"Ministers’ Minute" Volume 7 Number 4
THE FAILURE OF A KING
1 Sam 15:13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, "The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD's instructions."
14 But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?"
15 Saul answered, "The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but we totally destroyed the rest."
16 "Stop!" Samuel said to Saul. "Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night." "Tell me," Saul replied.
17 Samuel said, "Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel.
18 And he sent you on a mission, saying, 'Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites….
20 "But I did obey the LORD," Saul said. "I went on the mission the LORD assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king.
21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal."
22 But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king." (Sermon continues below....)
15a: Failure to take responsibility as the leader -- shifts the blame
15b: Thinking he had a better idea than God -- Sacrificing the best
15c: Equating partial obedience to full obedience “We killed a lot!”
He may have had EVEN MORE EXCUSES BUT SAMUEL SAYS, ‘STOP!” in verse 16.
Have we been guilty of these sins?
1. Failure to take responsibility -- shifting the blame 15a
When we are caught "red-handed" don't we find it easy to point at others -- blaming people or circumstances in an attempt to absolve ourselves.
We have become very skilled at the "blame game" ---
Let's see if I understand the current state of personal responsibility in America:
If a woman burns her thighs on the hot coffee she was holding in her lap while driving, she blames the restaurant.
If your teen-age son kills himself, you blame the rock 'n' roll musician he liked.
If you smoke three packs a day for 40 years and die of lung cancer your family blames the tobacco company.
If your daughter gets pregnant by the football captain you blame the school for poor sex education.
If your neighbor crashes into a tree while driving home drunk, you blame the bartender.
If your cousin gets AIDS because the needle he used to shoot heroin was dirty, you blame the government for not providing clean ones.
If your grandchildren are brats without manners, you blame television.
And, if your friend is shot by a deranged madman, you blame the gun manufacturer.
God bless America, land of the free, home of the blame.
We must avoid the temptation to shift the blame. If we sin, we must admit it to the Lord and seek His face in humility ... willing to do restitution, willing to find resolution with those offended, and willing to accept the temporal consequences of our bad choice.
2. Thinking he had a better idea than God --- changing the plan 15b
For centuries, God's plans have been discarded for what arrogant men have felt was "a better plan."
Saul tried the same thing. He called disobedience "improving God's plan."
The best innovation is a return to the Biblical way:
A good lady, belonging to another church group, once remonstrated with Dr. Robertson of Irvine. She said: "I hear you are introducing some dreadful innovations into your church service." "Indeed," he replied, "what innovations have we introduced?" "Oh," she said, "I hear that you read the commandments at the communion." "Is that all you heard of?" was the reply. "We have introduced a far greater innovation than that." "What is it?" said the good lady in some alarm. "We try to keep them," he replied. --From the book Best Sermon Illustrations by J. G. Lawson.
3. Equating partial obedience to full obedience -- “We killed a lot!” But he didn't finish God's plan. 15c
We want to "do a little" of what God wants and claim full obedience.
Sin is nothing to play with. It has the strength to defeat you if you get too close to it with excessive confidence in your own strength. A well-to-do man advertised for a chauffeur. Three applicants came. His first question was, "How close to the edge of a cliff can you drive without going over?" One man said, "A yard." Another said, "A foot." The third said, "I always try to keep as far away as possible." The third man got the job. He who underestimates the strength of an enemy is in danger of defeat.
Do we want "faith without works" ...."talk without walk".... "repentance without baptism" .... "love without service?"
Are any of those possible? Are any of the "firsts" really complete without the "seconds?" Doesn't God want true followers who obey completely without understanding --- who march around Jericho day after day, finishing God's full instruction even when ridiculed and criticized?
A poor man applied for a job saying he was ready to anything that would
give him an honest living.
"You take that pile of stones that you see in the
end of the lot and carry them to the other side and pile them up just as they
are now," said his employer. The man did his job and received his wages.
The
next morning he returned and worked faithfully every day for a week, carrying
the stones from one place to another without a murmur or a question.
On
Saturday night his boss said to him, "I like you. There is no nonsense about
you. You do what you are told to do. Many men would have objected to doing the
work over and over. You shall have work as long as I have anything for anybody
to do." The Lord wants servants such as this.
22 But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king."
The King Failed. He couldn't lead the people because he couldn't be led.
May we learn and
apply these crucial lessons!
"Remain faithful unto death .."
Rev. 2:10B
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rod
Farthing, ARM National Development Director rodfar@arm.org
RR 5 Box 159, Salem, MO 65560 Home
573-729-6355
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