Wrestling With Clear Commands Of God | 1 Samuel 15:1-3

Vince Miller Podcast

Do you struggle with clear commands of God?

Welcome to the Daily Devo. I am Vince Miller.

This week, we are in 1 Samuel 15. I've titled this chapter "The Consequences of Disobedience."

Here is verse 1-3 of Chapter 15:

And Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” — 1 Samuel 15:1-3

A lot of people, when they read these verses, are disturbed by this violent command of God. They read it apart from history and condemn and categorize it as “genocide” or “ethnic cleansing,” which is a very short-sighted view of this command. What we read here is God's delayed judgment on a long history of violence by the Amalekites.

The Amalekites were descendants of Esau. Amalek was Esau's grandson. What instigated this judgment was that they were the first human threat to the people of Israel after the Exodus (Exodus 17:8–16). You might remember this story. It's that epic moment when Moses is standing on the hill watching the battle with the Amalekites and Aaron and Hur on either side, helping to hold his arms and staff up because when they held his hands and staff up, they were winning against the Amalekites. Well, after that battle, God told Moses to write down that there would come a day when he would: “Utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven” (Exodus 17:14). And for many years, the Amalekites, a nomadic people, continued to be a violent and hostile people to the Israelites, (Judges 3:12–14; 6:3–5, 33; 7:12) which God wanted to bring to an end.

We need to wrestle with God's justice, but sometimes, our myopic view of justice fails to account for God's extraordinary perspective on justice. The more I get to know God and his Scripture, the less I question his commands and even the harshness of his justice.

When I was younger and knew the Scriptures less as well, I was troubled by even the simple commands of God. I had trouble seeing how bad company would corrupt good morals (1 Corinthians 15:33) or how sex outside of marriage was a sin against my own body (1 Corinthians 6:18). But with age and exposure to Scripture, I came to discover that in every instance there was great spiritual wisdom behind each one of these commands. Therefore, over time, I learned to trust God and his commands because I now know the wisdom behind these commands. I see something now I did not see before.

In this instance, God's command is to wipe out an entire tribe. Many modern readers are troubled by this because they have no context for the command and do not see what the people of the day easily saw and understood. Therefore, they take these verses out of context and call what is "bad good and what is good bad," perverting the truth, justice, and promise in God's command (Isaiah 5:20). We do this because we are fully convinced our perspective of justice is more progressive and developed than God's, which is laughable. Our perspective on this life and God's judgment is never more progressive, loving, just, and merciful than God's. That is sheer stupidity and arrogance. We will never know more than God.

I would encourage you today to get to know the riches of God's wisdom by being obedient more quickly, even when you don't fully understand. It's okay to ask the hard questions and get good answers, but don't delay obedience. Sometimes, delayed obedience is disobedience. So, if God is calling you to do something, do it! Don't miss out on the opportunity to get to know the deep wisdom of God by doing what he has commanded even when you don't like it or don't fully understand it.

#ObedienceToGod, #DivineJustice, #TrustInHisWisdom

Ask This:

1. When have you struggled to obey God's commands because they seemed harsh or difficult? How did you respond, and what did you learn from that experience?
2. What areas of your life are you tempted to delay obedience? How can you take immediate action to align with God's wisdom, even when it's challenging?

Do This:

Be obedient more quickly.

Pray This:

Lord, help me to trust Your wisdom and obey Your commands, even when I don't fully understand. Grant me the courage to act swiftly in obedience, knowing that Your ways are always just and true. Amen.

Play This:

Teach Me To Obey.