“TO OBEY IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE.”
By G.
A Lesson from Saul’s Apostasy.
THE commandment to King Saul to utterly destroy the Amalekites and all they had, was his second great test as to whether he would honor and obey the Lord, who had so highly honored him. And it was his final test. In this he showed that he had “turned back from following” the Lord; his apostasy was complete and settled. The Lord knew that his heart was incorrigible; therefore his probation was closed. The example of Saul, as well as that of the Amalekites, shows that it is possible to pass the line of hope and of divine forbearance while in the full vigor of life, and that the Lord withdraws His Spirit when that line is passed. THE good spirit of Samuel is manifest in his grief over the downfall of King Saul. It will be remembered that Saul was made king because the people had rejected the government of God as administered by Samuel, and had demanded a king. Had Samuel been a mere politician, actuated by a desire for worldly honors, he would have rejoiced to see the fall of one who had been set upon the ruins of his own rejected administration. But he was grieved to see the once humble young man, whom he had anointed king by command of the Lord, and whom the Lord had so signally blessed and honored, recklessly throwing away, not only his own bright prospects, but also those of his family. SAMUEL reminded Saul of His humble disposition when anointed king. The prophet had anointed him while he was out hunting for his father’s asses, and when he went home he told about seeing the prophet, but made no mention of his having been anointed king. And when Samuel called the people together to show them who the Lord had chosen for them, Saul hid himself and had to be hunted out from his hiding place in order to be presented to the people as their king. Such was the humility which the Lord chose to honor and bless, and had Saul remained humble and obedient the blessing of God would have abode upon him and upon his family after him. But “pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” ALTHO in his heart Saul had utterly “turned back” from the Lord, he still professed to keep His commandments. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Jer. 17:9, 10. Men may pass the limit of probation while professing faith in God. The self-deception under which many people will be found laboring when the Lord comes is thus expressed by the Saviour Himself: “Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” Matt. 7:22, 23. WHEN Saul was confronted with the evidence that he had not obeyed the commandment of the Lord, but had spared of the sheep and oxen of the Amalekites, he laid the blame upon the people. It is very seldom that a backslider does not find excuse for his apostasy in the action of some one else. Self-defense is always the resort of the unregenerate heart when brought face to face with its faults. It is a poor defense, one on which even the righteous dare not rely. David says, “The Lord is my defense;” and of the heathen Joshua said, “Their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us.” THE pretext that the sheep and oxen taken from the Amalekites were for a sacrifice to the Lord was exceedingly lame. The Lord had given express command that all these be destroyed, which was positive evidence that He did not want them. Moreover, it would be an offering by the people of that which did not belong to them, and could not properly be called a sacrifice. The real design was to have a great jollification to glorify their own achievement. SAUL’s spirit of selfish obstinacy was manifested when he insisted that he had “obeyed the voice of the Lord,” and showed the live king of the Amalekites as proof, when the Lord had told him to destroy every person and every thing. But his attitude arose to the point of defiance when he said to Samuel that the people had taken the sheep and oxen “to sacrifice to the Lord thy God.” This was a bold denial of the God of Israel, and showed that the Lord had judged rightly when He told Samuel that Saul had “turned back” from following Him. GOD has not commanded offerings and sacrifices because He needs anything. They are tests of loyal obedience. No sacrifice can take the place of obedience. Grace rejected by disobedience can not be purchased by unholy sacrifice. Jer. 6:18-20. God demands obedience first and all the time, and nothing else can take its place. In the spirit of obedience we have the highest example in Jesus Christ, who “became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Phil. 2:8. He could say, “I delight to do Thy will, O My God; yea, Thy law is within My heart.” Ps. 40:8. DISOBEDIENCE is rebellion, and “rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.” The sin of witchcraft was punishable with death in Israel (Ex. 22:18); and from the Lord’s rebuke of King Saul we may know how He regards the disobedience of His commandments. We also learn from Mark 7:9 that those who hold to the traditions of men thereby reject the commandments of God.