Transcript

The Severity of A Compassionate God-Part One

1 Samuel 15:1-35
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Pastor Randy Smith

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In 2 Corinthians 6, verse 10, the Apostle Paul made a remarkable statement: "Sorrowful yet always rejoicing." I was thrown into great confusion when I first meditated on that passage. Four simple words, "Sorrowful yet always rejoicing," which reveal either a world of hope or a world of contradiction. I mean, how can someone be sorrowful and rejoicing simultaneously?

As I carefully considered this text I wondered if there is actually a way that I am permitted to grieve with God-given emotions, while at the same time find hope to rejoice in the midst of my greatest sufferings? If so, I have unlocked the answer that we all seek in our quest for joy in a world daily wrought with pain. "Sorrowful yet always rejoicing."

Likewise, another apparent contradiction, one that most of us have at some time contemplated, exists between the love of God and the wrath of God. When I see both these attributes clearly taught in the Scriptures, I wonder how they can mutually coexist in the same Person. The age-old question, how can a loving God send people to hell?

What I have come to learn in my journey is that love presupposes wrath. In other words, if we love babies we should hate abortion. If we love our spouse we should hate adultery. Multiple examples could be provided, and they all align with Paul's admonition in Romans 12:9 (NIV): "Hate what is evil; cling to what is good" (cf. Am. 5:15). The greater our love toward an object, the greater will be our disgust toward everything that opposes that object. That is why the Psalmist said, "Hate evil, you who love the LORD" (Psm. 97:10). If we love God we should hate sin. And regarding God Himself, He loves holiness so much it is only obvious that He must hate all that stands in opposition.

Yet I believe we need to take this a step further. Possibly we struggle with God's firm judgment against sin because we struggle to come to grips with our own sin. Rather than change our image, it is much easier to change God to be made into our image. Since we know God is compassionate, we limit and twist that attribute to devise a divine Santa Claus who is obligated to overlook our transgressions. We reason a compassionate God should be more eager to excuse my sins than I am to deal with my sins.

In chapter 15 as we prepare for the Lord's Table this morning, in part one of two sermons we will see a clear example of our compassionate God that takes disobedience seriously. We will live vicariously through the life of King Saul. His life will reveal many of our weaknesses. Based on his failure, we will see our own desire to presume upon God's character, excuse our sin and experience the tragic consequences from this flawed way of thinking.

Today I plan to cover only the first point contained in verses 1-12. Let's look at "The Command Given."

1. THE COMMAND GIVEN (15:1-12)

Imagine yourself getting pulled over unexpectedly. As the officer is writing the ticket, you kindly ask him what you did to violate the law. He replies that for safety reasons the town has decided to reduce the speed limit on that street by 30 miles per hour. Unfortunately the city has yet to notify the citizens or change the signs. Though you might not disagree with the decision, every fiber in your being would cry "injustice." For without the proper articulation of law, we cannot be held accountable.

The same is true in God's economy. In order for there to be disobedience, there needs to be a violation of God's expressed commands (cf. Rom. 3:20; 5:13). In this case, the command came directly from God off the prophetic lips of Samuel. Verse 1, "Listen to the words of the LORD." Verse 2, "Thus says the LORD of host." The remainder of verse 2 and verse 3 provide the specifics for king Saul. "I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey."

Though God's commands now are written in our hearts and come to us directly through the Scriptures, our decisions today are no different than Saul's decision 3,000 years ago. Simply put, when commanded by the Lord will we with childlike faith trust and obey His words? This is a concept we can all understand. Let's not confuse this matter to excuse our responsibility!

Well, how did Saul do? The expectations were crystal-clear. He was commanded to totally wipe out the Amalekites for their opposition toward God and His people (Ex. 17:14-16; Num. 24:20; Dt. 25:17-19).

Verses 8 and 9 say, "(Saul) captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed."

Saul completed ninety-nine percent of the command. Was he obedient or disobedient?

Time permits me from explaining the redemptive nature of Old Testament bloodshed, and we can all speculate why Saul permitted the king and some animals to survive. But there should be no doubt in any of our minds that we have a clear example of selective obedience. He kept the "good" and destroyed the "worthless." Stemming from what Saul believed would add to his own profit, he demonstrated that the true lord of his life was himself. His wisdom surpassed God's judgment. And the Lord's honor took a backseat to his own. Saul misunderstood that when the Lord commands there is no room for negotiation or a "close enough" mentality. Call it what you want, but partial obedience, which includes delayed obedience, is still disobedience.

To answer the previous question-though ninety-nine percent effective, Saul was still disobedient.

Before you feel I am over the top on this one and before I show you the consequences that Saul faced for his decision, allow me to reveal how Saul's disobedience affected those around him.

First, God was grieved by Saul's sin (cf. 15:35c). Verse 10-11, "Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying, 'I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands.'"

Permit me to immediately say that this verse is not teaching that God confesses to making a mistake and longs for the opportunity, if given the chance, to do it all over again. If He did, we would have absolutely no grounds for trusting Him in the present. I do not recall fickleness ever being listed as an attribute of God. Our Lord is sovereign or as the children learned this week in VBS, "God is in control." His hidden will is steadfast, always according to His wise and loving purposes. Even as verse 29 of this chapter teaches: "Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind" (cf. Num. 23:19).

As I stated in the introduction, we must not force a false antithesis in reference to the nature of God. Throughout the centuries, people have required us to accept either a distant monarch ruling and judging the universe or a caring parent intimately involved in the lives of His people. Unfortunately, choosing only one of the above is not the biblical view. God is both transcendent and immanent. He is immutable and personal. He has firmness and feeling. The same God who weeps and grieves and loves and rejoices is the same God who is self-sufficient, self-existent and self-satisfied.

God is not flustered over a lack a foresight. What this verse clearly teaches us is that God is grieved over a lack of obedience. The very One who suffered immeasurably on the cross for our sins, finds it doubly painful when we choose the pathway of disobedience. As one songwriter commented: "Does He still feel the nails every time I fail? Can He hear the crowd cry 'Crucify' again? Am I causing him pain? Then I know I've got to change. I just can't bear the thought of hurting him" (Ray Boltz, Feel the Nails).

Contemplating the heart of God will help us greatly in our daily battle against sin. Get beyond duty and wooden obedience to a deeply passionate relational way of thinking. When contemplating sin, imagine your omnipresent loving Father asking you: "Do you really think that sin will make you happier?" "Do you not believe that My commandments are for your good?" "Do you distrust My Word?" "Do you feel ashamed to be holy like Me?" "Do you realize I set you free from this way of living" "Do you understand the pain I experience when I gave my Son to die for that transgression?" "Do you suffer the same grief I suffer when sin breaks our fellowship?"

As we study this account, it is also important to observe God's assessment of Saul. His disobedience was not a minor infraction. He wasn't busted because God caught him on a technicality. In verse 11 our Lord said, "He has turned back from following Me." Saul's trusting in himself basically placed a vote of "no-confidence" on God's altar. And this is the general nature of God's heart when we choose sin over heeding the voice of our Good Shepherd.

In addition to God, Samuel was also grieved by Saul's sin (cf. 15:35b). Though replaced by Saul, Samuel took no pleasure in Saul's failure. Saul demonstrated a heart for himself. Yet those with a heart like God's find their greatest grief in that that which brings God the greatest grief. The remainder of verse 11 says, "Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all night."

When we realize the destructive nature of sin our hearts should break over the sins we see committed amongst those we love. Remember when Paul said, "Who is led into sin without my intense concern?" (2 Cor. 11:29). What a shepherd's heart! Sin is selfishness, and it will always hurt those who we love the most. And those who love God the most (like Samuel) will be primarily grieved how an individual's sin hurts God and affects that person's walk with the Lord. I believe that is why Samuel was "distressed" prompting him to "cry out to the Lord all night."

Parents, isn't this the primary reason we discipline our children? The motivation of our discipline is not because they embarrassed, frustrated or inconvenienced us. The motivation of our discipline is that they violated the Word of God and must realize the consequences for such dangerous decisions. Out of obedience to God, we discipline as a sign of love to correct our children from running headlong down the path of spiritual rebellion. Like Samuel, we should be grieved over the sin of our children. And we should be grieved over our children's sin after we have first learned to grieve over our own sin.

God was grieved over Saul's sin. Samuel was grieved over Saul's sin. Yet we must ask the question, while God and Samuel were grieving over Saul's sin, how was Saul's sin affecting Saul?

Verse 12. "Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul; and it was told Samuel, saying, 'Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on down to Gilgal.'"

A monument! Can you believe that! While others are grieving over his disobedience, Saul is boasting in what he thought was a successful campaign. In verse 13 he said, "I have carried out the command of the Lord."

How deceived! How clueless! How indicative this is of a man who put himself over the concerns of others. While the others around him see the reality of his predicament, Saul's inflated and incorrect opinion of himself is given a concrete and visible manifestation in a statue he himself devoted to his own greatness. As demonstrated by his initial disobedience, it was now plain for everybody to see how his glory was more important than the Lord's glory.

As Samuel prepares to deal with this one, the stage is set for one of the most classic confrontations found in all of Scripture. As the Lord permits, we are in for a good one when we resume our study.

Yet for now may we depart understanding the severity and the compassion of God (cf. Rom. 11:22a). The severity that demands a disobedient people to be eliminated, and the compassion that grieves over the sin of His servant. For the God of the Bible upholds His righteousness with every fiber of His being and still condescends to weep over the pain of His people with genuine sorrow. That is what makes Yahweh a great heavenly Father. And that is what makes Yahweh a God worthy of our praise.

And as we prepare to celebrate the Lord's Table and remember the sacrifice of our Savior, may we see the complete revelation of God displayed at the cross. The full fury of His wrath toward sin let loose on His beloved Son, yet in giving His Son the demonstration of sacrificial love to unworthy and undeserving people. The cross reveals the severity and compassion of God, upholding His holiness and still forgiving sinners like you and I.