1 Samuel 15:17-21 The Lord Your God

 ”So Samuel said, “When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel? Now the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the Lord?” And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”“ 

I Samuel‬ ‭15‬:‭17‬-‭21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Now the LORD sent you on a mission…. Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? This was the most apparent of Saul’s sins. God gave him a specific command and he directly disobeyed it.

i. Though the disobedience was the most apparent sin, the root of Saul’s disobedience was far worse: pride. Samuel refers to this when he remembers when things were different with Saul: When you were little in your own eyes, were you not the head of the tribes of Israel? It could no longer be said of Saul, “you are little in your own eyes.” He was big in his own eyes and that made God small in his eyes.

b. But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD: Saul first insists that he is innocent. But he is so self-deceived he can say, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD and then immediately describe how he did not obey the voice of the LORD saying that he brought back Agag king of Amalek.

i. Saul’s claim, “I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites” is plain evidence of the power and depth of his self-deception. There was an Amalekite right in front of him who was not utterly destroyed.

c. But the people took of the plunder: After insisting he is innocent, Saul then blamed the people for the sin. His statement was a half-truth that was actually a whole lie. It was true that the people took of the plunder. But they did so by following Saul’s example (he spared Agag king of Amalek), and with Saul’s allowance (because he did nothing to stop or discourage them).

i. Saul was certainly zealous in commanding his army when it suited him to be so. In the previous chapter, he commanded a death sentence on anyone who ate anything on the day of battle. He was willing to execute his own son in his zeal to have his command obeyed. Saul was full of fire and zeal when it came to his own will, but not when it came to the will of God. (Guzik)

The Lord Your God

Saul’s reference to the “Lord your God” reveals his heart condition! He didn’t say the Lord our God, but your God!

Saul could have admitted his sin and repented but his pride got in the way.

When we sin, may we have the courage to take it to the foot of the cross ✝️ to repent  and the wisdom to pray:

”Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions.“

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭51‬:‭1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Amen,

Blessings