SATURDAY April 27, 2019
Excuses, Excuses
And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
1 Samuel 15:20-21
Saul had full knowledge on what God had told him to do, yet he disobeyed the voice of God. He kept King Agag alive and allowed the best of the things from the Amalekites to be saved. Saul’s actions were nothing more than plain disobedience––he willfully sinned. Samuel confronted Saul and gave him a stern rebuke. He had disgraced the Lord by doing evil in His sight.
Saul was defensive as he pleaded his case. In the presence of the Lord, he lied. Can you believe Saul’s persistent and arrogant answer? King Saul was only fooling himself, and he was not being humble. He still attempted to pass the blame on to the people. He should have confessed he was at fault, but there was no repentance. Then, for a second time, Saul told Samuel that it was the people who wanted to sacrifice to the Lord “Your God.” Saul’s words gave his heart away; he no longer had a personal relationship with the Lord anymore––interesting.
Sometimes Christians can become like Saul; even though they are in sin, they make excuses to justify their actions, and they blame everyone else except themselves. When confronted, they react and become argumentative, just for the sake of arguing, because, in reality, they do not want to humble themselves and admit fault––no repentance.
Think about it. Why does God send us on a mission? He sends us on a mission to see if He can trust us. He is teaching us how to be good stewards in the kingdom of God. Everything God asks us to do is a matter of obedience. He really does not want to hear our excuses.
If you placed the Old Testament and New Testament together, you could write obedience all the way through.
~Raul Ries~
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