I suppose it was, in retrospect, naïve of me to suppose, as I did at the end of last year, that all the issues surrounding Christian polygamy had been adequately dealt with, or dealt with at all. I am rapidly learning that there is as much to learn about this sacred principle as there is the depths of the human soul and the heights of Yahweh's love. And so it came as a surprise to me when my wife Kryztina was the catalyst (as my wives so often are) of this next essay which examines the spirit of Saul in both men and women.Most of our readers will know that Saul, son of Kish, was the first King of Israel (1 Sam.9-31) but also one of the most pathetic of all Yahweh's chosen servants. That Yahweh chose him in the first place ought to gain our attention, especially within Christian polygamy, for his reign was a 'first generation' phenomenon as ours is. I think you will be astonished by the parallels in the light of what has happened in this movement in the last 10-15 years. Whilst I believe the spirit of Saul has a special application to women, which I will deal with at the end, it has as its chief application of comparison the men in the Christian polygamy movement, and in particular its leaders. As I relate the history of Saul, please reserve a parallel track of thought for spiritual equivalents.
What kind of a man was Saul the Benjaminite? He was head and shoulders above his brethren, a man whose personal courage matched his physique, kingly to his friends and generous to his foes. He was chosen personally by Yahweh to institute the Israelite monarchy after the people had rejected the divinely ordained systems of Judges and Tribal Confederacy. Saul was chosen to one of the most difficult things imaginable - to represent within himself the royal rule of Yahweh over His people Israel. In this he shamelessly disqualified himself three times.
Because the people had not been faithful in carrying out Yahweh's earlier instructions to exterminate the Philistines (who represent the oppressive qualities of carnality and devilishness) and to strictly adhere to Torah, Yahweh's Teaching and Law, Israel found herself oppressed. She concluded, moreover, in her carnal mindframe, that only a visible warrior-leader could bring about their deliverance. Rejecting the spiritual leadership of Yahweh through the prophetic ministry of Samuel, they demanded a king (1 Sam.8). After warning them of the evils of such government - a warning which they did not heed - Samuel was instructed by Yahweh to grant the people's wish, and was guided to choose Saul, whom he anointed secretly in the land of Zuph (1 Sam.10:1), confirming the apppointment later by a public ceremony at Mizpeh (10:17-25).
Within the Christian polygamy movement there have always been essentially two strands of theological thought, the one representative of the system of Judges with its prophet figure (Samuel) which was the Israelite ideal as well as that which is destined to return - and the other representing a system of monarchy or absolute rulership, which prevailed until the Kingdom of Judah was finally exterminated by the Babylonians. The Kingship of Israel was renewed and resumed by Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) in the meridian of time, but not as an earthly potentate in this dispensation (for Satan yet remains the "prince of this world") but as the King of the Kingdom of Heaven. What Yah'shua (Jesus) did not do was assume the throne of a Davidic-type monarchy. Had He done so, He would have assumed the kingship of Israel not only spiritually but temporally. Indeed, He specifically renounced that His Kingdom was "of this world" at this time, thus absolving Himself of the crime of sedition against the Roman authorities. This needs to be carefully born in mind when considering the Christian polygamy landscape today for we are hearing voices telling us that the temporal kingdom is now to be restored, echoing the clarion call of the first Mormons who likewise sought to do the same in Utah, going even so far as to annointing their founder, Joseph Smith, and his successor, Brigham Young, as Kings of the world. Their Kingdom, dubbed Deseret, came to grief and within the context of polygamy. In short, Yahweh did not justify them. All mini-kingdoms such as the Mormons, David Koreshs and others have sought to build, have not been built on sound biblical teaching. Moreover, they have sought to build something which only Christ Himself can build when He returns, and only within the successor dispensation to this one. In every case that Christians have sought to build 'kingdoms', these have devolved into cults. And in so many ways these cultic kingdoms have come to resemble the kingdom of Saul.
The 'Christian' cult-kings are, like Saul, initially very successful. Almost as soon as Saul had been crowned he had the opportunity to show his mettle. Nahash the Ammonite besieged Jabesh-gilead and offered cruel terms of surrender to its inhabitants, so they sent for help to Saul, who was on the other side of the Jordan. Saul summonsed the people by means of an object-lesson typical of the Hebrews, and with an army thus won a great victory (11:1-11). It is an evidence of his finer instincts that he refused at this time to acquiesce in the desire of his followers to punish those who had been unwilling to pay him homage (10:27; 11:12-13).
Following this, a religious ceremony at Gilgal confirmed the apppointment of Saul as king, which had obviously received divine approval in the defeat of the Ammonites. With a parting exhortation to the people to be assiduous in their obedience to Yahweh, which was accompanied by a miraculous sign, Samuel left the new king to the government of his nation. On three occasions only, one of them posthumously, was the old prophet to emerge from the background. Each time it was to remonstrate with Saul for disobeying the terms of his apppointment, terms involving utter obedience to the slightest command of Yahweh. The first occasion was when Saul, through impatience, arrogated to himself the priestly office, offering sacrifice at Gilgal (13:7-10). For this sacrilege his rejection from kingship was prophesied by Samuel, and Saul received his first hint that there was already, in the mind of Yahweh, the "man after His heart" whom Yahweh had selected to replace him.
There have, from the beginning of the Christian movement, been what I have earlier dubbed "polygamy wars" that have involved a carnal struggle by leaders in this movement both to have been the 'first' to have started the restoration of polygamy and also to claim 'kingship' over the movement. Two of these leaders viciously opposed me when I refused to be brow-beaten into submitting to their presumed 'authority' and at one time one of them tried to recruit me in supporting him in his contest with the other. In the end I separated myself from both of them, counselling the one with kingly ambitions (possessed of the spirit of Saul) to adopt a more federalist approach and the other with a slightly different agenda to do the same (but possessed by the spirit of Ahab). Neither heeded the warnings.
The second occasion Saul rebelled was when his disobedience brought forth the prophet's well known dictum, "to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams" (15:22). Again Saul's rejection from rule over Israel is declared and symbolically shown, and Samuel severs all contact with the fallen monarch. It is from the grave that Samuel emerges to rebuke Saul for the third and last time, and, whatever problems are raised by the story of the witch of Endor (ch.28), it is clear that Yahweh permitted this supernatural interview with the unhappy king in order to fill Saul's cup of iniquity and foretell his imminent doom.
I don't propose to recount the long conflict between Saul and David here though the reader should definitely become acquainted with it in order to discern the spiritual differences in these two characters. I will, however, pluck out a few important ones. David, as we know, not only escaped a savage attack on his life by a jealous Saul, not only was he reduced in military honour, cheated of his promised bride, but after being married to his other daughter Michal after a marriage settlement that was supposed to cause David's death (18:25), Saul took Michal and gave her to another man. Thus Saul was not only a liar, cheat, and murderer, but a covenant-breaker and instigator of adultery. Later Saul tried to kill David again with his spear, tried to arrest him, and was foiled only by a stratagem of Michal (19:8-17). Of interest is the fact that because of their father's wickedness, two of his children, Michal and Johanthan, allied themselves with David against their own father.
Throughout his long and painful history, which had such adverse affects on the people of Israel who had wrongly wanted a king in the first place, we learn an object lesson in the essential difference between the carnal and spiritual man. Saul as a man was susceptible to moodiness and uncertainty within himself because of his unspiritual attitudes. His downfall was the more tragic because he was a public and representative figure amongst the people of Yahweh.
There have been leaders in this movement who have deliberately chosen a high public profile. This has put them, and by extension, the whole movement, under public scrutiny. When they have fallen, the whole movement has suffered as a result. Today we find ourselves - particularly in America where the public exposure of this movement has been calculated and deliberate by three of its leaders - in a sad situation that is not at all unlike the time towards the end of Saul's reign. One, possessed of Saul's murderous spirit, is today in prison for killing his wife and apparently blaming 'polygamy' for his crime. The other two I have spoken about elsewhere in some depth and so will not go into their stories here again.
In case anyone should believe or conclude that I am claiming to be the next 'king David' of the polygamy movement, I am not. Neither do I believe that we are to be building a Saul or Davidic-type monarchy. That Yah'shua (Jesus) is the direct successor of David does not mean the restoration of a Davidic monarchy but a Messianic one at the appointed time in the Millennium. Israel was never supposed to have kings and won't have one now. It was supposed to be a tribal confederacy ruled by judges under a prophetic mantle such as Samuel gave.
In my title, I wrote: 'The Spirit of Saul in Polygamy: Between two Rocks' and it is to the latter part of the title I now wish to turn. Those who are determined to carve out personal kingdoms for themselves in the polygamy movement will inevitably go the way of king Saul. They will not be vindicated by the Ruach (Spirit). Worse, they will be hijacked by a counterfeit spirit and lead to serious trouble for both leaders and followers. The spirit of Saul leads to Gilboa, Jonesville, Wacco and the like. And whilst I, like two of the Americanm leaders, advocate the gathering together of families for fellowship and service, I absolutely do not believe in the re-establishment of a temporal kingdom, and a 'king figure', in this dispensation of time. It's spirit is false even if it existed historically. What was right yesterday may not be right today. I am, as most of you know, a vigorous exponenent and proponent of theocracy but only at the right time. And that time is when Yah'shua (Jesus) returns. Attempts to race ahead always result in the tragedies that follow the spirit of Saul which kingly ambition brings. This movement has had its Samuels to warn the pretenders but they have not listened.
Neither is my refusal to pursue temporal kingdom-building because I fear the responsibility of leadership that such requires. Nothing would give me greater joy than to build such a kingdom. I just do not want to race ahead and be presumptuous. I have learned to walk circumspectly in Yahweh and not presume to interpret beyond His will. That many are earning a living from such kingdom-building enterprises is evidence to me that they are not walking in the true Ruach (Spirit). The Kingdom of God is not for sale. Hence everything I have written on the subject is at least free here on the internet. I do not charge for what I do, though one of the followers of an American leader once accused me of doing so. In many of the ministries you have to pay through the nose in order to get information on polygamy or look for a husband or wife.
Saul found himself between two rocks - between the old confederacy and the new monarchism. Samuel was of the Confederacy, the monarchy being only permissive as a corrective measure for carnality. It lasted for centuries and reaped a terrible harvest, the occasional righteous king like Hezekiah notwithstanding. Why did Yahweh choose Saul? Did He believe that Saul was redeemable? No, we know that Yahweh not only knows everything in advance but also acquiesces to carnal demands in order to teach us an object lesson. Clearly, though, modern movements like Mormonism and American Christian polygamy have not yet fully learned the lesson.
The moment you depart from the Confederate ideal of judges and prophets you are placing yourseves between the two rocks of impossibility. So long as there is not unity in the faith - and let's be honest, there isn't - confederacy is the only solution to believers working together. I am not, of course, saying that every type of 'Christian' should confederate, because many (if not most) are demonised and counterfeit. I am here speaking of those who are walking close to the truth, the overcomers who love the Word passionately and are committed to obedience to the commandments in love and grace. And it it is amazing how different the spirit in groups that hold to similar doctrines can be - and the reason for that is because of personal disobedience. Saul, after all, followed the same Torah as David and Solomon, yet how different these three men and their kingdoms were! Geniuses like Solomon can apostacise and fall into idolatry and sensuality. Men with the heart of Yahweh like David can fall into adultery and murder. And men like Saul can quite simply be rebellious and presumptuous. Those who occupy leadership positions can, and do, come under severe judgment when they depart from the truth because of all the others they take with them. Thus my counsel is to be very careful and not to rush ahead, however brimming with enthusaism and energy one might be. Many a leader has been waylaid because he was not checked properly or refused to be guided by wiser prophetic voices.
Christian polygamy has reached a crossroads, particularly in the United States. It will never be the same again. Serious choices have to be made by leaders and followers alike. March 2004 is that crossroads and time will vindicate this claim.
I end today with the spirit of Saul in women which may surprise those of you who think this is something that uniquely belongs to men in leadership positions. Indeed, the spirit of Saul may belong to men not in leadership positions in church or community too.
The 'spirit of monarchy', if I can call it that, is a spirit which in men claims autonomy and non-accountability. Monarchs typically start claiming 'divine rights' which may be 'above the law'. Absolute monarchy means absolute power and control. No man has that. Even Saul basically knew deep down that he was utterly dependent on Yahweh's approbation to be a successful king which is why he never turned against Samuel whom he instinctively knew was a higher spiritual authority than he was. David, for his two big mistakes (adultery and murder, and one or two others like showing favouritism and taking a census), was, however, truly of the heart of Yahweh inasmuch as he loved His Torah and sought only to please His Maker. He did not seek personal glory. Saul, by contrast, was strong-headed and carnal. He rushed ahead presumptuously in many things, as we have seen.
The spirit of Saul may perhaps be said to claim to possess something one does not have the right to. None of us, it will be acknowledged, possesses Yahweh. He owns us. And as I have written about elsewhere, wives do not own the husbands - husbands own their wives within the context of being owned by Yahweh.
Kings often believe they own their kingdoms. They don't, as is proved by the fact that repeatedly Yahweh says He owns the kings and kingdoms of the world. It was He who sent kings and their armies to punish rebellious Israel and Judah, not the kings themselves. It was He who hardened Pharaoh's heart and it was He who gave everything Nebuchadnazzar had, took it away, and restored it to him again. Yahweh is sovereign over all.
Within that context, men and women are allocated their own respective sovereignties. When a man like Saul rises up against Yahweh and presumes to do things his own way, even with supposedly 'good intentions', then he is claiming independence from Yahweh. When a wife rises up against her husband and claims independence from him, then she is rebelling not only against his sovereignty but also the sovereignty of Yahweh who gives the husband that position of authority. Again, though, the context of a husband's sovereignty is always righteousess, and that righteousness is defined by Torah and empowered by the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit).
When men declare independence from Yahweh, and wives from their husbands, and children from their parents whilst under their custodianship, they come under the influence and operation of the spirit of Saul. A wife may think that 'sacrifice is better than obedience' by, for example, disobeying her husband and doing something which she thinks is superior, but irrespective of her good intentions she is still in a spirit of rebellion and under the spirit of Saul.
Now that spirit of Saul, you will recall, is murderous. In his time he tried to murder David, he massacred priests who supported David, and basically did everything to discredit, harrass and destroy the one whom Yahweh had chosen to replace him. In plural wives, it can be the spirit of jealosy leading to hating and discrediting - and even harming - other sister-wives, or even taking 'revenge' against her husband for not doing things her way. Or it can be anothet aspect of the spirit of Saul, namely, assuming priestly prerogatives that belong only to the husband. Women are not called to lead or rule their husbands and they are never to presumptuously assume his priestly rôle as head of the family unless he has delegated it. Men, in their turn, rule only by delegation from Yahweh.
The spirit of Saul also breaks up marriages that Yahweh has put together and creates new adulterous ones. Michal belonged to David. Saul seized his married daughter and gave her to another man. When David claimed his wife back, as he had every right to do, the ursurping husband came running behind crying for her. We must suppose that he loved her as lovers do yet his relationship was ungodly and Yahweh justified His servant David. The adulterous relationship was abruptly terminated for righteousness' sake. The heart-base of the relationship was spoiled after that, as we know, for Michal resented David's expressions of praise and worship, no doubt conditioned by the false husband, and became barren. The spirit of Saul has dire consequences for relationships.
The spirit of Saul is jealous, hateful, murderous. Unless repented of, it leads to a great fall. It seeks consolation from the prophetic voice that condemned it. In Yah'shua (Jesus) there is forgiveness but only upon condition of repentance and subsequent obedience.
It gave me great joy to learn the other day that a separated wife who had been previously persecuting her husband and sister-wife for two years has repented and that the ministry of reconciliation is now operative. I had honestly thought the situation was hopeless. Luckily I was wrong. For those under the spirit of Saul there is, therefore, hope, which I believe is symbolically represented in Saul's son who became David's bosom friend, Jonathan. Good may yet come out of evil and defeat the evil in the process. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!