And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. And the LORD sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the LORD?” And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the LORD. I have gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.” And 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 listen than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
he has also rejected you from being king.”
(1 Samuel 15:17-23 ESV)
Saul has been confronted with his sin, yet continues to act as if he has done nothing wrong, is above rebuke, and has not idea what Samuel is talking about. He continues to blame everyone else: the people, Samuel, and YOUR God. As the text shows, Samuel's response is almost like something we would hear sung in the dramatic scene from an opera. They are memorable and tragic words: "God wants obedience; your sacrifice is a hollow ritual; you are worshiping yourself; you are no longer going to be king." Rejected. The word we all fear. This is a whole new twist for the king who keeps leading the people to victory. We want to be popular, accepted, adored. Only The KING is to be adored. It's time we change our tune, before the sad verse is added.
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