The
people wanted a king. They had God, but apparently that wasn’t enough for them.
They wanted to be like the other nations around them and be ruled by a king.
Reluctantly,
the prophet Samuel warned the people about how the king would rule over them,
how he would demand things from them,
“But
the people refused to listen to Samuel’s warning. “Even so, we still want a
king,” they said.
20 “We want to be like
the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle.”(1
Samuel 8:19-20, NLT2)
Saul was from
the tribe of Benjamin. He was a handsome man and was “…head and shoulders taller than anyone else in
the land.” (I Sam. 9:2b, NLT2)
As Saul was out
looking for his father’s lost animals, he stumbled across the prophet Samuel,
and Samuel told him not to worry about the lost animals, because God had bigger
plans for his life.
In a very
private ceremony, Samuel anointed Saul as the king over Israel, and sent him on
his way back home, with one command: do exactly as he was told.
A
little while later, Samuel assembled the people of Israel and explained to them
that it was God who delivered them from Egypt, how God had rescued them from
the hands of their oppressors, and even though God had brought them through,
the people still wanted a king to lead them.
As
the tribes stood before the Lord, Saul was eventually chosen, and the people
affirmed him as their king.
In
his first test as their leader, Saul exhibited the presence and power of God;
he led his troops into battle and stood victoriously over their enemies. (1
Sam. 11)
As
strong and as handsome as Saul was, he had a slight problem. He wasn’t able to
follow orders.
1
Samuel 15 tells us of one such occasion when Saul refused to do what he had
been asked to do:
“One day Samuel said
to Saul, “It was the Lord who told me to anoint you as king of his people,
Israel. Now listen to this message from the Lord!
2 This is what the
Lord of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I have decided to settle accounts with
the nation of Amalek for opposing Israel when they came from Egypt.
3 Now go and
completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation—men, women, children, babies, cattle,
sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys.”
4 So Saul mobilized his army at
Telaim. There were 200,000 soldiers from Israel and 10,000 men from Judah.
5 Then Saul and his
army went to a town of the Amalekites and lay in wait in the valley.”
After Saul sent
a warning to the Kenites to pack up their belongings and leave or they would
die too, verse 7:
“…Saul slaughtered
the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, east of Egypt.
8 He captured Agag,
the Amalekite king, but completely destroyed everyone else.
9 Saul and his men
spared Agag’s life and kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the
fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They
destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality.” (1 Sam.
15:1-9, NLT2)
Saul had been
given one command: “Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything
that belongs to them. Do not spare them…” (1Sam
15:3a, NIV)
His
one command was to assassinate the Amalekites and all of their belongings. He
was not to pick and choose; he was to destroy them completely.
God
wanted the Amalekites to be wiped out for the way they treated His people years
earlier (Ex. 17:8)
The
message seemed simple enough: completely destroy all things; leave nothing- or
no one –standing.
Because
Saul had a problem with obedience, a problem that had plagued him for years
(see 1 Sam 13), he kept some of the best items for himself.
This
was a test of Saul’s leadership and he failed the test.
As
the prophet Samuel was spending some time in his hammock, the Lord spoke to
him:
“I
am sorry that I ever made Saul king, for he has not been loyal to me and has
refused to obey my command.” (1 Sam. 15:11a, NLT2)
Then the Bible
tells us that: “Early
the next morning Samuel went to find Saul. Someone told him, “Saul went to the
town of Carmel to set up a monument to himself; then he went on to Gilgal.”
13 When Samuel finally found him,
Saul greeted him cheerfully. “May the Lord bless you,” he said. “I have carried
out the Lord’s command!”
14 “Then what is all the bleating of
sheep and goats and the lowing of cattle I hear?” Samuel demanded.
15 “It’s true that the army spared
the best of the sheep, goats, and cattle,” Saul admitted. “But they are going
to sacrifice them to the Lord your God. We have destroyed everything else.”
16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop!
Listen to what the Lord told me last night!....”
17 “...Although you
may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel?
The Lord has anointed you king of Israel.
18 And the Lord
sent you on a mission and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the
Amalekites, until they are all dead.’
19 Why haven’t you
obeyed the Lord? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord’s
sight?”
20 “But I did obey
the Lord,” Saul insisted. “I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back
King Agag, but I destroyed everyone else.
21 Then my troops
brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to
the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
22 But Samuel
replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and
sacrifices or your obedience to his voice?
Listen! Obedience
is better than sacrifice, and
submission is better than offering
the fat of rams.
23 Rebellion is as
sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because
you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”
(1 Sam. 15:11-23, NLT2)
This account
highlights a very important life principle: Partial
obedience is still disobedience.
God wasn’t
looking for the sheep, the goats or even the offerings that Saul said he was
going to offer; God was looking for an obedient heart.
This is still
what God is looking for today.
1 John chapter 2
tells us that: “If
someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person
is a liar and is not living in the truth.
5 But those who
obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we
are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as
Jesus did.” (1 John 2:4-6, NLT2)
This begs the
question: "How did Jesus live His life?"
In complete
obedience to God.
There was never
a time when He refused to do what God wanted Him to do.
Even during His
most trying time—the garden of Gethsemane- He still remained faithful: “…My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from
me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." (Matt. 26:39b, NIV)
Jesus remained
obedient. Those who profess to be followers of the God Most High will also be
obedient.
Jesus said: “All who love me
will do what I say...."
24 Anyone who
doesn’t love me will not obey me.” (John
14:23a-24a, NLT2)
What was that
teaching from January? Anyone Remember? "Application makes all the difference".
God wanted Saul
to obey His word completely, not save some of the best and kill the rest. God
was looking for complete obedience.
Some things in
life are good; other things in life are better, and to have a better life you
have to let go of the good life.
God tells us
that obedience is better than sacrifice; submission is better than offering
things to God, because what God is really looking for is you.
Has God been
asking you to do something lately and you are looking for wiggle room in His
command?
You might be
looking for a long time, because God doesn’t want partial obedience, it’s all
or nothing with God.
If you are
wrestling with something God might be asking you to do, don’t give it another
thought: do what God is asking you to do, because obedience is better.
“Often times God’s greatest blessings come as a result of
our willingness to do something that appears to be very insignificant.”(Stanley, 2005. 88)
Saul didn’t
think it was a big deal that he didn’t obey God completely. He thought he was
doing God a favor by saving the best parts of the plunder, but God didn’t want
that, God wanted Saul to exterminate the entire lot.
If God is asking
you to do something, He wants you to obey Him, because it’s always better to
obey than to disobey.
Why?
Well, Saul found
out that disobedience meant separation from God and as such his kingdom was
taken from him.
Church: don’t
make the same mistake: don’t let partial obedience be your undoing.
·
If God is asking you to give something up: give
it up, because obedience is better!
·
If God is asking you to give something to Him,
give it to Him, because obedience is better!
·
If God is asking you to go and talk to a certain
person: go and talk to that certain person, because obedience is better!
Obeying God is
better than not obeying God, just as “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in
princes.” (Psalm 118:9, NLT2)
Why are both of
these things better?
Because: “A single day in
your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else!” (Psalm 84:10a,
NLT2)
God is not
looking for people who obey Him some of the time; God is looking for people who
obey Him all of the time.
Please
understand friends; there will be times when we fail to do something that God
asks us to do. In those times, we have access to His grace, but this should be
the exception, not the rule.
God’s people are to be known for
their obedience to Him, not for their rebellion from Him.
What might God
be asking you to do? What might God be asking you to give up?
The question,
then, that we must ask ourselves is: “Am I willing to obey?
“Am I willing to do what God is asking
me to do?”
Remember partial
obedience is still disobedience. So if God has been speaking to you
about your need to do something, please listen to what He is telling you to do.
Someone once
said: “The
best time to plant a tree was 25 years ago. The next best time is right now.”
If you haven’t
been completely obedient to the Lord, know that today is the perfect day for
you to begin again.
If God has been
speaking to you about an area of your life that needs to come under His
authority, don’t think about it one second longer, do what He might be asking
you to do, because: “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in
man.” (Psalm 118:8, NIV)
As we prepare to
transition into our last song, I want to encourage you to spend some time in
prayer, either where you are, or at the altar, and ask God to help you do what
He might be asking you to do.
If you’re not
quite sure what God might be asking you to do, be sure and seek someone out
that you know and trust and have them help you figure things out.
(BAND)
What God is
looking for from all His children is obedience, and the Bible tells us that “Obedience is better
than sacrifice, and submission (to Him) is better than offering the fat of rams.” (1 Sam. 15:22b, NLT2)
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