Tuesday, 23 August, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

1 Samuel 15:1-23

¹ And Samuel said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the LORD. ² Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. ³ Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”

⁴ So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah. ⁵ And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. ⁶ Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. ⁷ And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. ⁸ And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. ⁹ But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.

¹⁰ The word of the LORD came to Samuel: ¹¹ “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the LORD all night. ¹² And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” ¹³ And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the LORD. I have performed the commandment of the LORD.” ¹⁴ And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” ¹⁵ Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the LORD your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.” ¹⁶ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the LORD said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.”

¹⁷ And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. ¹⁸ And the LORD sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ ¹⁹ Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the LORD?” ²⁰ And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the LORD. I have gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. ²¹ But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.” ²² And Samuel said,

“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to listen than the fat of rams.
²³ For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
he has also rejected you from being king.”

God has anointed Saul as king over Israel, and therefore Saul is to lead the people of Israel in their battles. Saul is God’s appointed representative to lead the people, and therefore it is vitally important that Saul be in submission to God. If Saul disobeys, he is leading all the people to disobey God.

We see that Saul partially obeys. He was commanded to destroy all the people and the animals. Instead, he kills all but the king, and spares the best of the animals.

Saul first attempts to claim that his partial obedience was a more pious version of full obedience: the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the LORD your God. Notice how Saul doesn’t accept responsibility for the actions of the people he leads, but instead he blames them for the disobedience.

As the chapter continues beyond our quote, we see that Saul admits it is disobedience, but that it was the people’s fault. They wanted to keep the animals, and Saul was afraid to confront them about this disobedience.

In essence, Saul is saying, “Don’t blame me. I tried to obey. Blame the people who are under me, for they did it against my will.”

What do we learn from this?

Leaders are responsible for the actions of the people under them. When the people do what is wrong, the leader cannot claim it is the fault of the people. Instead, they must confront the people in their sins and lead them back to doing what is right for God will hold the leaders accountable.

Perhaps this might cause the people to rebel and depose the leader who tries to correct them. If so, that is the cost of obedience and you must be willing to pay that cost to do what is right rather than to allow the people to do what is wrong on your watch. A leader must lead the people in doing what is right, no matter the cost.

Saul valued his own position of leadership more than he valued doing what is right. He wanted to be king more than he wanted to please God. But in attempting to protect his position rather than confront the people, he ended up losing his kingship and incurring great guilt before God.

Always lead the people in doing right, no matter the cost.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Saul was a failed king. Instead of doing what was right, he glorified and served himself. He failed to confront his people in their sins, and he didn’t lead them back to the paths of obedience. He disobeyed God, and so he failed as God’s representative.

Saul’s disobedience led to his rejection as king. David would replace Saul, and he would do a much better job as king, being a man after God’s own heart. But David also failed in many ways. In fact, all the kings of Judah and Israel failed. Their failures point us to the perfect King who has come to rule over Israel, the true church. Jesus Christ did not fail in His obedience to the Father’s commands. He perfectly obeyed. He has confronted His people in their sins. He has led them in the paths of obedience.

And beyond that, He offers His perfect righteousness to those who come to Him in faith. He gives us the righteousness we need to be right with God. He gives us the righteousness we lack.

And our perfect King also takes the punishment for our sins. He has borne our guilt upon the cross, and fully paid for all our sins.

Therefore, we are right with God, as we come before Him by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, our great and perfect King.