Good Excuses, Bad Results
May 25, 2003
Dear Friends,
In 1 Samuel 15, we are given the account of Saul’s failure to thoroughly destroy the Amalekites per God’s command. Saul failed to do exactly as God commanded, but had some strong excuses.
Saul’s first excuse is that he hadn’t technically disobeyed God. When asked by Samuel about the living animals, Saul says “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.” In other words, all of the animals are eventually going to be destroyed. The best animals were going to be killed later in sacrifice to God. This can be thought of as the “kill two birds with one stone mentality.” Since the animals are going to be killed anyway, why not offer them to God in sacrifice. The people can use these animals to sacrifice to God and spare their own flocks by so doing. This is what people call a “win-win” situation. God wins and the people win.
Saul’s second and third excuses are as follows: “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.” Saul’s second excuse is that Samuel and God are mistaken. He really did obey. Perhaps Samuel and God were not explicit enough in their instructions. There has to be a misunderstanding. He then moves on to his third excuse by shifting blame to the people. “The people took of the spoil.” God should have known how difficult it was to deal with these people. They were so disobedient. How was Saul supposed to control these renegades?
Finally, in the midst of his “confession”, Saul offers his fourth and last excuse — “I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.” “I feared the people” is Saul’s last attempt at exoneration for his disobedience. Fear had so overcome him that he was in no condition to conduct himself in a faithful manner. We might term this the “temporary insanity” defense.
Saul’s defense of himself was reasonably strong. He was technically following God’s command as he would eventually kill all of the animals. He did obey and destroy the Amalekites. It all depends on what you definition of “destroy” is. The people were really the ones who disobeyed and not Saul. Finally, he was just plain scared and temporarily insane. Any one of the above might hold up in a court of law.
This case was not going before any court, however, but was adjudicated by the Creator of heaven and earth. No amount of “good” excuses was going to throw the Judge off of a just verdict.
Too many times we have “good” excuses for not following God’s commands. Many times they seem so strong to us. We blame others. We say that God’s commands aren’t clear enough. We excuse our actions because we are weak, fleshly creatures prone to sin. We technically serve Him, but omit the “weightier matters of the Law.” In the end, like Saul, we will be forced come face to face with our excuses and see them for what they really are. Our prayer is that unlike Saul we can examine ourselves and face them now. We can pray for forgiveness and for the strength to overcome the flesh.
If we can overcome the tendency to make “good” excuses, through God’s grace we can avoid the condemnation that befell Saul. “…thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee…” (1 Sam. 15:26)
Have a great week!
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