Partial Obedience

Is there such a thing as partial obedience to God? Saul felt so, but it greatly displeased God and Samuel, and cost Saul the kingdom. In 1 Samuel 15, God, through Samuel, gives Saul a direct order. This order was to be followed in every aspect.

God called for a war with Amalek because of the way Amalek had treated the Israelites when they first left Egypt and were crossing the desert on their way to the promise land. Amalek had attacked an unarmed Israel without cause. Now, several hundred years later, God passes judgment on Amalek. His order is to completely erase Amalek from the face of the earth: “Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated” (1 Samuel 15:18b). There was supposed to be nothing left of the Amalekites – no buildings, no people, no animals.

However, Saul only partially obeyed God’s orders. He kept the healthiest of the livestock and he captured Agag the king of Amalek, bringing Agag back to the camp. When Samuel confronts Saul, Saul says,

I did obey the voice of the Lord, and went on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and have brought back Agag the kind of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgl (vs. 20-21).

Samuel laid out the offense Saul committed in verse 22: “Samuel said, ‘Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.’” God obviously was not impressed with Saul’s behavior. God saw right through Saul’s act of loving and serving Him. God’s penalty for Saul is found in verse 23 as Samuel relays God’s message to Saul. “Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.”

The chapter goes on to record more of Saul’s excuses and his false worship of Samuel’s God (Saul keeps saying to Samuel, “your God,” instead of submitting to Him for himself).

Saul’s example challenged me to look at my own life. Am I practicing “partial obedience?” I’d say that partial obedience is not obedience at all. God is not satisfied with His people picking and choosing which parts or phrases of Scripture we are going to do. He wants us to apply everything we know from the Word to our lives. One commentator said that “partial obedience” is actually an oxymoron (“a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction”). I believe making specific, measurable applications from what we read and hear from Scripture is the way to lay aside our partially following Christ and lead changed lives that show just how great God is.

Rash Decisions

In the second part of 1 Samuel 14 we see Saul making more impulsive decisions which affect Israel’s success in battle, their relationship with God, and created long-term consequences. Before we criticize Saul too much, we need to reflect on our own decisions because we are much like Saul.

The first impetuous oath we see from Saul happens in verse 24. This was after Jonathan had success, with only his armor bearer with him, in attacking the Philistines and before Saul decided to join in the battle. The oath or vow was this: “Cursed be the man who eats food before evening, and until I have avenged myself on my enemies.” First, Saul was concerned about his success and reputation; he focused on himself avenging his enemies. Not God’s enemies, or Israel’s enemies, but he claimed the battle was his to win or lose. The long-term effect was that the warriors did not eat honey flowing from the ground when they came upon it and they were weary from the battle. This left them weakened and tired. What the army gained in time by not stopping to eat, they lost in strength and the victory was still not complete.

The second oath resulted from Jonathan, who had not made the oath because he was not present when Saul forced it upon his soldiers, eating the honey. When Saul thought to consult God, the priests were unable to get any answers, so Saul assumed someone had sinned or violated the oath to not eat. His oath this time, in verse 39, says, “For as the Lord lives, who delivers Israel, though it is in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” Was Saul really ready to forfeit his son over this? We find later that he was, whether out of maintaining his own pride or for some other reason, because Providence caused the lot to indicate the “sin” had fallen on Jonathan.

When Saul found out the “guilty” party was Jonathan (but not really since Jonathan had not been present for the oath and did not know he was not supposed to eat), he made another oath: “May God do this to me and more also, for you shall surely die, Jonathan” (verse 44). Basically, what Saul asked is that God punish himself with the same consequence as Jonathan’s if he didn’t follow through on the second oath. Well the people spoke up and said they refused to let Jonathan die because Jonathan obviously was doing God’s work and brought great deliverance to Israel during this battle with the Philistines. As a result, Saul did eventually lose his throne and his life; and Jonathan also never gained the throne, dying at the same time Saul did (Chapter 31).

Aren’t we also fragile, insecure and ego-driven as Saul was? Saul failed to glorify God and to put God first, trusting in Him for everything. Saul made his own decisions, acted rashly, and there were severe consequences for doing that. I know if I’m not careful I make impulsive and not well thought out decisions that affect my relationship with God and with other people. Sometimes those decisions lead to long-term consequences that I have to deal with for the rest of my life. So, I should not look too harshly upon Saul or other people who seem to be acting impulsively. I am just like them.

Boundaries and Counselors

There were many lessons and applications to be had in 1 Samuel 14. I found two, with the help of a commentator, in the first several verses. One was about how God sets boundaries on the enemies we face. The other was about surrounding ourselves with people who will tell us what we need to know and not just what we want to hear.

The first thoughts came from the commentary by Matthew Henry as introduction to chapter 14. The Israelites had been holding back from the battle with the Philistines, partly because of Saul’s timidity and partly because Saul was left with only about 600 men. The other men (part of a 3,000 strong army) had deserted and hidden in the nearby mountains. The Philistines could have easily routed the Israelites. Why didn’t the Philistines attack?

The answer may be more complicated, but we cannot dismiss God’s role in this. God sets the boundaries. He held back the Philistines from attacking. God was protecting Israel from the enemy. Henry went on to say it’s the same for us today: “Invisible power sets bounds to the malice of the church’s enemies.” Reflecting on my life, I see that principle played out in my own life in various ways. One way has to do with my enemy of suicidal ideation. Thinking about and planning for suicide, at one time in my life, was a regular activity. I even attempted a few times. Some people might say I wasn’t serious about it or I’d have managed to actually die. Looking at the principles in this opening to 1 Samuel 14, I see that God was setting and holding the boundaries. He just would not let me die. The enemy was lurking, but God held it back and protected me.

This brings me to the second lesson and application. In verse three, we are told that Ahijah, a descendent of Eli (under whose tutorage Samuel was raised) was acting as a high priest. The problem with this is that Ahijah was not from the Levite family God designated to be the high priests, just as Eli had not been. Saul preferred Ahijah to Samuel. Henry, in his commentary, gives a possible reason for this, and it’s a reason or excuse many people still give for not choosing to listen to wise counsel. Saul wanted a high priest that would listen to him and do what he said. Saul sought someone who would tell him what he wanted to hear. From previous encounters with Samuel, Saul knew Samuel would not do this, but would confront him and reprove him according to God’s designs and will. Saul did not like what Samuel had to say.

I have fallen prey to this deception. I have sought out people I thought would agree with me. Making decisions based on what I wanted to hear often led to more trouble and struggles. At one point in my recovery from my mental illness, I decided to seek out wise and godly counsel hoping for better results. I did not like what my doctors and therapists had to say most of the time. They challenged me and confronted me and urged me to change the way I acted and thought. I did not fully trust them. It was often uncomfortable, however, as a result of heeding their wise instructions, I began to recover and my mental illness stabilized. Today, I may not like or agree with what my therapist and psychiatrist want me to do, but I do what they suggest anyway and am led back to right thinking, right living, and a right relationship with God.