Better to obey than to sacrifice
1. Many of the great characters in the Bible had at least one noteworthy character flaw.
2. If we look at Moses, we find anger.
3. Solomon was plagued by selfishness. Samson lacked self-control. King Saul was insecure.
TONIGHT WE WANT TO LOOK AT SAUL; THE SELECTED TEXT IS 1 SAM 15 – WE WILL KEY IN ON VERSES 10-12.
a) In the opening verses of 1 Sam. 15 we are told how Saul was ordered to destroy the Amalekites.
b) Amalek had opposed Israel during the Egyptian Exodus and now the time for punishment had come.
c) Everyone and everything associated with Amalek was to be obliterated.
d) Verse 8 says the destruction was performed with one exception; the pagan king was kept alive.
e) Just before verses 10-12 we have this little piece of information – READ verse 8.
2) Saul had not been fully obedient and God knew it
3) Saul almost got the whole job done but there were some things he omitted.
a) This was the time in Israel’s history that Samuel was active as a prophet.
b) The next morning (verse 12), Samuel went to see Saul.
c) Samuel found something interesting – verse 12 – READ.
d) Saul was in the process of creating a monument – a monument to himself.
e) Saul saw the prophet coming (verse 13) and he lied (he said he had carried out the Lord’s commands).
f) Samuel knew this was not true (verse 14) and he told Saul there was evidence to the contrary.
4) Saul realized he had been caught then tried to explain his lack of obedience (verse 15) - READ.
5) After additional conversation Saul made an admission – verse 24 – READ.
6) Saul admitted sin, but he never did do all God commanded.
7) Rather, Samuel took personal responsibility for the pagan king as the rest of the chapter shows.
THE BRIEFST LOOK AT THIS ACCOUNT SHOWS THAT SAUL AGAIN AND AGAIN TRIED TO RATIONALIZE HIS LACK OF OBEDIENCE.
a) In verse 9 Saul insured that only the worthless possessions were destroyed.
b) God said to get rid of everything, but Saul only insured the poorer quality items were destroyed.
c) It’s not hard to understand how he could have rationalized this choice.
d) Perhaps his thinking went something like this:
e) “Junk is junk, but the good stuff can be to good use. We can use it to serve God.”
f) “Why destroy items as nice as this?
g) “If nothing else, these nice items can be passed on to people who are need.”
h) We know Saul specifically used rationalization when he tried to explain things to Samuel.
i) He said animals were saved so they could be sacrificed to God.
j) He tried to sanitize and rationalize the sin and his lack of obedience.
k) After Saul was confronted with his lack of obedience, verse 21 says he dug in his heels.
l) He repeated his argument from verse 15 about keeping back the best to sacrifice to God.
m) When people begin to rationalize their sin and disobedience, their hearts often become hard.
n) Rather than letting the heart and soften and say, “God I was wrong; I am ready to repent,” people stiffen.
2) This lack of obedience (or rebellion as it is called in verse 23) is put on par with witchcraft.
3) Verse 23 says “rebellion is as witchcraft.”
4) Failing to obey God or refusing to obey is tantamount to fully submitting to the will of Satan.
5) We can beat up on Saul for a long time, but he was not the only one to rationalize disobedience.
6) At an earlier time in Hebrew history we read about Moses and Aaron.
7) Moses was up on the mountain getting the law and the Israelites became impatient.
8) God’s people asked for some idols so they could engage in worship.
9) Ex. 32:1-4 says Aaron told the people to gather up some gold.
a) Aaron took that gold, melted it down, and fashioned a calf.
b) Then an altar was built in front of the calf (verse 5).
c) Ex. 32:21 tells us Moses asked why the calf was made; why the act of disobedience?
d) Aaron was required to answer and he began to rationalize the sin.
e) Verse 23 says he blamed the people—he was only giving them what they wanted.
f) Too, he just “threw the gold into the fire and out came the calf” (verse 24). Imagine that.
10) A long time ago people justified their failure to obey God’s will.
11) This same rationalization process exists today; people sin and then justify it.
12) A person may make a sinful choice because they are not happy.
13) People think a sinful choice will bring them happiness so their plan must be okay.
a) Our Western definition for happiness is hard to find in the Scriptures.
b) What is not hard in both testaments is a call to holiness.
c) This morning we spoke about sacrifices for the kingdom of God.
d) Those sacrifices will lead to holiness, but they may not lead to the happiness the world so enjoys.
e) Most look for happiness as the world understands the term and would like a little holiness too.
f) In God’s plan, holiness comes first and that leads to contentment now and lots of happiness later.
g) Instead of happiness as a goal, happiness is a byproduct of Christian living.
14) When we deal with spiritual matters, it is possible for us and others to “redefine” God’s will.
15) This is precisely what we find in the case of Saul.
16) When God told this king to go and wipe out a people and their possessions, the command was clear.
17) Saul redefined God’s commands; let’s go back to verses 19-21 – READ.
18) Saul took God’s explicit command and explained it all away. God’s command didn’t matter.
a) Saul came to realize a fundamental but vitally important principle about God.
b) When God expresses His will on a point, He means exactly what He says.
c) We may say something and it needs to be refined.
d) Perhaps we say something and we do not communicate the point too well.
e) God gave direct instructions in Old Testament times and they were not to be modified.
f) There was only one way to properly understand and carry out God’s will.
g) These same points apply as we look at what the Bible calls a “better testament” (covenant).
h) Better doesn’t mean we have the right to change things as we see fit.
i) God has given us information through the 27 books of the New Testament to get to heaven.
j) If we somehow redefine this material we will suffer.
k) God has given us a pattern (2 Tim. 1:13).
l) A failure to follow or trying to redefine what God has told us to do is like practicing witchcraft.
19) In the Old Testament God was pretty specific about witchcraft.
20) Ex. 22:18 says a sorceress was to be put to death.
21) Being involved with “familiar spirits” and “wizards” meant being cut off from one’s people, Lev. 20:6.
22) When Lev. 20:6 is combined with Lev. 20:7, we see that witchcraft made people unholy.
23) Deut. 18:10-12 combines several of these practices; people involved in these things lost their homes.
24) Sorcerers are listed in Rev. 22:15, and God says these will be among the damned.
25) What if Christians try to rationalize witchcraft, something God says will destroy the soul for eternity?
26) Most thinking brethren would rightly object to this sin.
27) If objecting to witchcraft is right, do we not also rightly object to a parallel sin—disobedience?
28) We do, and like Samuel, we must.
WE CAN MAKE THIS POINT TO PEOPLE OUT OF AND EVEN IN THE CHURCH, BUT NOT ALL WILL LISTEN.
a) If for no other reason, we know this because of history.
b) One day I would like to do a series on the kings of Israel; there are many lessons from them.
c) Of all the kings, about 9 of them are said to have done what was right in the eyes of God.
d) Of this number, about 6 departed from God later in their lives..
e) The weak and the strong, the common man and the king…all can disobey and rationalize sin.
2) It is interesting that man rationalizes in some ways but refuses to do so in many other areas of life.
3) One of the complaints many people have right now is the price of gas.
a) Let’s say that we are tired of paying a high price at the pump so we are going to find an alternative.
b) We begin to rationalize, and we do it in this fashion:
c) “I know that my car has been designed to take gas. Going to a gas station is not always convenient.
d) “Sometimes there are long lines when I need gas. Fuel at a gas station is expensive.
e) “The gas stations and big oil companies are just out to take my hard earned money.
f) “It would be more convenient for me to fuel up at home.
g) “If we used water for fuel, we would save time, money, and it would really be handy.”
h) “God wants me to have the best life I can, so I am going to use water from my garden hose.”
i) “Using the hose is an example of good stewardship.”
4) We could rationalize using water for gas, but what would the result be?
5) Rationalization will never turn something wrong into something that is right.
6) People usually understand that in the world; not many of our neighbors are watering up their cars.
7) In the spiritual realm, this factual principle is often dismissed with a wave of the hand.
8) Sometimes God’s commands are rationalized because they are considered to be burdensome.
9) What God requires is deemed too hard or difficult so people make adjustments.
a) If we are tempted to think that way or find someone with such a belief, a verse will help us.
b) 1 Jn. 5:3 says God’s commands are not “grievous” (burdensome).
c) What John wrote is one more reason to obey God’s word and not try to re-work it.
10) Someone once asked an interesting question.
11) What if our life’s choices (and really our heart) were “frozen” right now but we kept living each day.
12) How well would we do, spiritually speaking, if God kept us right where we are right now?
13) Would we be okay because we are pursing an obedient life in every way we can?
14) Or would we be frozen in a state like Saul—a state where we are rationalizing disobedience?
15) Somehow justifying sin is one of the deadliest mistakes but it is certainly not uncommon.
16) Our question is, are we are the present time somehow making sin okay?