This week we continue reading through the First Book of Samuel, how the Lord has appointed him as a prophet and judge for the people of Israel. Today, we see those two roles really coming to the surface in this interaction we see with Saul.

Saul has been commanded by the Lord to go and destroy the Amalekites. For context, the Amalekites tried to destroy the people of Israel centuries before while they were leaving Egypt and were placed under a ban according to the Law of Moses. So, in the first section of this 15^th chapter, the Lord says through Samuel: “Go, now, attack Amalek, and put under the ban everything he has. Do not spare him; kill men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys” (1 Sam 15:3). He commands that the whole thing be destroyed.

But what does Saul do? He took Agag, the Amalekite King, as a prisoner and spared the best of the sheep, oxen, and lambs and kept everything that was worthwhile. So, in other words, he refused to follow the commands of the Lord. What follows is the interaction that we have in today’s reading. Samuel calls Saul out for being disobedient to the Lord and, as a result, Saul will lose his reign as King.

What is the message of this reading for us? Now, the Lord is not telling us to go out and destroy our enemies, those we don’t get along with. But He is reminding us of the importance of being obedient to what He commands us, the things He asks us to do. If we do not follow His ways, there will be consequences, and those consequences could be eternal.

As disciples of Jesus, we are called to follow His example, we are called to imitate Him and lead a life that encourages others to come to know Him. We are called to be in relationship with Him, to allow that relationship to change our hearts – that’s the whole point of the Gospel talking about new wine into old wineskins. We can’t embrace the mission of going out into the world and being Christ for others, we can’t live the commands of the Lord if our hearts aren’t first changed.

This morning, the Lord is inviting us to take a look within. What is in our hearts that is preventing us from following the Lord totally and completely? Let’s ask Him to reveal those areas to us. Let’s ask Him to lead us to deeper conversion, so that we can grow in obedience and trust in Him, always having the courage to do as He commands.

Image: David and Saul, oil on canvas by Ernst Josephson, 1878; in the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo: Erik Cornelius), public domain. Encyclopedia Britannica.