S. O. A. P.

Here’s Your 90 second AM Devotional!

S-cripture:

1 Samuel 15:9

But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.

O-bservation:

Earlier in this chapter, God’s command to Saul was to go and completely destroy all of the Amalekites and put to death everything that was living, including animals. Instead, Saul kept the King, Agag alive, and the best animals as well. This infuriated the Lord, and the next day Samuel the priest was sent by God to tell Saul that the Lord had rejected him because of his disobedience.

A-pplication:

The lesson I’ve always come away with from this story is simply, “Half Obedience Is No Obedience.” That’s right! I’m sure that when Saul led Israel against the Amalekites, he thought to himself, “Well certainly if I kill all the people of the Amalekite nation there’s no reason to kill the king as well. He’ll have no authority and no army and no money. He’ll be beholding to me. Since he’s the king of his people, I’m sure he has developed some wise plans for leading that I haven’t learned yet and I can go to him for counsel.” But see, all of that is human reasoning. Human reasoning ALWAYS flies in the face of God’s wisdom. Yes, Saul ruled for many more years. I think that God let Saul live in order to show David how not to rule. In time, the line of Saul was cut off after Saul committed suicide, and David became the greatest Israeli King ever! He learned early that “Half Obedience Is No Obedience.”

P-rayer:

Dear Jesus,

I want to be a servant of the Lord who responds with total obedience when you speak to me. I know I haven’t always done this right because I’ve sometimes let human reasoning set in. Please forgive me and help me give you total obedience. Amen.

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