The People Get What They Deserve…
Delivered by Pastor Jonathan Oh on Sunday, September 27, 2026. This is part of the WTUC sermon series “We Three Kings”.
英語のテキストの後に日本語訳があります。こちらはGemma4（ローカル大規模言語モデルAI）による機械翻訳であり、文法的な誤りが含まれている可能性があります。基本的な正確さを確認しております。
Passages:
1 Samuel 17:1-11 (NRSV)
David and Goliath
1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2 Saul and the Israelites gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and formed ranks against the Philistines. 3 The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. 4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-bearer went before him. 8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” 10 And the Philistine said, “Today I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man, that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
2 Timothy 1:3-14 (NRSV)
Thanksgiving and Encouragement
3 I am grateful to God—whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. 6 For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; 7 for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.
8 Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher, 12 and for this reason I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him. 13 Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.
Sermon Text:
Series: Last week, we started a new series at WTUC called “We Three Kings”, looking at the lives of united Israel’s three kings: Saul, David, and Solomon. Pastor Jordan gave us a great overview of how Israel, who was led out from Egypt by the mighty hand of God under Moses’ leadership, conquered Canaan (well, some of it) under Joshua, and then ended up getting stuck while having a series of judges. Throughout the book of Judges, there was the same repeated phrase… “At that time, there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” The people had gotten to the point of thinking they knew what they wanted… a king, who would go out to fight their battles, to have a person that could be looked up to, be a nation like everybody else. And even though God had so powerfully led the people from slavery to a land flowing with milk and honey, the people didn’t want what God gave them. They wanted what God hadn’t given them - a king. So Pastor Jordan spoke last week about God giving the people what they want - a king. King Saul was visually what the people wanted: a tall, handsome man. He looked like a king, even though the people had to search for him among the baggage when he was being inaugurated into his kingship. King Saul started out very much as the people expected, someone who would lead the people into battles, and there was initial success in that. The enemies who had been oppressing Israel were starting to get driven back as Saul mustered the men using gruesome means of cutting up an ox and sending its pieces across the nation. As Samuel warned, a king would force people to serve under him, to take the children of the people and make them his slaves. So there was a honeymoon phase where the people got what they wanted.
Context: However, when we look at today’s passage, we see that the people also got what they deserved. We are actually already into a part of 1 Samuel where David had already been anointed king, but before we get into that, I want to fill in some details in what happened between last week’s sermon and this week. There were a series of bad decisions with serious consequences.
1 Samuel 13: First, in 1 Samuel 13, Saul was leading an army out against the Philistines, but he was supposed to wait for the prophet Samuel to come and make a sacrifice before the fighting began. However, Samuel didn’t show up at the promised time, and Saul decided to do the sacrifice himself. When Samuel shows up, Saul says that since Samuel didn’t show up at the right time, he “forced himself” to make the sacrifice to obey the Lord. Samuel states that Saul acted foolishly, and therefore, God will not establish Saul’s dynasty to rule over Israel and instead will appoint someone who is after the Lord’s heart. Strike one.
1 Samuel 14: We then continue the narrative of the battle from chapter 13 into 14, where Saul’s firstborn son Prince Jonathan (no relation to me) was able to take initiative in the middle of a stalemate with the Philistines and break into a major post, bringing victory to Israel. However, while the Lord did provide victory, the soldiers suffered because Saul made a rash vow and forced everyone not to eat. When Jonathan unknowingly violated this vow, he almost died because Saul was going to execute his own son for breaking it. The soldiers saved Jonathan that day, but Saul was going from one rash action to another. Strike two.
1 Samuel 15: The prophet Samuel then brings a directive from the Lord, that Saul lead the Israelites against the Amalekites as punishment for their unwillingness to help Israel when they were leaving Egypt. The key part of this directive: destroy everything. Leave no one or nothing alive, not even the cattle. It was plain, clear, and simple. Do you want to guess what happened? Samuel came to meet Saul after the battle, and Saul says, “I have carried out the command of the Lord.” Samuel asks, “What is this bleating of sheep and lowing of cattle that I hear?” Uh oh. Saul goes, “Well, we did what God said, but the people saved the best sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord.” And so, that’s it. Saul, the first king of Israel, just struck out, and Samuel says since Saul rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord has rejected Saul as king. And yet, even though Saul had just been told that the Lord rejected him, he asked Samuel to go with him and honor him before the people. It was about the image and prestige, not about what was right before God.
1 Samuel 16: Before we get into today’s passage, a brief word on chapter 16. David, the youngest son of Jesse, who lives in Bethlehem, is anointed the next king of Israel. Likely only a teenage boy, he is short and tends to the sheep. And yet, this is whom the Lord calls a man after His own heart. We will get into David’s life next week.
Passage: In 1 Samuel 17, we see a battle once again between Israel and the Philistines. And we have this giant of a man standing tall against the Israelites. Goliath calls them out, saying that if the champion of Israel defeats him, the champion of the Philistines, then the Philistines will become Israel’s servants, and vice versa. Then verse 11 is critical - “When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.” So we went from a nation who wanted to have a king who would lead them into battle to a nation who had a king who was cowering from battle instead.
Reflection: So where does this leave us? We have now a king named Saul who has failed to honor God miserably, and he isn’t doing so hot in terms of what the people had expected of him. Instead, he is now a lame duck ruler, and that’s where his non-existent dynasty ends. What happened?
If people want a person, they are always going to get a human. There is a tendency for people to put others on pedestals. There’s this thought where, “Well, I can’t do that, but that person must have the talent to do it,” and instantly, we start putting some un-human expectations on them. Some people do that to politicians. Others do that to pastors and church leaders. Still others find some other positions and put that type of pressure on them, forgetting that they are still humans, fallen and imperfect. So no matter our expectations, people are going to still be people.
If people want to focus on their desires, they are always going to find emptiness and disappointment. So many times, we seem to fool ourselves into thinking that our desires might be altruistic in some sense. Maybe by believing that certain ideas are implemented that we are doing God’s work, but we forget that ultimately, we humans fool ourselves into thinking that we are doing something for someone else - when it is what we want. I am not saying that we can’t be altruistic, but a lot of times, it’s not motivated by support for others as opposed to support for ourselves disguised in that way. And that will always lead to disappointment.
If people think they can find salvation in their solutions, then they will never find an end to the problems. No human-made solution will bring an end to the world’s problems. Entire government theories have been developed to try to resolve issues comprehensively, but there has never been a perfect solution. And on a deeper level, those issues are so deeply embedded into who we are that thinking external solutions will solve them is a foolish attempt to actually address the issue of who we are as broken people. We cannot find salvation within ourselves or in the solutions that we create.
Solution: We know that David is waiting in the wings to become king, and we will talk about him starting next week, but when we look at our reflection points above, you probably can guess that even after choosing a man after His own heart, God had greater plans. We could have ended this message simply on a note that says to be continued, but there is still Good News in the midst of our message today. In our second passage, we are reading a letter from the apostle Paul to Timothy, likely one of the last letters that Paul wrote before he was martyred. Now, it may seem a bit unlikely to see a connection between what we are reading in 1 Samuel and 2 Timothy, but when we reflect upon what is happening with King Saul, we see that what Christ offers is so different from what we see with Saul.
If the people need a human, the best One to come is Christ, the Son of God, who is fully God and fully man. The only human being who is able to provide true resolution to our brokenness is the One who is also fully God. This is why Christ came - the perfect God-man, so that we humans can see God fully in the flesh.
If the people want to focus on their desires, then Christ comes to change our focus, to fulfill our every need and show us what we truly need over our desires. Through Christ, we see that we cannot save ourselves. Through Christ, we can see that our desires are not the solutions but are the very problems that ail us. Through Christ, we not only see our problems but also that He is the very solution that fills the God-sized hole in our hearts.
If the people think they can find salvation in their solutions, then Christ comes with the Gospel, the true solution of salvation. Because we cannot solve our own problems of brokenness, Christ came as the Good News to actually solve this problem. Through Christ revealing the love of God, in His death and resurrection, we actually do receive the solution and our salvation. We are able to receive the real fix to our deepest problems in Christ.
Passage: When we look at our passage from 2 Timothy, we see the result of Christ’s work of salvation.
First, we are given a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. In contrast to the fear, anger, and chaos that we read in 1 Samuel today, we are able to stand firm, knowing the truth and securing the hope that God has offered in Jesus Christ. We are driven not by fear but of love.
Second, we are given boldness and the willingness to endure through suffering. Not everyone who hears the Good News will accept it. Some may even give you much grief about your faith. However, because of the grace of God through Jesus Christ, we can be secure about what we believe and rely on the power of God.
Conclusion: We honestly do deserve what we demand of God - a broken, fallen desire that results in fear and weakness. And yet, because of the grace of God, through Jesus, we do not have a spirit of fear but of power and love. We will touch more on this next week. May we find ourselves securely in Christ so that we may not receive what we deserve but instead receive the grace that God so freely gives to us. Amen.
日本語の翻訳：
1. シリーズの導入
先週からWTUCでは、「三人の王」という新しいシリーズを始めました。イスラエルの歴史に登場する3人の王、サウル、ダビデ、そしてソロモンについて見ていきます。
まず、前回の説教でジョーダン牧師が全体的な流れを話してくれました。イスラエル人はもともと、モーセのリーダーシップのもと、神様の強い力によってエジプトから脱出しました。その後、ヨシュアに率いられてカナンという土地を征服しましたが（一部のみでしたが）、その後は「士師（しし）」と呼ばれるリーダーたちが交代で治める時代に入り、方向性を見失ってしまいます。
『士師記』という本には、繰り返しこんな言葉が出てきます。「そのころイスラエルに王はなく、人々は誰もが自分の目に正しいと思うことをした」。
人々は、「自分たちには王が必要だ」と思い込むようになりました。自分たちの代わりに戦ってくれる人、尊敬できるリーダー、そして他の国と同じような国家体制を持つことを望んだのです。
神様は、彼らを奴隷の状態から「乳と蜜の流れる地」へと導いてくださいました。しかし人々は、神様が与えてくださった今の状態ではなく、神様が（あえて）与えなかったもの、つまり「人間である王」を欲しがったのです。
そこで先週、ジョーダン牧師は、神様が人々の願い通りに「王」を与えた話をしたと思います。それがサウル王です。サウルは見た目こそ人々が望んでいた通り、背が高くハンサムな男性でした。「王にふさわしい外見」をしていたのです（実際、彼を王に任命する際、荷物の中に隠れていた彼を探し出す必要があったほどですが）。
最初は期待通り、サウルは軍を率いて戦い、成功を収めました。イスラエルを苦しめていた敵を追い払い始めたため、人々は喜びました。しかし、サムエル（預言者）が警告した通り、人間を王に据えるということは、その王に支配され、子供たちが奴隷のように使われることを意味していました。それでも、最初は「欲しかったものが手に入った」というハネムーン期間のような幸せな時間がありました。
2. 背景：サウルの転落
しかし、今日の聖書箇所を見ると、人々は「望んだもの」だけでなく、「自業自得の結果」も受け取ることになります。今の話の時点では、すでにダビデが次の王に指名されていますが、その前に先週から今週までの間に何が起きたのか、詳しく見てみましょう。サウルは深刻な結果を招く「間違った決断」を繰り返しました。
① 1 Samuel 13章：不従順（1回目）
サウルはフィリステ人と戦うため軍を率いていましたが、戦いの前に預言者サムエルが来て、神様に捧げ物をするまで待つことになっていました。しかし、サムエルが約束の時間に来なかったため、サウルは自分勝手に捧げ物をしました。後で来たサムエルに問い詰められると、彼は「時間がなかったので、仕方なくやった」と言い訳をしました。サムエルは、この行為は愚かなことであり、神様はサウルの家系を王として認めず、代わりに「神の心にかなう人」を立てるだろうと告げました。これが1回目の失敗です。
② 1 Samuel 14章：軽率な誓い（2回目）
戦いは続き、サウルの一番上の息子であるヨナタン王子が機転を利かせて敵の陣地に乗り込み、イスラエルに勝利をもたらしました。しかし、その最中、サウルは「誰も食事をしてはいけない」という軽率な誓いを立ててしまいました。ヨナタンはそれを知らずに食事をしたため、怒ったサウルは自分の息子である彼を処刑しようとしました。兵士たちが止めてヨナタンは助かりましたが、サウルは感情的な行動を繰り返していました。これが2回目の失敗です。
③ 1 Samuel 15章：不完全な従順（3回目）
次にサムエルから、「アマレク人を打ち倒し、すべてを滅ぼせ」という神様からの明確な命令が届きました。「生きとし生けるもの、家畜に至るまで一つ残らず滅ぼせ」というシンプルで分かりやすい指示でした。
さて、どうなったと思いますか？ 戦いの後、サウルは「神様の命令通りにやりました」と胸を張りました。しかしサムエルには、羊や牛の鳴き声が聞こえていました。サウルは、「基本的にはやったけれど、人々が神様に捧げるために一番良い家畜だけを残したんです」と言い訳をしました。
これでサウルは完全に「三振」となりました。サムエルは「サウルが神様の言葉を拒絶したので、神様もサウルを王として拒絶された」と告げました。それでもサウルは、自分のプライドや体裁ばかりを気にし、「人々の前で自分を立ててほしい」とサムエルに頼みました。彼は神様に正しい姿を見せることより、他人からの見え方を優先したのです。
④ 1 Samuel 16章：新しい王の登場
ここで、ベツレヘムに住むイッセの末っ子、ダビデが登場します。彼はまだ10代の少年で、小柄で羊飼いをしていました。しかしこそが、神様が「私の心にかなう人」と呼んだ人物でした。ダビデの人生については来週詳しくお話しします。
3. 今日の場面：ゴリアテとの対峙
1 Samuel 17章では、再びイスラエルとフィリステ人の戦いが描かれています。そこに現れたのが、巨漢のゴリアテです。彼はイスラエル人を挑発し、「お前から代表者が私を倒せれば、我々が奴隷になろう。そうでなければお前たちが奴隷になれ」と言い放ちました。
ここで重要なのが11節です。「サウルとイスラエルの人々は、その言葉を聞いてひどく怯え、恐れた」。
思い出してください。彼らはかつて「自分たちを戦いに導いてくれる強い王が欲しい」と願ったはずです。しかし結果として得たのは、「敵を前にして震えている王」でした。
4. 私たちが考えるべきこと（リフレクション）
さて、ここからが大切です。サウルという王は神様への敬意を欠き、人々が期待していたリーダー像からも遠く外れてしまいました。彼はもはや形だけの王となり、彼の王朝はここで終わります。なぜこんなことになったのでしょうか？
1. 「人間」に期待しすぎることの危うさ
人は誰かを「神格化」したり、過剰に期待したりする傾向があります。「自分にはできないけど、あの人ならきっとやってくれる」と思い込むと、相手を人間以上の存在として見てしまいます。政治家や牧師、リーダーたちに対しても同じです。しかし忘れてはいけないのは、どんなに優れた人でも「不完全な人間」であるということです。期待しすぎても、人間は結局、ただの人間なのです。
2. 「自分の欲望」に従うことの虚しさ
私たちはしばしば、「これは誰かのためだ（利他的だ）」と思い込んで自分を騙しますが、実際には「自分がそうしたいから」という欲望で動いていることが多いものです。自分の欲望だけを追い求めると、最後には空虚感と失望しか残りません。
3. 「人間的な解決策」に救いを求めることの限界
私たちは、仕組みや理論などの「解決策」を作れば問題が消えると考えがちです。しかし、世界の根本的な問題は、私たちの内側にある「壊れた心（罪）」にあります。外側の解決策をいくら積み上げても、人間としての根本的な悩みは解決しません。自分自身の力や、人間が作った方法で救いを見つけることはできないのです。
5. 本当の解決策
来週からダビデの話をしますが、神様はダビデという「心にかなう人」を選んだとしても、それ以上の大きな計画を持っていました。今日のメッセージを「つづく」で終わらせるのではなく、ここで「良い知らせ（福音）」をお伝えします。
聖書の別の箇所、パウロがティモテに宛てた手紙を見てみましょう。サウル王の話と一見関係なさそうに見えますが、実はキリストが提供してくれるものは、サウルが持っていたものとは正反対なのです。
1. 真のリーダーとしてのキリスト
もし私たちが「完璧な人間」を求めているなら、最高の答えは、神であり同時に人でもある「イエス・キリスト」です。人間の壊れた部分を本当に治せるのは、完全なる神である方だけです。だからこそ、キリストは肉体を持ってこの世に来てくださったのです。
2. 欲望ではなく、真のニーズを満たす方
サウルのような王は人々の欲望（見栄や権力）に応えようとしましたが、キリストは私たちの視点を変え、「本当に必要なもの」を教えてくれます。私たちは自分一人では救えないことを認めさせられ、同時に、キリストこそが私たちの心にある「神様サイズの穴」を埋めてくれる唯一の解決策であることを教えてくれます。
3. 根本的な救い（福音）
人間が作った解決策ではなく、キリストは「救い」という真の答えを持ってきてくださいました。自分の力ではどうしようもない「壊れた自分」という問題に対し、キリストの死と復活による神様の愛こそが、唯一の根本治療になるのです。
6. 私たちが受け取れるもの
2 Timothy（テモテへの手紙）を読むと、キリストによる救いの結果が分かります。
第一に、私たちは「力と愛と自制心」の霊を与えられます。1 Samuelで見たような「恐怖や怒り、混乱」ではなく、イエス・キリストにある希望を信じ、どっしりと構えて立つことができるようになります。恐れではなく、愛によって動かされるようになるのです。
第二に、苦難の中でも耐え抜く勇気を与えられます。福音（良い知らせ）を伝えても、全員が受け入れてくれるわけではありません。時には信仰のせいで批判されることもあるでしょう。しかし、キリストによる恵みがあるからこそ、私たちは自分の信じる道に自信を持ち、神様の力に頼ることができます。
7. 結論
正直に言えば、私たちは「自分の欲望に従いたい」と願い、その結果として恐怖や弱さに飲み込まれるという、自業自得な状況にふさわしい人間です。
しかし、神様の素晴らしい「恵み」によって、イエス様を通して、私たちは恐れの心ではなく、力と愛の心を持つことができます。
来週さらに詳しくお話ししますが、どうか皆さんがキリストの中に安らぎを見出し、「自業自得の結果」ではなく、神様が惜しみなく注いでくださる「恵み」を受け取ることができますように。
アーメン。