Friday,
March 17, 2023
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. 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.” 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 15:22-31
A mask hides what’s underneath.
Symptoms can mask a deeper problem.
Criminals wear masks, and use masks to hide their activities when caught. Even when apprehended in the very act of
their crime, an excuse mask is an attempt to wiggle-free from the consequences. Masks are common, weak, and ever-present;
just ask King Saul.
Saul knew what God wanted him to do, completely destroy the Amalekite nation.
He began well, but never completed his mission. When it came to finishing the task, he
tweaked the orders to savor some of the victory for himself. He didn’t put the Amalekite King Agag (a
ruthless killer) to the sword. He also
managed to pocket some of the wealth of the nation (livestock). The reasons were obvious; parading the
captured king Agag like a puppet on a string would build Saul’s prestige among
the people he ruled. And keeping the
livestock to provide a feast for the people…well, feed them and who can get
angry? Keeping the critics off your back
is sometimes a full-time job when you’re a king (or any other leader).
When questioned by the prophet Samuel about his rebelliousness, Saul put
on his best excuse mask, deflecting Samuel’s questioning accusation. The livestock were for a sacrifice to honor
Jehovah. From Samuel’s answer we can
easily see that he saw right through it, and it disgusted the prophet. He told Saul God was done with him, because
he didn’t know the difference between building his own name, and honoring God’s
name. This incident is how Saul found
out that, where God is concerned, there is no such thing as playing both sides of
truth. No mask is capable of hiding you
from He who IS truth. Saul tried to
claim some of the glory and spoils that God had said were not to be
spared. That is not a plan that ever
turns out pretty!
For You Today
There are about 2,500 devotional
posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions
library. To dig deeper explore
some of these: A Rebellious Servant - Part 1 and A Rebellious Servant - Part 2
Title Image: via Pixabay.com Images without citation are in public
domain.
Unless noted, Scripture quoted
from The New Living Translation©
