The Descent of the Disobedient - Pastor Stacey Shiflett

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The Descent of the Disobedient

1 Samuel 15

Intro: After preaching from verse 17 last week, I couldn’t help but thinking about this story.

A. The Exhortation was Personal – vs. 1

The message from God’s man was directly to Saul.

It was a sobering reminder of God’s anointing on his life.

God had handpicked him to serve.

With this selection came great responsibility and duty to God.

B. The Explanation was Precise – vs. 2, 3

God explained the PURPOSE behind this command.

God explained the PEOPLE included in the command.

God explained the PROCEDURE in the command. Utterly destroy!

C. The Expectation was Plain – vs. 1c; 18, 19

The expectation was actually quite simple. Just obey.

SEE verse 1c …now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord.

·        18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.

·        19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?

When God speaks, we are supposed to listen.

When God gives orders, we are supposed to obey.

Live would be much simpler if we did that!

Saul chose NOT to hearken, but rather disobeyed.

As a result, his life went into a literal tailspin.

He never recovered.

He descended into a deep state of depression, oppression by evil spirits, paranoia and attempted murder.

He rejected the word of the Lord, and as a result, God rejected him. (see verse 26)

Let’s follow Saul down this perilous descent as a result of his disobedience to God.

Let this be a warning! Choosing to disregard the word of God result in a downward spiral. Every single time!

There was…

1.      A Deliberating – vs. 8, 9

He has now elevated his level of discernment above God’s.

He has elevated his mission above God’s.

He has made the executive decision to alter God’s mandate.

He chose to save Agag alive.

He took it upon himself to spare the best, …and all that was good… in spite of God’s command.

2.      A Disappointing – vs. 10, 11

This act of disobedience was so grievous that it made God literally regret ever making him king.

The Bible doesn’t say it just once in verse 11, but again in verse 35.

Not only was God disappointed, but notice the effect it had on Samuel.

·        11 And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.

3.      A Denying – vs. 13

When Saul heard that Samuel was in Gilgal, he went and found him.

Notice the outright deception and denial that he uttered after his disobedience.

·        13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.

One of the worst things about disobedience is the blindness that it causes many times to the seriousness of the sin.

Saul had no regret; no shame; no embarrassment over his failure.

He greeted Samuel like nothing had ever happened.

He even insisted that he had performed the commandment of the Lord.

4.      A Defending – vs. 15

Notice Samuel’s response. Remember; he already knew what had happened.

He’d been up all night crying about it.

I’m sure he was praying to see some repentance; some regret; some tears of sorrow.

Instead, he got a lame excuse that was supposed to justify his act of obedience.

“I have performed the commandment of the Lord!!”

·        14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?

Saul didn’t miss a beat. He had his defense ready!

·        15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.

Why do we do that when we disobey?

Why do we act like we are doing God a favor?

“I sinned, yes, but I plan to compensate it with an offering! God won’t mind!”

5.      A Declaring – vs. 16-19

Once the sin had been confronted, Saul had a message from God.

·        16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.

NOTE: While we are planning our defense, God is planning His rebuke.

6.      A Deflecting – vs. 20, 21

Saul is still adamant that he did obey God in verse 20.

·        20 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.

But now he is insisting that it was not HIM, but the PEOPLE that disobeyed God.

·        21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.

He was just the innocent bystander; completely unable and incapable of doing anything to stop it.

Reminds me of the BLAME GAME in the Garden of Eden:

Genesis 3

·        12 …The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

·        13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

7.      A Defining – vs. 22, 23

Samuel took advantage of the situation to thoroughly explain what God REALLY wanted.

·        22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

·        23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

8.      A Demoting – vs. 23c

·        23c Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

·        24 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.

·        25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.

·        26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.

9.      A Dividing – vs. 27, 28

·        27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.

·        28 And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.

Disobedience brings about a division and separation from what God originally intended for us to have.

There was a disconnect from the kingdom, even though Saul was king for many more years.

From that day he disobeyed, the kingdom was rent from him and given to David.

The loss of God’s blessings and the loss of God’s planned benefits are just one of the many steps in the DESCENT OF DISOBEDIENCE.

10.   A Distancing – vs. 34, 35

The last step we will look at tonight is not the last step.

This downward spiral gets MUCH worse than what we find in this chapter.

We may look at them soon.

But the chapter ends with a heartbreaking turn of events.

·        34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.

·        35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.

The man of God that he had initially gone to see to help him find his lost asses. (9:6)

That man of God will no longer come and tell him what God said.

That man of God will no longer help him find his way.

That man of God will no more lay his hands on him and be a conduit of God’s anointing.

That relationship was forever severed.

Samuel went to his house, and Saul went to his.

All as a result in THE DESCENT OF THE DISOBEDIENT.