Obedience to God’s instructions

Sunday service, Detlef Stegen, 03 Dec 2017

1Sam 13:7-14

Saul was still in Gilgal, and all the people went after him shaking in fear.

8 And he went on waiting there for seven days, the time fixed by Samuel: but Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were starting to go away from him.

9 Then Saul said, Come here and give me the burned offering and the peace-offerings. And he made a burned offering to the Lord.

10 And when the burned offering was ended, Samuel came; and Saul went out to see him and to give him a blessing.

11 And Samuel said, What have you done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were going away from me, and you had not come at the time which had been fixed, and the Philistines had come together at Michmash;

12 I said, Now the Philistines will come down on me at Gilgal, and I have made no prayer for help to the Lord: and so, forcing myself to do it, I made a burned offering.

13 And Samuel said to Saul, You have done a foolish thing: you have not kept the rules which the Lord your God gave you; it was the purpose of the Lord to make your authority over Israel safe for ever.

14 But now, your authority will not go on: the Lord, searching for a man who is pleasing to him in every way, has given him the place of ruler over his people, because you have not done what the Lord gave you orders to do.

Often we cannot understand God’s high and exalted purpose. Here was a man who did not appoint himself but whom God appointed. And maybe it’s the same with you that you can only acknowledge that it is God’s doing and working in your life that has brought you so far. God had been at work in your life.

But Samuel had to tell Saul that he once was small in his own eyes but had become proud.

We read in Luke 18:35
And it came about that when he got near Jericho, a certain blind man was seated by the side of the road, making requests for money from those who went by.

All we could do in our blind state was to sit and beg next to the road. And when we heard Jesus going by we cried out that Jesus must have mercy on us and He heard us.

But what is it like today? As a father are you bossing it over your family to do just what you want and you don’t have a clue how it is going with your wife and children spiritually?

When Jesus heard the cry of the blind man He asked what he wanted and he answered that he was blind and wanted to see. So too we need God’s light. He alone can help us.

We read in Acts 26:18
To make their eyes open, turning them from the dark to the light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may have forgiveness of sins and a heritage among those who are made holy by faith in me.

Are you with the Lord, hearing His instruction and trembling at His word?

Saul took God’s Word lightly and disobeyed. It was God’s purpose to establish his family permanently as king over Israel but his disobedience made it void.

Let us keep to God’s Word, obedient to what He taught us.

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German translation
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French translation
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