1 Samuel 13:8-14 says, “[Saul] waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. So Saul said, ‘Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.’ And he offered the burnt offering. As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. Samuel said, ‘What have you done?’ And Saul said, ‘When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, I said, “Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.” So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.’ And Samuel said to Saul, ‘You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.’”
Despite King Saul’s lack of qualifications to do what he did, he considered a situation, decided that he knew better than God, chose to take upon himself a role God hadn’t given him, disobeyed God, and then made excuses when God’s messenger pointed out his sin. It may be difficult for us to admit, but if we’re honest with ourselves we know that we sometimes have the same tendency.
Now consider 1 Samuel 15:1-15. This time, Saul obeyed the instructions which made sense to him but disobeyed other instructions. It was as though he assumed that God hadn’t thought it all through and wouldn’t mind if Saul “improved” upon God’s commands. Then he lied, tried to pass the blame, and made more excuses.
There may be areas of our lives where we decide what we’re going to give God, regardless of what he asks. We would be horrified to say aloud that God hasn’t thought it all through from our perspective, but that’s how we act. We think, “I’ll give this particular effort,” or, “I’ll worship God in this way,” or, “I don’t want to give up this area or obey in that area, so I’ll do something extra-special in this other area,” or, “I’ll obey if I feel like it, and it’s nobody’s business but mine,” choosing which biblical instructions we’ll follow and which we’ll ignore. We may even convince ourselves that the disobedient areas of our lives are unimportant.
Despite being faced with truth from God’s prophet, Saul continued to refuse to admit his guilt. His understanding was so darkened that he tried to persuade the prophet Samuel that Samuel’s message from God was incorrect. Samuel’s response was, “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”(1 Samuel 15:22-23). Rebellion is disregard for authority; presumption is taking authority which isn’t ours. Saul was guilty of both. Are we?
Samuel’s final statement to Saul is, “Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king”(1 Samuel 15:23). In the 1 Chronicles 10 account of Saul’s death, we read, “So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the LORD in that he did not keep the command of the LORD, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance. He did not seek guidance from the LORD”(1 Chronicles 10:13-14). Doing things his own way and trusting in someone/something other than God for guidance was a “breach of faith,” and he was rejected by God as king.
We may claim to be people of faith, but when we disregard God’s Word and will, we break faith with God. We must spend time in his Word so that we can learn and obey his will. When our reasoning dictates our actions and choices despite what the Word of God teaches, that’s rebellion and a breach of faith. When we live our lives as though we, not God, are in charge, that’s presumption and idolatry. Soon our spiritual understanding will be stifled, and we’ll follow up our rebellion and presumption with lies and excuses. Samuel’s command to Saul in 1 Samuel 15:16 fits: “Stop!”
Can you think of a time when you presumed to put yourself in charge of what’s right or wrong regardless of what God’s Word taught? Or are you doing that in some area of your life right now? A hard heart makes excuses and has difficulty seeing its own sinfulness and deceit; but God is the loving Father, waiting to welcome us back! We don’t have a kingdom to lose, but our rebellion and presumption cost us peace and fellowship with our God every day we continue in them.
God is always right. Our place is to follow his instructions, all the time, every day. That’s biblical faith, and it’s a foundational basis for our fellowship with him.