How Long Are You Going To Mourn For Saul?
‘“Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being King over Israel?” (1 Samuel 16:1).
Samuel’s long life of service to the Lord is not chronicled for us in detail, but there are many characteristics of Samuel that are undeniable. Samuel understood his purpose for existing, was wholly devoted to the Lord's service, and would not let pride interfere with his obedience to the Lord.
Samuel was a product of a faithful woman, who was desperate to bear a child. His mother Hannah was committed to upholding the vow she made to the Lord (1 Samuel 1:11, 20, 26-28) by dedicating Samuel to His service. Samuel grows up in the care of Eli, the priest, and his mother rejoices in this, supporting him by visiting him yearly to sacrifice to the Lord and making him small ephods to wear to show his dedication. Every step of the way, Samuel shows the fulfillment of the purpose for which he was created. First Samuel chapters 1 and 2 tell us of Samuel’s ministering to the Lord as a boy; then, in chapter 3, Samuel receives his first prophecy and must tell Eli of the removal of the priesthood from his lineage. Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the words of the Lord, yet he told him everything, and from that day forward, the Lord was with Samuel, never letting his prophecies fail.
Samuel came into the Israelite story after the judges, when the people were doing what was right in their own eyes. They were plagued with the idols of the nations that surrounded them and were being threatened by many nations like the Philistines. Even the priests, Eli’s sons, were incredibly corrupt, causing the Lord to reject them. This is not lost on the people of Israel; they see this corruption, and it only pushes them further from the Lord. But, like we are told in chapters 2 and 3, Samuel is a faithful man who gained the favor of the people because of his consistent and accurate prophecies. Samuel serves as the last judge of Israel, guiding the people back to the pure worship of the Lord in chapter 7. The people trusted Samuel to rebuild their relationship with the Lord and to deliver them from the hands of the Philistines. Samuel leads them well for many years, but as he grows old, he appoints his sons to judge over the people like he had (1 Samuel 8:1). Yet, like Eli’s sons, the sons of Samuel were selfish and did not seek the glory of God in all that they did. Again the people of Israel see this and reject Samuel's sons, Samuel, and ultimately, the Lord by asking for a king to rule over them like the other nations had. As I think most of us would, Samuel takes this as a personal rejection and seeks the Lord for help. God knew the distress this was causing Samuel, and first reminded him that their rejection was of the Lord, not Samuel. God appointed Saul to be the first King of Israel and sent Samuel to anoint Him.
Quickly, the withdrawal from faith in the Lord showed as Saul helped lead his people to victory over the Ammonites in Chapter 11. In chapter 12, Samuel’s upstanding character is emphasized again as Samuel asks the people to bear witness if he had ever defrauded, oppressed, bribed, or hurt any of them. None can speak against him, which he uses to demand credibility. He goes on to remind the people of all the Lord has done for them, the many deliverances He has provided, and urges them not to let their king come in the way of their trust in the Lord alone. He warns them that if they turn away from God, He will turn away from them also, like He had done to their ancestors.
Just as Samuel had warned, Saul quickly leads his people away from God. In chapters 13 and 15, Saul places his faith in himself, assuming that he is doing what is right just as his forefathers had done. First, he fails to wait on Samuel to make a sacrifice to the Lord, and God responds by telling Saul his kingdom would not endure forever, removing the kingship from his lineage. After that, when he is commanded to completely obliterate the Amalekites (15:3), Saul goes out and destroys the Amlekites but does not completely wipe them out as he is commanded. Verse 9 of chapter 15 says, “But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless they destroyed.” All of the things they had rejected Eli and Samuel’s sons for, the people of Israel were willing to let their king do, and they followed in his footsteps.
Samuel again is tasked to tell someone of their failure and the punishment they have brought upon themselves. He is distressed as the Lord tells him that Saul has been rejected and the throne will be ripped from him. Despite the years of competent and faithful guidance Samuel had provided, Saul still does not get it and pleads for forgiveness, which Samuel cannot give.
This is when the Lord asked Samuel how long he would grieve over Saul. While there is no given explanation as to how long Samuel mourned, we can infer that it was longer than Samuel should have mourned over God’s rejection of Saul. We could speculate about the relationship between Samuel and Saul for a reason as to his mourning, (maybe “as a reason for his mourning”?) but it seems this may be more than grief over loss. Samuel is an excellent example of a life of devoted faith. From the time he is able, to the day he dies, he is serving the Lord, acting as a judge, priest, and prophet. His life must have felt heavy with the weight of spiritual leadership for his people. He watched Eli’s sons be consumed with pride and greed and be rejected by the people. He watched his own sons succumb to the temptations of personal glory and be rejected by the people. He watched his Lord be rejected by the people despite His perfect and merciful love. Then, he watched Saul be rejected by God for his pride and lack of faith. Samuel did everything he could, and yet, it seemed as though failure was inevitable, so he grieved. He was filled with distress over what else was to come. However, when the Lord approaches him and tells him not to mourn that there is work to be done, Samuel goes forward to seek out the next king of Israel, despite the danger it could bring to him. He obeys the Lord.
As He always does, God had the advantage of knowing the purpose that all of those failures and rejections would bring in the path to the Messiah, but Samuel knew only what he was being shown. How often do we suffer like Samuel, wishing we could understand why our life is not going the way we thought it would or wish that it could? It is so easy to convince ourselves that the things we are planning and praying for should be His will, and it only leaves us distraught when we realize that was never God’s plan for us. We look at the world around us and wonder how so much evil can prevail, but like Samuel, we do not understand the purpose of these things in the Lord's will. Samuel’s story provides us the contrast of leadership the world seeks - , handsome, tall, strong leaders who do what they feel is right - and the leaders God will set apart those who are humble, not filled with pride, and, most importantly, who are obedient. Samuel himself plays a Christ-like figure here, but more so, he paves the way for David and the line of Israel’s leaders that will bring us to the coming of the Messiah, the way of salvation. Samuel’s grief is a commendable response of a faithful servant. He is concerned with the well-being of God’s people, he is fearful of the endurance of their faith, and he is overwhelmed with the continuous failures of the Israelites. We will often grieve over our disappointments or losses, but we must respond like Samuel, filled with trust in the Lord and conviction to serve Him in everything we do.
In 1 Samuel 8:7 and 1 Samuel 16:1, Samuel receives reminders that God is in control, and all He is seeking from Samuel is obedience, not perfection.
Samuel is a bright light in a dark time, and we can learn much from his radical obedience to the Lord.