In following with my current Bible study, you will remember that were are reading in 1 Samuel. This writing very broadly covers Chapters 12 – 16. If you remember, God chose Saul to be king over Israel. Saul was a Godly man at the time he was chosen and God had favor on him. If you take time to read these chapters, you will notice that Saul does some things that are sinful against God. For example, Samuel was the one who was to offer the burnt offerings and he was to meet Saul on a certain day to do the burnt offerings for the people. However, Samuel was a day late. Since Samuel hadn’t shown as he said he would, Saul believed he couldn’t wait. So Saul offered the burnt offerings, and right after he finished, Samuel shows up. What did this cost Saul? God had planned on making him to reign over Israel, but now God was looking for someone else to reign…someone after His own heart.
You know, I actually see myself in this situation. Not the whole offering sacrifices thing, but how often do we wait and wait on God to do something and then we think “I guess something happened…maybe God wants me to do this instead of waiting on him.” We become proactive. We think we know what’s best. All in all, we panic. That’s what it boils down to. And I almost wonder since God had set up Saul to be king if Saul believed that every thought that entered His head on how to do things he believed was given the ok by God? I wonder if some of our current religious leaders think the same? I hope not, but after all, we are all human. I love the pastor of the church I go to. I know he is a Godly man, but he knows too that he is sinful and makes mistakes. I think some people place their pastors so high up on a pedestal that they think the pastor has the right answer to everything because he’s been ordained by God to be a minister. I don’t want to speak evil of any pastor, but it is important to realize that they are human and they don’t always know everything. Ultimately, it’s up to our relationship with God and what the Bible says on how we respond to certain situations. But like I said, I see myself in this particular passage…get tired of waiting, so I feel the need to do something. I convince myself that I’m right in doing so.
Saul makes a few other mistakes along the way before God dethrones him and sets up a new king. I wonder what took God so long? I mean, in chapter 12 he was already talking about dethroning him, but Saul managed to go to war, almost put his own son to death, and sinned against God once more before God finally said “ok, that’s enough.” Maybe Saul thought he was getting away with it. Maybe he didn’t really believe God.
It’s interesting, Saul went to war and was commanded to destroy everything…not bring anything back. But instead of doing this, he thought it was better to bring back the best of the spoils, destroy the rest, and offer it as a burnt offering to the Lord. Here is another example that I see myself in. How many times are we commanded by God to do one thing, but we tweak it a little and think, “but this would be even better!”? Saul was put in his place when Samuel said
” Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the LORD?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams. ” 1 Samuel 15:22 NIV
I think we miss the point sometimes. Not to mention, in all honesty, I wondered if Samuel was telling the truth. There is a possibility that he wanted the best of the spoils for himself, even though God told him to destroy it, but he gets caught by Samuel, so to make himself look good, he says he intended on offering it as a burnt offering. I think he might have just been covering his tracks. We do that too.
At the end of chapter 15, the verse says: ..the Lord repented that he had made Saul King over Israel.” KJV God repented? This was confusing to me so I had to go into further study with outside commentaries to get a better understanding of this verse. This isn’t the only time God says this. He also mentions it right before the flood when God repented that he had made man and he decides to destroy everyone in a flood. He says it in other places too. After reading a commentary on it, I figured out that it just means that God is sorry that man has chosen to sin against Him and repenting involves going about a different method. Well, I’ll let you read the commentary:
15:10-23 Repentance in God is not a change of mind, as it is in us, but a change of method. The change was in Saul; He is turned back from following me. Hereby he made God his enemy. Samuel spent a whole night in pleading for Saul. The rejection of sinners is the grief of believers: God delights not in their death, nor should we. Saul boasts to Samuel of his obedience. Thus sinners think, by justifying themselves, to escape being judged of the Lord. The noise the cattle made, like the rust of the silver, Jas 5:3, witnessed against him. Many boast of obedience to the command of God; but what means then their indulgence of the flesh, their love of the world, their angry and unkind spirit, and their neglect of holy duties, which witness against them? See of what evil covetousness is the root; and see what is the sinfulness of sin, and notice that in it which above any thing else makes it evil in the sight of the Lord; it is disobedience: Thou didst not obey the voice of the Lord. Carnal, deceitful hearts, like Saul, think to excuse themselves from God’s commandments by what pleases themselves. It is hard to convince the children of disobedience. But humble, sincere, and conscientious obedience to the will of God, is more pleasing and acceptable to him than all burnt-offering and sacrifices. God is more glorified and self more denied, by obedience than by sacrifice. It is much easier to bring a bullock or lamb to be burned upon the altar, than to bring every high thought into obedience to God, and to make our will subject to his will. Those are unfit and unworthy to rule over men, who are not willing that God should rule over them.
15:24-31 There were several signs of hypocrisy in Saul’s repentance. 1. He besought Samuel only, and seemed most anxious to stand right in his opinion, and to gain his favour. 2. He excuses his fault, even when confessing it; that is never the way of a true penitent. 3. All his care was to save his credit, and preserve his interest in the people. Men are fickle and alter their minds, feeble and cannot effect their purposes; something happens they could not foresee, by which their measures are broken; but with God it is not so. The Strength of Israel will not lie.
15:32-35 Many think the bitterness of death is past when it is not gone by; they put that evil day far from them, which is very near. Samuel calls Agag to account for his own sins. He followed the example of his ancestors’ cruelty, justly therefore is all the righteous blood shed by Amalek required. Saul seems unconcerned at the token of God’s displeasure which he lay under, yet Samuel mourns day and night for him. Jerusalem was carnally secure while Christ wept over it. Do we desire to do the whole will of God? Turn to him, not in form and appearance, but with sincerity.
The above commentary was taken from: http://mhc.biblecommenter.com/1_samuel/15.htm
All in all, just because God chose Saul to be king over Israel, it was not permanent, and it was based on Saul’s obedience to God throughout the entire time. Saul was Godly in the beginning, but it’s like pride got in the way and he backslided. Basically, Saul broke his end of the bargain through his sin, and God therefore had to choose someone else, though he was saddened to have to do so. It’s interesting, the God of the universe who knows the future and everything that we are going to do, allows us to be put up in high places, even when He knows we’re going to fail. It’s like, He still offers a chance or hopes that maybe we will do His will despite what He knows. I don’t know. I will never fully understand God and no one ever will. He is infinite and we are finite. He is God and we’re not, so everything isn’t suppose to make sense. We try, though. But we can only understand what He allows us to. Beyond that, we just have to trust Him. I have a few unanswered questions, but for the most part, the basics and some beyond basics I have an understanding of, and that is really all we need.
