PARTIAL OBEDIENCE

• DAY 165
• FEAR FILES: KING SAUL
• SCRIPTURES: 1 SAMUEL 15

Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ” And Saul attacked the Amalekites, from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt. He also took Agag 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 unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed. Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the LORD! I have performed the commandment of the LORD.” But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.”

Sometimes I read the bible and I say to myself, “God dey try” Apologies, I have no idea how to translate that into proper English, but take it from me, God dey try. I know how furious I get when I give my assistant simple straightforward instructions and she somehow mixed them up. I would probably lose my cool if I say, “Do one thing” and she does another. That would be unacceptable for me, a mere mortal, that is flawed in every way. Yet this king tries what an employer cannot try with God and didn’t die on the spot. God dey try.

No Such Thing

Partial obedience is simply picking and choosing which laws of God you want to obey and which you want to ignore. It can also be obedience to a certain level, probably halfway. We have a perfect example in our text today. God gave King Saul a simple instruction; fight and kill EVERY LIVING THING. Saul agreed, went to fight, and killed everything except… hold on! Whenever you put an exception in God’s absolute instruction, you have obeyed partially. Which means you have disobeyed completely.

There is no such thing as partial obedience to God. It is all or nothing. We don’t get to pick and choose which instructions to follow and which to disregard, it is an insult to Him and a rebellion against Him. If God says go to Lagos tomorrow morning by air and you go tomorrow afternoon by air, you have disobeyed, period.

The interesting thing is when we do what God said halfway, we have justifiable reasons or excuses for them and we sometimes actually feel good about the nonsense we just did. Saul was so pleased with his actions that he announced to Samuel that he had obeyed God. He didn’t consider that the sounds of the sheep were sounds of disobedience. His reason? “we brought the best because wanted to sacrifice to God.” Look at him using God as an excuse for his long throat (greed). It is the audacity for me.

A Stinking Lie

But wait, aren’t we guilty of this too? “God I know you said to go to Lagos in the morning, but I came in the afternoon because that is when RCCG camp opens and I wanted to go there straight so I can pray and sow seed.” That’s a stinking lie. Saul didn’t keep the best things because of a sacrifice. He did so because they were desirable to him. Not to mention that some sacrifices in their day included eating a portion of it in the presence of God. My guy wanted the things he took and now he’s using God to cover up. Because of his actions, God regretted that he anointed him king.

I pray for you, you will not make God regret concerning you. you will not lose your way because of your own desire. That spirit of rebellion, stubbornness, and greed, I cast it of you today, by the power in the name of Jesus. You will obey wholeheartedly. You will not argue, you will not hesitate. you will do the will of God His way. In Jesus’ name. amen

Shalom.