“But Sh’mu’el answered, ‘If so, why do I hear sheep bleating and cows mooing?’ Sha’ul said, ‘They brought them from the ‘Amaleki, because the people spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to Adonai your God. But we completely destroyed the rest.‘”-1 Samuel 15:14-15
We’re continuing with our examination of Saul’s character and how in many ways he is the perfect poster boy for all ungodly rulers.
So, when we last left off, Samuel had called bs on Saul’s claim that he had followed God’s orders in his dealings with the Amalekites.
Saul was instructed to destroy everything of the enemy, including both people and possessions.
Yet he had taken the best livestock for himself, and kept King Agag alive.
What was Saul’s excuse for this blatant disobedience?
“But we completely destroyed the rest”.
Here we encounter one of the most common forms of disobedience every believer on the planet is guilty of:
Partial Disobedience.
Is God happy with you obeying only part of His commandments?
If we’re going to take Saul’s behavior as an example, the answer to that question is a firm NO.
Here we have a situation where Saul destroyed most of what he was supposed to destroy.
But he kept the rest.
What was his excuse?
His excuse was the people kept the animals because they were going to offer them to God as a sacrifice.
Sounds like a good and positive thing, doesn’t it?
I mean who could possibly be against offering God a sacrifice.
There was only one itty bitty problem with this line of thinking.
The Holy War Law of Herem or the Ban didn’t give Saul or his men that choice.
The clear and explicit command was to destroy EVERYTHING.
How many times have you acted like Saul in your defense as to why you knowingly broke one of God’s commands?
“BUT my boss told me I had to come in to work on the Sabbath.”
“BUT Funds have been tight, so we didn’t tithe this month.”
“Yeah, I know Halloween, Easter, and Christmas originated from pure paganism. BUT I’m just celebrating these holidays for fun. I’m sure God doesn’t mind.”
“I know Scripture forbids using animals, humans, birds, or things that swim in the sea as symbolizing God. BUT many believers wear this nice little fish symbol. It’s a witness to my faith, and besides it’s not like I’m worshipping it or anything.”
Now compare and contrast the above excuses with what Saul said when called on the rug for his disobedience.
“BUT we completely destroyed the rest.”
I call these the “But Excuses” because the reason we have to use the word “but” is that we know darn well we’re disobeying God’s clear commands.
The question you should be concerned about is how does the Lord feel about it?
Is partial obedience really better than no obedience?
Or is it the same as not having obeyed at all?
How does God feel about your petty excuses?
We’ll continue this discussion the next time we meet.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Do not think that I have
come to abolish the Law
or the Prophets; I have not
come to abolish them but
to fulfill them.
For truly I tell you,
until heaven and earth disappear,
not the smallest letter,
not the least stroke of a pen,
will by any means disappear
from the Law until everything
is accomplished. Therefore
anyone who sets aside one
of the least of these commands
and teaches others accordingly
will be called least in the
kingdom of heaven,
but whoever practices and
teaches these commands will be
called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
-Matthew 5:17-19
“On that day many will say to me,
‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy
in your name, drive out demons
in your name, and do many
miracles in your name?’
Then I will announce to them,
‘I never knew you.
Depart from me,
you lawbreakers!’”
–Matthew 7:22-24
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