Wednesday, June
20, 2018
Then Saul
admitted to Samuel, “Yes, I have sinned. I have disobeyed your instructions and the
Lord’s command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded. But now, please forgive my
sin and come back with me so that I may worship the Lord.” But Samuel replied, “I will not go back with
you! Since you have rejected the Lord’s
command, he has rejected you as king of Israel.” As Samuel turned to go, Saul tried to hold
him back and tore the hem of his robe. And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom
of Israel from you today and has given it to someone else—one who is better
than you. And
he who is the Glory of Israel will not lie, nor will he change his mind, for he
is not human that he should change his mind!”
Then Saul pleaded again, “I know I have sinned. But please, at least honor me before the
elders of my people and before Israel by coming back with me so that I may
worship the Lord your God.” So
Samuel finally agreed and went back with him, and Saul worshiped the Lord. 1 Samuel 15:24-31(NLT)
King Saul had disobeyed the
instructions of God, given through the prophet Samuel, to completely destroy
the enemy, soldiers, camp, and everything in it. Saul kept the King (Agag) alive, probably to
humiliate him and make Saul look like a regal, conquering king. It was an ego thing. In a display of religious pride he didn’t
destroy the animals, but appeared as a magnanimous and holy ruler to give the
animals to the people to sacrifice as thanksgiving.
Saul knew how to get the
most credit for what God accomplished. In
typically-manipulative fashion Saul had tried to rationalize his behavior as spiritual,
only trying to please God’s sinful children; he had only given them what they
wanted. But Samuel saw through Saul’s
feeble excuses and lowered the hammer – the kingdom was going to have a new
king. Yesterday we saw the arrogance of
King Saul; today we see his humiliation.
Even after admitting that he
had sinned, Saul is still bargaining for face-saving. He asks Samuel to stay with him and go to
church so the people can see them together, thinking, perhaps hoping against
hope, that somehow it will all be smoothed over, and he will get to keep his
crown.
We know that didn’t happen;
the crown was eventually taken from Saul and given to the shepherd boy, David,
the one who understood what having a Godly heart was all about. David was not above sinning (we remember
Bathsheba), but when it came to being truly repentant, David and Saul were as
far apart as East and West.
What lesson do we take away
from Saul’s rebelliousness? Three, I
think:
1. Nobody is above God’s law – we all sin, and there is zero wiggle room.
2. God will not ignore our sin – we are all accountable, and there is a penalty to
be paid for transgression. That is
undeniable, otherwise the cross is God’s mistake.
3. The right response to conviction is repentance – Saul didn’t repent, he
tried to excuse himself off the hot seat, much like many in our culture today
refuse to accept responsibility for sinful behavior. David repented, was forgiven, and lived his
life out in fellowship with God.
For You Today
It’s never easy to admit you’ve done
wrong, accept responsibility, and to repent by obeying God with all your heart,
mind, soul, and strength. Never easy…and
never wrong. Saul found that out…the
hard way.
Go to VIDEO
[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com
No comments:
Post a Comment