Reaction to sin
The first king of Israel, Saul, was a person of impressive appearance. Tall and handsome, one would have thought that he would make the perfect king. His reign, however, demonstrated the truth that the condition of the heart is much more important than outward appearance.
Saul’s failure as a king stemmed from his disobedience to divine instructions. The story of 1 Samuel 15 illustrates well this weakness of Saul. In the beginning of the chapter, Saul was commanded by God to completely destroy the Amalekites, both people and animals. The Amalekites had ambushed the people of Israel as they left Egypt, attacking the weak and stragglers and Saul was to be the instrument of God’s punishment.
The chapter records that Saul and the army of Israel did indeed fight against Amalek, but they spared the life of Agag, king of the Amalekites, and the best of the animals. The reaction of Saul to the Lord’s rebuke through Samuel is interesting. Saul greeted Samuel after the battle, proclaiming, "I have performed the commandment of the Lord" (vs. 13), but Samuel asked about the animals. Saul then tried a different tact; he claimed that the people had saved the best of the animals to sacrifice to the Lord. What could be a more noble motivation than sacrifice to the Lord?
Samuel reminded Saul of the Lord’s commandment to "utterly destroy" the Amalekites. Saul reaffirmed HIS obedience, but finally admitted that the animals saved "by the people" for sacrifice should have been destroyed. Samuel, however, did not allow Saul, the leader of the people, to "pass the buck" and informed him that obedience is better than sacrifice. At last Saul confessed that he had sinned, noting that he had feared the people and thus had allowed the king and the animals to be spared.
Of great interest to me is Saul’s behavior after the confession of his sin. He pleaded with Samuel to go with him so that he could worship the Lord, evidently before the people. When Samuel refused, Saul seized and tore his garment. Samuel explained to Saul that in similar fashion the kingdom would be torn from him, but Saul still pleaded for Samuel to "honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel" (vs. 30). It appears that Saul was more concerned with how others would view him than consumed with remorse for his sin. Rebellion caused his sin; pride prevented him from properly reacting to his sin.
We all sin. How we react to the knowledge of our sin is crucial. Those who understand the true nature of sin, that it is an affront to our Creator, are moved to sorrow for their sin. Those who view sin as "no big thing" will seek to protect their reputation. Pride often will not permit them to admit their sin. Godly sorrow, however, moves men to repentance and humility permits the confession of sin (2 Corinthians 7:10; 1 John 1:9). What is your response to sin?