The Story of Saul, Part 4

Goo: Hey, Goo here! You probably know by now that here in the clubhouse, we have a quest each and every month. A quest is a very fun thing to do, a thing to bake with your folks, a thing to make with a friend. Sometimes it's a thing to record so you can possibly make it onto a real Paws & Tales episode. I have it by good authority that the kids that have the most fun go to the clubhouse every month to find out what the newest quest is. You can do that too. Just log on to pawsandtales.org and head on into the clubhouse for the latest quest and the ginormous ton of other fun stuff too. That's pawsandtales.org. I will see you in Wildwood!
Insight for Living: Previously on Paws & Tales.
Samuel: What does it mean when Samuel tells King Saul that God has chosen someone else to be king?
King Saul: But our king won't seek the Lord. He is against me! There's nothing to do. Do not let anyone eat anything. The king has put us under an oath.
Jonathan: Look at that. Honey is dripping out of that hive. I never knew honey could be so good.
David: Inquire of the Lord first. Cast the lots and let God direct our actions.
King Saul: There is no answer here. The Lord has not spoken. A curse. It is the curse! Who has sinned to cause this?
Samuel: It is not about food. The worst enemy we have is the foolish pride of our king.
Insight for Living: Welcome to the world of Paws & Tales. Wild Mountain can be a pretty dangerous place. If you stay on the trails and stick with me, there's adventures to be had there too.
Micah: Come on, CJ, jump! It's too far!
Jonathan: It wasn't too far for me!
Insight for Living: Insight for Living is proud to present Paws & Tales. Now King Saul had extended his rule over Israel and beyond. He fought against his enemies on every side. Wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment.
Guest (Male): My King, the Amalekites are in full retreat. You have defeated them!
Insight for Living: As King Saul continually experienced success, his devotion to God continually weakened. He became increasingly devoted only to himself.
King Saul: Denal, come with me.
Denal: Denal, you were right. I am but your humble servant, my king. It was not an original thought with me; it is an axiom. A king who wins in battle wins in all other things. The people love you. I have a few thoughts on your monument.
King Saul: What do you have?
Denal: Oh, they're just ideas, really. Show them to me. The first one is large.
Jonathan: Not a bad shot for the pampered son of the king.
Odeda: Sometimes, Odeda, I long for the simple days before all this.
Jonathan: At times, a great blessing can be harder to bear than suffering. Jonathan, I constantly pray that your father would bear it as well as you have.
Odeda: Oh, it is ten, a hundred times harder for him than for me. Almost no one tells him the truth; they just say what pleases him.
Jonathan: None is worse than Denal. He is leading the king to dark places, to selfishness and self-worship.
Odeda: It's your shot. I'm afraid that Denal is only taking the king to places the king already wanted to go. He's only the hands and feet of my father's worst instincts.
Jonathan: Not bad, Odeda. That was a great shot.
Odeda: I'm as surprised as you are! I've never made a shot like that. I think I'll quit right now. I want to savor the moment. Micah, go get the arrows.
Micah: Watch how fast I run!
Jonathan: More and more, my father confides in me, and he listens to me. I think he'll come around.
Odeda: Did you see him basking in the praise of the people today? He drinks it in.
Jonathan: I saw. I know. But it was a great victory, and he took the credit for himself. God has done everything to turn his heart. Saul has been chosen, gifted, even punished. But despite it all, I don't think the king will ever give his heart entirely to God, and I'm afraid the kingdom will suffer because of it.
Guest (Male): My King.
King Saul: Yes, what is it?
Guest (Male): Samuel has come to speak with you.
King Saul: Show him in. Would you leave us, please?
Guest (Male): Sire.
Samuel: Shalom, King Saul.
King Saul: Shalom, Samuel. What brings you?
Samuel: God sent me to anoint you king over his people.
Insight for Living: After Samuel left, King Saul called in all of his captains and his advisors.
King Saul: Samuel has told me the commands from the Lord. We are to punish Amalek. When Israel came here from Egypt, Amalek attacked. They were beaten back and defeated by the Lord. Afterward, he told Moses, "I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven," and today is that day.
Jonathan: Father, we are to blot them out?
King Saul: Samuel said to strike Amalek and destroy everything that he has. And not spare anything.
Jonathan: Nothing?
King Saul: Nothing. We are to kill the men and women, children and infants, and all of their livestock. We are to destroy every living thing.
Insight for Living: Then Saul gathered the people. There were 200,000 foot soldiers and another 10,000 men of Judah. Now, this was not going to be a war as much as an execution of a wicked people who had been condemned by God. It was neither going to be a great challenge nor a great victory. It was merely a task that needed to be done. Saul and his army set out for the city of Amalek, and they set an ambush.
Mariana Roberson: Hi, everyone! My name is Mariana Roberson. I am seven years old. I listen to Paws & Tales when I go anywhere in the car. You should too. Bye-bye!
Manny: So are you, Joelle? I'm Tiffany's agent.
Ned: Really? I didn't know.
Manny: When she gets here, she needs the script.
Ned: Sure, right here.
Manny: Ah, a spray of geraniums.
Ned: Excuse me?
Tiffany Rockler: Greetings, support staff. I'm ready to go. Is tape rolling? Good. Is this the script? I may ad-lib a bit. I am Tiffany Rockler from Wildwood. I have come to encourage you all to get a copy of the very first Paws & Tales book ever, The Overcomers. How was that?
Manny: Oh, so inspiring, Miss Tiffany. Just stick to the script, please.
Tiffany Rockler: The Overcomers is a wonderful continuation of the grand story of Paws & Tales. This is better: a continuation of the original story arc. How's that?
Manny: Oh, I have chills, goosebumps!
Ned: I don't know. Story arc is too technical. Please stick to the script.
Tiffany Rockler: To get a copy of your own, just log on to pawsandtales.org. You are going to love all the adventure, the fun, and the great teaching that Paws & Tales is famous for. Wait. Manny, where are my geraniums? There are supposed to be geraniums in here!
Manny: Oh, I'm onto something, onto something!
Ned: Stopping tape.
King Saul: Not yet. Not yet. Attack!
Insight for Living: That day, Saul defeated the Amalekites.
Denal: My King, another great victory to be remembered for generations.
King Saul: Thank you, Denal.
Denal: I have one suggestion.
King Saul: You? Help me with my armor.
Guest (Male): Yes, my lord.
King Saul: Denal, you never have just one suggestion. What is it?
Denal: If you remember, I served in the court of King Agag.
King Saul: Yes, I remember.
Denal: Yes, he is now the only Amalekite we did not kill. Well, perhaps I should spare him and keep him as a trophy of this victory. That is exactly what I was going to suggest. He can be of great service to you. He is shrewd. And I have just spoken with him. He is now a king without a kingdom, and he has eagerly agreed that in return for his life, he will serve you all of his days.
King Saul: Hmm, a wise course of action. Bring him in! He can guide you in negotiations, with strategy.
King Agag: King Saul, I am your most humble servant.
King Saul: Agag, you agree to give your loyalty and devotion to me?
King Agag: Without reservation, my king. I humbly submit that I can serve you in ways that no other can.
King Saul: So Denal has suggested. Prepare living quarters for Agag with whatever else he requires.
Denal: Excellent!
King Agag: Oh, my gratitude will be never-ending, my king.
Captain Shemesh: My King.
King Saul: Captain Shemesh, what is it?
Captain Shemesh: The men are grumbling.
King Saul: After this great victory? What could they possibly be grumbling about?
Captain Shemesh: The men, many of them, do not want to destroy the Amalekites' perfectly good livestock. They've left their own flocks and not plowed their own fields to come and fight for their king. This would bind their hearts to you.
Denal: The task has been completed. Amalek is gone, wiped from the land. What could it hurt?
King Saul: The men have fought long and hard. Have the men destroy all but the best of the livestock. Let the rest be divided among the men. Take out the king's portion first.
Captain Shemesh: Of course, my king. The women will sing of your name forever.
King Saul: Perhaps now is the time, Denal.
Denal: Indeed now, my lord. You have just turned a grumbling and potentially dangerous army into happy and devoted followers.
King Saul: Prepare the troops to move to Carmel. We'll set up the monument.
Denal: The list of your victories will barely fit on the stone, but this is just the first of many monuments to come.
King Saul: Once it's started, we'll head back to Gilgal for a proper celebration.
Jonathan: Father!
King Saul: My son, it is a great day for the kingdom. I want you to remember it well.
Jonathan: Captain Shemesh just gave orders for the men to divide the livestock among themselves.
King Saul: It was necessary, and it was my desire.
Jonathan: That is not what the Lord commanded! Is that King Agag?
King Agag: No longer king. Just Agag. I am now a humble servant of the mighty King Saul.
Jonathan: He should not be here! He should not be alive!
King Agag: I am but a harmless advisor, a trophy really, to bring glory to the king.
Jonathan: If you speak again, I'll kill you myself!
King Saul: Don't be impudent. He'll be useful, and it too was my desire.
Jonathan: Father, can I speak to you alone?
King Saul: We are moving camp to Carmel. We don't have time for this discussion now.
Jonathan: Why Carmel?
Denal: That is where we will place the first monument of King Saul.
Jonathan: Father, please listen to me. We were to destroy everything. Don't you see this as a sin against God?
King Saul: I cannot just reverse my order now, and I will not. These men would revolt. When we get back to Gilgal, I will make a great sacrifice to the Lord.
Jonathan: That will not be enough!
King Saul: Enough! I have spoken. Prepare the troops for Carmel.
Insight for Living: Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel. "I regret that I have made Saul king. His heart has turned from me, and he only obeys his selfish desires." Samuel poured out his anger and disappointment in prayer all through the night. Then he rose early in the morning to find Saul.
Denal: My King, Samuel comes.
King Saul: Shalom, Samuel. God's blessings on you. Things could not have gone better, and I have done all the Lord commanded.
Samuel: What then is this bleating of sheep I hear and the lowing of cattle? Where did they all come from?
King Saul: Oh, the soldiers saved back a few of the best cattle and sheep to offer up in sacrifice to God. But everything else was destroyed. We even sacrificed...
Samuel: Enough! Let me tell you what God said to me last night.
King Saul: Tell me.
Samuel: When you started out, you were nothing, and you knew it. Then God put you at the head of Israel. He made you a king over his people. And then God sent you off to do a job, ordering you: "Go and put the sinners, the Amalekites, under holy ban. Go to war against them until you have totally wiped them out." So why? Why did you not obey God? Why did you grab all this forbidden livestock?
King Saul: I did obey God! I did just what he told me to. I even captured King Agag and destroyed the Amalekites, just as I was told. I admit some of the soldiers saved back a few of the best sheep and cattle, but that was so we could sacrifice them to God at Gilgal.
Samuel: Do you think the Lord wants burnt offerings as much as obedience? To obey the Lord is better than sacrificing to him, and obeying him is more important than an elaborate religious ceremony.
King Saul: Oh, you have misunderstood.
Samuel: Rebellion is like the sin of black magic, and to disobey God by grabbing things that are forbidden is worse than praying to stone idols. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you from being king.
King Saul: No! No, please! Don't leave me! I beg you, please! No, no! Not until you have forgiven me!
Samuel: You have torn my robe, and the Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you. And he has given it to one who is better than you. Samuel, understand this: the Lord, the Glory of Israel, will not change his mind.
King Saul: I have sinned. Please honor me, honor me before the elders of my people, before Israel. Come back with me so that I can worship the Lord your God.
Samuel: Even now, your thoughts are to protect your pride. I will come with you.
Insight for Living: So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshipped the Lord.
King Saul: May the Lord God of Hosts be forever praised! Samuel, thank you for this. I promise before you and God...
Samuel: Bring me Agag, the king of the Amalekites.
King Agag: I am here, oh great prophet. We have fought valiantly in the past, you and I, but that is all in the past. Now, how may I serve you?
Samuel: Your vicious and hungry sword has made many women childless, and now your mother will be childless also.
King Agag: Oh, great one, I do not understand.
Samuel: Soldier, give me your sword.
Captain Shemesh: Of course.
Insight for Living: And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.
King Saul: Samuel, stop! Samuel, what are you doing? Samuel, stop it! No!
Jonathan: Father, leave him alone. He's doing what you should have done yesterday.
Insight for Living: Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death. The Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel. From the way that Scripture reads, it appears that Samuel never really stopped grieving for Saul. It is my opinion that in spite of all Saul's faults and failures, Samuel had come to love him. I think Samuel had been filled with a great hope that this gifted and blessed man would lead the hearts of the people back to God. Instead, this man who was chosen by God gave into despair and distraction and refused to obey God. Samuel's heart was broken.
Samuel: Samuel, how long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him as king. Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. I have chosen the next king from among his sons.
Insight for Living: Samuel did what the Lord said, even though he was putting his life in danger by this act of obedience. Now when a prophet comes to you, he rarely comes with good news. Usually, he comes with a dire warning from the Lord to turn from your evil ways. The people revered Samuel, but they were also deeply afraid of him. When Samuel got to Bethlehem, the elders of the city were terrified, and they came out to meet him, trembling.
Elder (Male): Shalom, Samuel.
Samuel: Shalom, Samuel. What brings you to our humble city? Samuel, do you come in peace?
Elder (Male): I come in peace.
Samuel: God be praised! How can we serve you?
Elder (Male): I've come to sacrifice this heifer and lead you in the worship of God. Prepare yourselves, be consecrated, and join me in worship. Tell Jesse and his sons that they are invited as well.
Samuel: Jesse? Really? You know Jesse?
Elder (Male): I'll be waiting for them.
Samuel: Oh, certainly, Samuel. Of course. I will bring them myself. Jesse and his sons?
Jesse: Samuel, blessed are you with the Lord. Jesse and his sons.
Samuel: Shalom, Samuel. It is a great honor to be here with you.
Jesse: Shalom, Jesse. This is my eldest son, Eliab.
Insight for Living: When they entered, Samuel looked at Eliab. He was tall, handsome, and rugged. He looked very much like a king should look.
Samuel: Here he is. This is the one the Lord has chosen.
Samuel: Samuel, do not be impressed by his appearance or how tall he is. I have rejected him, for God sees not as man sees. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
Samuel: Shalom, Eliab.
Jesse: This is my son, Abinadab.
Samuel: Shalom. This is not the one either.
Jesse: And this is my next son, Shammah.
Samuel: Shalom, Shammah. Nor is he the one.
Insight for Living: In this way, Jesse made all of his sons pass before Samuel.
Samuel: The Lord has not chosen any of these.
Jesse: Chosen? For what? Are these all your sons?
Samuel: Yes. No, there is the youngest. He's out watching the sheep.
Jesse: Well, find him and bring him here. We will not sit down until he comes. Eliab, go and bring David back here.
Eliab: Chosen for what, father?
Jesse: Do I look like a prophet? Go and bring him back, quickly!
Areya Sunshine: Hi, I'm Areya Sunshine from North Carolina! You know what I like to listen to the most? Paws & Tales, of course! There is more Paws & Tales coming right up.
Tiffany Rockler: Hello, lovely listeners! Tiffany Rockler from Paws & Tales here to tell you all about the very new and very fashionable t-shirts now on sale in our store. We have a wonderful Tiffany Rockler shirt with lovely detail.
Ned: Tiffany, that's not true.
Tiffany Rockler: Ned, what are you talking about? Of course it's true. If I said it, then it is true.
Ned: You see, we do have new t-shirts.
Tiffany Rockler: Of course we do.
Ned: Really nice ones that you should go online at pawsandtales.org to see them.
Tiffany Rockler: All of our listeners should do that.
Ned: Yeah, there are Goo's shirts. So cute!
Tiffany Rockler: And there are Ned shirts.
Ned: Go on.
Tiffany Rockler: No Tiffany shirts yet. It's just that Goo's shirt...
Ned: Yeah, really nice ones too!
Tiffany Rockler: And Ned's shirt? But no Tiffany shirt? Oh boy, here it comes. Goodbye, everybody! You all will rue the day!
Jesse: Father, I have him.
Samuel: Shalom, David.
Insight for Living: Now David was the very picture of health, bright-eyed and good-looking.
Samuel: Samuel, arise and anoint him. He is the one.
Samuel: David, son of Jesse. You are anointed.