King Saul’s Job
Samuel was reading his Bible and praying. God spoke to him in his heart.
“Samuel,” God said, “I want you to tell King Saul to do a job for me.”
Samuel felt bad when he heard this. King Saul was not living right any more. Sometimes he did well, but usually he did not. And he would get angry when he did not like the job. Samuel wished that King Saul would just obey God all the time.
God explained what the job was. King Saul was to destroy all the cows, sheep, and camels in a certain place. Not a single one was to be kept.
Samuel thought about how he used to sweep the floor when he was a boy. It was very important to sweep all the floor—not just part of it. God wanted the job to be done right.
So Samuel went and told King Saul about the job.
“Oh, boy!” King Saul said, “This is just great!”
“Remember,” said Samuel, “you must destroy all the cattle.”
“Of course,” said King Saul, “I’ll do it. No problem!”
“God won’t like it if you don’t obey,” Samuel warned, “You had better do it just like God says.”
“Yes, sir!” King Saul said. “Don’t worry! I love to obey.”
King Saul gathered his men together to do the job. After a lot of hard work, all the cattle were gathered into a large pen.
One of King Saul’s men came to him and said, “Sir, these are very fine cattle. In fact, they are some of the nicest cattle I have ever seen.” He paused, and King Saul could see how dirty and tired he was. “Sir, would it be all right if we took some home… and sacrificed them to God?”
King Saul thought about it. If they burnt the cattle at home on the altar as a sacrifice to God, then they would be destroyed, wouldn’t they? Samuel hadn’t said just how the cattle were to be destroyed, now did he?
Just then, a little voice spoke up in King Saul. The voice said, “God doesn’t want these cattle coming home. He wants them destroyed so they won’t come home. You are supposed to do just what God says to do, without changing it at all!”
Everybody at home was really impressed with what fine, big cattle King Saul and his men had caught. They were even more impressed when they learned that all these cattle were to be sacrificed to the Lord.
Just then, King Saul saw Samuel coming down the road.
“Samuel,” King Saul called, “look at how God has blessed us. I obeyed God and did it just as you said He wanted it done!”
Samuel stopped and looked King Saul right in the eye. “If you have obeyed God just as He told you to do, then what is all this mooing and baaing that I hear?” He sighed. “Saul, God doesn’t like it. He doesn’t want sacrifices. He would rather have obedience.”
“Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” (1 Samuel 15:22-23)