Wanna know why Saul and his men sinned by NOT destroying all of the Amalekites and their possessions?
It’s because they fell victim to one of the biggest traps all believers fall into.
They asked the question “Why?”
They reasoned to themselves…
“WHY should we destroy these valuable animals instead of giving them to people who could put them to good use?”
That was their problem.
One of the worst habits you could have as a believer is to ask God “Why?”?
Why?
(No pun intended)
Because asking God why is the first step that leads to disobedience.
Think about it.
The only reason you’re questioning God in the first place is because the command you’re being asked to obey doesn’t make sense to you, right?
You just wanna satisfy your intellect so you can see if God’s logic jives with your own in some way…
Or you’re looking for a loophole that will allow you to get away with disobedience.
“WHY can’t two people who love each other get married if they’re the same gender?”
“WHY are things like eating pork or shellfish wrong?”
“WHY can’t we replace the God-ordained Biblical festivals with Easter and Christmas celebrations?”
“WHY is a two-state solution for the Israelis and Palestinians wrong, even though it goes directly against what God says in the Scriptures?”
“WHY do I have to observe one specific God-ordained day for a day of rest? WHY is one day better than another? WHY can’t it be any darn day I choose?”
Why?! Why?! Why?!
See, here’s the issue.
It all comes down to faith and trust.
It takes faith to obey those commands of God that don’t make sense to us.
On the other hand, we don’t need much faith to obey those commands that DO make sense to us.
Commands like “Do not steal”, “Do not murder”, and “Do not bear false witness” for example.
Even non-believers agree these things are wrong.
It’s only the controversial commands that we question God on simply because their purpose or usefulness is not clear to us.
And that’s precisely why Saul and his men disobeyed God’s Law of Herem.
It made zero freakin’ sense to them.
So they allowed their human logic to do the reasoning for them…which always ends up in a disaster.
They argued…
“God doesn’t need the animals anyway since He’s a spirit…
So why not let us who fought the battle have a little bit of it as a reward for our hard work?
Wouldn’t a loving God want His chosen people to have more?”
Saul said they saved these animals to give as a special gift to God in Gilgal.
So what’s wrong with that?
Either way, God gets what’s meant for Him, right?
We’ll sacrifice these animals as a way to honor God.”
See the big problem here?
They expected God to bend to their way of thinking.
They wrongly assumed if they obeyed a part of God’s instructions, that would be enough.
Seriously homie?
Do you honestly believe God is cool with you flippantly rearranging His commands to harmonize with your human reasoning?
Yet that’s what all of us do quite regularly.
We disobey His controversial commands because it’s uncomfortable not to do so.
Or because it’s politically correct or trendy…
Or traditional and customary.
So I’ve got a challenge for you.
Today is December 9th, 2023.
As of this writing, Israel is at war with the terrorist group Hamas in response to the atrocities they committed against innocent Jewish civilians on October 7, 2023.
As the days go by, criticism against Israel and anti-Semitism are on the rise.
If you stand with God’s Chosen people, you are going to be accused of supporting the “occupiers” of land they have no right to…
And an illegitimate state that is committing wholesale genocide against an “innocent” people.
I imagine in the days ahead, to side with Israel is going to become a very unpopular position to take.
Yet side you must if you want to be on God’s side.
No matter what the UN says…
No matter what those idiot pro-Palestinian protesters say…
No matter what the liberal Christian churches who blatantly ignore what Scripture says on the topic say…
Or…
No matter WHAT THE WHOLE DAMN WORLD SAYS…
Because one with God is always a majority!
So I leave with these verses:
“‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,’
declares the Lord.
As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.'”
-Isaiah 55:8-9
And the challenge I ask of you is to side with Israel no matter what…
No matter how unpopular doing so becomes…
No matter if it means losing friends or being ostracized by family.
Are you with me?
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING WITH THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Do not think that I came
to bring peace on earth.
I did not come to bring
peace but a sword.
For I have come to ‘set a
man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against
her mother-in-law’;
and ‘a man’s enemies will be
those of his own household.”
-Matthew 10:34-39
Good lesson, as always, Rich.
One time I think we can ask God “Why” is when we want to know why something is happening to us.
What I mean is, to ask God why we have to do what he says is wrong, but to ask why we are sickly, or why we are having issues within our marriage, or “why” regarding things related specifically to our life is something that we probably should look to God for an answer.
There are three types of laws that God gives: if you ask a Christian, they will tell you there are moral, civil, and ceremonial laws. They will further tell you that it is only the moral laws of the Tanakh (Old Covenant) that apply to Christians, today.
But that isn’t what we Jews say.
Within Judaism we define three types of laws from God: Mishpatim, Edot, and Chukim.
Mishpatim are laws that are self-evident, such as what Christians call the Moral laws- do not steal, do not murder, etc.
Edot are laws that are related to glorifying God, such as the Moedim (Holy Days) or eating matzo during the Feast of Unleavened Bread; these are what could be called ceremonial laws.
Chukim are those laws for which we have no clear explanation. Examples are the Red Heifer laws, the showbread that is replaced every week, not mixing wool and linen, etc.
It is when we question any of these three types of laws that we fall into the trap you describe here, Rich.
If you ask me, trusting in God is more than just obeying God, it is not needing to know why we should.
Isn’t that also the epitome of faith?
Great sharing here.
I wasn’t aware of the three types of laws in Judaism: Mishpatim, Edot, and Chukim.
Also love your conclusion: “trusting in God is more than just obeying God, it is not needing to know why we should.”