Properly Defining Obedience: 1 Samuel 15:10-23

Sin is evidence of those moments when our heart is not interested in pursuing God.  Humanity likes to argue in shades of gray.  We almost obeyed.  We tried our hardest.  Obedience, though, is a condition of the heart.  Obedience is not measured in shades of gray.  We either want to obey, or we don’t.

God comes to Samuel indicating Saul has not obeyed.  Before going too hard against Saul, we are all like Saul.  All are asked to live according to God’s ways and we all fail.  Saul does nothing in this passage of which we are not similarly guilty.  God understands this, it’s why He forgives.

The problems begin when Samuel comes.  Saul is excited about being the victor.  The Amalekites are destroyed.  He has the king as evidence of their destruction.  The warriors underneath him are jubilant.  Saul is over-the-moon excited.

Samuel delivers one of his best lines in his whole story.  Samuel asks why he can hear the bleating of sheep and the lowing of oxen in his ears.  Samuel knows what Saul did.  God already told Samuel about the transgression.

Saul covers up his transgression having been caught.  He blames the people.  They brought back the best for sacrifices to God. 

From the ancient mindset, Saul has an argument.  Ancient cultures would bring back plunder to offer as sacrifices.  Yet, this is a worldly mindset, not a godly one.

Sacrifices don’t work the same way for God as for the rest of the ancient gods.  God does not enjoy human sacrifice.  When an animal is sacrificed to God, it is almost universally the aroma of the burning fat which is God’s portion and the rest of the animal goes to the people – the quantities and parts depending on what sacrifice is being offered.  Sacrifices weren’t made to appease God; sacrifices were made as a reminder of the covenant already in existence between God and His people.

This argument is no different than his attempt to have the warriors slaughter their meal on the altar before eating it after the battle with the Philistines.  There, Saul uses a sacrifice to cover up a bad decision: his threat about eating before sundown.  Here, Saul uses a sacrifice to cover up his disobedience in not committing the Amalekites to destruction as God requested.

Saul’s a liar.  He’s a leader who makes rash decisions when he gets caught.  He tries to make things look spiritual as a cover for sin.  He’s not even particularly repentant until he knows it is his only way out.  Because of this, God officially rejects him as king.

The sad reality is how close Saul was to obedience.  If he had killed Agag and slaughtered the last of herds, he would have been praiseworthy.  Unfortunately, obedience isn’t measured by how close you get to the mark.  Obedience is measured by how much your heart wants to follow God.  Sin is evidence of those moments when our heart is not interested in pursuing God.