Only So Many Chances

"Then Saul said to Samuel, 'I did obey the voice of the Lord, and went on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.' Samuel said, 'Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.' Then Saul said to Samuel, 'I have sinned; I have indeed transgressed the command of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice.'" -1 Samuel 15.20-24

Saul has disobeyed God, and now that Samuel is confronting him about it and telling Him what God's judgment will be, he tries to justify it. He says that he obeyed God, but the people took some of the spoil to sacrifice it to God. When Samuel tells him that God's desire is for obedience, and that Saul has been rejected as king, he tries desperately to fix it. He admits his sin, but then blames the people for his actions. He is desperately trying to cling to power, but God is having none of it.

A king sets the example for his people, and Saul's model has been one of cowardice, irreverence, and disobedience. He has not acted like a king. He has let others fight battles for him, and will continue to, he has made sacrifices to God that he was not authorized to offer, and he has blatantly disobeyed God's commands. It has reached the point that God has had enough, and will now appoint a new king, who will act like a king.

Men, leaders only get so many chances. There is a high standard that leaders are held to, and judgment is coming. Do you want to be a leader that God rejects? Do you want to have power taken from you because you prove yourself to be unworthy of it? We only get so many chances.

Let us be men who lead others in faithful obedience. Let us not follow the example of Saul. Let us make our chances count.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor