Saul was a handsome and tall man. He stood head and shoulders above all Israel, but covetousness reduced him to nothing in the eyes of the Lord his God who took his throne away from him and handed it to David a man after God’s own heart. David had much wealth because if you will do right as a steward of Kingdom finances, God will reward you. He is not unjust. How can the pipe carry water and not get wet?
Saul was sent on a mission by Jehovah God to totally destroy the Amalekites and all that they possessed. However, covetousness caused him to reject and disobey the word of the Living God. 1 Sam 15: 9 – 24 tells the story of what happened when Saul came home having led what he considered a successful attack on Amalek. “…But 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.”
That which they did not really care for they were willing to destroy. As a Kingdom financier God will often require you to give that which you love and would rather keep for yourself. If you choose to keep that thing for yourself, it will be to you an accursed thing that marks you for destruction. However, if you surrender it joyfully, God will bring it back to you good measure, pressed down and shaken together. He is not a wicked God who only wants to make you envious by passing wonderful things before your very eyes and through your hands to someone else. Your own is on its way and it is greater and better than that which you now hold in your hands. Pass it on to the person God commands and see the faithfulness of Jehovah in action.
Saul made his sin worse by refusing to acknowledge it. He said to Samuel in vs 20 “’But I did obey the Lord,’ Saul said. ‘I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their King. The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.’”
Changing the given instructions to suit your better judgment is sin. Sometimes the Lord will give you an instruction to give in a place that you really think the money will not be much appreciated. You may think to yourself “Why sow into that ministry. I would rather give to the orphanage next door as they need the money more.” As a steward of what God has put in your hand, you are not the one in charge of what is to be done with the money. The owner, God, is in charge. Let him decide what is to be done. Saul considered the total destruction of the sheep and cattle a total waste and in following his better judgment instead of the proceeding word of the Lord he committed a grievous sin. So bad was it that Samuel told him the following in vs 22-23
“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. For rebellion is like the sin of divination and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.”
Thinking that your judgment is better than God’s is the height of rebellion and arrogance. You are no different from a witchdoctor or sorcerer and an idolater. How grievous is the sin of covetousness. What a lie of the devil!!
Obedience is the Father’s joy. Consider him all wise. Consider him all knowing. Let your wisdom and judgments find no place in the light of his. Oh my Lord. Forgive us for the times we have thought ourselves wiser than you. Forgive us for the times we have thought that we know better than you. Wash the guilt of our sins far from us for we have become to you like sorcerers, witchdoctors and magicians. We have become like them who bow down to idols because of our arrogance and rebellion. Oh God forgive, and bring us back to the straight paths that we may be a blessing to you once more in Jesus name.
The consequences of this sin that was rooted in covetousness were that God rejected Saul for rejecting his word. There is great danger in rejecting the word and instruction of the Lord. Why risk being rejected by the Most High because of covetousness?
On seeing that God was going to take the throne from him, Saul makes a half hearted apology but God see’s through it and Samuel confirms the word of the Lord with a prophetic act that happened by mistake. Saul clutches Samuel’s robe and it tears in his hand. Samuel seals the word of the Lord in vs 28 – 29 “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors – to one better than you. He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind.”
The throne was given to David son of Jesse and he was considered better than Saul because his heart panted after God and not things. However, David also fell into the sin of covetousness.
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