LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF KING SAUL (PART 4).
TEXT
"And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering 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 that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering." (1st Samuel 13 verses 10 to 12, King James Version).
Today, we're considering another aspect of the life of king Saul, which we would do well as Christians to avoid. Taking a closer look at the character of king Saul, I came to discover that he was a man that had no fear of God, but instead, had a flair or inclination for pleasing men. Besides, in the face of his errors, he was a man given to excuses rather than accepting his mistakes.
King Saul had offered sacrifices contrary to God's instructions. Samuel the priest had asked him to wait seven days for him to come to offer burnt offerings to God. But because Samuel tarried longer and didn't come at the appointed time, Saul went ahead to offer the sacrifice by himself, contrary to his calling.
From the Scripture reading for today, we see that as soon as he did this, Samuel arrived and reproved Saul saying, "What hast thou done?" Instead of the king humbling himself and admitting his wrong and asking for forgiveness, he immediately began to justify himself saying, "Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering."
Like I said in part 3 of this series, in the face of his predicament, Saul ought to have exercised a calm repose and trust in God. His offering the sacrifice in the place of Samuel signified that he had little trust in God's ability to deliver him from the ominous situation before him.
Like the incident of his disobedience with respect to God's express instructions to wipe out completely the Amalekites in 1st Samuel chapter 15, here, Saul attempted to spiritualize his errors saying, "So I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down to attack me at Gilgal. And I haven’t asked the Lord for his blessing.’ So I felt I had to sacrifice the burnt offering.” (1st Samuel 13 verse 12 New International Readers Version). In the case of his disobedience in regards to the Amalekites in 1st Samuel chapter 15, it's shown clearly that Saul was a people pleaser instead of being a God pleaser. He was insecure and dependent on the approval of men rather than God. In 1st Samuel 15 verse 24, he gave his reasons for disobeying God's instructions.
"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."
To me, these were simply excuses from Saul. He was actually a man that wasn't seeking God with all of his heart and for this, God rejected him and in his place, God found David, a man after His Heart (see 1st Samuel 13 verse 14, Acts 13verse 22).
May we serve the Lord with a pure heart and with reverent fear so that He will have no need to look for a replacement for us, in Jesus name.
PRAYERS:
Father, may You overwhelm me with Your love, reverence and fear, so I may serve You acceptably, in Jesus name.