A striking specimen of young manhood, he came from an illustrious family abundantly blessed with wealth and fame. They were part of the most spiritually and materially privileged nation in the world. In his early years the young man evidently was obedient, diligent, upright and even gave indication of spiritual stirrings. Besides all this, the nation’s highest position of honor and power was presented to him.
Years later he committed suicide.
Shortly before that awful act, he probably witnessed the death of three of his sons, slain in a battle he was leading. He left a legacy of pride, covetousness, anger, deceit, violence and spiritual corruption. Most horrible of all, he left this world seemingly without any proof or display of faith in God.
We would do well to consider why Saul, king of Israel, came to such an awful end. But, for Christian parents, we feel it is even more important to question how he began such a disastrous course.
Saul’s family background and his character as a youth are described in two verses found in 1 Samuel 9:1212And they answered them, and said, He is; behold, he is before you: make haste now, for he came to day to the city; for there is a sacrifice of the people to day in the high place: (1 Samuel 9:12). “Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.” What blessings are described here!
But, Christian fathers, you have been given far greater spiritual blessings than all the material wealth, prominence and physical presence that belonged to Kish and his son Saul.
Are you making use of them in order that your dear family might be profited, now and for eternity?
Your children know.
Modeling Grace
Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin whose population, under the righteous judgment of God, was almost completely destroyed many years before. Yet one of those men mentioned in Saul’s lineage was living during that very time. Only six hundred men out of many thousands of the tribe of Benjamin lived (Judg. 20:47-4847But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness unto the rock Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months. 48And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well the men of every city, as the beast, and all that came to hand: also they set on fire all the cities that they came to. (Judges 20:47‑48)), and one of those whose life was spared was Saul’s ancestor. Kish and his family owed their very existence to the sovereign grace of God.
So do you, dear dad and mom.
Consider where you might be today but for the sovereign grace of God. Is such free, divine grace having its practical effect in your life so that it might be said of you, “Ye were ensamples [models (JND)] to all that believe . . . also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak anything” (1 Thess. 1:7-87So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. 8For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing. (1 Thessalonians 1:7‑8))?
Are you being a model of grace and faith to those precious treasures God has entrusted to you?
Your children know.
Claiming Promises
Saul’s father Kish was a “mighty man of power [or wealth (JND)],” and thus Saul had no need in his youth.
Your Father, dear parents, is infinitely more wealthy—infinitely more powerful. It is He who has made exceeding great and precious promises to you through His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.
Have you familiarized yourself with them? Have you diligently claimed them—walked in and enjoyed them—for yourself first, and then for your family? Or do you think that the world’s careers, hobbies, interests and expectations hold promise of more satisfaction than your loving Father will give you?
Your children know.
Investing Talents
Saul was personally blessed with health, strength and vigor. But what God had given him for the benefit of His dear people was eventually used—wasted—seeking his own honor and glory.
Dear parents! How are you using all the good things—the exceeding abundance of physical and mental health—which He has given you?
Many who read this periodical live in affluent, well-favored Western lands. Has such liberty and abundance been used to draw your beloved little flock closer to the Lord Jesus? Or have you allowed their hearts (and yours) to be stolen by this present evil world, ruled by the wicked angel of light?
What have you done with those talents which have been given you for the blessing of your family? Have they been invested in light of eternity, that they might be returned with interest to the One who entrusted them to you?
Are the years of healthy vigor and strength that the Lord has granted you—while your children’s lives are molded—being spent wisely? Have you expended some of that energy to have personal time alone with your Lord—learning to know Him better and to follow Him more closely?
Your children know.
Proper Priorities
“The asses of Kish Saul’s father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son . . . arise, go seek the asses. And he passed through the land . . . but they found them not. . . . Saul said to his servant . . . Come, and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us” (1 Sam. 9:3-53And the asses of Kish Saul's father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses. 4And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not. 5And when they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us. (1 Samuel 9:3‑5)).
While Kish had everything a man of his day could desire, what he didn’t have caused tragic consequences in the life of his son Saul.
Kish didn’t have his priorities straight.
“Asses” (donkeys—an unclean animal to the Jew) were more important to him for the wealth and prestige they represented than his own son.
And what about your children? Have the material things of this fleeting life—career expectations, wealth, attainment and respectability—become more important than the family which God has entrusted to you?
Your children watch and learn by example. If the asses (the things of this world) are most important in your life, be assured they will also become the most important objects of your children’s lives—becoming more important than fellowship with the Lord Jesus, more important than reading and prayer, and more important than family and assembly.
What are your priorities in life?
Your children know.
Wanted: Fathers and Mothers
One of Saul’s most heartbreaking comments recorded is this: “Come, and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us.”
Saul knew he took second place to the asses. He knew he couldn’t find or provide for his father what was most important to the heart of Kish.
Parents, consider carefully these sad words—spoken by a youth who was being molded by his father into a self-seeking, proud, violent, faithless man who would eventually take his own life: “And take thought for us.” Saul realized that he was no more important to his father than a servant—else he would have said, “Take thought for me.”
Dads and moms, are you displaying your love for the Lord Jesus as well as the love and grace of the Lord Jesus to your precious children?
They know.
Ed.