Skip to content Faithfulness and Failure: Lessons from 1 Chronicles 9–10 Jun 20 · 13 min ...more
Faithfulness and Failure: Lessons from 1 Chronicles 9–10
June 20, 2026 · 13 min
Saul’s unfaithfulness, the dignity of faithful service, and how unfaithfulness bookends Israel’s story and calls us to repent.
Series Stand on the Word - Video On Demand June 20, 2026 · 13 min · Stand on the Word - Video On Demand
Saul’s unfaithfulness, the dignity of faithful service, and how unfaithfulness bookends Israel’s story and calls us to repent. ...more Show the full description Show less Saul’s unfaithfulness, the dignity of faithful service, and how unfaithfulness bookends Israel’s story and calls us to repent.
Series Stand on the Word - Video On Demand Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Support this leader
Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Give
Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
93.9K followers
Family Research Council is serving in the kingdom of God by championing faith, family, & freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview.
93.9K followers
Comments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
1 Chronicles 9: Post-Captivity Dwellers and Faithful Service 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Thanks for joining me this morning as our reading this morning is 1st Chronicles chapters 9 and 10, verse 13 of chapter 10. So Saul died for his unfaithfulness, which0:22 he committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord and because he consulted a medium for guidance. Alright. Let me remind you there is an oasis ahead. We0:33 are soon going to be in the book of Psalms. In fact, we're gonna spend the summer in the refreshing book of the Psalms. So this is a great opportunity, as I mentioned before, to invite someone to join you0:45 on this journey through the word of God. Now Psalms provides a great on ramp to this journey. So I want you I want you to do this. Hit pause. Alright? Hit pause for just a moment and think of 2 names. Write0:57 them down. Write down 2 names that you could invite to join us on this journey. And I'm waiting for you to hit pause. Alright. Here it is. Text the word. This is an invitation.1:09 I'm gonna give you an invitation that you can forward to them. Text Psalms Psalms to 6 7 7 4 2. That's Psalms to 6 7 7 4 2. I'll send you1 Chronicles 10: Saul's Death and the Peril of Unfaithfulness 1:21 an invitation that you can forward on to your 2 friends and invite them to join us this summer in the book of Psalms. Alright. Today, we wrap up the longest genealogy1:33 in the Bible as we look at who lived in Jerusalem post the Babylonian captivity. That's in chapter 9. In chapter 10, we once again look at an1:44 almost identical account of the death of Saul with 1 major addition, the cause of his death. While these 2 chapters on their face look1:56 unrelated, they are bookends they're bookended by unfaithfulness. So let's look. Verse 1, chapter 9. So all Israel was recorded by genealogies, and indeed, they were2:08 inscribed in the book of the kings of Israel. But Judah was carried away captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness. Now this reference to the book of kings is not the canonical book, but2:20 rather a reference to the official records kept by the kings. Verse 2, and the 1st inhabitants who dwelt in their possessions in their cities were the Israelites, the priests, the2:31 Levites, and the Nethanim. These were the 1st to return to the city after the captivity, the priest, the Levites, and the Nethanim. Now the this last group,2:43 was the the actually the people of Gibeon. Those were you remember? Those were the ones that Joshua made that unwise treaty with. He entered into it before he asked the Lord. The result was that the2:55 people of Gibeon had to serve the Levites. They were the ones they, they cut the the wood, carried the water, for the tabernacle. And so these were among the 1st to come back.3:07 Verse 3. Now in Jerusalem, the children of Judah dwelled, and some of the children of Benjamin, and the children of Ephraim and Manasseh. See, we have the the family lines here after the return of Jerusalem and a few3:19 interesting findings here. Now it's encouraging what is said here of Phineas in verse 20, chapter 9. And Phineas, the son of Eleazar, had3:30 been the officer over them in time past. The lord was with him. That's a defining statement. I I I want that to be said of me. The lord was with him. The lord was with him.3:42 That will distinguish your life and your work. Why was god with him? Right? And we're gonna see this later about David. This was said about David. Why was God with3:54 him? Alright. Let's look how he was described, back over in Numbers chapter 25 verse 11. In fact, I have a, I have an ancient scroll,4:06 Hebrew scroll, that is on my wall here in my office here in Washington. And it is, it's on animal skin, And this is the passage that's on4:18 there. Phineas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest has turned back my wrath from the children of Israel because he was zealous with my zeal among them so that I did not consume the4:30 children of Israel zealous with the zeal of the Lord. He was moved to action for the calls of the Lord. In other words,4:41 he cared he cared about the things God cared about. The result, the Lord was with him. Let me ask you, do you care about the things that the Lord4:53 cares about? And what does he care about? Well, his word makes it very clear what he cares about. He cares about people. He cares about holiness and righteousness. He cares about the things of the kingdom.5:05 And Phineas, again, in the Old Testament, it speaks to this physical where the New Testament speaks to the spiritual. You know, when we care about the things of the Lord, we're zealous5:18 for the things of God, and the Lord will be with us. Also look at verses 26 to 20, through 33, which lists some of the other non glamorous positions,5:30 I would say, of service. The doorman who locked up and kept watch over the temple, the ones who took care of the accoutrements of the temple. These were called trusted offices.5:42 What what does this tell us? Well, this is what I think it tells us, that every aspect of God's work is important. Right? Don't ever think that what God has called you to do,5:55 if you are doing it as unto the Lord and doing your very best, that somehow it's less important in the eyes of God. It is not. He has placed you in a trusted6:06 office of service. So you should do your very best. As as Paul talked about, we're the we're the body. He used that as an illustration. 1 body,6:18 many members. And if you think about your body, some parts are more glamorous than others, but they're all essential for the body to function. Do your best. Embrace6:30 the office of trust and service that the lord has given you. Alright. Verses 35 through 44, we see that the line of Saul was preserved. Then let's go to chapter 10,Prayer, FRC Ministry, and Invitation 6:42 an almost identical narrative to what we read at the end of 1st Samuel, verse 1 chapter 10. Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the6:54 Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons, and the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Mount Jeshua, Saul's7:06 son. The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him and he was wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armor bearer, draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised7:18 men come and abuse me. But his armor bearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore, Saul took a sword and fell on it. Now remember, over in 2nd Samuel, at the7:30 very beginning, we had a discussion as to whether or not the Amalekite who brought news to David and claimed to have killed Saul actually did. Well,7:42 here we see who really killed Saul and why. Look at verse 13. So Saul died for his unfaithfulness, which he had committed against the7:54 Lord because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance. But he did not inquire of the lord. Therefore, he killed him and turned the kingdom8:06 over to David, the son of Jesse. So who killed him? He says the lord killed him. Now whether that was by his own sword, which was most probably the case, or by the Amalekite who may have finished him8:18 off, it happened as a result of his unfaithfulness to god. You see, unfaithfulness to god can be dangerous to your health. In fact, it can be deadly. He rejected the word of God.8:30 And as a result, he he he did not he he didn't didn't, didn't keep the word of the Lord. And as a result, he did not or could not seek counsel from God.8:41 Now whether it was direct or indirect, his refusal to seek God and follow his word brought about his demise. Now you might be saying that in 1st Samuel, it said that Saul inquired8:53 of the Lord, but here it says he did not. Well, we've discussed this before. If you refuse to listen to the word of the Lord, there comes a point9:05 that you can no longer hear. And if you because here here's the reality. Right? Here's the reality, and this is something we need to be very sensitive to. If we don't wanna be bothered by god, guess what? He'll9:17 oblige you, and that is not a good place to be. If you don't wanna listen to the word of god, there will come a point that you cannot hear the word of god. If you will not seek him, there will come a point where you9:28 can't. As I as Isaiah said in Isaiah 55 6, seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. You know, I I remember the lyrics of a hymn9:40 when I was a kid that we used to sing in our church. Whisper a prayer in the morning, whisper a prayer at noon, whisper a prayer in the evening to keep your heart in9:52 tune. To ensure that we can continue to hear the word of God, we need to listen and obey the word of God today. Alright? So I just wanna10:03 encourage in that. Father, I thank you for for your word, and I pray that we would continue to respond to your word. Lord, that we would not Lord,10:15 shut our ears or our eyes to the truth of your word and to the voice of the holy spirit, but may we be ever responsive that, lord, we would be called faithful. Lord, we would not be as10:27 was described here as Saul or the children of Israel when they were carried into captivity, but may we be like Phineas, lord, who was zealous for the things that you're zealous for, that you care about the things that10:38 you care about, that you might be with us. And lord, you might establish us. I thank you for that, lord. Thank you for your word. May we hide it in our hearts that we might not sin againstBible Reading Plan Promo 10:50 you. For we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. 1 final thought, stand on the word as a ministry of the Family Research Council. And we're coming to the end of our fiscal year, and and I would ask you to prayerfully11:02 consider supporting our work here in our nation's capital and throughout the the the country and literally around the world. If the Lord happen to lead you to, financially partner with11:14 us, I would encourage you to do so. Simply text the word gift to 6 7 7 4 2. That would underwrite our entire ministry so that we can reach others with stand on the word. We can help11:26 continue to shape policy from a biblical perspective here in our nation's capital. And as an expression of our appreciation for your partnership for any gift that's over 250 dollars,11:38 on this 250th anniversary, I'm gonna send you something brand new just off the press. It is a picture book that, has been I've been working on this for over a decade.11:50 And it is all the monuments here in our nation's capital showing how our nation has this biblical heritage. It's it's on almost every building and monument in our12:02 in the city here, in our nation's capital. And as I said, for any gift over 250 dollars, we're able to send that to you as an expression of our appreciation. Thanks for being on this journey. Again,12:14 consider inviting others to join us as well. But until next time, keep standing on the word.12:23 Today's study comes from the stand on the word bible reading plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you12:35 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at f r c dot o r g slash bible.In this video 0:00 1 Chronicles 9: Post-Captivity Dwellers and Faithful Service1:10 1 Chronicles 10: Saul's Death and the Peril of Unfaithfulness6:40 Prayer, FRC Ministry, and Invitation10:44 Bible Reading Plan Promo
Comments
Keep it kind. Comments are public.