To hear this Morning Devotion, please click Learning from others’ mistakes
.
.
King Saul had a number of bad days, the Bible shows.
But two days stands out as the worst.
Those days, recorded in I Samuel 15, were an absolute disaster.
By the time the second day was over, Saul had lost his place as the patriarch of a royal lineage.
Had he been an obedient servant of God, he would have had the place in biblical history that instead was given to King David, the forefather of the Messiah.
But Saul was obsessed with self-affirmation rather than surrendered loyalty to God.
You know the story of David’s selection, so I’ll forgo recounting that story.
Perhaps you’ve forgotten, however, all the bad choices made by Saul on the worst two days of his life so let me give you a quick recap.
Samuel was sent by God to Saul with the order that Israel’s army should wipe out the Amalekites in return for how, more than three centuries earlier, the Amalekites tried to destroy the Israelites. Saul took the army to Amalek, all right, and all the Amalekites were killed except for their king, Agag.
Apparently, Saul liked the idea of keeping a conquered king around as a trophy for how good of a king/warrior he, Saul, was.
The choice was clearly rooted in an “I want this for me” mentality.
That was big mistake #1 on Day 1.
Then Saul allowed his troops to keep a bunch of the choice plunder and livestock pillaged from the Amalekites. We’re talking the really good stuff.
Yes, the garage sale, used stuff was likely burned in a mock sacrificial pyre. But the unsanctified troops thought it would be a waste of good stuff to destroy ALL of it like God commanded.
That’s why a bunch of it made into the soldier’s tents and possession bags with only a portion of the very finest being set aside for sacrifice. Yes, God had said sacrifice it all but Saul and the troops edited God’s command for the sake of personal financial gain.
That was big mistake #2 for Day 1.
After the big victory over an arch rival, Saul was feeling very good about himself and wanted everybody to know just how special he was. So he went to Carmel and built a monument in his own honor so that people would always remember how lucky they were to have him as king.
Talk about rampant pride!
That was big mistake #3 for Day 1.
These choices burned the last bit of patience God had with Saul.
Samuel tracked Saul down and, despite hearing multiple rationalizations from the carnal commander, Samuel told him that “to obey is better than sacrifice” and that his rejection of the Lord’s authority had resulted in God’s rejection of Saul as the anointed king.
It was more than Saul could take. As Samuel turned to leave, the pleading, kneeling Saul grabbed the prophet’s robe so harshly in order to restrain Samuel that it tore the hem.
That was big mistake #4.
“The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors — to one better than you,” Samuel told Saul.
Wow. That which Saul so desperately wanted to keep for his own affirmation had been forfeited to another because of his own pride and disobedience.
Here’s the wrap-up, my friend. Reject the place of pride in your life. It is an addictive drug that will demand more and more compromise and rejection of God’s authority over your life. Learn from the worst two days of Saul’s life. Avoid his mistakes. God will be pleased and your place in His service will established forever.
As always, I love you
Martin
