9A Worship - Trust & Obey

When I was growing up one of my chores was to take out the garbage. One time, Mom told me to take out the garbage so I took the bag out of the receptacle in the kitchen and went out to the garbage can by the garage. On the way out the contents of the garbage bag settled to where it was only about one fourth full. My engineering nature kicked in (that was obviously present in me before I understood it) and I thought "Oh, there is lots of room in this bag yet", so I took it back into the house and put it back into the receptacle. Mom later noticed that I had not taken out the garbage yet. I explained my observation and reasoning. It wasn't fully appreciated. You see, I was loyal, but not fully obedient.

In today's lesson, 1 Samuel 15, the Lord instructs Saul to completely destroy the Amalekites, including their king, Agag, and all their possessions. Saul initially obeys by attacking and defeating the Amalekites, but he disobeys God by sparing Agag and the best of the animals. This partial obedience, in the form of selective destruction, leads to the Lord's rejection of Saul as king. Samuel confronts Saul and the people for their disobedience, and eventually, Samuel executes Agag, marking the end of Samuel's relationship with Saul. Saul was being loyal but not fully obedient.