Title: Perfect Obedience (1 Samuel 15:17-24)
Contents
Many of you are wearing gold rings, but there is no 100% pure gold. The horse is said to be pure gold, but it is marked as 99.99%. It's usually called 24k. There are also 18K (75%) and 14K (58%), which contain much less gold.
But even if there is no pure gold, there is 100% pure gold. God wants us to be 100% pure. The lesson that King Saul's case in the text teaches us is that 99.9% of obedience, which is only 0.1%, is not obedience. In other words, even if partial obedience appears to man as obedience, God never recognizes it as obedience.
Today's message is something we know all too well. It is also a phrase that is often quoted while demanding obedience from children. Let's look at this verse from a slightly new perspective.
partial obedience
Samuel came to Saul and delivered God's command to him, "Stack the Amalekites, and destroy all men and women, and children, and infants, and even beasts" (verse 3). If it is related to Amalek, it means to kill both humans and animals. This is because Amalek harassed Israel in the past during the Exodus. As they traveled through the wilderness with children, women, and herds of animals, they attacked Israel, who was very tired, and made it difficult by attacking them. So, at that time, God declared, “I will put Amalek out of the world, that there will be no remembrance from under the heavens” (Exodus 17:14). A bad person is someone who takes advantage of someone else's trouble when they're in trouble. Legally, if a contract is entered into an unfavorable contract by taking advantage of an impending situation, it becomes invalid.
It seemed like a cruel command, but Saul accepted it and immediately gathered troops and attacked Amalek and carried out God's command. But King Amalek spared him. At that time, capturing an enemy commander was the highest honor for a general. Also, while animals were being slaughtered, fat and valuable things such as good sheep and cattle were brought to life without being killed. Seeing this, it is called the 見物生心.
When God saw Saul like that, he sighed. “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has not fulfilled my commandments” (verse 11). Saul killed tens of thousands, but kept only one alive. It may have seemed like obedience to man, but God said it was rebellion.
Even the smallest scratch on expensive clothes that cost 1 million won a piece reduces the value of the clothes. It may not even be a million dollars.
Samuel came to Saul after returning from the battlefield. Saul said confidently, ‘I have done your commandment’ (verse 13). It's not just Saul. That's what all life looks like. That's a big mistake. Regarding this, James said, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22). You may think it is obedience in your own opinion, but if you continue to misunderstand that you do not realize that it is clearly disobedience in the eyes of God, it becomes a habit. Also, the hardened habits make it more difficult to distinguish between truth and sin.
Obedience or sacrificial
Samuel asked, “What is the sound of this sheep and of the ox that I hear now in my ears?” to understand that Saul was mistaken. I left the best of the oxen, and I destroyed the rest.” He answered and blamed the people. “I was going to obey, but I did it because of the people.” Those who do not have the heart to obey will blame others when disobedience is revealed. Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent. Saul is the leader of the people, not his leader of the people. Saul was in a position to be held responsible for his disobedience as well as for the people's disobedience, but he was a humble man who blamed the people for his own disobedience.
Saul tried to justify his disobedience by using the sacrifice as an excuse, but this was deceiving God and deceiving himself. You are mistaken if you think that you can offer sacrifices that are worthy of God, no matter how valuable or good the things you bring in disobedience. If disobedience is involved in serving God, it does not glorify God, but causes Satan to take glory. If there is a person among you who worships today who does not have the heart to obey the Word, God will not be glorified through that person.
fear of rebellion
Samuel reminded us of the terrible sin of rebellion by saying, “Obedience is better than sacrifice, and to hear is better than the fat of rams. The word ‘sin of fortune-telling’ is referred to as ‘magic’ in the King James Version, which is the means and method of the devil to rule over people and the world. In a word, it refers to Satan's tricks to deceive people into being ruled and obeyed by the devil.
If you disobey God, you will be free, but you are not. At that moment, you immediately fall into Satan's slavery. There is no freedom for a moment. Regarding this, Paul said, "Everyone is obliged to present himself as a slave to anyone," he said, "or, through the slavery of sin, to death, or through obedience, to righteousness" (Romans 6:16).
Not long after Saul disobeyed God's word, he was possessed by an evil spirit and suffered. I became a completely different person from when I first became king. Evil spirits manipulated Saul and led him into a life of jealousy, anger, hatred, strife, murder, and delusion. The evil spirit took advantage of Saul's unrepentant disobedience and made him his own. Under the control of an evil spirit, Saul tried to kill David, a faithful servant of God and his loyal servant. In the end, the truth became a lie and the lie became the truth to Saul, who was deceived by the evil spirit.
Rebellion is such a terrifying thing. Keep in mind that as long as you obey God, you belong to God, but as soon as you disobey and rebel, you are placed under Satan's control.
Jesus said, “I do not intend to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me” (John 5:30). Even though he was God, he showed us the example of obedience by obedience to the point of death. Therefore, obedience before God is not an option, but a duty. Also, partial obedience is not obedience. He wants total and complete obedience. We only ask for 100% pure obedience. Life is obedient to everything, whether we obey God or Satan. Therefore, you are free to choose whether to obey or not, but you cannot be free from the result. Let's not forget that we always have the potential to become like Saul. Also, keep in mind that Saul's story is never someone else's.