I DID IT MY WAY Part 2

This is the second of a three part series covering the need for us to be faithful to God’s Commands.  This week we will look at Subverting God’s commands.

1 Samuel 15:13-21 KJVR

(13)  And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.  (14)  And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?  (15)  And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.  (16)  Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.  (17)  And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?  (18)  And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.  (19)  Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?  (20)  And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.  (21)  But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.

Foolish servants only partially obey.  Saul only killed the Amalekites that got in his way between Havilah and Shur.  Many escaped and they would cause problems for years to come.

Obeying God starts with a decision.  It is something we can do once we decide to follow.  Saul made a decision to only partially follow God’s commands.  I am reminded of an old saying “What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive”.

Deceitful servants give a partial report and God is hurt by our disobedience. Our Christian brothers and sisters are hurt by our disobedience. 

Guilty servants are exposed.  The bleating sheep told on Saul.

Trapped servants blame others and this is what Saul did.  He says the animals were kept for them to sacrifice and it was the people who urged him to disobey.  Saul over looked an important fact.  What God rejects cannot be sacrificed.

When we disobey God we will go to extreme measures to justify our disobedience.

Next week we will look at Answering God’s Commands.