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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for
“We Are Susceptible to the Sin of Saul”
Hello, I’m
By faith, Abraham obeyed God.
Now remove the name Abraham and plug your own name into that sentence. Is it still true?
It was not true for King Saul according to the story in First Samuel 15.
Verse 18 says that God sent Saul on a mission, and Saul went on the mission; however, he didn’t do everything God told him to do.
So the Lord sent the prophet Samuel to confront the king. In verse 19 Samuel said, “Why did you not obey the Lord?”
Now what if you plugged your name into that sentence?
I’m now going to ask you a very important question. If I plugged your name into that sentence, would you know exactly what I was talking about?
Saul did. King Saul knew exactly what Samuel was talking about when he said, “Why did you not obey the Lord?”
And maybe you do, too. Maybe you are thinking right now of something God wanted you to do, but you didn’t. So the question Samuel asked Saul comes down to you today. Why did you not obey the Lord?
Now listen to Saul’s slimy thinking. He tried to slither around his disobedience by offering a large sacrifice to God.
Did it work? Was the Almighty appeased?
No, and the prophet Samuel thundered his response.
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”
Don’t miss that powerful phrase, “to obey is better than sacrifice.” Saul thought God would be pleased with sacrifice, but he chose the lesser thing. The greater thing is to obey.
But Samuel wasn’t done. He continued, “For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”
Wait a minute. Did Saul reject the word of the Lord? I thought he simply didn’t do quite everything he was told to do.
Well that is rejecting the word of the Lord. When you know what God wants you to do, and you don’t do it, it’s not a small thing. You are rejecting His word.
The gravity of the situation finally hit King Saul and he confessed, “I have sinned.” And then he offered a powerful revelation.
Now before I reveal this revelation, let’s look at his situation through the world’s eyes. He was the king of
And he had just won a mighty victory over
So in a sense he was the newly crowned champion, at the top of his game. But then Samuel confronted him, hard, and Saul was reduced. He confessed, “I have sinned,” and then he really opened up. He gave us a glimpse into his heart, and it was a real eye-opener. Here is the reason he did not obey the Lord.
Are you ready for this? Because sin is common to man. A sin that Saul was susceptible to is a sin that you and I are susceptible to.
So here is why King Saul did not obey the word of the Lord. He said, “I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them.”
Oh…my…goodness. Saul is now sniveling. He’s not taking full responsibility for his action, but he does offer a glimpse into his motivation. He was afraid of the people, he said, so he gave in to them.
Now plug your name into that sentence. Is it true? Are you afraid of people, and so you don’t fully obey the Lord? Is your fear of man greater than your fear of God?
Saul’s was, and it was about to cost him dearly, and he knew it. It reduced him to begging. He said to Samuel, “I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord.”
But Samuel said, “I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over
This is a sobering and sad tale, but it should echo through the ages as a warning to us all. God prefers obedience over sacrifice, and fear of the people is no excuse.
In Acts 5 we have a positive example, Peter and the apostles who declared, “We must obey God rather than men!”
We must obey God. That is a lesson the apostles understood, and Saul learned too late.
And how about you? Do you know what God wants you to do? Are you putting it off out of fear, fear of what people might think or say, or fear of disappointing them or making them angry?
Well this is your call to get back on track and do what you know God wants you to do.
And in the end I hope they will be able to plug all of our names into this sentence from Hebrews chapter 11.
By faith Abraham obeyed God.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m
© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision App
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