Saul’s Half-Measures

Synopsis     1Sam 15:2-12     9/22/2018

Samuel the prophet came to King Saul. The prophet told the king to attack Amalek. God’s intention, he explained, was to punish the Amalekites for having attacked the Israelites during the exodus. The command to Saul was to utterly destroy it, leaving nothing.

Saul called up his army. He assembled more than two-hundred thousand men for the attack. He positioned them for the attack. And then, Saul warned the nearby Kenite people to get away from the battle.

Saul totally defeated the Amalekites. But he allowed King Agag to live. And, contrary to God’s command, he did not destroy the best livestock of the nation.

After this, God spoke to Samuel. He expressed His regret for having selected Saul as king. Samuel became angry. He cried out to the Lord all night. And then he went in search of Saul to confront him.

Saul’s Half-Measure

The Amalekites  were a nation of people descending from its Amalek. Of course, Amalek was a descendant of Esau – Jacob’s estranged twin brother.

In the bible, the Amalekites are often seen as a symbol of utter evil. Their attack during Israel’s exodus was unprovoked. As a result, they were cast as a murderous, immoral and opportunistic people. This was an evil that God intended to cast out from the land.

But Saul did not complete the work. Although God gave him victory in battle, he failed to follow through with all of the Lord’s command.

My Half-Measures

There is a sneaky disposition in my heart. I find myself sometimes thinking that God should be grateful for the things that I have done for Him. To tell you the truth, I feel foolish just writing that down. Of course, I don’t really say any of these things out loud. It’s just my attitude. It’s a reflection that emerges through my behavior. 

But when I’m honest with myself, this is what I find:

I go to mass. And I go to reconciliation. I read my bible. I even pray with my children. So, I’ve given God enough. He needs to be reasonable about His demands. Really, I think to myself, “He should be grateful – all these things I do for Him.”

Yet, on the way home from church when we encounter someone known to us walking on the road, I do not stop to offer a ride. Instead, I secretly pray my wife won’t suggest it. But she almost always does. And I almost always have an excuse about why it’s not “prudent” to offer the ride today.

Eventually I wake up and realize what I’ve done.

But the point isn’t to burden myself with a load of guilt and shame. God has forgiven me. He “gets” my failure. He gives me another chance.

A new day.

A clean slate.

But He also wants to be able to trust that I can deliver when He calls me to love.

A bad tooth or an unsteady foot—a trust betrayed in time of trouble. Pr0v 25:19