I have unfortunately known a few people that once lived a life dedicated to serving God, that decided to walk away for whatever reason. I had knowledge of one particular man that did this. When he did serve God he was having a positive effect on people that no one else could reach. For some reason though he decided to rebel against God and walk away. How many people other than himself did this man affect by doing this? Who could he have reached? How would it have affected his family? Unfortunately his family, that is his descendants, are known to those around them as troublemakers. They are known for alcohol and drug abuse. This is a sad thing that transpired because one man decided to rebel.
We find in 1 Samuel 15 a sad story of rebellion. God instructs Samuel (the man of God) to direct Saul to utterly destroy Amalek. He is told to destroy everything. He decides to keep the king of Amalek (Agag) alive and the best of the spoils.
Samuel arrives and rebukes Saul for this.
1 Samuel 15 KJV 12 And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. 13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD. 14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? 15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. 16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. 17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? 18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. 19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD? 20 And Saul said unto Samuel, 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. 21 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. 22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. 28 And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.
Saul tries to defend himself and say that he did do what God commended, even in the presence of the evidence of his rebellion.
What did his rebellion cost him? He lost all his conviction. When Saul began to rule Israel he had all the witches removed (1 Samuel 28:3). He had lost this conviction and found himself seeking out the very thing that he once fought against. (1 Samuel 28:7). He spends his last night alive in a witches house, being fed by her. He and most of his sons die in battle. (1 Samuel 31).
Saul lost his position in the kingdom. He lost his conviction for Godly things. He lost his family and finally his own life. This is what rebellion brings into your life.
Now what about what Samuel said in verse 1 Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
How is rebellion like witchcraft you may ask. Because when you rebel against God’s commands you are aligning yourself with spirits that are not of God.
How then is stubbornness like Idolatry? Because when you are being stubborn against the things of God you are setting yourself up as an idol in your own life.
When you decide that you know better than God then this is what you set yourself up for. When the man of God preaches something that God has given him and you think there is no need for you to listen to it. Then you are rebelling against God. You may think, “No, I just don’t agree with what he (the man of God) says.” Neither did Saul. Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch on behalf of your souls, as those who will give account, that they may do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be unprofitable for you. (Hebrews 13:17 WEB).
Be careful that you don’t find yourself living in rebellion and creating a heritage of destruction and decay. Instead, Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. (James 4:10 KJV).
Ephesians 4:29-32 NHEB 29 Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for building up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander, be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.
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