MAKING THINGS RIGHT

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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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 our 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 told 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.

After this sinful act, we saw where Samuel confronted Saul about the matter only to find Saul respond as if he had done nothing wrong, making up a lie to cover his transgression by telling Samuel the best sheep and cattle had been taken so they could be sacrificed to God. The scriptures showed us that Samuel would have nothing of Saul’s attempt of deception, letting the king know that the Lord desired obedience over sacrifice and therefore was rejecting him since he had decided to reject God’s commands.

As we now turn to the closing verses 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."

After seeing he couldn’t talk his way out of his sin, Saul tried to gain forgiveness for what he had done, asking that Samuel “come back” with him so he (Saul) could “worship the Lord”.

How did Samuel respond to Saul’s request?

Well, maybe not as mercifully as he might expect for his words reflect a deep sensitivity and hatred for sin, almost as much as God did. Look again at what Samuel said in response:

“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!"

Here, we get a sense that Samuel, a devout man of God, wanted nothing to do with a man who didn’t respect the Lord the same way…a man who had shown an inclination to not only willingly sin but then try and cover it over. Samuel had to ask himself if this was the kind of man he wanted to associate himself with.

At first, it seems like he decides to abandon Saul for we read where he turned away only for Saul to grab a “hold of the hem of his (Samuel’s) robe”, tearing it in the process. We see where this only further angered Samuel who made an illustration out of his ripped garment saying:

“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 intended his words to cut like a knife through the sin-hardened, arrogant heart of Saul, who you’ll remember decided to erect a monument to honor himself before Samuel arrived to let him know the Lord’s judgment for his self-centered behavior that served to steal away the glory reserved for God and Him alone. Now, Samuel made sure Saul knew that the Lord was ripping his kingdom from him, giving it to a new leader who was 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, we read where Samuel reminds him that God was not like any human man and therefore wouldn’t “lie or change His mind.” In other words, the Lord was nowhere close to being like Saul and the only way the rejected king was going to return to some sense of good favor was to repent, return to God in humility, and commit to be the man He wanted him to be.

Well, we see where Samuel’s words had an impact on Saul for he repeats his confession 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, here we see Saul being accountable and admitting his culpability…at least for now (More on that later as we continue to see his life play out).

Saul then asks Samuel to honor him before the elders and before Israel by returning with him so he could worship the Lord. We know Samuel had already rejected this request earlier but we get a sense he felt Saul’s apology and repentance were sincere this time around because he decided to do as Saul asked, returning with him so he could worship God…a good first step in him getting his life back in order with the Lord he had disrespected so much…a start toward making things right again.

Today, many believers have strayed away from the Lord themselves, often allowing their selfish desires to override what the Lord calls them to do. And lest any Christian become too self-righteous, I don’t think there’s one Jesus follower who can say they have had a perfect relationship with the Lord.

The truth of the matter is that we’re all works in progress and if you’re like me, you see that every day offers an opportunity to be better in Christ than the one before. It’s this ideal that is at the center of this ministry, The Christian Walk, for we get the privilege to walk alongside the One who saved us daily as we carry out what He called us to do…make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). My prayer is that our study from God’s Word every day exposes the sin we need to correct, driving us to repent and seek to make things right with our Lord. And with that relationship restored and repaired, we need only stay connected to Him through prayer and the study of His holy Word. This will ensure we always stay in tune with what He wants as we seek to fulfill His perfect will each and every day, a perfect will that always keeps us living in His favor.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.