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Samuel 1
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Samuel 2
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Samuel 3-4:18
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Samuel 4:19-7:2
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Samuel 7:3-8
I Samuel
9:1-10:9
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Samuel 10:10-27
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I Samuel
13:1-2
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Samuel 13:3-7
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Samuel 13:8-15
I
Samuel 13:16-23
I Samuel 14:1-14
I Samuel 14:15-23
I Samuel 14:24-30
I Samuel 14:31-48
I Samuel 15:1-9
I Samuel 15:10-21
I
Samuel 15:22-35
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Chapter
and Verse
Mary Hamrick, Teacher
I
Samuel 15:10-21
"The
Root of Sin"
If you
haven’t had a chance
to read the scripture for this week's study, remember you can look up
scripture
on-line at www.biblegateway.com.
Because
Saul determined in his heart to reward himself for his victory in
battle against the Amalekites, he chose to disobey the command of God,
which was to completely destroy all of the Amalekites and all of their
belongings. Because of Saul’s disobedience, the Lord was grieved
that He had anointed Saul king over Israel.
After crying out to the Lord all night, Samuel went to meet Saul the
next morning and was told, ‘Saul has gone to Carmel where he has set up
a monument to honor himself’. Someone “reported” to Samuel the
sinful actions of the king. Beware; people are watching our every
move, observing our Christian attitudes and actions, to see how we are
different from the world around us. Saul was careless in his
actions, self-centered in his doings. We can’t be careless in our
walk with Christ – we can’t claim to honor Jesus, to walk in His ways,
and then set up idols to honor ourselves for the things God is doing in
our lives. Over and over again, we see where pride was Saul’s
downfall. (Saul wanted to ensure that he received the credit and
praise from man for the victory in battle, even knowing that the Lord
had sent him into battle with a promise of victory.)
When Samuel found Saul in Gilgal, the religious center where sacrifices
of burnt offerings and fellowship offerings were made to the Lord,
Saul’s reaction was one of outburst and pride, “I have carried out the
Lord’s instructions”. But Samuel said, “What then is this
bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle I
hear?” Saul’s answer, “we brought the best back to give to the
Lord, your God, and we totally destroyed the rest.” Samuel
answered, “Why did you disobey? Why did you pounce on the plunder
and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?” Saul, “But … I did obey the
Lord.” (unstated), I went as assigned, I destroyed almost
everything, The soldiers took the sheep and cattle, It was so we could
sacrifice to God.
Before Samuel approached Saul about his sin, Saul had a choice to
make. Was he going to honor God for the victory in battle against
the Amalekites or was he going to honor himself for his great warrior
and leadership skills? After all, no one saw God go into the
battle with him, the men didn’t know that God had already promised
victory in battle; all they saw was their king leading the
charge. After all, Saul was king and needed to be honored and
praised for his great leadership. God would understand, God had
chosen Saul to be king, and surely God knew that without Saul, the
Amalekites wouldn’t have been defeated. God would understand if
Saul wanted to save a few of the choice animals as well as the
Amalekite king, even though God had said “completely destroy
everything”. Surely God wouldn’t be angry if Saul picked
out a few of the commands God had given and ignored them. Saul,
after all, was “chosen” by God.
Saul had sin in his heart, the root of pride that kept getting in the
way. Had Saul dealt with this sin when he first got into trouble
because of his pride, he would have been able to lead Israel under the
direction and guidance of God Almighty. But Saul did not humble
himself, nor did he seek forgiveness for his sin. In looking back
over Saul’s life thus far, we see many times that he sinned because of
his pride, and we see that each time, he handled the sin by pushing it
off on others. For example,
1. Saul cared more about what his people thought of
him so he sinned to win their favor
(I Samuel 15:24)
2. Saul blamed others for his shortcomings and
inability to stand firm in obedience to God
(I Samuel 15:21, I Samuel 13:11-12)
3. Saul took credit for God’s victory (I Samuel
13:34, I Samuel 15:12)
4. Saul was afraid and didn’t place trust in God (I
Samuel 15:24, I Samuel 10:22-24)
5. Saul saw partial obedience as complete obedience
(I Samuel 15:20)
6. Saul continued to make excuses for his
disobedience; he dishonored God in the meaning and making of sacrifices
in worship. (I Samuel 15:20-21 and I Samuel 13:9-14)
Saul’s life was peppered with a root of sin that went without
check. When Samuel would bring a sin to Saul’s attention, Saul
would seek forgiveness, momentary forgiveness, but he did not come to
true repentance. He didn’t take the initiative to apply the
lessons of God to his life. Without his spiritual teacher
(Samuel) around, Saul repeated the same sins over and over and the
cycle of sin went on.
Saul’s life story teaches us that we need to deal with the dark areas
in our heart and mind before we become blind to the sin, to the areas
of potential disaster. The Bible teaches that we are to repent
from our wrong ways, turn toward God, and apply the teachings of the
Bible to our lives. We can hear the truth of the Bible time and
again, but until we apply those teachings to our own lives, we are
merely hearers of the word but our lives are not being changed and
molded into the likeness of Christ. God promises to give us
strength to overcome, but He won’t do it for us; we have to take the
step and He will help us as we step out in faith and
obedience.
It is the
root of sin that it the problem – both in Saul’s life and in our
life. Saul had a prideful heart and attitude, and he would not
allow himself to be humble before God or before his people. A
humbled king would have obeyed completely, praised God for the victory,
and led the people into a procession of thanksgiving and praise.
Saul was too proud; he wanted to lift himself high, not God. The
root of sin is the opposite the root of righteousness.
“If the root is holy, so are the branches”. Romans 11:16
If the root is in sin, so will the actions be sinful.
When Samuel approached Saul about his sin, was this a moment of regret
for Saul or was this true repentance for him? Momentary regret
says, “Oops, I got caught, I should have done it another way.”
True repentance is a mind-altering experience, and leads the person to
change their lifestyle, their ways, their actions.” Search
within – is the desire of your heart to paint over the sin, or to dig
out the root of sin so that you don’t continue to repeat the same
sin? Examine your heart. Repent. Turn. Allow
Jesus Christ to lead the way to freedom from sin in your life.
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I
Samuel 15:22-35
"Choice"
If you
haven’t had a chance
to read the scripture for this week's study, remember you can look up
scripture
on-line at www.biblegateway.com.
Saul sacrificed to God because it
was the “thing to do”, but he didn’t understand the heart reasons
behind the sacrifices because he didn’t know God. He went through
the steps, the rituals, the traditions of man, with his heart
untouched, uncircumcised toward the love of God – He totally missed
it. Saul could perform the routine, habits, rituals – he was good
at going through the motions, but each time, he came away from the
rituals being spiritually unfed, unchanged, untouched. Saul
didn’t experience true worship because his heart was not turned toward
God.
God doesn’t
care if we miss a ritual or if we skip a routine. He wants our
hearts, our minds, our lives. He wants us to acknowledge Him, to
cry out to Him, to praise Him, to seek Him, to worship Him, to need Him.
God has
created each of us for a divine purpose. When we spend time with
Him through praise and thanksgiving, Bible study, quiet time, and
meditating on His word, we begin to know and understand His ways; we
begin to hear His voice, and we develop a deep desire to follow His
plan – for His plans for our lives are the reason we were created!
Saul was
rejected as “God’s man” who would teach his people and turn their
hearts to God. Saul would remain king over Israel for a number of
years to come, but God would no longer try to mold Saul’s heart because
Saul did not want to be a king who did what God desired.
Saul was after his own interests. What did the Lord require of
Saul? The same that he requires of us. Micah 6:8 says,
“What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.” Are you a person “after God’s
heart?” Mark 12:33 says that we are to love God with all our
heart, with all our understanding, and with all our strength and to
love our neighbor as our self – these are more important than all the
burnt offerings and sacrifices, all the rituals and traditions that we
bring to God..”
Saul was
chosen by God to be Israel’s first king, but Saul did not choose to
follow God in leading Israel.
God has
chosen all mankind to be His children. In Jeremiah 1, the Lord
says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were
born, I set you apart”. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the
plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and
not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future.” The choice
is ours. God has already chosen us to be a part of His family; He
has already designed a plan for our life; It’s up to us – we must
choose to accept Him into our lives. The choice is up to us.
Saul was
content in going through the motions of worship, in doing the task
necessary to get his way; but Saul was not interested in a mind change
or life change or a change of heart. He didn’t humble himself
before God and seek forgiveness; Saul’s admission of sin was not a
repentant heart asking for forgiveness or change; his motive was
to save face before the people he served.
What about
you? Have you chosen God to direct your path and to bring about a
change in your life so that you become the person that God has designed
you to be? Or are you satisfied going through them motions and rituals
of a “religious” life?
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