Saul is basically a good man and a caring leader. He wants to follow God, he tries to do so diligently, he errs at times, and he is remorseful and seeks forgiveness when he falls short. Yet Samuel reproves him and he is punished--Samuel tells him "your kingdom shall not endure . . . because you broke the Lord's command." Saul can also be rash, and an oath he impulsively swears nearly results in the death of his own son, Jonathan. It is only because of the pleading of the very people saved by Jonathan's bravery in battle that he is spared from death. Saul led the Israelites to victory against many of the enemies surrounding Israel, and caused the Philistines to return to their own land. The Lord, through Samuel, then directed Saul to make war on Amalek, and to slaughter all of the people there and their animals. Saul waged the battle and claimed the victory, but he spared Agag, the king of Amalek, and the best of his animals, with the intention of sacrificing those animals to the Lord in thanksgiving for their victory. But again Samuel rebuked Saul for disobeying God's command and failing to fulfill the mission on which God sent him. He explained to Saul:
Obedience is better than sacrifice and submission [better than] the fat of rams.
Samuel went on to tell Saul that the kingdom of Israel would be torn from Saul. Samuel returned with Saul that they might worship the Lord. Samuel then ordered that Agag be brought into his presence, and Samuel himself killed him. Samuel then departed from there, never to see Saul again. The section ends by noting that Samuel:
grieved over Saul, because the Lord regretted having made him king of Israel.
I must say I am baffled by this passage. The all-forgiving God who showed such patience and mercy for the Israelites for many, many years, under one judge after another, has little patience for Saul.
No comments:
Post a Comment