July 23, 2020

BIBLE READING: I Samuel 15:1-21
“And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.” I Samuel 15:20

It is often said, “A half truth is still a lie.” I believe it could also be said of this passage the same way with obedience. Saul figured he could only do half of what God said and get away with it. At the beginning of the chapter, God distinctly gave a command to Saul, but he decided to partially obey and do what would have been popular at the time, keep spoils and the king. There is a major heart issue with Saul. Saul is approached with his disobedience, and he starts to explain himself and make excuses. The big difference between King Saul and King David came down to their character. Let’s take a look at the differences between both kings and what we can learn about their responses to their mistakes. Today, let’s look at their first response.

Saul, immediately in verse 20 argued with Samuel. He starts to lie and make up excuses to Samuel. He tries to prove his case and what he did right. We obviously see here that this is a prideful reaction. This is much different than David’s reaction.

II Samuel 12:13a “And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD.”
David is confronted with his sin with Bathsheba and killing Uriah, and immediately David repents his sin to the Lord. So much so, we have Psalm 51, where we see David’s broken heart before the Lord. So today, which one are we going to be like. Will we allow pride to control our actions, or humbly let the Lord work in our life?

David Fulp II