February 11, 2011 (I Samuel 12-15)

It's not about us. As much as we want to always make it about us, it's not. It's about God and the glory of His name.

^12:20 “Don’t be afraid,” Samuel reassured them. “You have certainly done wrong, but make sure now that you worship the Lord with all your heart, and don’t turn your back on him. ²¹ Don’t go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you—they are totally useless! ²² The Lord will not abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name. For it has pleased the Lord to make you his very own people.

And this verse always convicts me when I read it.

^12:23 “As for me, I will certainly not sin against the Lord by ending my prayers for you. And I will continue to teach you what is good and right.

And after Samuel tells the people he will pray for them, he reminds them of their responsibility:

^12:24 But be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you. ²⁵But if you continue to sin, you and your king will be swept away.”

In this next section, Saul is preparing for war and Samuel hasn't arrived yet. So he offers the sacrifice himself, something strictly forbidden. When Samuel arrived and confronted him, here was his response:

^13:11 Saul replied, “I saw my men scattering from me, and you didn’t arrive when you said you would, and the Philistines are at Micmash ready for battle. ¹² So I said, ‘The Philistines are ready to march against us at Gilgal, and I haven’t even asked for the Lord’s help!’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came.”

His first response was to justify his actions. He blamed his men and he blamed Samuel and he even tried to say he had good intentions, but the truth of the matter was that he directly disobeyed.

Samuel replied to him:

^13:13 “How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” ¹⁵ Samuel then left Gilgal and went on his way, but the rest of the troops went with Saul to meet the army. 

We never see where Saul confessed and repented. And Samuel's prophecy showed the true problem - he didn't have a heart that wanted to follow and honor God.

Chapter 15 is one of the 'saddest' chapters in the Bible. I'll just use some of the main verses to summarize what happened.

^15:1 One day Samuel said to Saul, .... ³ Now go and completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation—men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys.”


^15:7 Then 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.


^15:10 Then the Lord said to Samuel, ¹¹ “I am sorry that I ever made Saul king, for he has not been loyal to me and has refused to obey my command.” Samuel was so deeply moved when he heard this that he cried out to the Lord all night.

^15:19 Why haven’t you obeyed the Lord? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?”


^15:20 “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.”

^15:22 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.”

^15:34 Then Samuel went home to Ramah, and Saul returned to his house at Gibeah of Saul. ³⁵ Samuel never went to meet with Saul again, but he mourned constantly for him. And the Lord was sorry he had ever made Saul king of Israel.

I think Saul's pattern of "justified disobedience" led to his downfall. A warning for us all.