King Saul and the Church

1 Samuel 24:16–21 (also 26:25), Here King Saul prophesies that David will succeed him as king over Israel, and that he will do great things and prevail. There were other instances of Saul coming under a spirit of prophecy (also 10:10–11; 19:23–24).

Saul was capable of hearing the voice of Elohim, but because of unrestrained carnality, a spirit of rebellion (15:23), and his inability to submit to the will of Elohim, he was spiritually conflicted. Clearly, YHVH was not in his heart (15:15, 21, 30). Within Saul was a constant struggle between doing the will of Elohim and his own will. The latter usually won out, because he had not unconditionally surrendered his will to YHVH (15:23, 26). Saul was swayed more by popular opinion than by the Word of Elohim (15:24, 30). Saul was able to worship Elohim (15:31), but was spiritually weak and not able to obey the Word of Elohim (15:23, 26). Is it possible to love and worship Elohim without obeying his Word?

Yeshua declared that those who love him will obey his commandments or his Word (John 14:15). James wrote that the demons even tremble before Elohim (Jas 2:19), even though they are in rebellion against the Word of Elohim.

Faith, works and obedience must accompany the worship and fear of Elohim (Jas 2:14–26). Though Saul paid lip service to YHVH, his heart was far from him. He obeyed when it was convenient and expedient to him.

Isaiah similarly spoke of the rebellious Israelites who drew near to YHVH with their lips, but in reality, their hearts were far from him (Isa 29:13). Yeshua quoted and applied this verse to the hypocritical and rebellious religious leaders of his day (Matt 15:6–7).

Have you ever thought that Saul may be a spiritual type of the church, which teaches and obeys the Torah-Word of Elohim only in part, but otherwise follows a Torahless (at times, even anti-Torah) belief system?

But let’s not be arrogant against our Christian brothers! How much of the Saul-mentality do we still have in us—even among those who claim to love and to follow the Torah? How do we find the spiritual blind spots in our own hearts?

 

6 thoughts on “King Saul and the Church

  1. This is a good question to ask ourselves as we begin focusing on preparations for Passover and removing the leaven from our homes, our lives, and our hearts.

  2. Saul was completely knowledgeable of Torah, Christians, in general, believe it is ancient history.

    I dont believe that most Christians are lost, yet I dont remotely see how the following verses apply to Christians:

    1 John 2:3-6 In this way we can sense that we know Him, if we obey His Commandments. 4 Anyone who says, “I know Him”, but doesnt obey His Commandments is a liar—not a person of truth. 5 But those who continually obey [present tense, active] His Word, have truly perfected the love of YHVH. That’s how we can be sure we’re in harmony with Him. 6 Anyone who claims, “I ‘comply with’ Him”, is obligated to live as He lived.—GV

    So how can Torahless Christians be saved? Paul explained that in Romans:

    Romans 2:12-16 Anyone who sins without the Torah will also die without the Torah. When anyone wanders from the Torah of YHVH, their judgment will be determined by the Torah. 13 It’s not those who hear the Torah who YHVH deems righteous, rather, those who obey the Torah will be deemed righteous. 14 When people of other ethnicities who dont have the Torah instinctively do what the Torah requires, they, while not upholding the Torah, are essentially their own Torah! 15 They demonstrate the behaviors associated with the Torah because it is written in their ‘hearts’, while their consciences also bears witness. The decisions of their conscience are either a legal accusation or a legal defense EXCUSING THEM 16 on Judgment Day, when YHVH, thru Yeshua Messiah, will judge the secret behavior of humanity, as My Good News declares.—GV

    The following passage describes Judgment Day—The Last Day. This assessment is NOT a parable; rather, this is an unambiguous pronouncement!

    Matthew 25:31-41 When the Son of Man comes … 32 All the nations will be gathered in front of Him, and He’ll separate them from each other, just like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He’ll put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right, “Come, you who are blessed by My Father! Inherit the Kingdom… 37 And the righteous will ask Him, “Master, when did we see You hungry… 38 or thirsty…or needing clothes…in prison… 39 or sick, and come to visit You?” [Answer:] …41 whenever you did anything for one of My brothers, who others thought of as insignificant, you did it for Me.—GV

    It is particularly important that you notice that these particular “righteous” are totally oblivious as to why they are being rewarded! They dont understand why they are being offered eternal life! They had certainly not understood Father’s plan for humanity! Yet this is a very positive judgment. It is an invitation to pre-qualified (i.e. not wicked) people to become “like the Angels”. I seriously doubt that anyone will decline the offer when Father says to them: “Enter into the joy of your Master”. This is, however a very brief account. I fully expect that these people, when Father has their totally undivided attention, will be exceedingly willing to pledge their allegiance to Yeshua, their Life Giver, as their sins are removed. These compassionate “gentiles” will be EXCUSED and will be welcomed into the Kingdom!

    Actually, it may be easier to judge someone who is not “being good”, just to obtain an eternal reward, or someone who fears hell fire. A person who, due to his “nature”, treats his fellow man with love, not expecting personal gain, is sure to be looked upon quite favorably by Father!

    Continuing:

    Matthew 25:41 Then He’ll say to those on His left, “Go back to your journey away from Me. You are doomed to the everlasting fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 When I was hungry…thirsty…a stranger…need[ing] clothes…sick…in prison you didnt visit Me. 44 Then they’ll reply, “Master, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison and not help You… (like that)? [Answer]: 45 Then He’ll reply, “I am certain that whenever you didnt do anything for one of those ‘insignificant’ ones, you didnt do anything for Me.
    46 They’ll go away for an eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal Life.—GV

    Again, as we saw before, the wicked are condemned in the same “hour” that the righteous are rewarded! Furthermore, the wicked are not wicked because they do not understand that there is an afterlife or because they dont understand the Bible, they are wicked because of the way they treated their fellow man! The wicked were not concerned when their neighbors were hungry, naked or destitute; in fact they often caused the situation. Father considers a person’s behavior toward their neighbors as if they were treating Him that way! The ignorant will be judged without regard to breaking the first four Commandments! Those apply to the firstborn—true and knowledgable believers. Also notice that this separation is complete at the beginning of the millennium; it is “When the Son of Man comes…”.

    Notice the type of questions being asked by the “righteous” in the Matthew 25:37-40; these are the kinds of questions asked by ignorant people, and they will of course be asked without delay!

    • Lon, thanks for the thoughtful and insightful reply.

      According to my calculations, those who are solid Bible-believing Christians keep from 25% to 50% of the Torah. These Christians often keep less of the Torah, but with more love in their hearts than many Hebrew roots Torah-obedient believers who are virtually loveless, but score high on legalism and pride.

      Love is the greatest thing (1 Cor 13), and love is the fulfilling of the Torah-law (Rom 13:10). Thankfully, Yeshua is the Just Judge to determine who will score higher on rewards day.

      One more thought. To the degree that Christians, that is to the degree that they know Elohim as per 1 John 2:3. This applies to all of us.

      • I completely agree with love being the most important factor when Judgment Day comes. Those of us who know to obey the Torah will be held to its higher standards and be rewarded much better (as firstfruits) than the ignorant who will be judged ENTIRELY on their love for their neighbors, as the sheep and goats illustration indicates. I would think that anyone who diligently exercises the conscience that they were born with would be obeying the last six of the 10 Commandments, and those commandments are the primary basis for the Torah statutes and judgments. That would even include ignorant but conscientious people who are pagans, and the vast majority of people born in the years BC.

  3. Nate, do you have any teachings in when YHVH first established His “Church/religion”? So many in the mainstream church that Jesus came to establish the new religion of Christianity and His new church of Christians. I’m not inclined to believe this but am not sure how to go about showing/proving/teaching that YHVH’s “religion” and “church” were established long before the letters of the New Testament came into being. Any teachings you have on this subject or could give on this subject would be greatly appreciated. I’m trying to do some “Torah” apologetics with my teems who are being sucked into mainstream thinking by their homeschool friends.

    • Good question. I have addressed this issue indirectly in a number of my teaching articles and videos over the years about who is Israel including in my most recent Sukkot Series videos. The bottom line is that Yeshua in his pre-incarnate state was the one who encountered the patriarchs, met Moses at the burning bush and spoke to and led the children of Israel through the wilderness. In other words, he, as the Word of Elohim, is the one who spoke (on behalf of his Father) the ten commandments and gave the Torah to Israel. He then raised up the nation of Israel, married her at Sinai, and then died to redeem her for being an adulterous woman. He then betrothed himself to her (Israel aka the church) at the Last Supper and we are now waiting for the finalization of that marriage covenant (called the New Covenant) at the Second Coming culminating in the wedding feast of the Lamb (the Feast of Tabernacles). When a person becomes a true Christian, they are grafted into and become part of Israel and hence the “church” or nation that Yeshua started at Mt. Sinai. I cover this whole topic this in

    • . Part one of this talk is at

    • . This is a huge subject, and something the modern mainstream church, sadly, has no clue about, because they have cut themselves off from their pro-Torah, Hebraic roots, and thus have blinded themselves to large amounts of truth that have been hidden in plain sight in the Bible all along, which I am helping to uncover and bring to light in this series of videos. Check these videos out and let me know if they answered your questions or not. Blessings!

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