The sin of Saul is not the fact that he ordered sacrifices and offerings to be given to the Lord. David and Solomon would later make similar offerings with no rebuke (2 Samuel 24:25; 1 Kings 3:15).1 Instead, the sin of Saul was the fact that he did not listen to the command of God given through Samuel.2 Saul failed to accept the structure of authority established for him by the Lord and his prophet Samuel (see 1 Samuel 12:14).3
13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the LORD your God, with which he commanded you. For then the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.