“Yes, but Lord . . . “


1 Samuel 15:16-23
16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.”
17 And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel.
18 And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’
19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?”
20 And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction.
21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
22 And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.”

When called out on our sin, what is the natural reaction? We suddenly back up and begin to explain why we did what we did so that we are painted in the best possible light. “It wasn’t my fault.” “I did the best I could.” “We did it for you, God.” Our mouths become filled with reasons and justifications that will make the accusations go away. Saul was in damage repair mode by this point in the story. He had been caught red-handed with the loot. She and oxen are everywhere and their presence is proof that Saul was playing by his own rules rather than God’s. After blaming the people he claims that the animals were to be used in sacrificial worship before Samuel’s God. (Did you note that Saul said “. . . to sacrifice to the Lord your God”? Why is he not claiming God as his own Lord? That has always been a very telling statement as to the condition of Saul’s heart. This is not Samuel’s God, not his own. Upon this weak defense the kingdom is taken from Saul’s family and passed on to someone else. While Saul’s story will go on for several more chapters, the kingship does not pass to his sons, but to another family. God has spoken and the verdict is final.

Notice also what the Lord is looking for as He deals with His people. While sacrifice had been established by Him as a part of the worship life of the people, it was not the culmination of what He was looking for from those who love Him. Clearly He is looking for obedience. This is a matter of the heart, not a matter of what outward things you do to please Him. Bringing an offering into the sanctuary is not worship. Bringing a heart filled with repentance, love, devotion, and faith – that is what God seeks from us. Saul had no concept of what God wanted from him. You can almost hear his voice as he says, “The people took the best . . . to sacrifice to your God.” He’s confused and rather whiney. What more could God want, right? Psalm 51:17 tells us, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” The outward movements don’t mean much to God if the heart isn’t in the right place.

These are not new thoughts. But we would all benefit from a reminder now and then of what God is looking for from His people. Throwing God a bone by occasionally bringing in an offering (and I’m not referring only to cash) doesn’t signify relationship with Him. He is looking for a heart that longs after Him; a spirit that seeks out relationship, and a life that serves Him because of love. Again – not new news. But always something to think about.

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