Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying,
The word of the Lord came to Samuel with a message about Saul, opening the account of Saul's disobedience. Samuel was to carry it to Saul as instruction from God Himself, from the same divine authority that had placed Saul on the throne. It concerned judgment long delayed against Amalek for its assault on Israel and for its continued rebellion, commanding Saul to punish Amalek and to utterly destroy everything belonging to them.
Saul disobeyed by sparing the best of the cattle and sheep, then excused himself by saying they were kept to offer as a sacrifice, while insisting that he had obeyed. The message declared that he had turned back from following God and had not kept His commandments, so that God's wrath was kindled against him. Through this act he lost his soul. Yet in this commission Saul still had opportunity to prove his fidelity by obedience.
The word distressed Samuel, who grieved over it and cried to the Lord all night, though he knew he must deliver it. When confronted, Saul denied his wrongdoing until the facts left him no room for denial, yet he did not confess his sin but regarded himself as mistreated. His profession of obedience did not take away his guilt, for obedience is more acceptable to God than sacrificial offerings.
God's word thus exposes disobedience so that it must be faced rather than justified or evaded, warning against self-deception and evasion of responsibility. Neither religious purpose nor financial gain can justify breaking God's law, and when men reject the light they have received, God may at last punish them and destroy what they have gained.
The word of the Lord came to Samuel with a message about Saul, opening the account of Saul's disobedience. Samuel was to carry it to Saul as instruction from God Himself, from the same divine authority that had placed Saul on the throne. It concerned judgment long delayed against Amalek for its assault on Israel and for its continued rebellion, commanding Saul to punish Amalek and to utterly destroy everything belonging to them.
Saul disobeyed by sparing the best of the cattle and sheep, then excused himself by saying they were kept to offer as a sacrifice, while insisting that he had obeyed. The message declared that he had turned back from following God and had not kept His commandments, so that God's wrath was kindled against him. Through this act he lost his soul. Yet in this commission Saul still had opportunity to prove his fidelity by obedience.
The word distressed Samuel, who grieved over it and cried to the Lord all night, though he knew he must deliver it. When confronted, Saul denied his wrongdoing until the facts left him no room for denial, yet he did not confess his sin but regarded himself as mistreated. His profession of obedience did not take away his guilt, for obedience is more acceptable to God than sacrificial offerings.
God's word thus exposes disobedience so that it must be faced rather than justified or evaded, warning against self-deception and evasion of responsibility. Neither religious purpose nor financial gain can justify breaking God's law, and when men reject the light they have received, God may at last punish them and destroy what they have gained.