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1 Samuel 15:1-35 Key verse 15:22 To Obey is Better than Sacrifice “But Smauel 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.” Last time we saw Jonathan’s courageous faith in God. He said, “Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving!” God pleased his faith, so gave a great victory over the enemy who was vastly outnumbered and outgunned. In today’s passage we look at Jonathan’s father Saul. His characters are diametrically opposed to his son. We will learn about the importance of obedience in regard to our relationship with God. May God teach us how to have obedient heart toward his instructions and to make a right relationship with Him. Part 1. God’s Mission for Saul (1-11) The prophet Samuel, the one the God sent to anoint Saul king of the Israel, approaches Saul with a word from God. Read verses 2-3. “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. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.” These instructions begin by saying “This is what the Lord Almighty says…” These are not the words Samuel says; these are the very words of God. They are God’s instruction for Saul. So Saul had to listen seriously. Recently Israel got a great victory over the Philistines. Now God would turn back to his older enemy of Israel, the Amalekites. About 200 years earlier Israel exited from Egypt. God delivered and guided peacefully in the wilderness on the way to the promise land, Canaan. On that journey, the Amalekites sneakily appeared and attacked Israel. They cut off all who were lagging behind, which was out of Moses’ sight. The Amalekites killed the men who had no way to defend. That was a mean thing to do. They had no fear of God. At that time the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalekites from under heaven (Ex 17:14).” Now it was a couple hundred years later. Israel became stable and it had a king and army. It was time for carrying out God’s justice against those who attacked his people. Here, we can see the enemy against God will be punished by his judgment sooner or later. And God protects and honors his people. So God sent Saul on a clear mission: totally destroy the Amalekites men, women, children, infants, cattle, sheep, camels and even donkeys. God wanted to use the king Saul as the tool of carrying out his judgment. Some people persecute God’s people with no reason. But they should know that the day of God’s judgment will come for those who oppose his people and the Lord Almighty. It is because God respects and takes care of his people. How did Saul implement God’s mission? He gathered 210,000 soldiers. This was 70 times bigger than the soldiers fought against the Philistines, only 3,000. And he warned the Kenites to take a temporary leave of absence. It is because they showed kindness to Israelites when coming up from Egypt. Then Saul and the army surprisingly attacked the Amalekites. The unexpected attack was a great military success. However, there was a serious problem. Look at verse 9.“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.” How did Saul do? At first it looks totally successful. But Saul spared King Agag. We don’t exactly know why Saul did not kill him. Probably he was willing to use him to gain his wealth or political influence. Also Saul and the soldiers spared the best of the cattle. Verse 9 says they spared everything that was “good” and they did not willing to destroy them totally. Here we see the basic problem. They were unwilling to completely carry out God’s word and mission. Saul implemented some part of God’s direction, but they modified it slightly according to his will. It was disobedience to God’s clear command. In verse 11 we see the response of God and Samuel to their deeds. God said, “I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.’ Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the Lord all that night.” Saul considered the word of God as a light matter. It brought sorrow to God’s heart. Samuel knew the seriousness of this situation. He cried out God on behalf of Saul. Like a father, Samuel pleaded God’s mercy on him. Sometimes we disregarded God’s word. In realistic view, we pick and choose the words we want to follow. We love God because he blesses us. But we do not like to deny ourselves in order to follow God’s words. It is right the aspect of Saul’s deed. If we do not submit ourselves into the will of God, we are in danger of becoming Saul. This brings a grief to God’s heart, and it broke the relationship with God. So we always must be aware of the importance of listening seriously and obeying completely God’s word. Part 2. To obey is Better than Sacrifice (12-35) The Lord and Samuel were grieving over the Saul’s disobedience. But what did Saul do? Look at verse 12. “…Samuel went to meet Saul, but he was told, ‘Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument for his own honor and has turned and gone down to Gilgal.” Saul established a monument for himself while God and Samuel were grieving for his deed. What a pride! God sent him on a mission. Saul, however, did not obey God’s word and did not thanks to God about the victory. He stole honor from God for himself. If we do not thank God we are stealing honor from God and giving grief to God because of our pride. Samuel came to Saul. Saul welcome him and said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.” Saul thought that he obeyed God’s instructions, whereas in verse 11 God clearly said he did not obey God’s instructions. His pride was blinding him and he cannot see the reality in a right way. Samuel heard animal noises. So he replied to Saul’s exclaiming, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?” In verse 15, “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.” When Samuel pointed the faults, Saul got a chance to confess and repent. But Saul missed it. He started another excuses. “the soldiers did it…besides we were going to use them to sacrifice to the Lord…but we totally destroyed the rest.” Samuel couldn’t take anymore. He told Saul what the Lord told him the previous night. God called small Saul in his own eyes. He was a nobody, from the smallest tribe of Israel, but God set him the head of all the tribes as king. God sent him on an important mission to completely destroy the Amalekites. So Samuel directly confronted Saul, “Why did you not obey the Lord?” Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?” It was a second time to repent and confess his sin. In verse 20 Saul insists, “But I did obey the Lord. I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.” Saul continued to defend himself. He seems to not understand what he did wrong. To him Samuel is unreasonable. Saul took a risk of his life to attack the Amalekites. He got a great victory. He might think that his deed should be praised. But Saul did not recognize sin. King David was different. He committed secretly adultery and then murder to cover up his sin. When the prophet Nathan confronted him, David repented and confessed. He did not miss the point of repentance. To him, rebuilding the relationship with God is the most important. Nathan told him God would take away his sin. How about us? Whether do we rationalize like Saul or confess our sin like David? According to today passages, a pride blinds our eyes from sins. So we must take away a pride from our mind. Proverb 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” May we not try to cover up and excuse our sins, but repent and seek the Lord’s mercy. Read verse 22. “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 off rams.” Saul’s justification looks spiritual. He claimed to be preparing to sacrifice to the Lord with the best of the animals. But Samuel rebukes Saul concerning the matter of sacrifices compared to obedience. Sometimes we think that we are able to please God by sacrifices. But God requires obedience. As the creator of the earth and the father of us, he commands to follow the ways of life. Although it is the best of sheep, God does not accept the sacrifice of people who neglect the words of God. Unless listen to what God says to us, we never make the right relationship with God. But obedience is not easy. It requires submitting ourselves to the will of God. It requires the denial of ourselves. But the fruit of obedience is God’s blessing. Jesus showed the example. Just before his arrest and crucifixion Jesus was tempted to avoid the cross. But he desperately prayed, “Not my will, but yours be done.” (LK 22:42). By submitting himself he obeyed God until the death. Then he as blessed by God through his resurrection and he became the true Lord of all believers. According to Jesus life, we can see the importance of obedience and its result. Then what are consequences of disobedience? In verse 23 Samuel says, “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.” Samuel taught that disobedience is rebellion. It comes from arrogance that we thinks we are right and justified. There is nothing wrong with us, so we do not have anything to repent. But this attitude is same with the sin of sorcery and the evil of worshiping false gods. If we try to cover up with some religious activity, we are manipulating God. But God sees our inner heart. Saul finally admits his guilt saying. “I have sinned.” But he kept asking Samuel to forgive him rather than God. He did not truly repent. Finally, in verses 33, Samuel took care of the unfinished mission. He put King Agag to death. He competed the mission and give honor to the Lord on behalf of Saul. I took TOEFL test in yesterday. This was my giant. I thought to myself that I might not overcome this giant. I took 5 times in the past, and I quitted the four of them in the meantime of taking the test. It is because I was afraid of seeing the result of them. I was afraid that self-judgment would criticize my inability about this test. So two years passed in vain. Furthermore, it was the last chance to take the exam for applying graduate school. So I felt desperate. But at this time, I tried to boldly face my giant. Why? The Lord says, “Don’t be afraid.” Throughout the whole bible scriptures, he says “do not be afraid” in as much as 356 times. The Lord really wants me to live by trusting in him every day. So I made up my mind to obey his very word. “Do not be afraid”. On the basis of obedience, yesterday I finished the test and I praised to him who gave me strength. I believe that this faithful obedience pleased God. I am really happy because of the right relationship with God which built on trusting in him alone. I pray that I will live by obeying God’s every words. So I would be a man who is able to please God alone. |
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