be controlled by God and his word. Such a person is undependable, abandoned, and thrown out.

Are you commandable? Are you a servant? Do you do what God tells you instantly, exactly, and gladly? In this first test, Saul would not please God; he did his own thing. So instead of blessing him, Samuel punished him. But it was not Samuel doing it; the Lord punished and abandoned Saul.

II. Saul’s Second Test

Thank God, he often gives us more than one opportunity. Though Saul failed the first test, he was given a second test, as we read in 1 Samuel 15. Would Saul obey the Lord exactly, instantly, and gladly this time? Had he learned his lesson?

Samuel declared, “This is what the LORD Almighty says” (1 Sam. 15:2). Notice, God is not our buddy, boss, or mere superior. He is the Lord Almighty, the Creator of the ends of the earth, the One who gives us being and sustains all things by the word of his power. It is he who was speaking to Saul through Samuel.

What was God saying? “I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel” (1 Sam. 15:2). Descendants of Esau, the Amalekites fought against Israel, meaning against the Lord, as the people of God came out of Egypt. So Moses said, “The LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation” (Exod. 17:16). Amalekites are a symbol of sinners who are against God. There can be no truce: God is angry with sinners every day.

Later, Moses reminded the Israelites of God’s judgment on the Amalekites: “Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and cut off all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God. When the LORD your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!” (Deut. 25:17-19).

The Lord remembers and will deal with every sinner who contradicts him. A sinner is an enemy of God and has no fear of him. The Lord will punish sinners both here and hereafter.

The time for the judgment of the Amalekites had now come. So the Lord commanded Saul, “Go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them” (1 Sam. 15:3). Then he gave more specific instructions so there would be no misunderstanding. God clearly reveals to us what he expects us to do. He does not mumble. There is clarity in his commands: “Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.” Liberal theologians might say that this cannot be the same God as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ described in the New Testament. But it is the same God. Our God is the holy God who forgives the sins of those who repent and trust in him, but by no means clears the guilty. He is both compassionate and holy.

The term “utterly destroy” appears seven times in 1 Samuel 15 (vv. 3, 8, 9 twice, 15, 18, 20). It is the theme: Saul was to utterly destroy the Amalekites just as Joshua destroyed the Jerichoites.

Did Saul obey the Lord Almighty this second time? No! Once again, rebellious Saul did his will, not God’s. He did not act as a servant of the Lord, but did what he pleased. He edited the word of God, adding to it and subtracting from it. So he killed the worthless animals and spared the best, and he spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites, although the Lord Almighty had specifically said, “Spare them not!” Saul again proved unreliable. He could not be trusted with a mission. He would not function as God’s servant.

It is not that Saul was unable to do this task, but that he was unwilling to destroy everything completely (1 Sam. 13:9). The reason was that he himself would not submit to the will of his King, the Lord Almighty. Verse 19 also tells us he did not kill everything because he loved plunder. Why waste something he could use?

Yet Saul was quite competent to completely destroy a town when he wanted to. “[King Saul] then ordered Doeg, ‘You turn and strike down the priests.’ So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck them down. That day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod [they were priests]. He also put to the sword Nob, the town of the priests, with its men and women, its children and infants, and its cattle, donkeys, and sheep” (1 Sam. 22:18-19). But when faced with the command to destroy the Amalekites, Saul would not obey.

Surprisingly, Saul insisted that he was obeying the Lord: “I have carried out the Lord’s instructions. . . . I did obey the Lord.” (1 Sam. 15:13, 20). But God does not give us the freedom to grade ourselves. God gave Christ the authority to judge, but we are not given the authority to judge ourselves.

What did God say about all this? “Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: ‘I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions'” (1 Sam. 15:10-11). The Lord knows when we turn away from the way of the Lord and do not carry out his instructions, even if we insist: “I obeyed the Lord.”

Additionally, Saul sought his own honor, not God’s. He went to Carmel in the south and built a monument “in his own honor” (1 Sam. 15:12). Saul did not care about the honor of God. He did not believe that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. He would say that we should glorify and enjoy ourselves.

Saul also shifted blame from himself to others (1 Sam. 15:15, 21, 24). He told Samuel the soldiers had brought back the animals and other plunder. Such blame-shifting is a direct result of the Fall (Gen. 3). Only when the Holy Spirit comes upon us will we say, “It is not anyone else’s fault. I am the sinner! Have mercy on me.”

Saul also justified his disobedience. Not only did he blame the people for not killing everything, but he also gave a reason for it: “We kept the best for sacrifice to God” (1 Sam. 15:15, 21).

Finally, when pressed, Saul admitted, “I have sinned” (1 Sam. 15:24, 30). But this admission had nothing to do with sincere repentance. It was not like the repentance of David, who, when confronted by Nathan, said, “I have sinned” (2 Sam. 12:13). We have two psalms that speak of David’s repentance (Pss. 32 and 51). Truly David was a servant after God’s own heart because he repented truly and turned away from evil. A true servant is not perfect, but he repents truly.

Saul also failed the second test: therefore, God said he would cast him away. Paul said he did not want that to happen to him: “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (1 Cor. 9:27, KJV).

Are you a castaway? Are you being used by God, or have you been thrown out? Whom are you serving-your own interests or the interests of God? (PGM) Saul was not a servant; he was a self-pleaser; therefore, he became a castaway and there was no more opportunity for him.

John Piper tells us that God was not delighted with Saul because of five reasons:

1. Saul’s fear was misplaced. Saul told Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them” (1 Sam. 15:24). Saul was afraid of the people but not afraid of God. He put fear of men above fear of God.
2. Saul’s source of pleasure was misplaced (1 Sam. 15:19). Samuel asked Saul, “Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?” (1 Sam. 15:19). Saul sought pleasure in things, not in God.
3. Saul’s praise was misplaced. “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor” (1 Sam. 15:2). Saul put his own glory above the glory of God.
4. Saul practiced divination. “For rebellion is like the sin of divination” (1 Sam. 15:23). We are practicing divination every time we ignore God’s word in favor of our own. A rebellious person prefers the wisdom of self to God’s wisdom as revealed in clear, perspicuous direction.
5. Saul practiced idolatry. “Arrogance [is] like the evil of idolatry” (1 Sam. 15:23). In other words, Saul worshiped himself, not God. When a child does not obey his father or mother, he is worshiping himself, not God.¹

God was displeased with Saul and grieved over him (1 Sam. 15:10, 35). Paul writes, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30). The reason some people, including Christians, are depressed and miserable is that they have grieved the Lord. We cannot grieve the Holy Spirit and be happy at the same time. God told Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?” (Gen. 4:6-7). We cannot do evil and expect to be full of joy. If the Holy Spirit is grieved, we will be depressed, and we cannot come out of this depression until we repent seriously and earnestly seek the Lord.

God rejected Saul, and it is stated three places (1 Sam. 15: 23, 26; 16:1). Because Saul had rejected the word of the Lord, God rejected him as king. He had only two tests; this was the final rejection. What a tragedy when God rejects someone! Proven to be a wicked and worthless servant, Saul was cast out.

What were the consequences of God’s rejection of Saul?

1. Saul was rejected as king.
2. Saul no longer received the word of the Lord. How tragic when we read the Bible but it does not speak to us, or when we listen to the sermon but are bored by it.
3. Saul was excommunicated and Samuel refused to fellowship with Saul.
4. The Holy Spirit was taken away from Saul.
5. An evil spirit came upon Saul and tormented him. The life of a servant who will not obey the Lord is one of torment, restlessness, misery, psychosomatic troubles, and unhappiness. Demonized, Saul tried to kill his own son as well as David. He killed eighty-five priests, even when his own soldiers refused to do so.
6. Saul sought the counsel of a witch. When a person rejects the word of the Lord, he seeks counsel from everyone else but God. In Saul’s case, he turned to a medium.
7. Saul committed suicide.

When God rejects a person, there is no hope for him. He is without God and without hope in the world. Truly, Saul was thrown out into the outer darkness. This is the destiny of all who will not be controlled and governed by the Lord and his word, of all who will not be God’s obedient servants. Such people’s destiny is gloom, destruction, and outer darkness.

III. Tested and Approved: Jesus Christ

After Adam refused to obey God, all of his descendants have followed him in disobedient living. But in the fullness of time, the second Person of the Trinity became incarnate as a servant, and we are told he is a suffering servant. He became the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world. It was his passion to seek his Father’s will and complete it, though he was enticed not to. When tempted by the devil, he replied, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God'” (Matt. 4:4). When his own disciple Peter rebuked him for predicting his death on the cross, Jesus said, “Get behind me, Satan!” (Matt. 16:21-23).

Jesus Christ obeyed the Father by suffering on our behalf. The Hebrews writer says, “Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered” (Heb. 5:8). Elsewhere he writes:

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings, you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am-it is written about me in the scroll-I have come to do your will, O God.'” First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” (although the law required them to be made). Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Heb. 10:5-10)

The Son of God came to do the will of God by offering his life as a sacrifice for our sins. He is the truly obedient servant. He asked the Jews, “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?” (John 8:46) The answer is, “No one.” Elsewhere he said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34). In his high priestly prayer he said, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4). In Gethsemane he prayed so earnestly that his sweat was like drops of blood. Yet he prayed, “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42, 44).

Peter called Christ “[God’s] holy servant Jesus” (Acts 4:27). Paul tells us how Jesus obeyed the Father by humbling himself and becoming a servant, obedient to the death of the cross. As a result, “God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name” (Phil. 2:9). Paul also declares, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21); “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us . . . in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to [us]” (Gal. 3:13-14).

IV. Are You a Servant of God?

The Lord Jesus is seeking servants who will be mastered only by him and not by anything else in the world. He alone is King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 19:16). My question is, are you his servant? And if not, will you become one?

How can we become servants of God? Paul writes, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9). This is the message of first importance, Paul says, “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared” to many (1 Cor. 15:3-7). Isaiah prophesied that God’s eternal will would prosper in his hand, and it did (Isa. 53:10).

I urge you to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved, and become a faithful servant of the Lord. Live for him and serve him alone. Be a slave of Jesus Christ, as Paul was (Rom. 1:1). Hear his will in the Scriptures and do it by the power of the Holy Spirit. God always makes his will clear to his servants. He made it clear to Adam, he made it clear to Saul, and he makes it clear to us in the Scriptures. And when you have done so, you will have reason to rejoice on the last day. You will hear the sweet words from the Lord’s lips: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord.”

There is no greater honor than to be a servant of God both in this life and the life to come. Paul exhorts, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58). And John declares, “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night, . . . And they will reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 22:3-5). God’s servants shall see his face. That is the beatific vision. That is blessing in its pregnant biblical sense.

Saul knew God’s will, but he refused to obey God. Because he rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord rejected him and threw him out. But our Savior knew the will of God and fully obeyed his Father. By his perfect obedience we have been saved to serve and be like him.

Where do we find God’s will today? In the Holy Scriptures. Read and study them carefully, bringing your best mind at the best time, for in them is revealed what God wants us to do. The Scriptures say, “Repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” They instruct us, “Children, obey your parents”; “Shine as light in the world”; “Come out from among them and be ye separate”; “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices”; “Go and make disciples of all nations”; “You shall be my witnesses”; “Work with your hands, that you may have something to give”; “Husbands, love your wives”; “Lay down your life for your brothers”; “Be filled with the Spirit.”

The writer to the Hebrews exhorts us, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Heb. 4:7). The voice of God is powerful and effectual, not just in creating a new world, but in changing us from the dead to the living: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor. 5:17). Today we have heard the voice of God through a human servant. May we be softhearted and say to him, “Speak, Lord; your servant is hearing.” May we be servants, like Samuel, Joseph, Daniel, Joshua, Caleb, and above all, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who loved and did his Father’s will always.

¹ John Piper, “The Pleasure of God in Obedience” (March 29, 1987), http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/the-pleasure-of-god-in-obedience