Reflecting on this chapter, we should appreciate that Saul is expelled from the office of king, but not from the old covenant community. The promises of God remain for him to be embraced, including the promise of forgiveness through faith in the coming Messiah. Going forward, he can submit to God’s decision and help to facilitate the ordination and confirmation of the new king. If he was truly penitent, that is what he could and would have done.
We should also realize that Samuel’s statement in 1 Samuel 15:22 is not a critique of the sacrificial system. The only way for the holy God to dwell amongst sinful people is if a perfect life can be lived in their place and atonement made for their sin. That was the message of the sacrificial system and it was meant to drive believers away from themselves to look for the coming of a true and righteous man.
The Lord did not need sacrifices (see 1 Samuel 15:22–23). He is not like the pagan gods, and sacrifices most certainly did not provide a licence for sin. Shall we sin that grace may abound? By no means, says Paul in Romans 6:1–23 and Samuel says essentially the same. We do not sin so that we can sacrifice. No, we sacrifice so that we can come into God’s presence. We enjoy fellowship with him and in that fellowship we are changed by his Spirit as we fix our hopes on Christ. The sacrificial system was meant to make Israel strong for obedience; it was never a substitute for life change.
We recognize that this is a time in which God seeks to renew us by his Spirit and that formal worship is not a substitute for obedience. We do not sin so that grace may abound. Our prayers do not excuse our selfishness and greed. Our songs do not atone for the harsh words we speak on the phone. Our offerings do not provide a heavenly credit that gives us freedom to steal or take what we have not earned. We are not pagans who go through liturgical motions in order to please the gods so that we can get on with living as we please. No, the new life Christ has given to us by his Spirit is a stimulus to obedience. United to Christ, we share in his resurrection power and we must live on the basis of that union.
14 And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?”