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. And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the Commandment of the LORD thy God, which He commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. 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. (1 Sam. 13:11-14)
Saul knew the commandment of the Lord that only the priests were to offer sacrifices unto the LORD, yet his fear and insecurities led him to do that which was not lawful for the king to do. In response God ended his line as king and determined to find another king in Saul’s stead. God did not immediately remove Saul as king but Samuel pronounced that Saul would have not lineage or legacy as kings in Israel. God had told the Israelites what kind of king they would have, but sought a king to lead His people that would follow Him and who would be a man who would seek to obey the principles of God and not his own ways and agenda. Saul practiced the trappings of religion to legitimize his position instead of seeking the Lord to bless His people and equip Saul to lead as God’s man on the throne of Israel.
God wants His people to understand that following Him and resting in Him even as we obey the rightly divided Word of Truth is better than all the sacrifices we make ourselves. He has already made the ultimate sacrifice for sin and those who have trusted in Him and His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary in repentance and faith have received forgiveness and eternal life in Christ. Our liberty is not license to sin, to do our own thing, or even do God’s work our way as Saul did, but to live in Christ the life He would have us to live, in obedience and faith. We don’t live our lives, but daily offer ourselves unto Him that He might live in and through us, a holy and surrendered life which glorifies our God. God calls everyone, everywhere, to repent and come to the knowledge of Him who is the only offering worthy of satisfying the wrath of the Father, Jesus Christ. His people are commanded, not to have church, but to be the Church of God, and to serve Him, not just on Sunday, but each and every day, wherever He has placed us to do the work of the LORD. We are to reach the lost with the Good News of forgiveness and reconciliation, teach the nations all that He has commanded, and preach His Word in season and out, until He comes or He calls us Home. If He tarries, as Samuel did, let us be found faithful and obedient, not trying to be what God has not called us to be, or doing what God has not commanded us to do, that God may be glorified in our ministry, our missions, and our discipleship, as His obedient people.
Until He comes or takes us Home, God has sent those of us who are His saints and know Him out into this world to reach the lost that they might be saved from sin. He desires that His people strive to be holy and obedient unto Him that we might minister to those around us who are hurting and in need as He provides. We serve others, equipped with the Word of reconciliation and righteousness, rightly divided and fitly spoken, that they may see Christ in us, the hope of Glory. Our God has commanded us to love one another with an unfeigned love, even as He first loved us, and to disciple one another in the Word of God so that we may all grow in grace and in the Knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Our Lord has commissioned those who are His with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to go where He sends us in the power of the Holy Spirit. As we go, we are to proclaim the Good News of forgiveness through repentance and reconciliation with the Father through faith in His Son, that those who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah of God might have life in His Name.
God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and the knowledge of the Truth. Jesus loves you and wants to establish a covenant relationship with you that is real and personal. Surrender to Him on His terms and He will give you a brand new life of discipleship and fellowship with Him that is abundant and everlasting. God calls you to faith in Christ and His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary to pay your sIn debt. He has provided the only way of reconciliation with God, forgiveness from God, and Salvation through Jesus Christ, the Son of God who is God the Son, to give you a new life in Christ. Turn away from yourself and your sIn and turn to Him alone for eternal Life, now and always.
In Christ,
Jefferson Sweet