Day 124 – Saul Disobeys

• Today’s first reading in 1 Samuel 13 opens with Saul making plans for battle, but had to wait – seemingly for seven days – for Samuel to join him in Gilgal. Saul impatiently does something which Samuel rebukes him for. What was Saul’s mistake?
• Saul’s impatience would have been compounded by the fact his army was beginning to desert him. Why were the soldiers afraid? Look at the number of them left at the end of 1 Samuel 13:15 – how many have run away since the start of the counts near the start of the chapter?
• “Patience is a virtue” – you’ll have heard this before I expect! Saul waited for seven days but he wasn’t quite patient enough. Samuel did come though, didn’t he? Does this story encourage you to persevere even when God’s timing isn’t as quick as you would hope?
• Our readings jump forward to 1 Samuel 15. In this chapter, what was Saul told to do by God? Look specifically at the third verse. Can you remember the last time we read about the Israelites fighting against the Amalekites? It was in Exodus 17, if you want a quick reminder!
• Did Saul do everything the Lord commanded him to do this time? List some of the things he did wrong.
• How did Saul act when he met with Samuel after the battle in 1 Samuel 15:13? How does Samuel reply in the next verse? Can you feel the sarcasm in his words? Does Saul admit his mistakes initially or did he try and blame it on others?
• By 1 Samuel 15:20-21, Saul is running out of excuses. Read Samuel’s reply to him in verses 22-23 again. They are good, clear and blunt, aren’t they? how might you use these verses when appraising your own life?
• Even though Saul realises he’s sinned against God, he is still more concerned about the opinion of people more than the opinion of God. We saw a hint of it in 1 Samuel 15:12 as Saul set up a monument to himself, and look too at verse 30. What is he asking Samuel to do? Why? Saul’s kingship seems to be all about being a popular leader in the eyes of the people rather than in the eyes of God.
• The Acts passage refers to Israel’s second king, David, whom we’ll meet next week. What does Luke, the writer of Acts, say is the difference between Saul and David?

Make a special effort to remember today’s story about Saul’s failure to kill Agag the king when fighting the Amalekites. This “loose end” will come to play a big role in a story we’ll read later – although that won’t be until much later in the year, so I hope your memory is good!

I’ll be challenging you over the next few weeks to have a heart after God like David, and less of a heart like Saul. Saul knew God (like all you guys do) but his overriding focus seems to be being popular and admired amongst his people, and God rejected him as king because of it. I know some of you battle against having that heart too. I know you all trust in Jesus, but sometimes we put our status amongst friends higher than our relationship with Him, don’t we?

What I hope you take away from this passage is a reminder that as followers of God, we don’t get to pick and choose the bits we do and don’t do, like Saul did in chapter 15. We can’t trim our Christian life to the easy bits, or change what God asks us to do. Sometimes to be real leaders for God (and we are all leaders, as the way we live can lead others to know God), we need to stop for a minute and answer a simple question. In everything we do, are we working for our own glory, or God’s?