OBEY OR BE SACRIFICED (4 OF 7)
by Jeff Strite
Scripture: I Samuel 15:1-35
This content is part of a series.
Obey or Be Sacrificed (4 of 7)
Series: The Boy Prophet
Jeff Strite
I Samuel 15:1-35
OPEN: A mother was telling about her 6-year-old daughter, Lori, who was studying 1 Samuel 15:22-''To obey is better than sacrifice'' for her Bible memory course. One day Lori observed her 3-year-old sister, Kristi, being disobedient, and she immediately took her sister aside and sternly admonished her:
''Kristi, if you don't obey, you will be sacrificed!''
(Luella Bredin, Prince Edward Island, Canada)
APPLY: Now that wasn't quite what her memory verse said, but it wasn't far off. In our story today, we find that King Saul had not obeyed God's commands, and because of that
- He sacrificed his entire kingdom
- He sacrificed his once close relationship with Samuel (Samuel never saw him again)
- And he sacrificed his relationship with God
But let's revue.
About 40 years before this incident, Samuel had been the leader of Israel. He served as a prophet, a priest and a judge for the people before God. But as he grew older, his sons took over his responsibilities to be judges for nation.
Unfortunately, 1Samuel 8:3 tells us ''(Samuel's) sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.''
Because of this, the Elders of Israel took Samuel aside and ''said to him, 'You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.''' 1Samuel 8:5
Now, there were a couple things wrong with that request:
1st - Samuel apparently hadn't done anything wrong, but the Elders had decided to replace him anyway. They decided they wanted to reject Samuel as their leader. We know this because Samuel takes the issue to God and God says (in part) ''Listen to all that the people are saying to you; IT IS NOT YOU they have rejected…''
The 2nd problem with their decision was that the Elders hadn't bothered to get God's input on this decision. And this error on thei ...
Series: The Boy Prophet
Jeff Strite
I Samuel 15:1-35
OPEN: A mother was telling about her 6-year-old daughter, Lori, who was studying 1 Samuel 15:22-''To obey is better than sacrifice'' for her Bible memory course. One day Lori observed her 3-year-old sister, Kristi, being disobedient, and she immediately took her sister aside and sternly admonished her:
''Kristi, if you don't obey, you will be sacrificed!''
(Luella Bredin, Prince Edward Island, Canada)
APPLY: Now that wasn't quite what her memory verse said, but it wasn't far off. In our story today, we find that King Saul had not obeyed God's commands, and because of that
- He sacrificed his entire kingdom
- He sacrificed his once close relationship with Samuel (Samuel never saw him again)
- And he sacrificed his relationship with God
But let's revue.
About 40 years before this incident, Samuel had been the leader of Israel. He served as a prophet, a priest and a judge for the people before God. But as he grew older, his sons took over his responsibilities to be judges for nation.
Unfortunately, 1Samuel 8:3 tells us ''(Samuel's) sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.''
Because of this, the Elders of Israel took Samuel aside and ''said to him, 'You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.''' 1Samuel 8:5
Now, there were a couple things wrong with that request:
1st - Samuel apparently hadn't done anything wrong, but the Elders had decided to replace him anyway. They decided they wanted to reject Samuel as their leader. We know this because Samuel takes the issue to God and God says (in part) ''Listen to all that the people are saying to you; IT IS NOT YOU they have rejected…''
The 2nd problem with their decision was that the Elders hadn't bothered to get God's input on this decision. And this error on thei ...
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