1st Samuel 15 SAMUEL CAME NO MORE There are times when a person passes the point of no return in their rejection of God and His word. There is hope while there is life if a person is awakened to their sin and need of God, and if they return to Him in repentance, He is ready and willing to forgive the repentant sinner. But deliberate rejection of God and His truth and the spurning of His grace, will leave a person outside of the blessings of salvation. "Repentance toward God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ," is still the way sinners come to Christ. Saul is an example of a person who willfully refuses to admit his guilt and face the consequences of his sin. In spite of his undeniable refusal to do the will of God, he still wanted to be exalted himself.
The Amalekites were terrorists who lived by attacking other nations or small groups of people like wolves following a weak prey, and taking everything, they could, whether it was goods or people. As long as they existed, Israel could never have peace. Their corrupt idolatry threatened the relationship Israel had with God. The only way Israel could survive was if the Amalekites were destroyed along with all their possessions and idols. The Lord had charged Saul, through Samuel to carry out this work. Saul first action was to number his own people to see if he thought he had enough men to do this task. He didn't rely on God but still acted in the energy of the flesh and with only the insight the flesh gives.
In essence Saul's reign was already finished, but the rest of the narrative exposes the reasons very clearly as to the dangers of acting in the flesh. This whole incident in the life of Israel teaches us the seriousness of acting independently of God. When we act without divine guidance, the outcome of a matter is only as strong as the weakest part of our fleshly nature. Saul is a type of religious flesh positionally, seeming to be near God and serving God. But with all the religious garb and upscale religious forms that are so impressive, it is still the flesh - religious flesh.
The Amalekites were a different type of the flesh. The "flesh" opposes God and God's people, and wants nothing to do with God. Their background began with Esau and after hundreds of years was still contrary to the people of God. Today the aggressive flesh of the world system strongly opposes those who are born of God and live holy and righteous lives. The popular opinion of most today is that we should change our opinions and convictions to accommodate to what the "majority" says is socially acceptable. The Lord was opposed to Amalek "from one generation to another" because then, as now, that which is done in the energy of the flesh gets increasingly worse with each passing generation, and "in the flesh dwelleth no good thing."
The command Saul received was to finish with Amalek once and for all so there could be a lasting peace and the evil of that system would not permeate the cultures and people around them. In this situation there was the testing of the religious flesh in Saul, when confronted with the outright evil flesh on the part of the Amalekites. We may not realize the fact, that often, testing times are allowed by God to bring out what is real in His people and cause them to have to stand up and be counted in front of a watching world. The price to be paid in such times can be social testing, religious testing and personal testing to see whether what we profess is real.
However, Saul and his soldiers disobeyed the command of God and kept the best of that which God hated the most. To break the hold of idolatry, nothing was to remain, not even the animals that were raised for idolatrous purposes. But instead they kept the best of that which was from idolatry and bestiality to use to "sacrifice to the Lord." This would have been the heights of abomination against the Lord. To show disrespect and disregard for God and His commands are often done today when religious men try to sanctify what God hates and has cursed. Such disregard for God's truth, even though people may think it is "selective obedience" is just plain disobedience shown in another way.
Saul obeyed God as far as it pleased him. That is what we do when we choose to do our own will and ignore or disregard God's will. To do this or even have the attitude associated with it, is rebellion. To not fulfill a God-given command completely is the same as not doing it at all. Our flesh must be put to death lest we start judging our own flesh as to what we think is good and what is bad. It is not uncommon to hear one say, "I don't think that is wrong. Look at what other people do, and it makes people feel so good about themselves." God has already condemned the flesh as "no good thing." All of it, religious or otherwise!! Saul later died at the hands of an Amalekite, and later in Israel's history Haman tried to destroy the whole nation of Israel - and he was an Agagite - a relative of the Amalekite king.
If we gloss over sin to protect our reputation or for selfish gain, the flesh will poison our spiritual life to the extent that some believers will deliberately walk away from that which they know is right. The flesh has invaded churches, families and nations to the place where laws are changed to cater to the flesh. Some churches have resorted to "world-like" entertainment to get people to attend church service. They hope if they can "get them to come in" they may come back to our regular church services. Such reasoning is not by the guidance of the Holy Spirit but by committees or those who think the church is more important than the will and word of the Lord.
Samuel was very concerned about Saul and how he was failing in his leadership and prayed in the night for him to the Lord as an intercessor on behalf of the nation. A soft heart touched by the Lord and one who has genuine concern for others is of great value in intercessory prayer. Saul in his arrogance and self- centeredness did not weep for his sin but gloried in that which was to his shame. He never admitted to doing wrong, so consequently God's attitude toward Saul was changed. God did not change His mind about what He allowed. In pride Saul set up a monument to himself to point out to others what he considered he had achieved himself. He followed that with a triumphal march in his own honor from Carmel to Gilgal and planned a celebration there mixing religious practices with feasting as a tribute to himself. He may have thought his lie would not be exposed, or he may even have thought that what he did was not wrong. But that did not excuse him for his failure to carry out the word of the Lord.
The flesh has the tendency to deceive itself. Dishonest people find themselves believing the lies they told and/or cannot tell the difference between truth and lies. When we allow ourselves to believe our own lies we are disconnected from God and will find ourselves cut off from meaningful relationships with people who count. With sanctimonious words Saul greets Samuel who had followed him like a faithful shepherd would follow a wandering sheep. Samuel saw through Saul's boasting because there were other sounds he heard that told a different story. The bleating of the sheep and the lowing of the oxen exposed Saul's lie. Facts give credence to words of truth, and exposes dishonesty. Saul followed the path most liars follow. When they are found out, they try to shift the blame to others. Excuses we make only condemn us further. Honesty will ultimately come out into the open and be the victor.
Samuel had wept through the night for all that was lost through Saul's failed leadership. He had heard God's voice first at night when he was a young boy. Now he still hears the voice of God at night as an old man. There is a time to listen to what people say, and there is a time to stop foolish talk and say, "That is enough of this. Be quiet while I tell you the consequences of your actions." Samuel reminded Saul of his past insignificance and of what he owed God. We do well to remember "the hole of the pit from which we have been digged, and the rock from which we have been hewn." Samuel reminded Saul of the mandate he had been given and exposed his lies and deceit of which he was guilty. Exposure of guilt is the step that leads to repentance in a sincere person.
Samuel challenged Saul's disobedience and sought to make him aware of the seriousness of that sin. When one doesn't fear nor tremble at the word of the Lord, he sets himself up for righteous vengeance to come. He might escape the glancing blow, but the fatal blow is sure to come. No sacrifice a person can make will take away the consequences of disobedience. Submission to the will of God is of far more importance than the costliest gifts we might give. Self-will, stubbornness, is really self-exaltation and in some cases self- worship. It indicates what I want is more important than what God wants. Sacrifice is important but has no value if our relationship with God is broken or has never been in existence. The ritual of sacrifice without obedience is meaningless.
Religion as a practice is of no value when devotion to God and obedience to Him is not there. Rebelliousness and arrogance go beyond being independent and strong-willed. The power of darkness seen in witchcraft and idolatry are defiance against God. Unless there is new birth in an unbeliever or a 180 degree turn in a wandering believer, forgiveness and restoration to God will not happen. Saul was rejected as king and would not ever get the kingdom back. God has entrusted us with a work to do for Him and for which we must give account. There is no excuse for us to not act responsibly in this work.
We are constantly being exhorted to do more and more in our service, but we need to consider if it is being done for the church or is it for the Lord. If it is for religious appearances to look good before the people, it has no real value. When the time for repentance is past and that for which we have been entrusted has not been done in obedience to God, we may be stunned to realize rejection has happened and there is no return to what we had before.
Even at the time when Saul was awakened, he wanted things his own way and made the people the object of blame. God through Samuel allowed Saul to continue as king, but he had only the power of his own will from then on. He wanted things his own way, and he was left on his own. From that day on he ceased to be God's king. It is an awful thing to be left on our own to try and accomplish that which can only be done by the strength of the Lord. Saul was told, "a neighbor of thine," will be the one who would lake the kingship - "a man after God's own heart." "The Strength of Israel," the Hope that would continue on in confidence, truth, victory and glory is not a mere man, but the unchanging God.