Being anointed king over the people of Israel, Saul received commandment from the Lord through the prophet Samuel, "The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the LORD. Thus says the LORD of hosts: I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey." (1 Samuel 15:2-3)

As we follow the text, we are witness to Saul preparing the people of Israel for this battle, as he gathered together "...two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah." (15:4) Having done so, he lay in wait before the city of Amalek. Lest the Kenites (the people of Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, Judges 1:16) should be destroyed with the Amalekites, Saul warned them to depart.

And so the battle began, Saul attacking the people of Amalek "...from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt..." (15:7) Victory seemed to come easy, as little is mentioned of the warfare. However, the mission was a failure, for the Lord spoke to Samuel afterwards, "I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments." (15:11)

Unfortunately, the battle did not end as well as it began. Amalek was destroyed, but not all. Somewhere along the line, Saul forgot about the Lord's will and sought his own, for he and the people of Israel "...spared Agag (king of the Amalekites, wjs) and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them..." (15:9) So haughty was his delight of ‘victory', that he set up a monument to himself at Carmel.

Samuel, finding Saul was greeted, "Blessed are you of the LORD! I have performed the commandment of the LORD." Asked about the sheep, oxen, fatlings, etc., he responded, "...the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed." (15:13, 15)

Oddly, when Samuel clearly shows Saul that he did not do what the Lord sent him to accomplish, Saul responded, "But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and gone on the mission 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." (15:20-21)

Notice some lessons from this incident.

THE LORD'S WILL IS NOT OPEN TO CHANGE

Saul was commanded to destroy ALL that was among the Amalekites, both persons and possessions. Perhaps he considered it to be a waste to destroy the best of the animals, maybe he thought these would be a pleasing sacrifice to the Lord. It doesn't matter what he thought — he was wrong.

When the Lord reveals His will, it is not open to debate or modification among His people. Jesus questioned, "Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord', and do not do the things that I say?" (Luke 6:46) When the Lord has revealed the necessity of baptism for salvation (Mark 16:16), why do folks who claim to serve Him say we can be saved without baptism? When the Lord has commanded that we praise Him in song through singing (Ephesians 5:19), why do some seek to add instruments of music to worship?

Those who seek to make these changes and others are as repugnant to the Lord as Saul was. If we want to be the Lord's servants, we will do the Lord's will, not our own.

THE FOLLY OF PRIDE

Not only did Saul substitute his own will for the Lord's, but he arrogantly congratulated himself on ‘a job well done'. After the battle was done, Saul went and built a monument to himself.

Men today build monuments to themselves in various ways. Some have built up their ego and demeanor in the public eyes such that the attention they garner is borderline to worship. Others have sacrificed doctrinal correctness for the glory that goes with being a ‘best selling' author.

Most dangerous, and perhaps most applicable to us all is the ‘pat on the back' we might be tempted to give ourselves when we've done what we have been commanded to do (or what we perceive the Lord will accept). Jesus warns, "...when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.'" (Luke 17:10) If when we have done all that the Lord has commanded of us, we are merely ‘unprofitable servants', what shall we say of ourselves when we've substituted our own will for His? Or better yet, what will He say of us?

Of Saul, it was said, "Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king." (15:23) At the judgment, the Lord will say to some, "...Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" (Matthew 7:23)

USING OTHERS AS AN ESCAPE

Rather than admit his error and accept responsibility, Saul placed the wrong on others. "...they have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen..." (15:15). Again, "...the people took the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed..." (15:21)

Perhaps it was the people's idea, but Saul was king. Saul was commanded by God, and he commanded the people. His spineless response is parallel to Aaron's statement, "...I cast it (gold, wjs) into the fire, and this calf came out." (Exodus 32:24) Both men were responsible for God's people, and acted carelessly with the duty given to them by God.

Never should we seek to place our sin on another. Recall with Adam and Eve, this very thing took place? Adam laid the blame on Eve; Eve laid the blame on the serpent. The fact is, "The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himsellf." (Ezekiel 18:20) We've no one to blame for our sin but ourselves. We need to be sure to take responsibility.

Friend, let us learn from the errors of others. Saul was a man selected by God, anointed as king of God's people Israel, and yet the Lord removed him from that place of esteem. Let us be alert to what God's will is, and not seek to go beyond, nor to fall shy; but to accomplish exactly as the Lord has commanded. Let us not revel in our own greatness and set ourselves on a pedestal, but associate with things that are humble, and seek to follow the great example of humility provided in the Son of God. And finally, let us take responsibility for our own sin. If we do not do so in this life, we surely will in the next, as we stand before the Lord in judgment.

Click here for this week's Answering The Atheist
Who was Laban's father, Bethuel (Genesis 28:5) or Nahor (Genesis 29:5)? Is there a contradiction?