Last night my bible study was on 1 Samuel 15 and as I was reading that chapter, I received an illumination on why King Saul really lost the crown. In this chapter, the Lord had commanded the prophet Samuel to give clear instructions to Saul on how he was to carry out His (God’s) punishment on the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they were coming out from Egypt. God asked Saul to go and attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. He asked Saul not to spare the Amalekites at all but to put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys. God instructed Saul to completely wipe out these people off the surface of the earth but what did Saul do? He and his army kept the King of the Amalekites alive, kept some of the best sheep, cattle and goods and were unwilling to destroy completely as the Lord had commanded.
This infuriated the Lord because Saul defied His orders. God deeply regretted making Saul King over Israel and He immediately rejected Him. This troubled the prophet Samuel deeply and he cried to the Lord all night but He was not going to give Saul a pass on this one. What was interesting is when Samuel meets Saul and he admonishes Saul about the decisions he had made to keep items from the Amalekites and defying God’s order. See how clueless Saul was in this situation – he kept telling the prophet that he (Saul) and his army had kept the good stuff to sacrifice it to the Lord. Somehow in his mind, he thought God would be pleased by that decision – to bring back the plunder from the Amalekites to offer them as sacrifices to Him (God). In 1 Samuel 15:20, he (Saul) affirmed that he had obeyed the Lord’s command to the fullest extent. He really saw no wrong in what he had done because to him (Saul), pleasing the Lord should be a priority.
In 1 Samuel 15:17, the Prophet Samuel reminds Saul what a small-minded person he (Saul) is and even with that deficiency, the Lord still anointed him King over Israel. It was obvious that Saul did not grow out of that mindset. This is where the light bulb went off for me – Saul’s behavior; defying the orders of the Lord and trying to offer sacrifices when the prophet who made him king had not commanded it, was over compensation for what he lacked. A lot of times, we have found ourselves in situations or roles that we probably feel undeserved for and think we need to overdo it to be liked or accepted. The saddest part of Saul’s de-throning is what he says in 1 Samuel 15:24, that he (Saul) was afraid of the men (his army) so he gave in to their request. That drives my point home – Saul, although anointed, still lacked the leadership mentality, training and skills required to lead. Being the first King that Israel had, there was no curriculum or onboarding training for him and God even made his reign easy peasy knowing what he (Saul) lacked – just obey Him (the Lord) and His prophet Samuel.
You see, the favor of God can lift a man, but if you do not have the humility to obey, listen and learn the right things, chances are you will be dropped unexpectedly. Saul lost the crown because although he was king, he didn’t understand the rules of engagement with the Lord – that Adonai prioritizes obedience over any amount of sacrifice you can offer Him. Saul did not come into his fullness as a king – he still carried the mindset of a commoner and a donkey chaser. Saul was more interested in people’s approval and acceptance than obeying the Lord who made him King. Even when the prophet refused to go with him, his last request was for Samuel to honor him (Saul) before the people and elders. He was still worried about his reputation before the people.
I can understand – we live in a world of humans. The accolades, applause and approval of men are much desired and rightly so. Unfortunately, this can be a very dangerous trap and many people have fallen victim to this. People have lost their crowns because they chose to prioritize what others say over what God says concerning them. Day in and out I am tempted to stay, bask and flourish in the applause of men but I have to remind myself to take the accolades, applause and affirmations on surface value and not allow it to get into my head. I learned this from a mentor in the Kingdom of God who advises to not let anyone clap you out of your destiny. The sweet nothings, the praises and even encouragements – however honest and genuine has a way of birthing pride in men. I have to make a conscientious effort daily to not be a victim of the praises of men because you can easily fall for it. I sometimes find myself wondering if people thought I didn’t receive or welcome their niceties the way any normal person should. Really, I am more than appreciative of them but I can’t stay in that head space hence Satan capitalizes on that and flips me out. I receive them, give the glory back to God and press on to do more and better next time.
I don’t know about you but I do not want to lose any crown the Lord has given me and the new ones He is molding for me. In urban language, we need to stay WOKE and obedient with the things of God, especially what He is commanding us to do. May the spirit of the Lord convict us to stay in alignment with him and His will for us daily. Amen!
XOXO,
Lady Abena.