Samuel grew up at the temple under High Priest Eli. He became a prophet. During his tenure, the Israelites decided they wanted a king instead of the long line of judges (& prophets). They wanted to be like all the other nations.
BUT God was already their king!
Samuel said,
"NO way! This is NOT right!"
BUT the people insisted!
God told Samuel to let them have an earthly king. However, it came with a warning and big price tag. Such a king would cause them lots of trouble.
Such kings demanded taxes, to keep giving him their hard earned food; sons and daughters to work in the palace and fields. They could not go home. Nevertheless, they chose Saul the Benjamite to be their king. King Saul seemed to have been a 'dream boat'. He was very tall and handsome, a head taller than others.
At first he was a good king but pride raised its ugly head and King Saul disobeyed God in three major ways. He got impatient and offered up the animal sacrifices that Samuel had said to wait for him to officiate. Only Levite priests were allowed to do this, therefore Saul, despite being king, was unauthorized to perform the offering.
Another time in a battle, Samuel had told King Saul he had to destroy all the enemies and their animals. This was what God had instructed. However, King Saul kept the enemy king alive and some of the best looking animals to sacrifice.
Samuel told King Saul, it's wrong to disobey God's orders. King Saul's motive was that, these are good, unblemished animals, and therefore, he would sacrifice them to God. He totally disregarded God's will thus disobeying Him.
Can you see how off-base King Saul was becoming? His pride and arrogance was blinding him. We too need to be careful as it is more important to obey and honor God as it is He who made us.
He is our Creator and sustainer and He has the right to ask us to do this or that.
The famous verse comes in here in which Samuel said to Saul,
"To obey is better than sacrifice..." (1 Samuel 15:22).
The third disobedience happened after Samuel the prophet had died. King Saul was in a delimma and wanted Samuel's advice. What was he to do since Samuel was gone?!
His plan was to go to a medium which was absolutely forbidden by God! King Saul desparately wanted to talk with deceased Samuel but God's Word tells us NOT to try to talk with or consult with the dead (see Leviticus 19:31 and Isaiah 8:19 ESV).
Why didn't King Saul inquire of the Almighty living God directly, instead?
But he was so out of sync with God he got it deplorably wrong, disobeying God yet again.
In these three instances we see King Saul rejected the Word of the LORD. The LORD then rejected King Saul from being king over Israel. The house of Saul would end with Saul.
He did not honor God so God did not honor him. As believers in Jesus Christ, we need to take heed and be careful to honor God every day in our thoughts and behavior.
King Saul had actually started well but he ended badly. Let us always obey and honor God throughout our whole life.
God our Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to love Him back. To show our love and gratitude to Him we can obey Him, thus honoring Him.
Leaders among us in church settings need to be extra careful to follow God's heart. Not such an easy task but those in spiritual leadership roles, whether in Sunday School or the pulpit need to be in tune with their Savior and build that relationship with the Lord, staying sensitive to God's word and the Holy Spirit's leading.
Why?
Because God is our Creator and Jesus is our Savior. Therefore we must always obey Him.
So doing, may well put us into conflict with society's norms. The Israelites wanted to be "like all the other nations". No doubt as human beings we want to 'fit in' but we need to first and foremost have our allegiance to God our Heavenly Father and His Word. Worship and follow only Him; in so doing we will honor Him.
We will learn to trust and have faith in Him because He is the only true God. We serve Him by obeying Him.
"To obey is better than sacrifice" (1 Samuel 15:22)
~ERC May 2024~
Based on 1 Samuel 8:1-21 and Kawan Grace Resource P4d Lesson 4 - The People Want a King
Sing, Trust and Obey, along with the VagleBrothers.
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