A relationship soured and lost through partial obedience and compromise. 1 Samuel 15
We cannot mix the things of God with the cravings of men, they’re not compatible. Partial obedience, trying to walk in the things of God and the ways of men didn’t work for King Saul and it won’t work for us either. We have to choose which side we’re on. There’s an old saying, ‘you can’t run with the hare and hunt with the hounds’.
1 Samuel 15 begins with the prophet Samuel reminding Saul that he’d anointed him king over Israel and now God was instructing him to go and destroy the Amalekites, ‘everyone and everything’, nothing was to be left of them. God had not forgotten how they attacked and cut off the weakest of His people when they came up from Egypt. God’s Justice may seem slow in coming at times, but eventually it does come if there isn’t repentance. Humbling ourselves before God is the one way to avoid judgement!
Saul gathered his army of 210,000 men to go out and destroy Amalek. He told the Kenites to move away and separate from Amalek so that they wouldn’t be destroyed, because they had showed kindness to Israel. God remembers the kindnesses that we show to others as well.
Kindness to the poor is a LOAN TO THE LORD AND HE WILL REPAY THE LENDER. Proverbs 19:17
The Kenites were given the chance to separate from Amalek and save themselves. Sometimes we too may have to leave people we’ve been associated with, because it’s no longer beneficial to be around them.
7 Then Saul attacked the Amalekites … 8 He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. 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, 1 Samuel 15
God had sent Israel on a mission to completely destroy their enemies, but they compromised. They kept the best of the plunder for themselves. We may often not fully understand God’s instruction but we cannot allow our soulish (selfish) thinking to overrule God’s Word to us.
Samuel confronted Saul over his disobedience. At first he denied it, but eventually admitted that he’d been afraid of his own army. David faced similar situations but always turned to the Lord.
The outcome was that Saul tried to hold on to Samuel’s robe, but it tore. Samuel told him that God had torn his kingdom from him and given it to another.
Samuel did go with Saul and Agag king of the Amalekites to death, (the only prophet in the Bible to wield the sword, Robin Bullock).
The account of the battle began with Samuel telling Saul God’s instructions regarding Amalek. The end of the chapter was the end of a relationship on two levels;
34 Then Samuel left for Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. 35 UNTIL THE DAY HE DIED SAMUEL DID NOT SEE SAUL AGAIN, though Samuel mourned for him. AND THE LORD REGRETTED that he had made Saul king over Israel.
THROUGH PARTIAL OBEDIENCE AND COMPROMISE Saul lost his kingdom and his relationship with the prophet. He was on his own now, God no longer spoke to him.
May God give us hearts to obey Him in all things.