God would not accept Saul’s excuse that the people had spared the best of the cattle and oxen to offer as a sacrifice unto the Lord. God had commanded Saul to utterly destroy everything belonging to Amalek, and Saul was without excuse. God did not want the best of the cattle to be used as a sacrifice for Him. In His eyes, such a thing was evil (1 Sam. 15:19). This indicates that we may regard a certain thing as suitable to be offered to the Lord. But to Him it is evil to present that thing as a sacrifice. Consider as an illustration the case of Cain, whose sacrifice was evil in God’s eyes. Many of today’s Christians are offering things which God regards as evil. They claim to be engaged in spiritual service, but God says that their offering is evil because it has its source in the flesh. Anything presented and sacrificed to God that has its source in the flesh is evil in His sight.
By offering sacrifices to God according to man’s will, Saul committed a presumptuous sin. Samuel said to him, “Hath Jehovah as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (1 Sam. 15:22, Heb.). To offer something to God according to our own will is presumptuous. Even if we present something good, we are still committing a presumptuous sin. God did not command Saul to spare the choice cattle and present them to Him as a sacrifice. Saul was presumptuous to do this. This is sinful.
In 1 Samuel 15:23 Samuel went on to say, “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” Witchcraft involves contact with demons. Samuel’s word to Saul indicates that sparing our flesh is an act of rebellion which brings us into contact with demons. To offer sacrifice in the way Saul did is not actually to offer sacrifice to God; it is to come in contact with demons. Such rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft.
Furthermore, Saul’s stubbornness was like iniquity and idolatry. The Hebrew word rendered iniquity in 1 Samuel 15:23 means idols of vanity. Saul’s stubbornness was like the worship of a vain idol. He was not truly worshipping the Lord, but was worshipping an idol of vanity. Saul may have thought that he was worshipping the true God, but actually he was serving an idol. Samuel’s word to Saul means that, because of his rebellion, Saul had become involved with demons and with the idols of vanity.
If instead of utterly destroying our flesh, we spare certain good aspects of the flesh, we also shall become involved with demons. Sparing the good flesh and then offering it to God is hateful to Him because in such a practice demons are involved. The idols of vanity are involved also. If we would follow the Lord’s word to utterly destroy the flesh, we shall have the kingship and shall be in God’s kingdom. But if we fail to carry out His word to destroy Amalek, we shall cut ourselves off from God’s authority and become joined to the demons and to the idols of vanity.
It is crucial for us to see what the flesh is and how the flesh is versus grace and God’s kingship. If we are careless in dealing with the flesh, we, like Saul, shall lose our kingship. Then we shall spontaneously join ourselves to the power of darkness. Apparently we are God’s people, but actually we shall be worshipping the idol of vanity. How serious this is! Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as the idol of vanity. May the Lord have mercy on us that we learn what the flesh is and how to deal with it utterly.
The record in the Bible concerning Amalek teaches us that we must be in fear and trembling before God in doing good things. We all are afraid of doing evil. But we may not have any fear in doing good. The portrait of Amalek in the Old Testament shows us that to do good according to our own choices is even worse than doing evil because it is against the very throne of God. Cain’s sacrifice seemed good, but it was actually an act of rebellion against God’s throne and against His economy. Likewise, Saul spared the choice of the cattle of Amalek with the intention of offering it to God as a sacrifice. This was rebellion, which is related to witchcraft, to the contact with demons. Much of what is done by today’s Christians supposedly for God is actually rebellion against God’s economy and involves contact with demons.
Without 1 Samuel 15:22 and 23, we would not realize that Saul’s deed was an act of rebellion related to demons. But Samuel’s word exposed the nature of what Saul had done. Apparently Saul intended to offer sacrifice to God. Actually his sacrifice was related to demons. This reveals the importance of realizing that whatever we do apart from God’s grace and apart from depending on Him and trusting in Him is of the flesh. And whatever is of the flesh is against God’s throne. It will be used by the subtle one, the enemy of God, to hinder God’s purpose.
Many of today’s Christians spare the best aspects of the flesh and offer them to God. Believers are even encouraged to offer the best of the natural life to God. In presenting such offerings, God’s redeemed people do not reject the flesh and they do not depend on God. On the contrary, among many Christians today, the activities of the flesh are encouraged. Only the Lord knows how much of Christian activity today is related to demons and is thus a hindrance to God’s purpose.
Under the light of God’s Word, we must learn that in serving God we need to be in fear and trembling lest we fail to trust in God or to depend on His grace. We should be fearful of doing even the best things in ourselves or according to our own will. We need to trust in the Lord and depend on His grace. We should be even more fearful in doing good than in doing evil. We all know that God condemns evil. Now we must learn that even in doing good, we may give opportunity to the flesh to produce an Ishmael. We may also give ground to Agag, king of Amalek.