Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned. I violated the Lord's command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them. Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord." But Samuel said to him, "I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!"
As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. Samuel said to him, "The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors — to one better than you. He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man, that he should change his mind."
Saul replied, "I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God." So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
1 Samuel 15:24-31
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
At the beginning of 1st Samuel, Chapter 15, we saw Samuel confront Saul about his failure to obey God and carry out His commands during the attack on the Amalekites.
You’ll recall that Saul and his men were to completely destroy everything during the attack but instead took Agag the king hostage and kept all the best sheep and cattle from the plunder for themselves. Everything else was destroyed.
So Samuel confronted Saul about the matter and you’ll remember that Saul acted as if he had done nothing wrong, making up a lie to cover his sin by telling Samuel the best sheep and cattle had been taken to be sacrificed to God. Samuel would have nothing of the lie, telling Saul that God desired obedience over sacrifice and was rejecting Saul since Saul had rejected the word of God.
As we turn to the rest of Chapter 15, we see where Saul finally gives up his lie and comes clean saying to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord's command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them. Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord." Saul had violated God and His messenger Samuel. And we get a sense that Samuel hated sin as much as God did because he wasn’t open to Saul’s initial request.
For Samuel replied to Saul, “I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!" We get a sense that Samuel, a devout man of God, wanted nothing to do with a man who wasn’t…a man who had shown an inclination to not only willingly sin but then try and lie about it. Was this the kind of man that Samuel wanted to associate with?
We see that it isn’t because Samuel turns to leave Saul. But at that point, we read where Saul “caught hold of the hem of his robe” and tore it. This further angered Samuel who used the torn robe as an symbol telling Saul, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors — to one better than you. He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for He is not a man, that He should change his mind."
Samuel’s words were meant to cut like a knife through the sin-hardened, arrogant heart of Saul. You’ll remember that the last straw with him was when he built a monument to his own honor just before Samuel went to see him and tell him he had been rejected. Now Samuel let Saul know that the Lord had taken the kingdom from him and given it to someone better than him…someone who we know from prior scripture was a man after God’s own heart…something that Saul wasn’t. And to further attack Saul’s inner issues, Samuel reminds him that God was not like man and wouldn’t “lie or change His mind.” In other words, God was nowhere like Saul and the only way Saul was going to return to some sense of good status with Him was to turn back to Him and try to be like Him.
Well, Samuel’s words had a further impact on Saul. For he repeats his words of confession prior saying, “I have sinned” but does not try and justify his sin as he did the first time, blaming his actions on his people instead of himself. No…the attention was on Saul here and Saul took responsibility, at least for now. (More on that later in the scriptures) He then asked Samuel to honor him before the elders and before Israel by returning with him so he could worship the Lord. Sensing that Saul’s apology and repentance were sincere, Samuel “went back with Saul and Saul worshiped the Lord.” It was Saul’s first action toward getting his life back in order with God…toward beginning to make things right again.
Question: Where are you in your relationship with the Lord? Are you in need of making things right?
I don’t think any of us can say that we have a perfect relationship with the Lord. I know at least for me, I can always get better in my Christian walk and see it as a daily process. This is why this ministry is important to me and I hope to others as well…because we need to communicate and commune with the Lord each and every day that He blesses us with, delving into His word and seeking His will for our lives. If we truly do this day after day, then we can ensure that we stay in tune with what the Lord wants us to do…and in doing so, ensure we make things right with Him. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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