29th.: Saul's Excuses
Saul disobeyed God.
Samuel then reproved Saul,
“Wherefore then did thou not obey the voice of the Lord,
but did fly upon the spoil, and did evil in the sight of the Lord?” (1st Sam. 15:19).
Saul quipped,
“Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me,
and have brought Agag, the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
But the people took of the spoil, sheep, and oxen, the chief of the things,
which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.” (1st Sam. 15:20-21).
Sound familiar?
People make excuses all the time.
Saul made excuses.
Rather than asking for forgiveness, Saul
a. Reasserted his obedience.
b. Blamed the people.
Note: The people had earlier obeyed his food ban (see 1st Sam. 14:24). They would have obeyed Saul, if he had ordered, ‘Slaughter EVERY animal.’
Likewise, when we pray, are we making empty excuses to others - and ourselves.
“… and their thoughts the mean while accusing, or else excusing one another.” (Rom. 2:15b)