A good Pharisee the king might have made! A certain reference Bible entitled I Samuel chapter 15 as “Saul’s Incomplete Obedience.” The word ‘incomplete’ is not found in the scriptures; but the word disobedience is! “Incomplete obedience” is a soft, cushy way to make the charges brought before Saul appear a little less demanding. (A little later in the conversation, in I Samuel 15 and verse 23, Samuel brought the allegations of the Lord against Saul to a summit: “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” Further, the charge; “Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath rejected thee from being king.”)

“Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying, It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. I Sam.15:10,11. Came the morning: “And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord” vs.13. Either someone is lying [and I don’t think it’s the Lord!] or there is need of a clarification of terms!

“And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me” vs.20. And here follow the “exceptions to the Rule”: (1) I brought Agag the king - (“but have utterly destroyed the Amalekites!”) (2) But “the people” took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord in Gilgal” The reply from Samuel: “BEHOLD,

TO OBEY IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE.” Or we might say, To “sacrifice” apart from obedience is no sacrifice at all. (I’m sure Cain came to understand this - the hard way.)

It would appear that Saul’s mentality has extended itself into the 21st century: “Well God, I’m sure you realize that I’ve kept a few of your commandments - I will get credit for them, won‘t I?” Along with that is the old set of balances: “If I have more good on the scale than bad, doesn’t that gain me an entrance into heaven?” (And then there’s the portrayal of the Pharisee in the parable of the Prodigal son: “father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment” Luke 15:29.) And what of the lost sheep and the Pharisee in the same chapter: “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine “just” persons, which “need no repentance.” [parenthesis mine]. Of these Jesus plainly declares in chapter 16: “Ye are they that do justify yourselves before men; [which is what Saul attempted to do before Samuel] but God knoweth your hearts. . .” “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. . .If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” I John 1:8,10.

Consider Cain. “And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. . .But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell” Gen. 4:3,5. I have performed the commandment of the Lord! I have done righteously! But his was as Saul; “incomplete obedience,” so called. No, it was disobedience, and it well could be said to Cain as it was to Saul, “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Saul rejected the word of the Lord and he was rejected as king; likewise did Cain reject the word and his offering was rejected.

“And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words; because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice” vs. 24. What a type of Christ Saul would have made! (Can you imagine Jesus saying, “I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words; because I feared the people!?!”)

Okay Saul, let’s do a little comparison: What sayeth the scriptures? “For the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him” Deut. 13:3,4.

Ye shall walk after the Lord your God? “For he is turned back from following me.”

And fear Him? “I feared the people.”

And keep his commandments? “And hath not performed my commandments.”

And obey His voice? “And obeyed their voice.”

“Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words” John 14:23a. And Saul has performed the commandments of God? Really? Which ones?

“thou shalt meet a company of prophets. . .And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. . .God gave him another heart.” I Sam. 10:5b,6,9. In verse 7 these proceedings are identified as “signs.” “Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?” It is ironic that a part of Saul’s transgression was in “asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it; And enquired not of the Lord: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse” I Chron. 10:13.

“And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt-offering to me, and peace-offering. And he offered the burnt-offering.” “Behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me. . .and I have not made supplication unto the Lord: I “forced myself” [parenthesis mine] therefore, and offered a burnt-offering. And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee” I Sam. 13:9,10,11,12b,13. Take note of this dialogue - you saw a repeat of it in chapter 15! Saul, “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice!”

When man (or king) thinks to alter the commandments of God (of which he has no authority or authorization) he enthrones himself as a god. To do so is to declare mutiny; to declare the intention of oneself in overthrowing Sovereign decree. It is an act of treason and betrayal against Divine Authority. It is to ally, to proclaim allegiance with Lucifer himself: “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” Isa. 14:13,14. It is transgression; it is crime; and “crime doesn’t pay!”

“So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not” I Chron. 10:13.

“No! Not Saul and Goliath! David and Goliath!” And why is that? Consider the words of the Lord unto Israel from the mouth of his prophet: “and behold, the Lord hath set a king over you. If ye will fear the Lord and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the Lord your God: But if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be against you, as it was against your fathers” I Sam. 12:13b,14-15. The Lord is a God after his own Word. In the very next chapter - His Word against Saul: “But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee” I Sam. 13:14. Had Saul obeyed God; had he been “a man after His own heart;” he, Saul, would have, in all probability, been the champion of Israel. It is he who might have felled the giant! ( Saul put his own armor upon David and gave him his sword; but of what defense is the armor of a man whom the Lord is against?) And in David’s words, “I have not proved [tested, attempted] it!” Very well, David! Then “put ye on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles [or giants] of the devil!” Eph. 6:11.

“And when he had removed him, [Saul] he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised up unto Israel a Savior, Jesus:” Acts 13:22,23. Christ is, of course the fulfillment of the promise: “a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will!”

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