March 25, 2025

1 Samuel 15:10-23  (HCSB)
10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, 11 “I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.” So Samuel became angry and cried out to the Lord all night.
12 Early in the morning Samuel got up to confront Saul, but it was reported to Samuel, “Saul went to Carmel where he set up a monument for himself. Then he turned around and went down to Gilgal.” 13 When Samuel came to him, Saul said, “May the Lord bless you. I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.”
14 Samuel replied, “Then what is this sound of sheep and cattle I hear?”
15 Saul answered, “The troops brought them from the Amalekites and spared the best sheep and cattle in order to offer a sacrifice to the Lord your God, but the rest we destroyed.”
16 “Stop!” exclaimed Samuel. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”
“Tell me,” he replied.
17 Samuel continued, “Although you once considered yourself unimportant, have you not become the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel 18 and then sent you on a mission and said: ‘Go and completely destroy the sinful Amalekites. Fight against them until you have annihilated them.’ 19 So why didn’t you obey the Lord? Why did you rush on the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?”
20 “But I did obey the Lord!” Saul answered. “I went on the mission the Lord gave me: I brought back Agag, king of Amalek, and I completely destroyed the Amalekites. 21 The troops took sheep and cattle from the plunder—the best of what was set apart for destruction—to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”  22 Then Samuel said:
Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord?
Look: to obey is better than sacrifice,
to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and defiance is like wickedness and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He has rejected you as king.

Cliff Bynum
In this message the believer will find out the results of partial obedience to the Lord.

• 1 Sam. 15:10-11 -God’s reaction to Saul’s sin.
• 1 Sam. 15:12-13 -Saul’s Self-Deception.
• 1 Sam. 15:14 -The exposure of Saul’s sin.
• 1 Sam. 15:15 -Saul’s justification for his sin.
• 1 Sam. 15:16-18 -Samuel reminds Saul.
• 1 Sam. 15:19 -Samuel confronts Saul with his sin.
• 1 Sam. 15:22 -Samuel tells Saul what is important.
• 1 Sam. 15:23 -Samuel describes the seriousness of Saul’s sin and the results

Remember when we were kids and mom or dad would ask us to do something like clean our room? We had been given those tasks so many times before, yet we would decide to stuff something under the bed or in the closet. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Wrong! They would always come to check my work, and because I elected to partially follow the directions given, I would suffer the consequences. Once again, no play time. 

• Prayer: Father God, thank you for overlooking my partial obedience, for loving me through my laziness. In Jesus name, Amen.