QT 11/29/2022 1 Sam 15:22-35, Standing up for truth

1 Samuel 15:22–35 (ESV) —

22 And Samuel said,

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,

as in obeying the voice of the Lord?

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,

and to listen than the fat of rams.

23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination,

and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,

he has also rejected you from being king.”

24 Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the Lord.” 26 And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. 28 And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. 29 And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” 30 Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul bowed before the Lord.

…. 35 And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

 

NOTE: There are three interesting things that appear in this passage. First is the classic distinction between religion and relationship. God is not appeased by the work you do or the things you give or the sacrifices you make for the kingdom. God wants people who obey, and not in religious things, like what you eat or drink, or what days you observe, but the heart. God wants obedience in the things closer to the heart -- gossip, sexual immorality, anger, lying, and theft. The worst sin is rebellion, and that is when we are our own God -- where we make our own decisions for life -- where we are like Adam and Eve who listened to Satan's temptation of being their own god.

 

The second interesting item is that Saul has been fiercely declaring his innocence, and then finally he admits his sin. And he gives a reason, "I feared the people and obeyed their voice." He chose the voice of the world over the voice of God. He wanted to be acceptable in the eyes of the world. Do we do that in our language and jokes? Is it more important to be seen as acceptable versus weird because we chose to obey God and be different?

 

Lastly, Samuel says that God is not like man in that he does not regret, yet the section begins (verse 10) and ends with God regretting. The word, nacham, means to regret; to be sorry; to console oneself; to comfort; to change. So, in a play on the use of the word, God is grieved (nacham) at the beginning and the end for Saul, but he never changes (nacham) his mind. We have some words like that where the meaning is understood in the sentence, not in the letters (e.g. rose, leaves). The phrase shows God care for us, but also reveals in a sense his attribute of sovereignty. He knew from the beginning that the King would come from the line of Judah, not Benjamin, but he also wanted to teach people through a bad example of a king.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I obey God in the matters of the heart? Or do I gloss over the issues and focus on externalities?
2. Am I more concerned about how the world views me or how God views me? Do I hide my faith?

 

PRAYER: Father, I know I struggle with the heart rules. I gloss over my "little sins" which are not little at all. I get bullied by the world. I don't like to stand out. Forgive me for my fears. Help me to have the courage to stand up for truth.