Heavy silence blanketed the congregation as edicts flowed from the lips of their leader. Statutes. Rules. Commands. Answers for any questions. Guidance for every situation. Punishment for ne’er-do-wells, scoundrels, and the blatantly defiant. The list was comprehensive. Overwhelming. Intimidating. It would take days, maybe months, to memorize the list of laws and punishments. It was imperative they do so. Boldly underscored by every spoken word was the irrevocable truth. The individual brazenly choosing to sin would die.
The list of rules was logical, even if the litany was tedious. Nothing surprising had been listed as taboo. It made sense to cleanse the evil from among them. Every community, every civilization, every group of people needed laws and rules to govern behavior and establish societal norms. It seemed realistic to quickly punish sin, make an unforgettable example of those who chose to step outside the lines of the law. Yet while their heads were still nodding in affirmation of Moses’ most recent words, a more challenging order reached their ears. Total eradication of their enemies. Annihilation. Complete destruction of those currently inhabiting their God-promised lands. Men. Women. Children. Animals. Every single breathing life.
As the words of war wafted over the congregation, men’s faces surely paled. Women, running herd on restless children at the outskirts of the crowd, clutched their nursing infants more closely to their chests. They were moved by the words. Their hearts shook. Their stomachs clenched. Feelings of sympathetic horror brought bile to burn the backs of their throats. It took little effort to imagine what those unsuspecting women would feel as swords sliced through their children only to cut them down in the midst of their mourning. Horrified by the thought, tears coursed down their faces to drip from their chins. More than one Israelite woman must surely have wondered why they had to kill them all. Why the women and children? What had they done wrong? Couldn’t they be saved? Couldn’t they assimilate into the Israelite culture? Did all of them really have to die? (Deuteronomy 20:16-17)
The short answer was, “Yes.” No one could be left behind. Not because there was no hope of assimilation, but because assimilation had the potential to swing God’s people over into the abominable practice of idol worship. They couldn’t risk it. Couldn’t set such a trap for themselves. Their entire existence, from current prosperity to future security, rested on their ability to remain faithful to God. Their God. The God who had claimed them as His own possession. The God whose people they had vowed to be. The jealous God who would abide no idols, no distractions, no substitutes. The God who had promised to fight for them, stand with them, deliver them victorious in every battle… if they remained faithful. The God whose requirements could easily be summed up in three short sentences. Fear God. Follow God. Obey God. That’s all He asked. (Deuteronomy 4:1-9, 5:6-8, 7:6-10, 14:1, 15:4-5, 18:9-14, 20:18)
It was essential for their survival that they keep their encampment free from sin. The enemies against whom they would fight were large and established. Men of war. Women of cunning. The Israelites’ ability to confidently fight against them rested in the power of God alone. If even one grain of resentment, rebellion, or earthly attraction took root among them, it could grow and spread, causing God’s presence to withdraw and their fighting skills to be called into question. The danger of allowing sin to thrive among them was too high. The implicative price was far more than they were willing to pay. (Deuteronomy 10:12-21, 11:8,16, 19:9, 20:1-4)
And it wasn’t the first time they had been told to eradicate sin from among them. Earlier in the same delivery Moses had issued a similar directive concerning evil stemming from within their ranks. Warning against false prophets who would arise and encourage the people to chase after other gods, Moses directed that the one who attempted such a thing must be put to death. No matter who it was. Parent, sibling, friend, neighbor. Do not listen to them. Do not be drawn aside. Do not allow yourself to be tempted. This is not the time for making allowances. Eliminate them. They aren’t your friends. They aren’t looking out for your best interests. Whoever seeks to draw you aside from following God, whoever makes allowances for sin, whoever encourages you to chase after anything but God, is an enemy of your soul. And you have just one set of rules to follow. Fear God. Follow God. Obey God. That’s it. (Ezekiel 18:20; Deuteronomy 13:1-11; Colossians 2:4; Proverbs 1:10)
Centuries later King Saul found this to be unequivocally true. Sent by God to utterly destroy the Amalekites, he and his men became distracted by the earthly attractions they found there. Gorgeous sheep. Strong oxen. Fattened calves. King Agag. Drawn aside by the greedy desires of their own hearts, they failed to follow orders. Instead of arriving home physically empty and spiritually full, they toted wagons of ewes and lambs, led herds of cattle marked for destruction, and towed a king they should have buried.
Approached by Samuel and asked for an explanation, Saul handily blamed the people under him, readily offering excuses on their behalf. He tried to dress it up, make it look innocent, even holy. “The people brought the best sheep and oxen from the Amalekites, intending to sacrifice them to the Lord,” he whined. But it wasn’t Samuel’s first day. He’d already had a conversation with God. He wasn’t buying what Saul was selling. In words of strong rebuke, Samuel annihilated Saul with simple sentences impossible to misunderstand. God is interested in obedience more than anything. Rebellion and presumption are sins equal to divination and idolatry and God finds them violently repugnant. He rejects both the actions and those who engage in them from His presence. Because God cannot, does not, will not, dwell where sin is welcomed. Choosing not to obey the simple set of rules handed down from God generations before, Saul paid the ultimate price. He forfeited the presence of Almighty God. (I Samuel 15)
From our regal position as Head of Hindsight, we read Saul’s story and shake our heads. We wonder why he didn’t just obey God. It seems so simple, so easy. It was such a small ask. Go in. Destroy the Amalekites. Come home. Samuel didn’t stutter when he gave the directive. There was nothing in his verbiage to confuse or mislead. Clearly Saul and the people went off track of their own volition. Why? Why did they do that? Knowing God’s laws, having firsthand experience with His power, why didn’t Saul hold everyone’s feet to the fire and follow the simple instructions before him?
Probably for the same reason you don’t. Saul got distracted. Distracted by the sight of healthy, beautiful, fattened animals. Drawn aside by the ability to trek a defeated king through town and celebrate his victory. Diverted by the pull of earthly things, the desire to please the people, the invalid assumption that God would overlook his disobedience so long as they sacrificed the best animals at Gilgal. Saul couldn’t have been more wrong. Neither can we.
Too often we find ourselves in a similar position. Our world is full of distractions. Things pulling us in one direction or another. Issues demanding we staunchly choose a side. People pressuring and pressing us to loosen up, lighten up, liven up. In the midst of the cacophony of earthly things vying for our attention so they can pull us off track, we find ourselves sorely tempted to adjust our spiritual landscape to include things God has destined for destruction. It is a slippery slope from which we must keep clear. God doesn’t ask us to quit something or someone just because He suddenly had a crazy notion to mix things up a little. No. Everything God does has a purpose. Tearing out the sins and temptations, severing ties to poor influences and pressures, clearing out the things that obscure your full view of Jesus Christ all serve to preserve your soul. If God asks you to make a sacrifice, rest assured, He asks with your eternal safety in mind.
In the final lines of Ecclesiastes, the Preacher, a man who has searched the world over for wisdom and meaning, finds the most important words to speak are reiterations of the ones God gave Moses so many years before. “Fear God. Keep His commandments. That’s it. That’s all.” The preacher wasn’t wrong. The same message can be found throughout the entire Bible. Its unchangeable truth echoes through time to ring in our ears, “Fear God. Follow God. Obey God.” Nothing has changed since those first edicts so long ago. God required obedience then, He requires nothing less now. Regardless of the changing social climate. No matter the political pressures. The opinions of friends and family notwithstanding. May we dedicate ourselves to the only things that truly matter–perfect obedience and adherence to God’s laws. May it be our vision. May it be all we seek. Fear God, follow God, obey God. That’s it. That’s all. (Ecclesiastes 12:13; Revelation 14:12; Romans 6:16; Luke 11:28; Joshua 1:8; Exodus 19:5; Acts 5:29; I John 5:3; Romans 12:2; Deuteronomy 11:26-28)