1. EASTER PROMO SLIDE

3. 1846 BC* Israel became slaves in Egypt
1446 BC Moses leads Israel out of Egypt, crossing the Red Sea; the Amalekites ruthlessly attack Israel
1406 BC Moses reminds Israel of what the Amalekites did (Deuteronomy 25:17-19)
1407 BC Israel enters the Promised Land
1100 BC Samuel is born
1028 BC 1 Samuel 15 – God commands Saul to kill all the Amalekites
*All dates approximate

4. 2 This is what the Lord of Hosts says: ‘I witnessed what the Amalekites did to the Israelites when they opposed them along the way as they were coming out of Egypt.’
3 Now go and attack the Amalekites and completely destroy everything they have. Do not spare them. Kill men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.”
1 Samuel 15:2-3

5. 1 Samuel 15:4-13
Saul defeats the Amalekites, killing all the people and all the animals – but spares King Agag and the best of the animals.
Samuel finds out that Saul has not fully obeyed God’s command and goes to confront him.
Amalekites

6. 1 Samuel 15:14-24
Round 1 (14-15): Samuel confronts;
Saul blames
Round 2 (16-21): Samuel keeps confronting; Saul keeps arguing / blaming
Round 3 (22-24): Samuel keeps confronting; Saul finally admits he sinned

7. 1 Samuel 15:25-31

8. 32 Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of Amalek.”
Agag came to him trembling, for he thought, “Certainly the bitterness of death has come.”
33 Samuel declared: “As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women.”
Then he hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.
1 Samuel 15:32-33

9. 34 Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. 
35 Even to the day of his death, Samuel never again visited Saul. 
Samuel mourned for Saul, and the Lord regretted He had made Saul king over Israel.
1 Samuel 15:34-35

10. Two (quick) takeaways
God expects full obedience, not partial obedience.
Pride and ignorance make healthy conflict resolution really difficult.

11. How can we reconcile
God ordering the slaughter…
with
His claim to be good and right?

12. This side of heaven, we won’t solve every dilemma, unlock every mystery, or fully understand everything about God or why He does what He does.
Isaiah 55:8-9
Romans 11:33-36
1 Corinthians 13:12

13. Many people naïvely want God to be ONLY love.
But sound logic compels us to want a God who is both grace and justice.
grace: love, kindness, second chances, etc.
justice: holding bad people accountable
John 1:14 – Jesus came, full of grace and truth.

14. We must not underestimate God’s holiness and hatred of sin.
Perhaps our reaction against God’s harsh judgment of sin is our skewed perspective, not His.
Could it be that we are “soft on sin” and don’t recognize God’s perfect holiness?
Psalm 5:4
Isaiah 6:3, 64:6

15. We must live by faith – even when we can’t solve every dilemma or unlock every mystery, or fully understand everything about God or why He does what He does.
God is both grace and justice. We must “give God the right” to live like we do: at times showing grace and at times displaying justice.
We must not underestimate God’s holiness and hatred of sin. Perhaps our reaction against God’s harsh judgment of sin is our skewed perspective, not His.