BETTER TO FEAR AND OBEY GOD THAN MAN

PROCLAMATION

“And Saul said unto Samuel, ‘I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of The Lord, and thy words; because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.’ ”  1 Samuel 15:24 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the prophet Samuel.  In this chapter Samuel tells Saul that The Lord said to attack and totally destroy the Amalekites for what they did to Israel. (1 Samuel 15:1-3)  Saul attacked the Amalekites and defeated them but did not totally destroy them as he was told to do. (1 Samuel 15:4-9)  Thus The Lord God told Samuel that He regretted that He had made Saul king because he would not carry out His instructions. (1 Samuel 15:10-11)  When Samuel caught up with Saul he told him what The Lord had said to him and he asked Saul why he disobeyed The Lord.  Saul said that he brought back the king of the Amalekites as a prisoner, and he said that the soldiers took the best of the sheep and cattle to use them as a sacrifice unto The Lord.  Samuel said it is better to obey than to sacrifice. (1 Samuel 15:13-22)  Samuel told Saul that because he had rejected The Word of God, now God has rejected him as king.  Then Saul admitted that he had sinned but said that he was afraid of the men so he gave in to them. (1 Samuel 15:23-25)  Samuel said that he would not go back with Saul.  As Samuel turned to leave, Saul grabbed his robe and it tore.  Samuel said that The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel away from him and given it to one of his neighbors. (1 Samuel 15:26-29)  Saul begged Samuel to come back with him and Samuel relented and went with him.  When they got back to Gilgal Samuel sent for Agag the king of the Amalekites and cut him into pieces before The Lord.  Then Samuel left for Ramah and Saul returned to Gibeah. Samuel did not see Saul again. (1 Samuel 15:30-34)

 

APPLICATION

No man can serve two masters.  We cannot serve The Lord God and serve man at the same time. (Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13)  We must choose which one we will serve. (Joshua 24:15)  It is never a good idea to choose man over God.  It is much better to put our trust in The Lord than it is to trust in man. (Psalm 118:8)  No human can save your soul. (Psalm 146:3)  Christ is the only way we can make it out of this world alive and have life after death. (John 14:6)