And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. Then came the Word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, It repenteth Me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following Me, and hath not performed My commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.
And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. And Samuel said, Hath 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 hearken than the fat of rams. (1 Sam. 15:7-10, 20-22)
God says what He means and means what He says. He is serious about the obedience and holiness of His people. The Amalekites were guilty of sin and worthy of death not only because all have sinned against God but because of their rejection of God and His people in their wanderings out of Egypt. God had told Saul to destroy everything, and Saul in rebellion rejected the Word of the LORD and did things his way. His disobedience cost him the kingdom and his legacy. Saul was rejected as king because of his rejection of God and God’s ways of holiness and righteousness before God. Agag was killed, the animals were slaughtered, and the Amalekites annihilated just as God had directed but Saul was not the obedient man of God which accomplished the work of God and so he also was judged by his thoughts, words, and deeds.
We shall all stand before God as Judge, either for our works which cannot save or for that which was done in and for Christ. The Christian will stand at the judgment seat of Christ for his good deeds, not for salvation, for that was given by our faith in Him and His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary, but those things which we have done in and for the Kingdom. Eternal things and that which was obedient to His Word will be rewarded, while disobedience to His will and earthly things will be burned up even as by fire. The person who never repents of their sins and rejects the eternal Salvation of God through Jesus Christ will stand before the Judge of the whole earth and receive the recompense of his sin, the wrath of God upon those who are already judged guilty and worthy of death because of their sin and because they never surrendered to God on His terms. Just as Saul was rejected as king, so will those who never received Jesus by faith and repentance be rejected from eternal life and pass unto eternal damnation as God judges those who rejected Him in rebellion and sin. God will say to those who did not receive Him while they lived, depart from Me, I never knew you, not because God is willing that any should perish, but because they would not repent of their sins and be converted by faith through God’s grace.
Because God loves everyone but must punish sin, 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