1 Samuel 15:2, “Thus says, the Lord of host, ‘I have noted
what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of
Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they
have. Do not spare them, but kill
both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”
These orders were given to Saul. They seem like pretty clear
right? Do not leave anyone alive, no men, no children, no women, and no animals!
God wants the Amalek people to be completely wiped off the face of the earth!
So Saul gathers 210,000 men to accomplish this.
But, what we see Saul and the Israelites do next in verse 9
doesn’t match up with the command that the Lord has given Him, “But Saul and
the people spared Agag (the king) and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and
of the fattened calves and lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly
destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.”
Saul decided there that he wasn’t going to completely obey
the Lord. He was only going to destroy the worthless thing but keep the good
things for himself. It says right there in the verse he, “he would not utterly
destroy them.” But wait God had told him too utterly destroy them. Yes he did, but
let’s not be self-righteous. God gives us pretty clear instructions too in His
Word.
Ephesians 5:3-4, “But sexual immorality and all impurity or
covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among the saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish
talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be
thanksgiving.” Well, I think we’ve all directly disobeyed this command today.
We’ve all had lustful thoughts, or said/laughed at crude or foolish jokes in
the last 24 hours. How about this next verse?
Philippians 2:14, “Do all things without grumbling or
questioning.” Have you complained about your life recently? Wondering why this
or that has happened to you? Well God’s word tells us we are not suppose to
grumble, yet we all are guilty of this. Oh that we will not take God’s word and
twist it to fit what we want. Paul
continues in verses 15 and 16 saying why we are to not grumble or complain, “that
you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst
of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the
world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be
proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.” Hold fast to the word of
life, and be a light to this crooked and twisted generation we are living
amongst. We do this by obeying God’s word!
Back to 1 Samuel 15, in verses 17-19 it says, “And Samuel
said, ‘Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the
tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. And the Lord sent you
on a mission…Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord?” Samuel point
blank asks the question all of us reading want to ask Saul. Pretty much, “what
were you thinking???” God had taken Saul from herding sheep to becoming the
king over Israel.
Saul responds in verse 20-21, “And Saul said to Samuel, ‘I
have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord
sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the
Amalekites to destruction. But the
people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best the things devoted to
destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” Oh, its pretty funny
reading Saul’s words, because anyone who can read can see he did not obey the
voice of the Lord. Saul is a biblical example to us, showing how human hearts
are deceiving him and he tries to make himself feel alright by saying the
animals he did not destroy were meant to be offerings!
Samuel in verse 22, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord?” God wants our
complete obedience to him. Yes he loves us even though we are sinful creatures.
Once you place your faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection, you’re saved. Yet,
God is most glorified when we seek to obey His word all the way! The more we
press into the Word and the more we press into the Lord, trying to obey Him
completely and trying to glorify Him in all your actions brings more joy then we
can even imagine!
In verses 27 and 28 it says, “As Samuel turned to go away,
Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. And Samuel said to him, ‘The
Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a
neighbor of yours, who is better than you.” Sometimes, the only way for the
Lord to get our attention is to tear away from us what we love most in this
world! When we disobey the Lord’s commands to us, there are going to be
consequences. Yet, these consequences are given to us for our good and growth.
After his kingship has been torn away from him, Saul
responds in Verse 30, “Then he said, ‘I have sinned; yet honor me now before
the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow
before the Lord your God.’ So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul bowed
before the Lord.” Saul realizes all he can do is get down on his face and bow
before the Lord to repent. When we sin and fall short and experience the
discipline of the Lord. I pray it brings us to an awareness of how Great our
God is and how sinful we are. We don’t deserve salvation. We don’t deserve the
cross. Let us be able to say to the Lord, “The lines have fallen for me in
pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” (Psalm 16:6)
No comments:
Post a Comment