The Lord Has Done This To You Today

1 Samuel 28:17-18 – The Lord has done what he predicted through me. The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. Because you did not obey the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this to you today.

1 Samuel 15:22-24 – But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.” Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them.

Application:

• ·         Samuel did not suggest that sacrifice was unimportant but that it was acceptable only when brought with an attitude of obedience and devotion to the Lord.
• ·         A king who sets his own will above the command of the Lord ceases to be an instrument of the Lord’s rule over His people, violating the very nature of his theocratic office.
• ·         Saul’s confession retains an element of self-justification and a shift of blame.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV