The Failure of Disobedience

The Failure of Disobedience
1 Samuel 11-15
“But now your kingdom shall not endure, The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart.”
It seemed like a small thing—a simple act of disobedience driven by the expediency of the moment.  Faced with a coming battle, Saul was waiting for Samuel to arrive so that Samuel might offer a sacrifice to God to ensure God’s blessing upon the armies of Israel and secure a victory over a formidable force of the Philistines.   When the Israelites drew near to the battle, they were struck with fear.  Fear is the product of doubt that comes when we look at the challenges before us rather than the empowerment of God with us.  When we are confronted with challenges that exceed our ability, we can become frightened and hesitant. To calm the people's fears, Samuel was to come and ask for God’s blessing.  

As Saul waited for the arrival of Samuel, the people became more and more anxious, and many were fleeing from the battlefield, so much so that Saul began to fear a defeat even before the battle started.  After seven days, he could wait no longer, and so he called upon the people to bring him the burnt offering so that he might offer it to us.  This was more than just a breach of protocol; it was a usurpation of the priestly role and responsibility.  God had given strict requirements that only the priests could offer sacrifices on behalf of the people.  Saul’s action was more than a rash act; it was a rejection of God’s established role of the priests.  His actions were an act of deliberate disobedience to God’s law and set him above God’s established order of the Priests. To add to his guilt, when Samuel confronted him with his sin, rather than accept responsibility and confess, he blamed others and made excuses. Saul’s failure was not just the snare of sin; it was his response to sin.  He shifted the blame rather than repent.  We see this same response in chapter 15.  Rather than destroy all the Amalekites as God commanded, he spared the sheep, oxen, and other animals.  When confronted again by Samuel for his sin, he blamed the people rather than repent.  In 15:30, even when he acknowledged his sin, he was more concerned about his image than his guilt.  

The most important question that we must deal with in life is not: “Am I innocent?”  All of us are sinners by birth and by choice. Even David, whom the scripture affirmed was “a man after God’s own heart,” committed terrible sin.  The issue is, what do we do when confronted with our sin?  Do we repent of our sin or seek to justify our actions? Do we shift the blame onto others, or do we accept responsibility for our actions?  How we answer these questions determines whether or not we are condemned and judged or forgiven and accepted by God.  John confronts us with the reality of sin when he writes, “if we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8)  However in the next verse he gives us the hope of forgiveness, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). The reason Saul was condemned is because there was no repentance or confession.  God gives us the opportunity to be forgiven, but it requires that we acknowledge our sin and confess our guilt.  This is the question we must continually ask ourselves if we’re to obtain God’s forgiveness.