Digging Deeper is a follow up blog to my Sunday morning sermons, designed to keep you in God’s Word not just on Sunday but all week long. Each post takes a key truth from the message and expands it a bit more. Since Sunday morning time is limited, this gives me an opportunity to teach further on a specific topic and help you keep pressing on in the Word.
As I shared in the message Sunday, one of the questions that comes up when we read 1 Samuel is… Why did Israel get a king if wanting a king was sinful? And right behind that is another question… If God chose Saul, and God knew Saul would fail, what does that say about God’s will and about our choices?
Here’s the helpful distinction: God has a decreed will and a revealed will.
God’s decreed will
This is what God has decided will happen. It’s His plan. It will stand. We don’t know all of it ahead of time, but we see it after the fact. (Deuteronomy 29:29) Saul becoming king wasn’t an accident. God put him there (1 Sam. 10).
God also knew Saul would fail. That doesn’t mean God made a mistake. It means God was doing something bigger than Saul. Through Saul, the Lord was teaching Israel that you can have the king you want, and it still won’t fix what only God can fix. God was showing them the limits of human leadership and preparing the way for the kind of king they truly needed. They needed a perfect king… it is pointing to the only perfect king…KING JESUS.
So God’s decreed will is about what God will accomplish, even when people’s motives are messy.
God’s revealed will
This is what God has clearly told us to do. It’s His commands. What we have in His Word, the Bible. And this is the will we are responsible for.
Saul received real commands. Real direction. Real expectations. “Wait.” “Obey.” “Listen to the word of the Lord.” And when Saul did not follow through, God didn’t waver from His perfect will. Saul was held accountable. God’s foreknowledge of Saul’s failure didn’t excuse Saul’s disobedience.
That’s the key: God’s decree never cancels human responsibility. (Acts 2:23 …this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.)
So did Saul have freedom to choose?
Yes, Saul made real decisions. He wasn’t a robot. He chose what he wanted in the moment. He feared people. He leaned on his own understanding. He offered partial obedience. Those were Saul’s choices, and God judged him for them.
At the same time, none of Saul’s choices knocked God off His throne. God was still moving His plan forward… toward David, and ultimately toward Christ.
Why this matters for everyday life
Most of us spend too much time trying to figure out the hidden things...What is God’s secret plan? Why did God allow this? What’s God doing behind the scenes? Some of that is natural. But it’s also where we can get sidetracked.
The Bible keeps calling us back to what’s clear:
- Obey what God has revealed.
- Trust God with what He has decreed.
You don’t have to know the whole plan to be faithful today. Saul’s story reminds us that it’s possible to be gifted and called and still stray if we stop trusting and obeying God’s Word.
A simple way to say it
- God’s decreed will means: God will accomplish His purposes.
- God’s revealed will means: I’m responsible to obey God’s Word.
And this is where we can learn from Saul. Don’t just start well. Don’t just have a moment of spiritual success. Start and plan to FINISH. Lead with obedience. Follow with faith. Trust God’s timing.
Here are some additional links for further reading:
The Secret Things of the Lord – R.C. Sproul
8 Questions About God’s Will – Wayne Grudem (Crossway Article)
Divine Sovereignty and Human Freedom – John Frame (The Gospel Coalition)