“You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.” (Psalm 119:4).
Saul, the first king of Israel, had gone to battle against the Amalakites. When he saw the fat cattle he decided that he would keep some for himself even though the command of the Lord to him had been to destroy everything. When Samuel finally caught up with Saul at Gilgal and confronted him with his sin, Saul immediately rationalized his actions by saying that he had kept back the best for sacrifices to the Lord. Samuel=s words to Saul have been words to all of us since that day, “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” (I Samuel 15:22b).
The Lord expects that His commands are to be fully obeyed. In His eyes the ends never justify the means. We must never do wrong that good may come. Maybe we are tempted to tell a lie so that we could protect someone from hurt; maybe we are tempted to cheat so that we can use our talents, gifts, and possessions in the Lord=s work. The words of this Psalm come back to us, “You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.” Remember, the Lord wants our obedience, not our sacrifices.
1 comment:
Another interesting aspect to this story is that when Saul attempted suicide in the battle against the Philistines, it was ultimately an Amalekite sojourner who finished him off (2 Sam. 1:1-16). So, it was the people he spared because of disobedience that ultimately did him in and were the last people he saw. So ultimately, his sin finished him off, and being confronted with his sin was the last thing he saw before his death.
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