An impromptu high-wire act by a 26-year-old man caused a portion of Dongguan, a city in China, to experience a blackout. The man had lost his job and chose to drown his sorrows by drinking heavily. After his binge, the drunken one climbed a high voltage cable tower and began walking and hanging on the power cables. When firemen couldn’t coax him down, they ordered the electricity to be shut off so he wouldn’t electrocute himself. Four hours later, the guy finally fell . . . landing softly on a safety cushion where he was “greeted” by police.
King Saul once had a power surge (1 Samuel 10:6), but he lost it all due to a rash decision. In the span of just four chapters, we find the prophet Samuel anointing Saul as Israel’s king (1 Samuel 13:1) and then informing him that God had rejected him as ruler of His people (1 Samuel 13:14). Why the abrupt change? Samuel made it plain to Saul: “Because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”
The command was clear. Samuel told Saul to camp out at Gilgal for a week until he arrived there to “sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings” (1 Samuel 10:8). But the king got uptight when the mighty Philistine army with “as many warriors as the grains of sand on the seashore” (1 Samuel 13:5) caused his army to begin “trembling with fear” (1 Samuel 13:7).
With his army defecting and growing smaller by the hour, Saul (literally) chose to play with fire and did the burnt offering himself (1 Samuel 13:9). That’s when Samuel caught him red-hot-handed and gave him the bad news—his days on the throne were numbered.
Have you been tempted to make a rash decision—one that doesn’t honor God? Fear can cause us to short-circuit our faith and future. Let’s choose to obey God instead. He’s got all the power we need.
More:
If once wasn’t enough, later Saul disobeyed another divine command (ch.15). Read verse 22 to learn what Samuel told the fallen king about what God truly values.
Next:
What fear or concern is causing you to consider a decision that will defy God’s commands? Why is it vital that you choose to obey God instead?
daisymarygoldr on January 27, 2011 at 12:12 pm
Thank you for a powerful post prompting us to obey God who has got all the power we need! “Power failure”, is the most dangerous thing to occur in a believer’s life.
I would rather the Lord discipline me if I willfully disobeyed Him than for Him to reject me—to shut off the power of the Holy Spirit within me.
Here is my question:
King David had also defied God’s command. He went into the house of God, and he and his companions broke the law by eating the consecrated bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. Why then, didn’t God reject him as ruler of His people?
And as a matter of fact, when King Saul and his army were filled with fear, he sacrificed the burnt offering to seek the Lord’s help. Is it unlawful to seek the Lord’s favor before going into battle?
Is it not right to pray and ask God for help when faced with fear—while fighting life’s battles?
tom felten on January 27, 2011 at 2:02 pm
daisymarygoldr, great questions. Here are a few thoughts:
• David did eat the bread reserved for priests alone (not the fresh supply, the day-old loaves), and—as Jesus pointed out in Matthew 12:1-8—this shows that the compassionate meeting of human needs takes precedence over rigidly following ritual laws.
• Saul’s act was willful disobedience. Also, animal sacrifice was not required in calling out to God for help (Psalm 119:58, Jeremiah 26:19, etc.). God made it clear that “obedience is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22).
• It’s absolutely right to pray and call out to God when we’re experiencing fear and/or engaging in the battles of life (Psalm 22:4-5, Philippians 4:6-7).
Hope these thoughts help! I’d love to hear some other insights from the odj community . . .
conmeo on January 27, 2011 at 11:08 pm
Thanks ODJ Tom and the community of saints that share God’s word here. I was tempted made a rash decision and certainly lost everything. I know the Lord forgives me but it is ever so painful to lose my wife childen home and be so alone. I oray the Holy Spirit will take me and show me the way. Thanks to God for all of you
tom felten on January 28, 2011 at 1:37 pm
conmeo, I’m so sorry for your losses. As you mentioned, God’s grace is bigger than your sin. May He give you hope and comfort today as you consider His goodness and love!
daisymarygoldr on January 28, 2011 at 3:25 pm
tom felten, I agree, sacrifice was not required in calling out to God for help. Looks like Saul was mistaken. He thought he could use the sacrifice to ask for the Lord’s help (1 Sam 13:12)
You are right, Saul’s act was willful disobedience. I’m finding it difficult to grasp the concept that fear led Saul to disobey God. There must be something more than fear, for God to deal so severely with Saul. Pride and lack of faith drove an impatient Saul to step ahead of the Lord and—disobey His command. I believe instead of repenting Saul used fear as an excuse to justify his sin. His heart was not right and hence God rejected him.
David had also disobeyed God’s command in his weakness. His sin resulted in the death of the whole city along with 85 priests (1 Sam 22:18-19) and Jesus also called it unlawful. Since David’s repentant heart was right, God did not reject him.
This is not to undermine the fact that fear can cause us to disobey God. To my understanding, the Lord understands our fears and weaknesses. That’s why as you mentioned, it’s absolutely right to pray and call out to God when we’re experiencing fear.
We should not however, use our fears as an excuse for disobedience. Fear did not excuse the unprofitable servant’s disobedience to multiply his talents (Matt 25:25). As you have rightly pointed out, fear can cause us to short-circuit our faith and future.
Thank you for the insightful response! It was really useful to help me comprehend why obedience is better than sacrifice.
sonalim on January 27, 2011 at 9:07 pm
Great questions Daisymarygoldr!!.
Thankyou also for your clarifications along with scripture referances, Tom Felton…..
There are so many questions that i have no answer for and this was one!!
tom felten on January 28, 2011 at 1:41 pm
So glad it helped, sonalim. We all have questions that remain unanswered. Praise God, that His Word gives us wisdom as we face the trials and triumphs of living in this world.
conmeo on January 27, 2011 at 11:10 pm
I pray for the Holy Spirit to take me along the way.
tom felten on January 28, 2011 at 1:38 pm
Great thing to pray, conmeo! He will counsel, comfort, and guide you.
tcarr89 on September 15, 2011 at 9:39 pm
Yerp. Good post. I definitely need prayer discipline and courage to face this life-altering decision.