Samuel and Saul

Historical lesson 3

1 Samuel 9-15

Pdt. Marianus T. Waang, M. Th.
 

These chapters tell us about Israel’s demand of a king and the presence of Saul as the fulfillment of this demand. From the story we know that Saul’s path toward the throne was neither his plan nor that of his father and Samuel. He was on his way seeking the lost sheep of his father, not the throne (ch.9). But God came and anointed him as King and guided him winning his first battle against Nahash, the Ammonite, to save Jabesh (11).  After this nice experience, he moved on. He got now his confidence (cf. 10:22). He didn't ask God first what his next step should be. On the contrary he intentionally arouse the anger of the Philistines so that they came to fight against the Israelites. He probably would like to show his power (13:3).  He probably thought that because his kingship was from God, he could then do anything. What pleased him, would automatically please God as well. Yet we see a sorrowful story not long after this wonderful winning. He became faithless and did what did not belong to his tribe i.e. acting as a priest (13:9). This was a big transgression and formed the first step toward the next failure. A sin bears the next sin! In an uncontrollable situation he asked the people to say an unreasonable oath that in turn led his son, Jonathan, to nearly lose his life (ch 14). 

Was this all? No, for we will soon see a much bigger problem. God was willing to ‘pay’ the Amalekites unfriendliness toward Israelites when they were on their way to Canaan. So He sent Samuel to Saul with this message: ‘Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys’ (15:3). A totally destroying! Saul went to the battle. He obeyed God.  But see what he and the people did: they ‘spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed’ (15:9). So the good was spared and the bad was destroyed. God said: all! Yet Saul and the people said: no, only the bad! They had indeed good reason to do this: spared the best to be sacrifice to God (15:15).  But the problem we are facing here is a fact that they would like to obey one commend by disobeying the other. God rebuked them seriously, and took Saul’s throne immediately from him. Probably giving sacrifice was only the best logical reason to hide their wrong motives.  God didn't hear only what they said, but really saw their hearts.

What can we learn from this historical story? Israel was demanding a king (ch.8). God knew that this demand was a great rebellion against Him, for He answered Samuel that by asking a king instead of Samuel’s sons as judges, they were not rejecting Samuel, but God Himself.  Thus Saul’s kingship was the fruit of Israel’s rejection of God as their King (8:7 cf. 12:12).  Yet God answered: yes! It is strange, isn’t it? God allowed the people to rebel, even giving them what their rebellious hearts desire.  He blessed them. He brought Saul to success.

One point becomes clear: sometimes the Lord just follows us in our unfaithful situation. Sometimes God lets our rebellious natures to bear fruits of unfaithfulness. Sometimes He doesn’t interrupt immediately when we just begin to go astray to let us understand these things: firstly, He is faithful. We are faithless (2Tim 3:13). He is Almighty, but not a dictator!  He is just like the father in Jesus’ story of the prodigal son. This seems to be great. We like that for we want enjoy the desires of sinful nature as long as we can and then repent. Yet we need to really know that that is not what He wants from us. We wants us to be faithful! If we keep rebelling, He will force us back through His anger. We know then what this means. Secondly, He wants to let us know that the desire of our hearts always leads us away from Him. He lets Israelites for a while. And see? Their own desire drives them smoothly away from His mercy toward His punishment. That is why the Ecclesiastes says: Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, BUT know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment” (11:9). The Israelites of Samuel’s time preferred to live like the nations surroundings than like a chosen people! They preferred to follow their own sinful desires, than to obey God’s word. Now the questions for us, God’s people of this era, are these: Are we faithful to God? Or are we in the same boat with them? Is God probably letting us for a while to do what ever our hearts desire?  If the second and the third are the cases, than we are marching toward His anger!  

There is still one important lesson. When God commended Saul to combat against the Amalekites, He asked him to destroy them totally. Saul went to the battle field. But then he fulfilled God’s will half way. He was standing between God and His people. He wanted to bless them both. So he obeyed God and the people as well. God was however unhappy with Saul’s compromising decision.  What makes it more serious for us to notice is the reason they disobeyed God. The Lord has commended them to destroy everything totally. Yet they wanted to spare the best sheep etc. to be sacrifice to God.  Thus sacrifice was the reason of their disobeying. Is giving sacrifice a bad thing in God’s sight? No. That is His commend. Yet in this specific situation, His word was clear: destroy all. Thus letting this word unfulfilled even though the reason was good was a rebellion. We can still ask a question: was giving sacrifice really the motive behind their action or it was just a logical reason to hide their wrong intention: having the best for their own sake?

Giving to God the best we have is good. But the value of the gift does not lay in the gift itself but in the heart of the giver. God is surely happy with what we give. Yet He is really willing to see our obedience. ‘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’ (15:22). Obedience simply means: do exactly as what He commends.

Merciful Father, when we see this story we do not feel better then your people in Samuel’s era. We always also let our life being driven by our own motivations and reasons. We always tend to imitate the life of this world than to live according to your paths. And we also - in many cases and circumstances – hide our unclean goals in your holy commends. Forgive us, dear Father. In Jesus’ name. Amen.