Sacrifices can cause big trouble, the Bible tell us. Saul made 2 very costly errors.
After being chosen by God and anointed by Samuel as the 1st King of the Jews, he assembled an army to do battle against the Philistines who had 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horses. While awaiting the arrival of Samuel for seven days, the men of Israel became afraid and began to desert the army and hide. King Saul proceeded to offer a burnt offering and the sacrifice of well-being even though Samuel had not yet come. When Samuel arrived, he told King Saul that he had acted foolishly in offering the sacrifices and as a result, his decendants would not succeed him as king. “Otherwise the Lord would have established your dynasty over Israel forever.” I Samuel 13:14. This prophesy was fulfilled by the killing off of sons of Saul and the House of David succeeding the Samuel.
King Saul’s second error occurred in a campaign against the Amalekites. Samuel delivered the instructions from God to Saul. “Thus said the Lord of Hosts, I am exacting the penalty for what Amalek did to Israel, for the assault that he made upon them on the road, on their way up from Egypt. Now go, attack Amalek and proscribe all that belongs to him. Spare no one, but kill alike men and women, infants and sucklings, oxen and sheep, camels and asses.” I Samuel 15: 2-3. While the Israeli army destroyed Amalek, putting all the people to the sword, King Saul spared King Agag and “the best of the sheep, the oxen, the second-born, the lambs, and alll else that was of value. … [T]hey proscribed only what was cheap and worthless.”
The world of the Lord came to Samuel: I regret that I made Saul king for he has turned away from Me and has not carried out My commands.” I Samuel 15: 9-10. When confronted by Samuel, King Saul said that he had spared only the choicest sheep and oxen for sacrificing to the Lord and had proscribed the rest. King Saul was informed that he had now been rejected by God as King. Saul admitted that he had wrongfully violated God’s instructions in not killing all that had been placed under the ban, but his repentance did not change God’s decision. He would have a difficult time as king and be replaced by David, who Saul failed several times to kill.
Sacrifice is a dangerous thing. Not done exactly as God instructed, sacrifice only angered God and resulted in terrible consequences. Instructing Jews to do additional things, even with good motives, for the purpose of pleasing God, may not only fail to achieve the intended results, but may also bring disaster. One does not become a better, more observant, or more pious Jew or win favor in heaven by observing false "commandments" (like those who insist on erecting laws called "fences around the Torah"). Just as too much of a good medicine can be fatal, going overboard with additional religious practices can be harmful to the Jews and upsetting to God. Perhaps this is a lesson which can be applied today when some of argue that Jews ought to go farther than the Bible commands in being a follower of God. “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to the Lord’s command.” I Samuel 15:22.
Also, this portion of the Bible teaches that God is fallible. He appointed Saul as king, a decision the Holy Scriptures tell us He later came to regret. If He was, as some assert, omniscient (having infinite awareness and insight)and able to see the future, would He have selected a king who would so disappoint Him? Given the sorry history of the kings of Israel and Judah over the succeeding centuries, would he have given in to the pleas of the Jews for a kingdom at all?
Print
Email
Comment
Sacrifices can cause big trouble, the Bible tell us. Saul made 2 very costly errors.
After being chosen by God and anointed by Samuel as the 1st King of the Jews, he assembled an army to do battle against the Philistines who had 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horses. While awaiting the arrival of Samuel for seven days, the men of Israel became afraid and began to desert the army and hide. King Saul proceeded to offer a burnt offering and the sacrifice of well-being even though Samuel had not yet come. When Samuel arrived, he told King Saul that he had acted foolishly in offering the sacrifices and as a result, his decendants would not succeed him as king. “Otherwise the Lord would have established your dynasty over Israel forever.” I Samuel 13:14. This prophesy was fulfilled by the killing off of sons of Saul and the House of David succeeding the Samuel.
King Saul’s second error occurred in a campaign against the Amalekites. Samuel delivered the instructions from God to Saul. “Thus said the Lord of Hosts, I am exacting the penalty for what Amalek did to Israel, for the assault that he made upon them on the road, on their way up from Egypt. Now go, attack Amalek and proscribe all that belongs to him. Spare no one, but kill alike men and women, infants and sucklings, oxen and sheep, camels and asses.” I Samuel 15: 2-3. While the Israeli army destroyed Amalek, putting all the people to the sword, King Saul spared King Agag and “the best of the sheep, the oxen, the second-born, the lambs, and alll else that was of value. … [T]hey proscribed only what was cheap and worthless.”
The world of the Lord came to Samuel: I regret that I made Saul king for he has turned away from Me and has not carried out My commands.” I Samuel 15: 9-10. When confronted by Samuel, King Saul said that he had spared only the choicest sheep and oxen for sacrificing to the Lord and had proscribed the rest. King Saul was informed that he had now been rejected by God as King. Saul admitted that he had wrongfully violated God’s instructions in not killing all that had been placed under the ban, but his repentance did not change God’s decision. He would have a difficult time as king and be replaced by David, who Saul failed several times to kill.
Sacrifice is a dangerous thing. Not done exactly as God instructed, sacrifice only angered God and resulted in terrible consequences. Instructing Jews to do additional things, even with good motives, for the purpose of pleasing God, may not only fail to achieve the intended results, but may also bring disaster. One does not become a better, more observant, or more pious Jew or win favor in heaven by observing false "commandments" (like those who insist on erecting laws called "fences around the Torah"). Just as too much of a good medicine can be fatal, going overboard with additional religious practices can be harmful to the Jews and upsetting to God. Perhaps this is a lesson which can be applied today when some of argue that Jews ought to go farther than the Bible commands in being a follower of God. “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to the Lord’s command.” I Samuel 15:22.
Also, this portion of the Bible teaches that God is fallible. He appointed Saul as king, a decision the Holy Scriptures tell us He later came to regret. If He was, as some assert, omniscient (having infinite awareness and insight)and able to see the future, would He have selected a king who would so disappoint Him? Given the sorry history of the kings of Israel and Judah over the succeeding centuries, would he have given in to the pleas of the Jews for a kingdom at all?
Can I say all this in haiku? No.