Came across the following verse in the book "A Man of Passion & Destiny" by Charles Swindoll,
1Sa 15:24-25 Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may worship the LORD."
Is Saul truly repentant?
Yes or No and please explain your answer.
5 comments:
Member A says:
I think Saul was not repentant or he had been misled into thinking that Samuel, though a man of God, could pardon his sin. He thought that by keeping Samuel by his side, Samuel could plead to God on his behalf, restoring him to his original position with God and thus he could get God’s good books once again.
On the other hand, Samuel, being a man of God, could act as an intercessor for Saul. He could perform the sacrifice ritual as a priest, thus fulfilling the requirement for forgiveness of sins by God.
Member B says....
My view is that Saul is not truly repentent. God gave him the command to go and attack the Amalekites and destroy everything that belongs to them. He had the full authority to carry out this command, but he and his army decided to spare king Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. He then told Samuel that he wanted to sacrifice all these good things to God. He had done what he thought was good in his own eyes, not realising that it the "good things" are detestable to the Lord.
When rebuked by Samuel, he gave the excuse that he sinned because he had "feared the people and obeyed their voice". This is nonsense because he had full authority over his army to carry out God's instruction. He gave an excuse and put the blame on someone else without admitting his own sin "pride and disobedience".
Therefore my conclusion is that he did not really repent. Comments?
Member C says .....
i agree too.
Saul was not fully repentant. he seemed to have missed the whole point of what Samuel was saying - that obedience was much more important than sacrifices and offerings.
From the conversation Saul had with Samuel, it sounds like Saul was saying things to pacify Samuel so that Samuel will go with Saul and worship with him in front of all the elders and people. i understand that having the backing of the Lord's prophet is quite a big deal for a king, so having Samuel there for post-battle worship/celebration is very important for Saul for the people to perceive Saul as being 'in authority'. Saul seemed more concerned with maintaining his status as king. we see this too later on as this obsession with being king consumed Saul to want to kill David.
in Acts 26:20, we see that repentance is proven by DEEDS. we can see true repentance from the fruit of the person. and Saul's fruits... well, it doesn't look like true repentance.
these are my 2 cents worth. comments?
while reading that chapter in 1 Samuel, the chapter ended with "... and the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel." This raised a question in me... how can an all-knowing God regret His actions if He can see the Beginning and the End?
Member D says ....
Ok, my turn.
First, I would start with the following definition which became a (personal) revelation to me and has helped me much.
Regret = feeling sorry for a decision made that hurt self
Remorse = feeling sorry for a decision made that hurt others
Repent = feeling sorry for a decision made that hurt God
Secondly, I would like to highlight 1 Sam 15:22
But Samuel replied:"Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD ?
To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
Obedience is about obeying His Voice ( little by little as we “grow” spiritually) not just obeying His laws.
Note: Obeying God’s voice will never contradicts his Laws.
Third, Our goal as a Christian is to lead a life that pleases Him (Heb 11:6) and not Self.
Our God is a Good God. Whatever He wants us to do is for our good although it may not always seems so at times.
When we do what He wants us to do will please Him and ultimately always please us but not the other way around.
Self centeredness will hinder us from entering the Kingdom of God and that is why:
Jesus said that we must deny ourselves, carry our cross and Follow him (Luke 9:23)
Paul said the last enemy to be destroyed is death (KT: death = dead to self-pleasing) ...1 Cor 15:26
Paul also said that is why he had to die every day (1 Cor 15:31)
Putting the pieces together, I believe that Saul was more focused on pleasing self than pleaseing God as a result he was very concerned about what others think or say about him...1 Sam 15:24
Saul was “compliant” to what he was told to do but not “obedient”. (he referred to God as Samuel’s God – 1 Sam 15:30)
How does the whole story relate to us?
As believers, we need to “grow up” and it is a daily exercise by doing what little we have learned not just a mental agreement.
We need to grow and learn to “Hear and Obey” (start with the little we already know).
It is about Obedience to His Voice (1 Sam 15:22) NOT just compliant to what we think He wants us to do.
Comments welcome.
Member E says ....
I am not too sure if Saul truly repentant but I am reminded of David's case having some similarities. See 2 Samuel 13-20 for comparison. There are there are many points for consideration in both passages, but I am specifically making comparison between Saul and David's respond to repentance:
Similarities
1. Both admitted to sinning
2. Both suffered consequences ( Saul was rejected as King and David's son died)
3. Both challenged the consequences of their sins ( Saul's repeated attempts to kill David. David protested against the dying of his son by fasting.)
Differences
1. David did not ask for forgiveness ( 2 Samuel 13) but Saul did (1 Samuel 15: 25)
Maybe I should ask if seeking forgiveness equates to repentance?
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