1 Samuel 30- 2 Samuel 2
Taking Others With Us
As the book of 1 Samuel comes to its sad conclusion, we find Saul, his sons and Israel fighting on Mount Gilboa. Young Israelite soldiers lay slain all around, and the enemy was pressing hard against Saul and his sons. Eventually, Jonathan, Abinadab and Malchi-shua fell to the Philistine archers, and Saul and his armor-bear fought all alone. What a horrible moment this must have been for the rebellious king. Before him were the arrow-filled bodies of his sons and those of other mothers and fathers. Israel was suffering a grand defeat, and all for one reason: his willful rebellion against the LORD. We are told, "Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me. But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it" (31:4). Was it his own pride that led him to do this? Or, the despair of the price paid by those who followed him? Regardless, Saul paid the price for his sins, and others paid it as well.
It is one thing for us to live the way we want and suffer the consequences. After all, God gives us the right to either accept or reject him. It is quite another thing, however, when we choose to sin and exert influence on others. Jesus said this, "And he said to his disciples, Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin" (Luke 17:1-2).
Sometimes those who follow us follow us into sin. While this was not the case with Jonathan, who resisted his father's willful ways, it was true of so many kings of Israel (1 Kings 14:16; 15:30, 34; 16:13, 26, etc) who caused the nation to move into sin. People in positions of leadership and influence ought to remember this important lesson. Maybe that's one reason why James wrote in James 3:1, "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness." Fathers and mothers in particular need to give regard to this point. If we are living the life of a hypocrite, our children will notice and likely do the same. If we show our children that we don't want to really, deeply live the Christian life, why should we expect them to? While saying that, there is no guarantee that if we serve God faithfully our children will do the same, but we at least have given them a good example.
But, sometimes others may not follow in our sins, but they may suffer as a result of our choices. Such was at least the case with Jonathan, if not the other sons of Saul. The father, who is a workaholic, may neglect his son or daughter. The daughter of an alcoholic may be ridiculed by friends. The child of divorced parents may have problems with intimacy later in life. Congregations where elders or preachers have fallen to sin sometimes take years to recover, with
The lesson here is that the pain of our sins often doesn't stop with ourselves. For the sake of those who follow us, let us examine our lives honestly. If sin is found, don't make the mistake of King Saul. Repent before it is too late-for your sake and others.
