ARROGANT REBELLION

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Early in the morning, Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.

When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.” But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”

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.”

“Stop!” Samuel said to Saul. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”

“Tell me,” Saul replied.

Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. And He sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.’ Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?”

“But I did obey the Lord,” Saul said. 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.”

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 of rams. 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.”

Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions.”

1 Samuel 15:12-24a

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Question: How many times has a person sinned and then tried to cover up that sin with a lie?

Too many I’m afraid and as we look at the scripture passage from 1 Samuel, Chapter 15, we’ll see where this behavior, displayed by Saul, doesn’t sit well with God…a God who we learned grieves over His children when they are disobedient.

As we see in our passage, Samuel gets up “early in the morning” and goes “to meet Saul” but as he seeks him he is told that Saul had “gone to Carmel” where he had “set up a monument in his own honor” before going to Gilgal.

Now…how do you think God felt about this? Not only had Saul shown that he would do what he wanted to do despite God’s specific instructions but now he decides that he should be glorified and honored, not God.

Question: How often has a person succeeded in some way and then taken all the credit for that success instead of giving it to the Lord?

Again, too many I’m afraid but this passage also sends a stern message to us about this as well…one that we all would do well to heed.

Back to the scriptures…for Samuel finally tracks down Saul who acts as if everything is fine…like he has done nothing wrong. In fact, Saul acts like he has carried out all of the Lord’s instructions perfectly. In reality, Saul had contrived a story to try and cover the sinful actions of himself and his men. Indeed, Saul had concocted what he thought was a convincing alibi but Samuel, God’s messenger and faithful servant, would have nothing of it.

For as Saul tells him that he has “carried out the Lord’s instructions”, Samuel quickly retorts, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?” Samuel knew that God had commanded Saul and his men to destroy everything completely, not sparing one person or animal. And yet, we know that Saul spared the Amalekite king, Agag, and allowed his men to keep all the best of the sheep and cattle from the plunder.

So Samuel had called out Saul and challenged his assertion that he had obeyed God fully. But Saul was ready for him and we get a sense that Saul had been preparing his excuse ever since he sinned. For he answered Samuel saying, “The soldiers brought them (the sheep and cattle) 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.” Saul was only making his initial sin worse. Not only was he lying about fully keeping the Lord’s commands but he now used God as a part of his excuse…trying to convince Samuel that the best of the sheep and cattle were only taken to give to God as sacrifices. The problem with this was that God didn’t order Saul to do this. Had God wanted the best sheep and cattle to be kept for sacrifices, He would have told Saul to do so.

Well…we read where Samuel gets fed up and abruptly tells Saul to “Stop!” before sharing with Saul what the Lord had told him the night before. Note how Samuel is not speaking on his own behalf but for the Lord’s. Saul would have been much better served to place the Lord first in his life as well. If he had, he would have done as the Lord commanded.

So Samuel tells Saul the following:

“Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. And He sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.’ Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?”

In his words, Samuel speaks a lot of wisdom, not only to Saul but us as well. Here are the key points to remember:

1. God and God alone brings us to greatness.

Samuel tells Saul, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel.”

Indeed, Saul was from the smallest of the Israelite tribes and the least of the clans within that tribe. If one were going to predict where the king of Israel would come from, no one would pick the tribe of Benjamin let alone Saul’s clan and family…no one except God that is.

God selected Saul and placed him in an important position of leadership… a position where Saul was expected to represent the Lord honorably. But Saul did everything but that. Saul disregarded how much he had been blessed and got caught up in his power and accomplishments, so much so that he saw himself as more significant than the One who made him significant.

As we go through each day of life that the Lord blesses us with, we need to stay grounded in Him and realize that everything we have achieved and everything we get to do…all of it has come by the grace and providence of God who has taken sinners like us and lifted us up toward opportunities of greatness…but greatness in His name and His name alone.

2. Once God brings us greatness, He sends us forth to do His work.

Once Saul was “anointed…king over Israel”, God “sent (him) on a mission”. Saul was told to “Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.”

But Saul didn’t carry out the mission as ordered. Instead, he modified the mission to suit his desires and the desires of his men. Such was Saul’s arrogance and disrespectfulness in the sight of God.

Well, just as God sent Saul on a mission, He does the same to all those He has called into service. And because of this truth, we should always be seeking His will for us in whatever our circumstances and then be obedient to the guidance He gives us. God doesn’t bring us to greatness for us to be idle. He calls us to greatness and then calls us to action…action that He will always make clear to us and action that demands our obedient response.

3. God does demand and expect our obedience and complete compliance with His commands.

Once Samuel reminds Saul that God had selected him and elevated him to greatness, expecting Him to obediently carry out the mission He gave him, he asks Saul, “Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?”

Indeed, why? This is what God would ask each of us as well. Why would be decide to turn from God and His will for us? Why would we refuse to give Him all the credit and glory in our lives? Why would we sin and then lie to try and cover it up? Why would we ever willingly decide to do evil instead of good in the eyes of the Lord?

Why? Why? Why?

Indeed, why?

So did Saul get a wake up call from the words of the Lord shared by Samuel? The answer is no. Instead, he chose to continue to lie and try and justify his sinfulness. For Saul said to Samuel:

“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 just didn’t get it. He wasn’t going to give up until Samuel bought his story. He found out that Samuel wasn’t about to give up either until Saul gave up his ruse and came clean. For Samuel told Saul:

“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. 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.”

Again, Samuel speaks great words of wisdom, providing Saul and us with additional points to ponder:

4. The Lord delights the most in our obedience.

We’ve seen where disobedience grieves God and certainly Saul had done that. But Samuel takes this a step further and personalizes it to apply to Saul’s lie. For Samuel asks Saul, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?” Samuel tells Saul that He doesn’t…for “to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

Indeed, we can’t feel like doing good things for God will balance out our decisions to do what we desire over what he does. No…God expects our obedience. He expects that we heed His commands and expectations. And THEN, He wants us to go forth in His purpose, carrying out His mission and following His guidance fully…without deviation.

5. Rebellion and arrogance are evil in the eyes of God.

As we have seen in the scriptures, God despises divination for the diviner is seeking guidance from other spiritual sources outside of Him. And God had made it very clear that there would be no others gods before Him. A diviner, in denying trust in the one true God, was equivalent to a rebeller…one who chose his own way over God’s and thus why Samuel drew the parallel between the two in his words to Saul.

He also touched on the subject of arrogance…something else that Saul had displayed …comparing it to idolatry. For many people in the Old Testament period of Judges worshipped idols instead of God. These idols were material items that had no spiritual value outside of the mind of the one who worshipped it.

Such was the case with Saul…who decided to erect a monument in his own honor…and in doing so, worshipped himself above God. Saul had idolized himself and, in doing so, became evil in God’s sight.

6. Willful disobedience, rebellion and arrogance unto God will result in rejection.

Saul’s actions were reprehensible and inexcusable in God’s eyes. And so Saul, the man He selected to lead His people, lost all the authority given him. For Samuel concludes his words to Saul saying, “Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king.”

The message here is clear. God will not tolerate any person rejecting Him. He is God and is only to be praised and worshipped…lifted up high and honored…respected and obeyed. Nothing short of this is acceptable. And if we so choose to reject Him and His word, then we can expect to fall from glory ourselves…fall from the only glory that matters…and that’s His glory.

Back to the passage…for after Samuel’s second dissertation, Saul realizes he needed to confess telling Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions.”

It sure would have been a lot easier had Saul just confessed and repented earlier. Better yet, it would have been so much better if Saul had just chosen to be an obedient leader…one who honored God and God alone by strictly obeying His word, will and way. But that didn’t happen for Saul had chosen the path of arrogant rebellion…and he paid a heavy price for that choice.

Friends, we have a choice to make ourselves. We are God’s children…created in His own image and called by Him to obedient service.

How are we going to respond to Him? Will we be like Saul and choose arrogant rebellion, even though the scriptures have shown us that this leads us down to the path of sinful destruction and God’s rejection? Or will we learn from the mistakes of Saul and fully apply ourselves to obey everything that God asks us to do, fully heeding His commands and word.

The choice is up to us. Righteousness or evil? Obedience or sin? Favor or rejection?

What will it be for you? God is watching and waiting for your answer. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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