1 Sam. 15-16, 2 Chron. 5, Mat. 1

22 So 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 heed than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.”
1 Sam. 15:22-23

Saul had been caught with the goods. He was told to destroy the Amalekites and all that was alive. We see this as a harsh command but we didn’t know the Amalekites and the total wickedness of this nation. But we do know Saul and it isn’t the first time that He had disobeyed God but this one would cost him his Kingdom. His greed to take the bounty which God said to destroy would disqualify him from being king. Samuel stated an interesting insight into the transformation in Saul that brought him to this place. 1 Samuel 15:17 “So Samuel said, “When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel? When he didn’t think of himself as such a big shot, he didn’t presume upon God. When he was small in his own eyes he was big in God’s eyes. Sometimes we think, “well I will just do a little more, sacrifice a little more and that will appease God but the Lord is not one of the gods of the heathen, He is the Almighty God of heaven. He is not appeased by trinkets of sacrifice he desires obedience. It wasn’t Saul’s failure that Cost him his kingdom though it was his pure lack of respect for God’s word. Even after he was confronted with his sin, he was more concerned with the appearance of being right with God than actually being right with God. He wanted Samuel to walk with him so the people could say there goes Saul with the man of God. Saul’s predecessor David would actually sin a greater sin than Saul but David when dealing with his own sin could care less how it appeared to others what he cared about was how it damaged his relationship with God. He cried out to God, he wept because of his sin and his heart was broken. He prayed “God take not your Holy Spirit from me”. A total contrast from one who forgot how small he really was.

Pastor Rick