The Raymer enterprise., 1915-04-01

| Sebhks.N A-I)tHbIu. 10 obey Us Btt-
ter than sacrifiee.-I Samuel l5:992.
Jonathans victory (ch. 14l brought
with 1t SHINING on the part of the
hungry, harassed Israelites in that
they ate of the spoils with the blood"
u4:31, 32s Lev. 3:17. 7;26l. In the
emergency Saul erected the first al
tar that he built unto the Lord" fch
14;35). a rather dilatory act on the
part of God-anointed king Saul had
resorted to the subterfuge of com.
manding the people TO roll a great
stone,' i.e.. cut the throats of the ami.
mails Of which they had eaten that
they might bleed, and thus be an evi.
dence that the animals had died be.
fore being eaten. This the people did,
fearing Saul. but having no scruples
In transgressing Gods commands.
These same people rescued Jonathan
from the foolish vow of Saul, for it
was his faith and valor that had chief.
ly brought about the victory.
! !. Gods Sorrow, w. 1912. Samuel
had first revealed Gods purpose in
making Saul king, and likewise first
declared Gods purpose to dispose OF
Saul ty. 10. Saul's actions wv. 1-9l
had stamped him as being no longer
worthy Of Gods confidence. The
word "repenteth," meaning to sigh
". IL, denotes a change OF feeling
due to Saul's actions and not to any
change in the character, purpose or
desires of Good. God was sorry that
Saul had proved himself unworthy.
A halfway obedience OF Gods com.
mand only heightened his guilt.
Whatever moral difficulties seem to
lie, for later age. In Sauls commits.
sion against Amalek, there were none
such for him" Vaughn. Mans re.
pentance involves change Of mind
and purpose. In Saul's case God re
pented. changed the instrument OF his
execution, because of the change OF
/ >ANuiHotahNCS anu ICIdliou. nOu IL
ever the same: 1t Is man alone who
changes. Saul had given Samuel
cause for anger (v. II r. W, but he
did the wise thing in taking 1t to God
In prayer. Arising early the next
morning Samuel hastened to acquaint
Saul with Jehovah's message. It is
remarkable of how many OF the great
men Of the Bible 1t is said that they
rose early, Abraham, Gideon, Joshua
Job, Jacob. Moses, etc, not to forget
our Lord Jesus.
u. Samuel's Rebuke, w. 1919. II
must have been striking scene when
the aged Nazarite prophet faced the
proud but recreant king. A guilty
conscience is often covered by a great
show OF piety tv. 13I, but such acts
cannot stifie the conviction of the
heart nor deceive the righteous Judge.
Sin proclaims itself even as Samuel's
sharp question brought conviction
from the lips of Saul (v. IA; Prov.
2s:l3). Saul thought to deceive Sam.
uel by using falsehood ty. 15). The
only safe course is to confess our
sins FPS. 32:l5; |. John 1:9l. There
Is an interesting suggestion in the
way Saul uses the impersonal they"
and we in verse 15, as II to lay
the guilt of his acts upon Others. II
is easy for the sinner to blame others
and seek to minimize his own guilt
Rom. 14:12). Verse 8 clearly in.
dicates why Saul and the people had
spared the best Of the cattle. To use
part only for God and the rest for
self In direct dsobedience to Gods
rights or the rights of others is to
incur his righteous wrath tvv. %, 23).
III. saul's seItRejectIon, w. 20.2a.
God set Saul aside because he had
rejected the right and chose the
wrong. Face to face with his sin
Saul could not dodge the issue. Sam.
uers wherefore" ~. 1877 must have
aroused Saul's guilty conscience. It
is a question which should reach every
tempted soul. Samuel characterized
saufs sin as being due to stubborn.
ness. rebellion. disobedience and a re-
lection Of God ". 19). Again Saul
seeks to evade his responsibility wv.
20, 2D. Then Samuel speaks plainly
". 22) comparing his sin OF disobedi
ance with witchcraft, stubbornness
iniquity and idolatry. Plainly he tells
Saul, Because thou hast rejected the
word of the Lord, he hath also reject.
ed thee from being king" ". 23).
Driven thus to corner Saul made
confession Of his guilt ". 24) but
spoiled 1t all by acknowledging that
he had greater fear Of the people than
Of God.
This is Easter Sunday, our reproach
has been removed. not at Gilgal but
on Calvary. The unchanging God
hates sin. which is Interchangeable, has
condemned 1t on the Cross that the
guilty sinner may live.
The persistence Of sin, the un.
changeableness Of God and his un.
yielding hatred Of sin are met by the
elimination Of Easter for, BY the |
obedience Of one shall many be made |
righteous" from. 6:19).
The whole root of Saul's trouble
was his attitude towards the word of |
God. Every mans destiny hinges
upon what he does with the Living