THE BLEATING OF SHEEP

“But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” ~ I Samuel 15:14

REFERENCE:

I Samuel 15:1-14

Do you know people who claim to be one thing, but everything around them says differently? King Saul fit that bill when he gave himself laurels while reporting to prophet Samuel on the assignment God gave him. As smug and satisfied as Saul was, something gave away the fact that he did not do what he claimed and did not deserve the laurels – the bleating of sheep.

God told Saul to utterly destroy the Amalekites as punishment for attacking the young nation of Israel as they left Egypt. Saul had other plans; he would destroy Amalek, but if he saw what he liked, he would not destroy it. Verse nine says, “But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.”

Despite his disobedience, Saul still bragged to Samuel about fulfilling the assignment. He presented the armor of vanquished soldiers and brought the ashes of things burnt, and claimed he had obeyed God. Additionally, he went ahead to build a national statue to this victory. As he spoke glowingly of his exploits, Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears.” 

As Saul bragged noisily, Samuel heard another noise in the background. It was the bleating of sheep, sheep he should have killed. The bleating of the sheep signaled Saul’s disobedience; it was the sound of disobedience. What bleating of sheep is in your life? Is there something God told you to do, but you obeyed partially? Married, but the sheep of adultery are bleating; the sheep of unforgiveness, pride, exam malpractice, etc., are all proof of disobedience.

Let your obedience to God be complete. Let your monuments be the ones that God builds for you. Live life to honor the authority figures over you. Obedience to God is absolute – ‘destroy everything means to destroy everything.’ Don’t just destroy what you don’t like; deal with the bleating of the sheep, too; God doesn’t want the sound. May you never become too big for God that he cannot trust you with His purpose and mission in your generation. Do what He says!

PHOTO QUOTE

ADDITIONAL TEXTS:

II Corinthians 10:5-6, Job 36:11, and I Samuel 15:22

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PRAYER:

+ O LORD of heaven. Teach us to live in absolute obedience to You. May nothing else matters but to please you always.

+ Help me to address every disobedience in my life and to deal with the sheep in me brutally.

+ Forgive me for the error of disobedience. Let me cease to pay the price for yesterday’s error.