This is a difficult story to read. Saul is one of the most tragic of all the characters in the Bible. Saul had many talents and strengths, but at times made poor choices. In this story, Saul has disobeyed the specific directions of God to destroy everything of the Amalekites. Saul and the Israelites found this command a hard one to follow. They wanted to use the bounty of the Amalekites for their own betterment, but God told them to destroy it ALL. Saul does not follow God’s directions and will lose his throne because of it. There is the obvious lesson in this story that we should always do exactly as God directs us to do. To go against the commands and directives of God is a serious matter and will lead to trouble.

Today we struggle to always follow the ways of God. We live in an ungodly world with many negative influences around us. One thing that stands out in this story is why Saul disobeyed God. Saul admits that he has sinned in verse 24 and that the reason he disobeyed God was that he “feared the people.” We often fear the people in our life as well. We all know the power of peer pressure on the young, but peer pressure is not limited to the young. We wonder what our co-workers, friends, neighbors or even strangers will think about us. Will they think us a religious fanatic, loon, or worse? Will they distance themselves from us because of our standing on the teachings of God? It would bear us well to always remember the lesson of Saul’s fall.