{"id":33095,"date":"2024-10-23T22:00:44","date_gmt":"2024-10-24T05:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/1-samuel-14_47-52-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-10-08T20:03:06","modified_gmt":"2024-10-09T03:03:06","slug":"1-samuel-15_1-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/1-samuel-15_1-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Thank God for the Samuels in Your Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

1 Samuel\u00a0 15:1-16\u00a0 \u00a0 (CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 1 Samuel 15:1-16.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>\u00a0Samuel<\/strong>\u00a015<\/strong>:<\/strong>1<\/strong>\u00a0(NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n1<\/sup>\u00a0Samuel\u00a0said to Saul, “I am the one the LORD sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the LORD.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse\u00a01: \u00a0\u00a0Samuel\u00a0comes to Saul with a message.\u00a0 But before sharing that message, Samuel reminds Saul of that day when the LORD sent Samuel to anoint Saul as king.\u00a0 Samuel is reminding Saul that it was the LORD who made it possible for Saul to be king.\u00a0 There is no exaltation, no promotion, no lifting up of any person if God did not allow it.\u00a0 As Psalm 75 says, \u201cHe brings one down; he exalts another\u201d.\u00a0 In other words, God is sovereign and we could not reach any height in life without Him.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>\u00a0Samuel<\/strong>\u00a015<\/strong>:2-3 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.'”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 2-3: \u00a0You might be asking, “How could God command the complete wiping out of an entire nation like the Amalekites?” \u00a0Remember that the Amalekites had a history of treating the Israelites mercilessly.\u00a0 When the Israelites were escaping from Egypt, the Amalekites ambushed them and killed the weakest and most vulnerable among them (Exodus 17:8; Deuteronomy 25:17-19).\u00a0 God had given the Amalekites centuries to repent of their sins.\u00a0 Yet rather than turning from their evil ways, the Amalekites continued for centuries to invade, harass and plunder the Israelites as they had done before (see Judges 6:3 and\u00a01\u00a0Samuel\u00a014:48).\u00a0 God would not be a just God if He did not punish wrongdoing.\u00a0 By commanding Saul to destroy the Amalekites, in His justice God was now bringing judgment against the Amalekites and incapacitating them from committing any more evil.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this? \u00a0God watches the way people treat one another<\/strong>, and especially the way the people of the world treat the children of God. \u00a0\u00a0Being holy and just, God is committed to punishing evil and wrongdoing.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0He may relent and show mercy for a time, but if we stubbornly refuse to repent, one day He will make sure that justice is served.<\/p>\n

1 Samuel 15:4-6 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim–two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men from Judah.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine.
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then he said to the Kenites, “Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 4-6: \u00a0Saul summoned his men to ambush the Amalekites (v4-5), but he also went out of his way to warn the Kenites so that the Kenites would not be caught in the middle of their attack.\u00a0 The Kenites had a friendly relationship with the Israelites.\u00a0 For example, Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, was a Kenite (Judges\u00a01:16). \u00a0 \u00a0What can we learn from this? \u00a0When you must do something that you know is going to hurt others, do what you can to avoid it being more hurtful than necessary and to avoid hurting more people than necessary.<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 Samuel 15:7-9 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, to the east of Egypt.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs–everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 7-9: Saul did not obey as God required.\u00a0 God commanded Saul to “attack the Amalekites and destroy everything that belongs to them.” (v3) \u00a0While Saul did launch the attack (v7), Saul and his men were unwilling to destroy those things that they considered good (including the best of the Amalekites’ livestock) and spared King Agag (v8-9).\u00a0 They only destroyed those things which they considered worthless (v9).\u00a0 Saul would later say that he “carried out the Lord’s instructions” (v13), when in fact he hadn’t. \u00a0Partial obedience is still disobedience.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0When we only partially obey\u00a0God’s Word, we’re still disobeying God’s Word.<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 Samuel 15:10-11 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then the word of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0came to Samuel:
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the\u00a0LORD\u00a0all that night.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 10-11: \u00a0Saul’s actions grieved God and troubled\u00a0Samuel.\u00a0 So\u00a0Samuel\u00a0spent all night crying out to God.\u00a0 What can we learn from this? \u00a0When you receive news that troubles you, don’t go first to your friends and complain.\u00a0 Instead, go first to God in prayer.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0That’s what godly people do, like Hannah, David, Daniel, Moses and Jesus.\u00a0 As I shared last Sunday,\u00a0the path to peace when you’re under pressure is prayer<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>\u00a0Samuel<\/strong>\u00a015<\/strong>:12-13a (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>Early in the morning\u00a0Samuel\u00a0got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.”
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>When\u00a0Samuel\u00a0reached him…\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 12-13a: \u00a0\u00a0Samuel\u00a0went to find Saul (possibly at the town of Shur – v7), and when he couldn’t find him there, he kept searching for Saul and found him at Gilgal.\u00a0 The fact that\u00a0Samuel\u00a0had a hard time reaching Saul, and the fact that Saul had set up a monument in his own honor, suggests how far Saul had fallen away from God.\u00a0 Yet\u00a0Samuel\u00a0continued to chase after Saul.\u00a0 Isn’t that the love of God? \u00a0No matter how far we run away from Him, God’s love has this way of chasing after us. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

1<\/strong>\u00a0Samuel<\/strong>\u00a015<\/strong>:13-16 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>When\u00a0Samuel\u00a0reached him, Saul said, “The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.”
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>But\u00a0Samuel\u00a0said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”
\n15<\/sup>\u00a0Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>“Stop!”\u00a0Samuel\u00a0said to Saul. “Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night.” “Tell me,” Saul replied.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 13-16: Saul had become so set in his ways.\u00a0 On the surface he appeared very spiritual, yet deep down he was extremely self-centered and unspiritual.\u00a0 Saul became an expert at justifying his disobedience to God.\u00a0\u00a0Samuel\u00a0had enough of Saul’s excuses.\u00a0\u00a0Samuel\u00a0saw right through Saul and was ready to rebuke him.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this? \u00a0Like Saul, we all have blind spots<\/strong>, areas of our lives where we don’t see how we may be hurting others or ourselves. \u00a0We need people in our lives who can speak the truth in love to us.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Thank God for the Samuels God has placed in your life.\u00a0 May we always be open to hearing what they have to say.<\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love that chases after me when I’m distant from You.\u00a0 It’s easy to get down on Saul for all the ways he was hard-hearted, self-centered and stubborn toward You. Yet I must be careful not to sin in those same ways.\u00a0 May I go the whole way in obeying Your call on my life.\u00a0 May I not settle for partial obedience (which is really disobedience).\u00a0 Thank You for placing Samuels in my life who can see the blind spots I don’t see and speak the truth in love to me.\u00a0 In Jesus’ name, AMEN!\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 1 Samuel 15:1-16.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

1\u00a0Samuel\u00a015:1\u00a0(NIV)\u00a0
\n1\u00a0Samuel\u00a0said to Saul, “I am the one the LORD sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the LORD.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On verse\u00a01: \u00a0\u00a0Samuel\u00a0comes to Saul with a message.\u00a0 But before sharing that message, Samuel reminds Saul of that day when the LORD sent Samuel to anoint Saul as king.\u00a0 Samuel is reminding Saul that it was the LORD who made it possible for Saul to be king.\u00a0 There is no exaltation, no promotion, no lifting up of any person if God did not allow it.\u00a0 As Psalm 75 says, \u201cHe brings one down; he exalts another\u201d.\u00a0 In other words, God is sovereign and we could not reach any height in life without Him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33097,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33095"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33095\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33098,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33095\/revisions\/33098"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}