In the previous part is the story of how God anointed King Saul and empowered him for service. He was directed by God to carry out a task designed to fulfil a purpose. To carry out the task required total, complete and unconditional obedience without excuses or constrains. However, King Saul failed in his call through his failure to obey God totally.
God's command to King Saul was the total destruction of the Amalek nation including its king and livestock. Saul proceeded to Amalek where he was victorious over the Amalekites but he was not assessed by God according to his military victory. He was to be judged according to his total obedience to God's call. He failed by sparing the King of Amalek and the best of the livestock presumably for sacrifice to God.
We must be careful to obey God who will not assess or judge us according to the greatness of our accomplishments but by our total obedience to his commands. Human reasoning as in the case of King Saul often leads to failure. Human intentions opposed to God's will, no matter how worthy cannot replace godly humility and obedience.
Fear caused King Saul to disobey Samuel's instruction to wait for him at Gilgal to offer sacrifice to God. Before Prophet Samuel's arrival, the Philistines had gathered for war while the chicken heart Israelis deserted Saul. Out of fear, he proceeded to offer the sacrifice by himself without consulting God. Fear does not allow a Christian to become king over his circumstances.
Lessons:
Disobedience brings rejection. Though Saul claimed that he had obediently done what God commanded him, he had been partially obedient based on the elements of obedience in his action. True obedience must be complete and total. Regardless of his great military victory over the Amalekites, his partial obedience amounted to failure. True obedience does not shift blames which Saul did (1 Samuel 15: 21).
The response of Prophet Samuel in verse 22 reveals the priority of obedience to God. Religious sacrifices for which Saul spared the livestock of Amalek is no substitute to full obedience. Saul's disobedience therefore meant a rejection of God. God rejected him as King and as a result, he lost the inheritance which his descendants forever would have benefited. Obedience to God, total and complete is the most infallible evidence of sincere and supreme love to God.
Ayodele Adegbulugbe.
www.xtianrace.blogspot.com.ng.
Lagos Nigeria.
Phone+ 2348035978352.
Showing posts with label obedience. Show all posts
Showing posts with label obedience. Show all posts
Thursday, June 25, 2020
Obedience to God - the Key Factor! (1)
Our fellowship with God requires our obedience in a total, complete and unconditional form. To disobey God is to reject Him as Lord and Savior of our lives and to invite disastrous consequences upon ourselves.
The story of King Saul (1 Samuel 15:1-35) is a well known scriptural example of a man who was anointed by God for service but who fell from favor through the sin of disobedience, the consequences of this sin and how it applies to all believers today.
His anointing was a tremendous one just as his fall was one of the most tragic moments in the Scriptures. King Saul was the first king of Israel after the era of the Judges. During his coronation, he was anointed at Gilgal in 1 Samuel chapter 11 and through his anointing, he was divinely and highly empowered by God for service.
The fall of King Saul was a gradual process which began in 1 Samuel chapters 13 and 14 and it affected his spiritual and moral life. He was however warned by the Prophet Samuel who reminded him of his anointing and gave him a last chance to be faithful and obedient to God. Obedience to God is vital for continuous anointing.
The Holy Spirit the believer receives at the time of his conversion is the evidence of his anointing which is for service and power but total obedience is vital for a continuous flow of the anointing in the believer's life. We must take note of this fact as we work and serve the Lord according to his will.
The anointing is based on a call which is also based on what God purposes to be the best for His people. In Exodus 17:8-16, the Amalekite nation did an injustice to Israel and God had promised to punish Amalek for this injusticce. King Saul was to be used to fulfil the promise.
Therefore, God's call to Saul was based on the remembrance of that injustice to Israel by Amalek.
Saul's obedience was to determine the working of that call. Likewise today, our total obedience to God will determine the working of His purposes for our lives.
Based on his anointing for service and power, God commanded King Saul to totally destroy the Amalekite nation just as He had commanded Joshua in Deuteronomy 7:1-6. The instruction to Saul was not new and there was to be no excuses or constraints. Unfortunately, King Saul failed to obey God in accordance with His Will which was the last straw that broke his back.
To be updated
Ayodele Adegbulugbe.
www.xtianrace.blogspot.com.ng.
Lagos, Nigeria
Phone: +2348035978352
The story of King Saul (1 Samuel 15:1-35) is a well known scriptural example of a man who was anointed by God for service but who fell from favor through the sin of disobedience, the consequences of this sin and how it applies to all believers today.
His anointing was a tremendous one just as his fall was one of the most tragic moments in the Scriptures. King Saul was the first king of Israel after the era of the Judges. During his coronation, he was anointed at Gilgal in 1 Samuel chapter 11 and through his anointing, he was divinely and highly empowered by God for service.
The fall of King Saul was a gradual process which began in 1 Samuel chapters 13 and 14 and it affected his spiritual and moral life. He was however warned by the Prophet Samuel who reminded him of his anointing and gave him a last chance to be faithful and obedient to God. Obedience to God is vital for continuous anointing.
The Holy Spirit the believer receives at the time of his conversion is the evidence of his anointing which is for service and power but total obedience is vital for a continuous flow of the anointing in the believer's life. We must take note of this fact as we work and serve the Lord according to his will.
The anointing is based on a call which is also based on what God purposes to be the best for His people. In Exodus 17:8-16, the Amalekite nation did an injustice to Israel and God had promised to punish Amalek for this injusticce. King Saul was to be used to fulfil the promise.
Therefore, God's call to Saul was based on the remembrance of that injustice to Israel by Amalek.
Saul's obedience was to determine the working of that call. Likewise today, our total obedience to God will determine the working of His purposes for our lives.
Based on his anointing for service and power, God commanded King Saul to totally destroy the Amalekite nation just as He had commanded Joshua in Deuteronomy 7:1-6. The instruction to Saul was not new and there was to be no excuses or constraints. Unfortunately, King Saul failed to obey God in accordance with His Will which was the last straw that broke his back.
To be updated
Ayodele Adegbulugbe.
www.xtianrace.blogspot.com.ng.
Lagos, Nigeria
Phone: +2348035978352
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