The Next Level -- Samuel

The Obedience Test

We live in a “no-fault” society where people don’t want to take responsibility for their choices. We have no-fault auto insurance, no-fault divorce, and no-fault relationships of every kind. When someone presses us to take responsibility for our decisions, many people just shrug and walk away. The problem of not owning our decisions, though, isn’t new. It’s as old as time. When Adam and Eve tragically sinned, God confronted Adam and he replied, “The woman you gave me made me do it!” In one sentence, Adam blamed both Eve and God for his sin. Pretty slick, don’t you think? We’ve been copying him ever since.

Last week Isreal demanded a king. Today we see God giving them a king—a man named Saul.

1 Samuel 9:1–2 NIV

1 There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bekorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. 2 Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else.

1 Samuel 9:1–3 NIV

1 There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bekorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. 2 Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else. 3 Now the donkeys belonging to Saul’s father Kish were lost, and Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants with you and go and look for the donkeys.”

Wilson, Scott. The Next Level: A Message of Hope for Hard Times . Salubris Resources. Kindle Edition.

1 Samuel 10:9–10 NIV

9 As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. 10 When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying.

1 Sam. 10:9

1 Samuel 10:1 NIV

1 Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him, saying, “Has not the Lord anointed you ruler over his inheritance?

1 Sam 10:1

1 Samuel 10:20–24 NIV

20 When Samuel had all Israel come forward by tribes, the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. 21 Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri’s clan was taken. Finally Saul son of Kish was taken. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found. 22 So they inquired further of the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?” And the Lord said, “Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.” 23 They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. 24 Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the man the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

1 Sam 10:20-

1 Sam 11:6-

1 Samuel 11:6–7 NIV

6 When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he burned with anger. 7 He took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent the pieces by messengers throughout Israel, proclaiming, “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel.” Then the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out together as one.

Saul began well, but soon his heart hardened and he became disobedient (1 Sam 13).

In those days, the chief antagonists of the Israelites were the Philistines. One of Saul’s earliest actions was to attack and defeat the Philistine outpost of Geba. This victory, though, didn’t bring peace to Israel; it made the Philistines furious, and they plotted revenge. As they approached, Saul’s army became terrified and fell apart. Some fled, and some hid in caves, behind bushes, and under rocks. The king and the few men who remained with him shook with fear.

Samuel, God’s representative, had promised to come, but day after day passed for Saul and his dwindling army in front of the Philistine hordes. The king’s fear matched his desperation. He decided to take matters into his own hands and perform a priestly act of offering a sacrifice to God.

Most of us can’t really grasp the significance of this act because we aren’t familiar with the clear delineation of roles in Israel: Priests offer sacrifices; kings rule the nation.

Saul’s timing was, as always for him, terrible. As soon as he finished, Samuel walked up. “What have you done?” the old man asked. The king responded with a studied display of blame shifting. First, he offered a practical rationalization for his behavior: “The soldiers were leaving.” If he offered a sacrifice to get God’s blessing, he thought they’d stay. Then he blamed Samuel: “And you weren’t here when you said you’d be.” (King Saul must have missed the point that Samuel was standing right in front of him.) The old prophet, though, didn’t buy the excuse or accept the blame. He retorted, “You acted foolishly! You haven’t obeyed the command of the Lord your God.” No wiggle room there.

After this Saul makes his second big mistake. Saul was ordered to attack the Amalekites in .

1 Samuel 15:1–3 NIV

1 Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. 2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. 3 Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’ ”

But Saul disobeys the command to destroy everything.

1 Samuel 15:9–11 NIV

9 But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed. 10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the Lord all that night.

1 Sam 15:9-

When Samuel approached Saul, Saul proclaimed that he had done everything just like the Lord told him to do, but Samuel knew better.

1 Samuel 15:13–15 NIV

13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.” 14 But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?” 15 Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”

1 Sam. 15:13

Notice how Saul blamed others for his disobedience.

Samuel replied with words often quoted today:

1 Samuel 15:22–23 NIV

22 But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”

1 Sam 15:

It’s easy to condemn Saul, but how well do we do at the obedience test?

It’s a tragic story, but before we shake our heads at Saul, we need to ask how well we pass the obedience test. How often do we make excuses for choosing the easy way, and how often do we blame others for our failures? That’s the obedience test, and we all fail it from time to time.

What are some of the excuses we offer when we fail in obedience?

Wilson, Scott. The Next Level: A Message of Hope for Hard Times . Salubris Resources. Kindle Edition.

Wilson, Scott. The Next Level: A Message of Hope for Hard Times . Salubris Resources. Kindle Edition.

In our culture, obedience seems optional to many people. We’re glad to follow God as long as we get plenty of benefits and it’s not too demanding, but when God asks us to do something we don’t want to do, we find convenient excuses. “I didn’t have time,” “I didn’t know how to do that,” “She wouldn’t help me, so it was too hard,” and a dozen more. And sometimes we’re like Saul, claiming that we’re obedient when we’re not.

We live in such a self-absorbed culture that some believers don’t know what God has commanded us to be and do. I’m not talking about the special instructions God gives to us sometimes when the Spirit whispers to our hearts.

Ignorance is no excuse for violating the law (just ask a game warden).

Wilson, Scott. The Next Level: A Message of Hope for Hard Times . Salubris Resources. Kindle Edition.

What are some reasons we need to know the Word of God? (focus on knowing what He expects of us).

Wilson, Scott. The Next Level: A Message of Hope for Hard Times . Salubris Resources. Kindle Edition.

If the commands of God aren’t clear in our minds, we’ll fail miserably. Even if we know them, we’ll be tempted to find excuses when obedience isn’t convenient or when it’s scary. And we’ll want to blame others when we’ve failed. Know God, learn his instructions, trust him for courage, and find friends who love God with all their hearts. That will help you pass the obedience test, even when you feel all alone.

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Wilson, Scott. The Next Level: A Message of Hope for Hard Times . Salubris Resources. Kindle Edition.