When Does Obedience Turn to Disobedience? 1 Samuel 15

1 And Samuel said unto Saul, Jehovah sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of Jehovah. 2 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, I have marked that which Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him in the way, when he came up out of Egypt. 3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

1 Samuel 15 8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

1 Samuel Then came the word of Jehovah unto Samuel, saying, 11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king; for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And Samuel was wroth; and he cried unto Jehovah all night.

1 Samuel And Samuel came to Saul; and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of Jehovah: I have performed the commandment of Jehovah. 14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? 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 Jehovah thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.

1 Samuel Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of Jehovah, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah? 20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of Jehovah, and have gone the way which Jehovah sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice unto Jehovah thy God in Gilgal.

1 Samuel And Samuel said, Hath Jehovah as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? 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 idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, he hath also rejected thee from being king. 24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of Jehovah, and thy words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

Acts 5: Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The subject of Obedience on man’s part is a major theme that runs through the Bible. Without obedience man is lost eternally.

Hebrews 5: Though he were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered; 9. And being made perfect, He became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him; Christ learned obedience. Salvation provided for those who obey Him

There is a fine line between obedience and disobedience Saul did MOST of what he was told to do. Yet God was not pleased and repented that He had made Saul king. The general teaching in modern times is that if we do even some of what God says, we will be just fine. Are we not supposed to learn from the things written before? Romans 15:4

Romans 6: What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 17. But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

Disobedience brings punishment. James 2: 8. If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: 9. But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. 10. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. 11. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.

Our Duty Towards God In spite of all the exhorting and encouraging that is done, there are some that are very indifferent about the attendance and work associated with the church. The evidence speaks volumes, and if we notice, certainly God who knows all can notice.

We must do good works Ephesians 2:10 “created in Christ Jesus for good works” Titus 1:3 “remind them to be ready for every good work” 1 Corinthians 15:58 “be steadfast, immovable always abounding in the work of the Lord”

If we don’t, it is sin James 4:17 “to him that knoweth to do good and does it not, to him it is sin”. We are commanded to do good. If we do not do the good that has been commanded, we have become disobedient.

Our Duty So, to those who think they can change or ignore one law of God and thereby still gain the promised reward, they are badly mistaken. God promises to render wrath upon those who “know not God, nor keep His commandments” 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 When we say keep His commandments that should be understood to mean all of them.

Required Obedience Hear, Believe, Repent, Confess, Baptized, live faithfully from now on. Work, organization, and worship of the church. Teaching and preaching the truth as found in the Bible.

Conclusion Saul learned that only doing a part of what God commanded was not good enough. We should learn the same lesson. Learn God’s ways and commandments. Do them. Invitation.