God gave him very specific instructions.
He carried them out … sort of … almost … not exactly.
He didn't think it made sense to do exactly what God commanded. And his friends agreed.
I'm talking about King Saul's behavior in 1 Samuel 15 when God told him to destroy the Amalekites and all of their possession. But Saul decided to save the best livestock and take the king prisoner.
If we're not careful, we can fall into this same trap, obeying God's commands … sort of … almost … not exactly.
And our culture is always ready to give us "good" arguments for ignoring God's commands.
When Samuel confronted King Saul after his "partial obedience" to God's instructions, Saul lied and made excuses. Eventually, he repented, but only because he didn't want Samuel to embarrass him in front of his men.
We can do the same when we apologize if our only regret is getting caught.
After Saul's partial obedience, he never walked with God again.
This situation in God's Word is an important warning. What will we do when confronted with temptations? Will we make excuses to disobey and make insincere apologies if caught? Will we walk away from the true and living God to be king in our own little world?
Let's obey God's commands carefully and wholeheartedly. They are given to bless us.
���
I encourage you to do the Bite Size Study for this devotion. We can learn some valuable lessons from King Saul's life.
I also encourage you to check out the Wisdom for Life Devotional. It contains 100 one-minute devotions to challenge, encourage, instruct, and inspire your love for God's Word. Read the story behind Wisdom for Life HERE. Find out about the two free Bible studies with purchase HERE. You can read the first four devotions in the book by clicking "look inside" on Lifeway or Amazon. In addition, you can buy the book in Kindle format on Amazon and as an ebook on other sites. And if you're not already a subscriber, please sign up for a free subscription to Bible Love Notes HERE.
BLN