APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEIVING

"THEN SAUL SAID TO SAMUEL, 'I HAVE SINNED; I HAVE INDEED TRANSGRESSED THE COMMAND OF THE LORD AND YOUR WORDS, BECAUSE I FEARED THE PEOPLE AND LISTENED TO THEIR VOICE." I SAMUEL 15:24

One of the most famous verses in the Bible is this: "...for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (I Samuel 16:7) If the people of Israel were to pick their first king based on outward appearances alone, Saul would have been their frontrunner. Scripture says he was choice, more handsome, and taller than anyone in the crowd. He knew courage because his father was a mighty man of valor. From humble beginnings, as his family was the least of the families from the smallest of the tribes of Israel.

Saul would begin his reign at 40 years of age and rule for 32 years. He started out well. Greatness and honor should have been allotted to him, but time has a way of telling what is lying beneath the surface. Saul had the appearance from his outward actions that inwardly he was a man of God: fasting, sacrificing, wanting God's favor, and mentioning God's name in conversations. But appearances can be deceiving, and Saul had one major flaw going against him: he considered too highly the opinion of others. It would be his downfall. Here are a few examples:

PEOPLE PLEASER. The first time is when the Israelites are at war with the Philistines. Saul waits 7 days for the prophet, Samuel, to appear to perform the burnt and peace offerings to the Lord before going into battle. The people are frightened, however, and begin to scatter, so Saul takes it upon himself to offer the sacrifices himself. It looks good in front of the people to to this, but it was specifically against the commandment of God. When confronted by Samuel, Saul makes excuses and says "I forced myself" to do it. (I Samuel 13:12) Because of his disobedience, Samuel tells Saul that his kingdom will not endure.

PARTIAL OBEDIENCE. The second time is when he partially obeys the Lord. Years before God had declared that He would "utterly blot out the memory" of the Amalekites who had attacked Moses and the Israelites as they came out of Egypt. As Saul goes to war with the Amalekites, God asks Saul to carry out this judgment by completely destroying them. Saul was not willing to do so. He spares Agag the king as well as the best of the sheep, the oxen, the lambs, and all that is good. His excuses: I have carried out the command of the Lord, and I have saved the best to sacrifice to God. But when pressed further by Samuel, he finally confesses: I have sinned. I have indeed transgressed the command of the Lord. I feared the people and listened to their voice. Do you know that later Saul is not given credit for being partially obedient, but that it is referenced to as disobedience?

PUBLIC IMAGE. A third time is immediately following Saul's partial obedience. Samuel has declared that, because Saul has rejected the word of the Lord, that God has rejected him as king. Samuel turned to go, but Saul begs him to "honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel." (I Samuel 15:30) In other words, Saul wanted to worship with Samuel to look good in front of the people and not have them think that Samuel was no longer supportive of Saul as king. Sadly, this is the only time in Scripture that the words "Saul" and "worshipped" are linked togther, and then it was with wrong motive of the heart.

POPULARITY. The fourth is Saul's reaction to David slaying Goliath. For 40 days Saul and the armies of Israel had been trembling in fear of the taunting of Goliath and the Philistines. David, only a shepherd boy, picked up a stone and his sling and killed the giant. When the women of Israel were singing and dancing over the victory, they declared that Saul had slain thousands but that David had slain ten thousands. Words such as angry, displeased, suspicious, and dread are used to describe Saul's reaction to David's popularity and prospering in all that he did. Saul's jealousy would lead him to try and kill David from that day forward and chase David for years around the countryside of Israel, even though David would marry Saul's, daughter, be protected by Saul's son, and be anointed by Samuel as the next king.

How about you? Do you find yourself in circumstances which would cause you to follow the crowd instead of following God's leading? Do you do things for God half way when He is asking for your all? Do you dress up on Sunday mornings and put on a smile so you look good to others but are empty and depleted from worshipping the Lord on the inside? Are you jealous of someone else when the receive recognition for a job well done and seek to tear them down in order to build yourself up?

Much of Saul's actions were based in fear of the opinions of others, but Psalm 27:1 says, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread?" When you are walking in the light of Christ, there is nothing to fear except a healthy reverence for God and obedience to Him. Start anew today with Him, say YES to whatever He asks of you, and then follow Him fully with a worshipful heart. His opinion is the only one that matters.

GOD TAKES NOTE OF OUR SACRIFICES

"OFFER TO GOD A SACRIFICE OF THANKSGIVING AND PAY YOUR VOWS TO THE MOST HIGH" PSALM 50:14

As New Testament believers filled with grace and freedom, we look backwards into the Old Testament and are somewhat mystified by the exactness of the Law, the consequences for breaking the Law, and the tedious rules and regulations for a nation to follow. Within its pages are instructions for community living, for personal living, and for religious living. To approach a Holy God, we find laws for the various sacrifical offerings: through grain, peace, sin, guilt, and burnt offerings. Each type of offering carries its own set of rules. For instance, the grain offerings have a different set of rituals dependng upon whether the offering is baked in an oven OR made on a griddle OR made in a pan OR if it is fresh grain roasted in the fire. There is an entire tribe of Israel, the Levites, dedicated to serving the nation as priests to perform the duties of the sacrifices.

In the midst of reading Deuteronomy, Leviticus, and of Numbers, a lengthy passage highlighed a wonderful thought: God takes note of our sacrifices--each and every one of them. The prime example for this is found in Numbers 7. Eighty-nine verses are written to describe the sacrifices brought to the tent of meeting to dedicate the altar. For 12 consecutive days a leader from each of the 12 tribes of Israel brings an offering before the Lord. The interesting thing: they each bring THE EXACT SAME THING:

--1 silver dish weighing 130 shekels filled with flour for a grain offering.
--1 silver bowl weighing 70 shekels filled with flour and oil for a grain offering.
--1 gold pan weighing 10 shekels full of incense.
--1 bull, 1 ram, 1 male lamb for a burnt offering.
--1 male goat for a sin offering.
--2 oxen, 5 rams, 5 male goats, and 5 male lambs for a peace offering.

Every 6 verses it lists the name of the leader bringing the offering and then the same list of each offering for each day. In today's world we would copy and paste the text to speed up things. Most writings would simply summarize the whole event in 2 to 3 lines. Even the footnote at the bottom of the page of my study bible has the description to this text as "the almost monotonous repetition" of items brought, but when God repeats in His Word, we are to take note because He is trying to tell us something. The message: He takes great delight in each and every sacrifice we give in order to honor Him.

In the New Testament, Jesus, the exact representation of God, takes note of another sacrifice: the widow's mite. The widow placed 2 small copper coins into the offering plate at the Temple, the equivalent of about a penny. Rich people were giving out of their surplus but she gave "all she had to live on." (Mark 12:44)

The two stories are stories in contrast. In the Old Testament, it was prominent leaders of Israel, recorded by name and by tribe, coming before the Lord and the nation to dedicate the altar in great wealth; in the New Testament it was a nameless widow giving out of poverty and humbleness. In the Old Testament it was a 12 day ceremony with much pomp and circumstance; in the New Testament it was only Jesus who noticed the widow drop her two coins into the treasury. But don't be mistaken: both types of sacrifices were costly. For the altar dedication, riches and wealth were attached to the offering. For the widow, however, she gave generously within her poverty because she gave everything she had. After all, where would her next meal come from?

What about you? what have you sacrificed on the altar today for the God of the Universe to take notice? What is He asking you to give up that is costly to you? Time? Energy? Money? Career? Standing out in the crowd for Jesus? As King David said, "I will not...offer a burnt offering which costs me nothing." (I Chronicles 20:24). Whatever it is, remember this: God sacrificed His only Son so that you might relationship and restoration with Him. He gave up His all, His best, for us. We should follow His example and do the same.