In 1 Samuel 15, God gave King Saul explicit instructions regarding the destruction of the evil, blasphemous Amalekites. Because God knew every person’s heart in that nation, He was qualified to completely destroy it. He didn’t even want Saul to take their livestock. (See notes below.)
So Saul carefully carried out God’s instructions … well, sort of ... not exactly.
When the prophet Samuel discovered Saul had saved the best livestock and taken the king as prisoner, he told Saul his actions were as sinful as witchcraft and as stubborn as worshiping idols.
Saul blamed his disobedience on peer pressure, claiming his troops encouraged him to take the best of the animals, as if he as king was helpless to prevent it.
Then, adding insult to injury, Saul claimed they took the animals to sacrifice to the Lord. A great definition of fake faith: pretending to honor God by disobeying His commands.
God permanently removed Saul’s anointing that day, and that serves as an important warning to us.
“Saul rhetoric” is on the increase in the modern church.
People are making up “honorable” reasons to disregard God’s commands due to peer pressure. They claim they're honoring God and being more loving by redefining, softening, or ignoring God’s views on abortion, LGBTQ lifestyles, and premarital sex. But they are actually seeking to be more popular with the world.
They're even redefining salvation.
If they don't repent, God will reject their false faith just as He did King Saul, giving them over to their delusions (1 Samuel 16:1; Romans 1:16-32).
Let's pray for genuine believers to stand firm.
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Notes:
Saul apologized to Samuel for only partially obeying God. If you want to know why God didn't accept Saul's apology, see Short-List Repentance.
If you have difficulty understanding why God destroyed whole nations in the Old Testament, see:
BLN
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