Good Morning Friends,
Samuel gave clear instructions from the Lord to Saul. “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them.’” (1 Samuel 15:2-3)
Saul went out to do battle against the Amalekites and God gave him a great victory. But Saul was unwilling to completely follow God’s instructions. “But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs-everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.” (1 Samuel 15:9)
When confronted by Samuel, Saul had an answer for his disobedience to the instructions. “Saul answered, ‘The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.’" (1 Samuel 15:15)
Saul had two excuses for his disobedience:
1. It wasn’t his fault, it was the soldiers who kept the sheep and cattle.
2. It was for a good reason, not to keep, but to make a great sacrifice to the Lord.
“But Samuel replied: ‘Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.’” (1 Samuel 15:22-23)
Samuel’s word for Saul was simple: God desires obedience more than ritual and ceremony. He still does!
His, by Grace,
Steve
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