The Best of Intentions
Think about that for a minute. We know that Yeshua will sit on the throne of Israel. Saul's sin kept him from being part of that lineage. Ouch!
It is easy to judge Saul. He was prideful, impatient, vengeful, and disobedient.
Can anyone relate?
I sure can.
You see, Saul was a lot like many of us. He was not a deliberately evil man. The bible tells us that He was trying to please YHVH during his many fumbles, but he had one tragic flaw.
And Saul believed that so much, that he chose to honor his good intentions over YHVH's commands.
For example...when YHVH commanded Saul to strike down every living person and animal in Amalek (1 Saul 15:3), he did not follow through 100%. He allowed the best of the livestock to live...in order to give it as a sacrifice to YHVH (1 Sam 15:20-21).
That sounds nice, doesn't it.
Saul was so grateful that YHVH had helped him win the battle that he wanted to honor him with a sacrifice of the best sheep and oxen.
Saul had the best of intentions...
When Samuel arrived, Saul reported that he had carried out YHVH's command, but Samuel had a question:
(Full disclosure...I know this is serious, but it cracks me up every time I read that. My "mom of a toddler" memories kick in).
And this is when we find out that Saul thought it would be okay to disobey YHVH in order to make a sacrifice to honor Him.
Again, Saul had the best of intentions...
Nope, Nada, Lo, La, Nein, Nee (I think you get the point)
It is easy to judge Saul. He was prideful, impatient, vengeful, and disobedient.
Can anyone relate?
I sure can.
You see, Saul was a lot like many of us. He was not a deliberately evil man. The bible tells us that He was trying to please YHVH during his many fumbles, but he had one tragic flaw.
Saul thought YHVH would be honored by good intentions.
And Saul believed that so much, that he chose to honor his good intentions over YHVH's commands.
For example...when YHVH commanded Saul to strike down every living person and animal in Amalek (1 Saul 15:3), he did not follow through 100%. He allowed the best of the livestock to live...in order to give it as a sacrifice to YHVH (1 Sam 15:20-21).
That sounds nice, doesn't it.
Saul was so grateful that YHVH had helped him win the battle that he wanted to honor him with a sacrifice of the best sheep and oxen.
Saul had the best of intentions...
When Samuel arrived, Saul reported that he had carried out YHVH's command, but Samuel had a question:
"Then what is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?"
(Full disclosure...I know this is serious, but it cracks me up every time I read that. My "mom of a toddler" memories kick in).
And this is when we find out that Saul thought it would be okay to disobey YHVH in order to make a sacrifice to honor Him.
Again, Saul had the best of intentions...
The question then is this: Did Saul's good intentions please YHVH and excuse Saul's disobedience?
Nope, Nada, Lo, La, Nein, Nee (I think you get the point)
Samuel tells Saul, "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice"
(1 Sam 15:22).
And that is still true today.
YHVH's desire for us is obedience.
Sometimes we have the best of intentions, but those intentions can get us, like Saul, into big trouble.
So how can we walk in obedience to YHVH, and how can we see if our good intentions are blinding us to that obedience?
That will be the topic of another blog, but I can tell you where to find the answer much sooner, and that is in His Word.
We live in a time (especially in the USA) where we have access to the Bible...like no other time in all of history.
He expects us to read it.
And in it we will find, that much of what we call religion in the church today...
...is full of disobedience and good intentions.
May we read our Bibles, examine ourselves, seek truth, and repent in order to walk in obedience with YHVH.
You may just be surprised by what you find in His Word...and I know you will be blessed.
Shalom Friends!
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