A new season is coming.
As we flip another page on our calendar, we may be dreadfully aware that summer is drawing to an end. Pretty soon leaves will begin to change and the air will shift. And if you’ve been around as long as I have, you know that autumn will do what it does best. It is the season that asks a tree to surrender what it has spent all summer holding onto, so that it can survive what’s coming next.
Within the church, we frequently talk about “new seasons”—new opportunities, new growth, new mercies. However, we very rarely talk about what a new season requires of us. A new season doesn’t begin with a blessing; it starts with obedience.
5 Biblical Truths About Obedience
In 1 Samuel 15, God gave Saul a new season. He elevated him from one who looks for lost livestock to that of powerful kingship over Israel. However, during Saul’s reign, God gave him clear instructions, which he ultimately disobeyed.
Together, let’s glean from Saul’s lessons about obedience.
1 | God Gives Clear Instructions
“Samuel also said to Saul, ‘The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the LORD. 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.”’”
1 Samuel 15:1-3, NKJV
In this passage, we see God’s very specific and detailed instructions. There was no room for negotiation. While they may seem harsh, as children of God, we know the Sovereignty of God. We know that He is just, loving, and merciful.
Saints, what is God asking you to give up?
Take comfort in knowing that God has given every believer clear instructions on their life. We can choose to trust Him and follow through with every challenge that comes our way, or we can choose how obedient we will be, which can ultimately lead to disobedience.
2 | Partial Obedience Is Disobedience
“Then Saul said to the Kenites, ‘Go, depart, get down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.’ So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 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.”
1 Samuel 15:6-9, NKJV
As we begin reading this passage, our first impression may be to agree that Saul is being obedient to God. However, in verse 9, things take a turn. Saul made a choice to obey the instructions that cost him nothing, and disobey the parts that wrestled with his wants (acquiring King Agag and the very best livestock).
Far too often we are quick to get rid of what we don’t want, and hoard the things that bring us pleasure, even when God asks us to surrender them. What in your life are you holding on to even though God asked you to give it up?
3 | Obedience Disguised As Devotion Is Disobedience
“Now the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying, ‘I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments.’ And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the LORD all night. So when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, it was told to Samuel, saying, ‘Saul went to Carmel, and indeed, he set up a monument for himself; and he has gone on around, passed by, and gone down to Gilgal.’ Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, ‘Blessed are you of the LORD! I have performed the commandment of the LORD.’”
1 Samuel 15:10-13, NKJV
Saul didn’t just disobey God; he boasted in it. He built monuments to himself and declared that he had “performed the commandment of the Lord.” Do you know what that is called? Idolatry and how dangerous this behavior is!
Furthermore, when you claim that you have changed—the relationship you cut off, the habit you quit, or the words you choose to speak—and when your actions say otherwise, you are very simply operating from deception. (Which is very common within the church.)
4 | The Evidence Doesn’t Lie
“But Samuel said, ‘What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?’”
1 Samuel 15:14, NKJV
As Samuel is talking with Saul, he boldly calls out the sounds of bleating sheep—the very proof that contradicts Saul’s claim.
Church, your actions testify louder than your testimony. If your actions don’t align with the words leaving your mouth, then your statement is null and void. To move forward in confident obedience, we must allow others to speak into the places where we can fall short.
What in your life contradicts what you say you’ve surrendered?
5 | Blame Can’t Cover Disobedience
“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.’ Then Samuel said to Saul, ‘Be quiet!’
And Saul said to Samuel, ‘But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.’”
1 Samuel 15:15, 20-21, NKJV
When Saul’s disobedience is brought to light, he immediately begins to blame other people. One thing I have learned over the course of my life is that my actions are my responsibility alone. They aren’t the fault of my spouse, my kids, or my co-workers. Furthermore, as a spiritual leader in your home and ministry, it is your charge to set expectations that will lead others to Christ.
What tone are you setting in the spaces you are in? Are you blame-shifting or taking responsibility and moving forward?
Why Obedience Is More Important Than Sacrifice
Many within the church believe the misconception that sacrifice is greater than or equal to obedience. This is a problematic mindset because, in actuality, sacrifice is a byproduct of obedience. Jesus sacrificed His life for the world. While this is transformational for the believer, we must remember what came first.
Matthew 26:39 in the New King James Version says, “He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’”
Jesus did not want to die. He asked the Father to take this path from Him. However, because He knew God’s clear instructions, Jesus chose to be obedient and die a sinner’s death.
Dire Consequence of Disobedience
God gave Saul a new season where He asked him to leave things behind. However, Saul disobeyed, and the result was dire.
“And Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD regretted that He has made Saul king over Israel.”
1 Samuel 15:35, NKJV
I struggle with this verse because I believe in the Sovereignty of God. I know that He sees the past, my present, and my future. So how can God regret something He willed to happen?
While I can’t answer that question on this side of heaven, I do know that I do not want to be on the receiving end of God’s regret. So I will continue to obey. I will pursue His will, not my own.
I leave you with Deuteronomy 28:1-2, NKJV:
“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God.”
Saints, may we obey God not for overflowing blessings but because He is our abundant blessing.
For more on obedience, check out Pastor John K. Jenkins, Sr.’s sermon, To Obey Is Better Than To Sacrifice.
