Today's episode: Samuel commands Saul to kill all of the Amalekites and all of their stuff. Saul does...sort of. He keeps the best of it "to sacrifice to the LORD". Yeah, yeah, right! Saul was only anointed six chapters ago, but with all of his disobedience, Samuel informs Saul that he has lost the kingship.
Scripture:
"To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams." ~1 Samuel 15:22
Observation:
Saul thinks he can get away with giving into the people's demands and thus not fulfilling Samuel's directions to the letter. Oops. Here comes Samuel, popping up and asking Saul about all of sheep and cattle around!
As an interesting side note, verse 12 notes that Saul had climbed Mount Carmel and set up a monument in his own honor, before proceeding on to Gilgal, where Samuel met him. Humph. Saul. Setting up a monument in your own honor? That's crazy if you ask me!
So anyway, Samuel and Saul have this not-so-nice discussion on how important it is to obey God to the letter. See our Scripture for today for one of Samuel's lines. I must say, I never knew that this line was from this story! I always assumed that people coined it for use in the story of Cain and Abel, but I must have been mistaken. Samuel said it first!
Application:
Obey God to the letter. Do what he says. I'm sorry, but you just can't cheat on God!! When he asks you to do something, you need to do all of it...not just part of it, like Saul did.
Prayer:
Dear God, help me to obey you more, and not just part of what you say, but all of what you say. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
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