“I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands.” (1 Sam. 15:11)
God told Saul to destroy all of the Amalekite nation, a nation whose sins were “full” (see Gen. 15:16 for God’s statements about when He marked nations for destruction). Saul went to war, destroyed the people (the part most of us would consider the most difficult aspect) and then saved the spoils of war and their king. In short, Saul followed as much of the command as he wanted to.
Saul would say, “I have carried out the command of the Lord.” (1 Sam. 15:13), but God said he hadn’t. When we only follow the parts of the Bible that we want to follow, we aren’t carrying out His commands. It doesn’t count as obedience if we only obey when we want to – it counts as rebellion (1 Sam. 15:23).
As you study the Bible, you will find portions of it that are inconvenient and include teachings that challenge your self-interests and preconceived ideas but living by God’s authority means we take the whole counsel of God. The Bible isn’t a salad bar that we pick and choose the parts we want – it’s the Christian constitution.
“You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.” (Deut. 4:2)
Matt. 4:4 #Biblebites