Year 4, Day 301: 1 Samuel 15

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Appetite

• Appetite: We all have needs that need to be filled.  When we allow ourselves to be filled with the people and things that God brings into our life, we will be satisfied because our In will be in proper focus.  But when we try to fill ourselves with our own desires we end up frustrated by an insatiable hunger.

Today we get to see Saul’s third major sin against the Lord.  God tells Samuel to commission Saul to destroy the Amalekites.  Saul goes forward eagerly to do so.  However, when Saul is victorious he doesn’t destroy the Amalekites.  Saul destroys most of the Amalekites but allows their king to live.  Saul absorbs Agag’s wealth into his own rather than destroying it as God commands.

This is a sin of Appetite.  Saul doesn’t trust that God can provide for his whole life.  Saul sees wealth, animals, and provision in general.  Rather than allow it to be destroyed, Saul takes it for himself.  His appetite for accumulating wealth and being able to provide for himself guides his decision-making, not his faithful obedience to God.

Let’s be honest.  All of us do this from time to time.  But what makes Saul’s action egregious is that when confronted he lies about it.  Saul doesn’t repent.  He doesn’t confess.  He lies.  He tries to cover up his action.  His appetite takes over and he doesn’t want to get caught.  Saul is thinking about himself first and foremost.

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