Busted!!! So busted!!! His back was against the wall . . . he was painted into a corner . . . nothing left to do but some fast talking . . . nowhere else to go but to try to blame others. He could rationalize all he wanted . . . he could blurt out the excuses as fast as he could think of them . . . but at the end of the day all of King Saul’s words were drowned out by bleating sheep.

God had established Saul as king over Israel. Through Samuel, the LORD had pleaded with Saul and the people to continue to seek Him and obey Him. The LORD had given Saul the taste of victory in overcoming the enemies of of the people of God. And then, in 1Samuel 15, God commands Saul to go and utterly destroy — to devote to destruction — the Amalekites as God had determined to judge them for their opposition to Israel. And Saul leads the people into battle . . . soundly routs the Amalekites . . . but instead of devoting all the people and spoils of the battle to destruction, Saul “mostly does what God wants”. He spares the Amalekite king, Agag . . . and he collects “the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction” (15:9).

God knows . . . God informs Samuel . . . Samuel cries out to God and knows he must confront Saul. And when Samuel arrives it’s like Saul knows too . . . and suspects why Samuel has come and so, knowing that the best defense is an offense, he tries to convince Samuel (and maybe himself), “I have performed the commandment of the Lord” (15:13). And Samuels response? “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears?” (15:14).

Saul was pretty obedient . . . some might argue mostly obedient . . . as we say in my world, he got the 80-for-the-20. But the sound of bleating sheep testified to his disobedience. He could try and blame his people . . . but God had commanded him and he was king. He could rationalize sparing the best livestock as doing it for the Lord . . . that they might sacrifice their grade-A spoils to the Lord . . . but even if it were true (and I don’t think that was their motivation at all), God said there’s something better in His sight . . .

Has 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 listen than the fat of rams.    (1Samuel 15:22 ESV)

And, as I read this, I find myself asking, “What are the sounds of bleating sheep around me?”

What are those areas where I’ve been “mostly obedient”? What are those things that God has said, “Do away with it” . . . but I’m still holding on to some of it . . . kidding myself that it’s because “I have freedom in Christ” . . . but in reality it’s because I’m choosing to satisfy the old nature.

Pretty uncomfortable passage to hover over. As much as I’d like to focus solely on the finger pointing at Saul, I can’t help but stare at the three pointing back at me.

Where have I settled for the 80-for-the-20 in obeying what God has asked of me . . . do I hear bleating sheep . . .

Thank God for His grace . . . it covers a multitude of “80-for-the-20’s” — but God forbid that I should presume on the grace of God.

Oh, that I might seek something better than sacrifice . . . that I might, with integrity, pursue that which is better than the fat of rams. That I might be obedient . . . doing what God has asked me to do . . . out of love and adoration for Him . . . out of appreciation and awe for what He done for me . . . because He is worthy . . . and for His glory.