I asked my wife, Susan, what happened in 1977 besides us both graduating from high school. She answered, “Elvis Presley died.” I was working construction for Susan’s brother that hot August day when we heard the news. We all stopped work and lamented the fact that the King of Rock and Roll was dead at the age of 42. Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, was 50 years old when he died. This past weekend Whitney Houston died at the age of 48. Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones (of the Rolling Stones), and Amy Winehouse were all 27 years old when they died. The devil loves bad endings.
Another young king from ancient years started off well and ended poorly. His path of decline, as for most, began while yielding to Satan’s most common temptation: “Don’t worry about what God says; DO WHAT YOU WANT.” King Saul made excuses and justified his decisions with various explanations, but it did not matter. Saul even argued that he had followed the Lord’s instructions, but Samuel communicated God’s thoughts. “‘But I did obey the Lord,’ Saul said. ‘I went on the mission the Lord assigned me…’ But Samuel replied: ‘Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.’” (I Samuel 15:20-23)
If one rejects God, where does he turn for wisdom and power? King Saul (and some of the artists above) turned to the occult. In disguise, Saul went to the witch of Endor where his future was predicted. He died in battle the next day. (see I Samuel 28)
God cries out with every tragic ending: “Choose my path… don’t choose your own way! Walk in the light… don’t dwell in darkness! Come to Me for answers… don’t seek the world’s wisdom! Come to Jesus for life… He is the King that never fails!” Surely Jesus was tempted to choose his own path, but he trusted and obeyed his Father. He prayed three times that the cup of suffering be avoided, but there in the Garden he taught us all how to finish well: “Nevertheless Lord, not my will, but yours be done.”
“God is light; in him is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” I John 1:5-7