The Root of the Fall

Transcript

Hello, my friend… so glad you're with me today. This is By God's Call — day 116, The Root of the Fall.

"So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the LORD in that he did not keep the command of the LORD, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance." 1 Chronicles 10:13.

Let that land carefully, because this is serious. The text doesn't just say "Saul died in battle." It goes further — it explains the cause. And the cause isn't military. It isn't about war strategy, troop numbers, or a tactical mistake. The cause is spiritual: Saul broke faith with the LORD.

And that broken faith wasn't born on that final battle day. It came from long before — from disobediences that piled up across his whole reign. "He did not keep the command of the LORD." One instruction ignored here, one sacrifice offered at the wrong moment there, one order carried out halfway somewhere else. Each of those choices looked small on its own. But together, they formed a pattern. And that pattern has a name: broken faith.

And then comes the final, desperate moment. Saul, unable to hear God's answer — not through dreams, not through prophets, not through the Urim — decides to seek guidance somewhere else. He consults a medium. Think about that: the king anointed by God, the man who once had the Spirit of the LORD upon him, went looking for answers in the dark because God's silence had become too unbearable to keep waiting through.

And here is something that needs to be said plainly: God's silence should not have driven Saul further away. It should have brought him back. When God goes quiet, the right response isn't to seek out another voice — it's to examine why the line went dead. It's to return, to confess, to wait. Saul did the opposite. And the text is honest about the outcome: he died because of it.

But notice where this verse sits. It closes the chapter on Saul's reign — and right after, David's reign begins. One king's broken faith cleared the ground for another king's faithfulness. God wasn't left without a plan when Saul failed. The story kept moving. It always does.

My friend, maybe you don't have a medium at your door, but maybe you've learned to look for answers in places you know, deep down, aren't from God. Maybe you have a clear instruction — something you already know you need to do, an obedience you've been putting off week after week — and instead, you're seeking relief somewhere else. In a distraction, in an excuse, in a second opinion you already know will only tell you what you want to hear.

Saul's fall didn't start big. It started small, with one word not kept. And that's exactly where restoration begins too: small, with one obedience recovered.

So today, name the instruction you've been putting off. And obey it now, before you turn to any other source for an answer.

Stay close to God. Pray — then act. I'll see you tomorrow, my friend.