Hearing Is Not Enough

God directed Saul to go and punish the Amalekites for their unprovoked attack on Israel when the came out of Egypt.  I Samuel 15:1-3 describes the command.  “Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD.  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.  Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.”  They were to go and destroy every living thing among the Amalekites. 

I Samule 15:7-9 describes His attack on the Amalekites.  “And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.  And he took 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, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.” 

When Samuel came to confront Saul, he bragged about obeying God, as I Samuel 15:13-15 describes.  “And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.

And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine 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 of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.” 

It was obvious they had not obeyed the Lord, yet Saul insisted they had.  Unfortunately, many Christians do the same kind of thing.  They know what God said, but don’t take it seriously.  James addressed this problem in James 1:22-25.  “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.  For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” 

Like Saul, we hear what God said, and act on the parts that we feelo are most important, while ignoring other things he said.  As James describes it, we are like a person who looks into a mirror, but doesn’t take time to comb his hair or wash his face.  Within a few minutes he forgets that he needs to do so and goes his way forgetting what God said needed done. 

For example, Many Christians focus on not using certain curse words.  While their speech is may be somewhat more pleasant to listen to, all that really changed is their selection of words.  They just curse people using more polite language.  The wicked underlying attitude has not changed.  When we get serious about obeying what God says, we will seek to change the attitude by allowing the Holy spirit to have control.

Unfortunately, many times, like Saul, we convince ourselves we are pleasing God when in fact, our disobedience and hypocrisy is obvious to those who really knows us.    Like Saul in I Samuel 15:20-21, we will not acknowledge we have done wrong.  “And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.  But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.”  Even after the sin was pointed out, Saul refused to take responsibility blaming the people and attempting to justify it.   Because he would not obey, God took away the blessings, in I Samuel 15:23.   “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”

If we are to receive God’s blessings, we are going to have to follow through on his commands, not just know what he said.