Agag is a funny name...

So usually I have some sort of a back-story as to why I am writing about a particular topic, but today I got nothin’. I struggle with this whole bla(h)g thing and what I write… and I would like to keep it more devotional in nature. But that typically requires deep thought and preparation, and I try to keep both of those to a minimum, so what you see is what you get.

The Amalekites were a long-time thorn in the Israelite’s side throughout their history. Overall, they seemed to be pretty awful people. But one day God told Saul to kill them. More than that, He told Saul to annihilate them. In 1 Samuel 15, God tells the king, “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." So Saul took over 200,000 soldiers and did as the Lord commanded; he killed everyone and left nothing destroyed… with the exception of the choicest sheep and cattle, and the Amalekite king Agag; he kept them alive as was commonplace in warfare at the time.

The Bible says something pretty peculiar about Saul’s actions. It says that God was “grieved that He made Saul king.” (15:11) What that exactly means (how God can grieve His perfect decision), I don’t really know. I’ll have to ask my dad about that one… But the reason He was grieved is because Saul didn’t listen to God’s commands. God told him to destroy everything, but Saul kept sheep, cattle, and royalty. So God sent Samuel to confront the king. I love what Samuel does. He asks Saul how the battle went, and Saul starts yapping then Samuel interrupts him and says, "What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?" Personally, I read that very sarcastically. It makes me smile. The thing is though, Saul had a good answer. He kept the high quality sheep and cows in order to make a thank-offering to God for delivering the enemy into their hands. It was what you did after battle; you win then you slaughter the best animals as an offering to God. Saul didn’t keep them for himself or hide the fact that he kept them, he just kept them alive in order to give thanks to God.
Here’s how Samuel replied:

"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."

Powerful words those are! God didn’t want Saul to keep animals- even if they were heading for the altar. God wanted Saul to follow His commands, and since Saul disobeyed, God withdrew His favor toward Saul’s reign. Good intentions pale in comparison to following God’s directives.
This smacks me right between the eyes. How often have I known full and well what God commanded, but do something else- even with good intentions- only to fall short of what I know I should do.  I do it all the time.  I see a kid who is on the "fringe" and could really use some time and attention, but instead of reaching out to him, I focus on those whom I already know and with which I already have a rapport.  Granted, this is a little bit of a different scenario than what we see in 1 Samuel 15, but it burdens my conscious nonetheless.  The bottom line is to honor God is to keep his commands; that is the highest form of worship. What, you ask, are His commands? Well Jesus puts them very simply in Matthew 22: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself."

Love God and serve others, this is what He commands. Seems simple enough, but the one thing that’s missing in that sentence is the thing that gets in the way. The “I”- The almighty, “ME”. I get in the way of loving God and worrying about me gets in the way of loving others. This is shameful…

But, thanks be to God it isn’t up to me to seek to love Him or others! This is the wonderful truth of the Theology of the Cross! I know that it is Christ within me that prompts me to honor, serve, and obey our Almighty Father in Heaven. It is through the Holy Spirit that I have faith, and it is that faith that causes me to desire to be a light in the darkness of this world. The beauty of Him being made strong in my pathetic weakness means that even though I fail day after day in putting serving my Savior first in my life, He is still mighty to save! It isn’t about me and what I do, it’s about Him and what He does through me. It is pretty amazing, really. The highest form of worship is following God’s commands. An impossible feat alone. But the Living God is living within me and through Him I am a slave to His righteousness. May He continue to work on my heart that I would seek to honor Him- truly honor Him in everything I think, say, and do. May I look for opportunities to love others as He loved me, and may I always obey His perfect commands rather than my feeble desires.