I Chronicles 10:14 And inquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse
Do you like mysteries? In I Chronicles 10 we have a sort of “who done it.” You have someone who has been killed and the question is, “Who did it?” Now, we all know who did it, but do we really? The person in question is King Saul. Who killed King Saul? We know the context; the Philistines were on the move and Israel was in retreat in Mt Gilboa. Saul fled and was killed. So, who killed Saul?
We learn in I Chronicles 10:4 that Saul asked his armorbearer to take his life, but he did not do it. Verse 4 says, “Then said Saul to his armorbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armorbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. So Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.” Saul’s armorbearer refused to kill him.
In II Samuel 1:10 we read about a supposed Amalekite who came to David claiming he had killed Saul. He gave this story that Saul had asked him to end his life and he had done it. This was a lie. He sought to ingratiate himself with David and that certainly did not work.
In I Chronicles 10:4 you also find who did killed Saul. The Bible says, “So Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.” But when you get to verse 13, you find kind of a hidden source of all of this. The Bible says, “So Saul died for his transgression.” It was not in response to the Philistines or wounds from battle, but for his transgression. Whom was this transgression against? The verse continues, “Which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it.” So, Saul did not listen to God and he did ask for help from the enemies of God.
Verse 14 concludes, “And inquired not of the LORD; therefore he [God] slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.” The Bible says in numerous places that God is the ruler or sovereign of kings and kingdoms. Not all kingdoms are noble, good, or godly, but all of them are ultimately under the control of God Almighty. What you find here is that to inquire or ask of God is to acknowledge who is sovereign. The same God whom Saul refused to ask for guidance turned the kingdom unto David. So, who set up Saul? Who set up David? Who was ruling in the affairs of men? The fact is that there is a God in Heaven. He is the one who turned the kingdom to David.
What about you? Whom are you asking? So many of us have a sea of faces in front of us and a symphony (or cacophony) of voices in our heads. To whom do we look? Whom do we ask and hearken to? The answer is that there is one who knows the beginning from the end and can give the guidance that we need for our lives each day. That is God. When you ask God for guidance, you acknowledge that God is sovereign. That is what David did, although he was not perfect, and that is what Saul refused to do which led to the end of his kingdom and the close of his life. To inquire of God is to acknowledge who is sovereign in your life today.