A Divided Heart

So Samuel said: “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifi ces, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.” 1 Samuel 15:22

Jesus says, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away …” (John 15:2). Saul was an unfruitful branch. Although he was joined to the vine, there was no life of God flowing through its veins. Eventually, God had to remove him from power. What were Saul’s problems?

First of all, Saul had a divided heart. His behavior was very inconsistent. On some days, he would be passionate for the Lord. On other days, he would live like a pagan without the knowledge of God. On some days, he would prophesy under the anointing of the Spirit. On other days, he would come under the influence of evil spirits. His was indeed a life of terrible mixture. A person who is double-minded is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8). May we pray the prayer of David: “Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name” (Ps. 86:11).

Secondly, Saul was a man of partial obedience. The first rule of having authority over others is to be under authority yourself. Saul usurped Samuel’s priestly authority by offering unlawful sacrifi ces on the altar (1 Sam. 13:8-13). He disobeyed God’s Word and overstepped his boundaries in the temple worship. When God instructed Saul to kill all the Amalekites and all their cattle, he disobeyed and spared King Agag and his cattle (15:9, 19-20). Saul’s fatal problem was that he always obeyed partially, never completely. Partial obedience is rebellion. Partial obedience will lead to self-deception. Eventually, Saul’s self-deception led him into witchcraft and the occult.

Thirdly, Saul was childish emotionally. He had no control over his own feelings, moods and anger. He would inordinately lose his temper over his soldiers and even Jonathan his son. He would become uncontrollably jealous of David. For us, Saul is a picture of the fleshly believer who refuses to submit to the lordship of Christ.God is looking for complete obedience in your life. God doesn’t want you to only offer lip service in half-hearted agreement to His Word and yet not fully obey what He is saying to you. God wants you to walk uprightly and wholeheartedly with Him. He doesn’t want you to deceive yourself into thinking that just because you invited Him once into your life, you can now live a fl eshly lifestyle and still inherit the kingdom of God. God wants to take out the nature of Saul in you, and replace it with the nature of David. Would you let Him?