Faith Like A Mustard Seed

Saul Disobeys

The battle is raging on; the Israelites continue to fight against the Philistines, the nemesis. The place is Gilgal, where the Israelites meet to worship, and offer sacrifices to God. When the Philistines came against the Israelites with 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and people that looked to be the number of sand on a seaside, the situation became critical. The Israelites ran off and hid wherever they could find a place, meanwhile, king Saul was waiting the arrival of Samuel in Gilgal, and the people trembled around him.

And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. I Samuel 13:8

Samuel had given Saul specific instructions, but when Saul felt he could not wait any longer, he decided to take matters into his own hands, and he offered the sacrifice. As soon as he had done that, Samuel showed up, and Saul gave him his seemingly good excuses. However, it was always the job of the priest or prophet of the Lord to offer the sacrifices. Saul decided to take care of things himself, instead of waiting on God, and ended up getting in the way. We do that to, don’t we? Sometimes we decide that we have given God enough time to make a move, and then we decide to do things our way, which causes more problems for us than we initially had, or at least thought we had.

And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and , behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do. I Samuel 10:8

Saul disobeyed the commandment of the Lord, and instead of repenting, he gave his excuses. Samuel informed Saul that because he had acted in foolish disobedience, his kingship was going to come to a halt. God had already picked out someone who would lead His people, and Samuel said that this man was after God’s own heart. This man was a seeker, in fact, he’s not even a man yet, but God knows his heart, just like he knows the heart of Saul, and everyone else.

Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?” Matthew 9:4

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

Who will this man be that is after God’s own heart?

Before he even comes into the picture, we will find Saul with more opportunities to change. Immediately after Samuel gives Saul this news about God ending his reign as king, Samuel leaves, and Saul gets back to leading the people against the Philistines. We have no recorded words from Saul at all. No repentance, no change of heart or attitude, just back to business. Perhaps he felt justified by his excuses, we don’t know. We know that God knows the thoughts and intentions of the heart, and He was going to bring in someone else who would walk in His ways because Saul wasn’t going to get it done.

But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought Him a man after His own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over His people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee. I Samuel 13:14

So Saul made a mistake, big deal?

Right, we all do make mistakes, and I’m not saying that because he wasn’t perfect he wasn’t going to be king anymore. The problem is that when our sin is pointed out to us, there are only two ways that we can react; repent, or don’t repent. We can admit to our failure and change, or we can blame someone else, make excuses, justify our own actions, and so on. We have no information that Saul was ever repentant. By refusing to deal with our own sin, we are putting a barrier in between us and God. If we refuse to deal with our sin over time, God will allow us to push away from Him because that is our choice, and He will find someone else that will walk in His ways.

We all fall short, we all make mistakes, lets deal with our sin now, in repentance and faith. Lets turn back to God, so that He will likewise turn back to us. Lets get after His heart, and His ways, and be the people that He created us to be, for His name. Amen.

Dave Earley

Faith Like A Mustard Seed

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