From “Christian Science Bible Lessons”, F. E. Mason, CS Journal, August 1889 –
Lesson No. 7.- Saul Rejected by the Lord. I Sam. xv. 10-23. Scripture Text: Chapter XV.
Saul expressed -— deceit. Instead of utterly destroying the enemy, Saul had appropriated their goods. God said, “Utterly destroy the sinners of the Amalekites, and all their possessions.” (Vs. 3, 18.) But instead, he spared the chief sinner (the king) and then “flew upon the spoil,” instead of destroying it. (V. 9.) Covetousness was his sin. Appropriating the “enemy’s goods” inoculates us with their thought.
To rashness and supercilious arrogance Saul adds hypocrisy. The bleating of the sheep and the lowing of the oxen are too frequently heard in our ranks! Evidence of the appropriation of the enemy’s god is too often apparent. [“And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?”] “Murder will out.” (Prov. xxviii. 13.) Saul’s words of flattery (“Blessed be thou of the Lord,” etc.) were a shrewd attempt to gain favor with Samuel. Sin will surely rise up to accuse us. We cannot stifle its cry; like the blood of Abel it will cry unto God from the ground. (Gen iv. 10.) Disobedience and sin will cry aloud like the sheep and the oxen, until we are self-condemned. V. 15; Falsehood.
Mankind are prone to shift their transgressions on others (Gen. iv. 1, A murderer), seeking to screen our sins under the cover of religion. Satan was an angel of light. Vs. 16, 17, 18, 19: (16) Stay; abandon this deception, this self-evident pretense, these flimsy excuses.
Revelation of the false position of the king of Israel; the ruling, predominant thought which swayed, controlled, and governed the Israelitish host, the king, i.e. the consensus of the thought of the people, was corrupt. The characteristics of Saul typify the conventional ruling thought of the people; in other words, he was the personified expression of the Israelitish host. From the 16th to the 19th verses we see a recapitulation of Saul’s career. V. 20; Attempted self-justification . . . Excuses not only utterly fail to vindicate us, but they cause further apostasy. V. 21: It is a noteworthy fact that . . . those who seek to justify themselves . . . are prone to lay the blame on others. His own admission that “the people” committed the offence disqualifies him as king. He should better have commanded them. They were but carrying out his wishes. He dethrones himself. V. 22; “To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.” (Prov. xxi. 3.)
The mere outward observance of the law is a cloak which covers hypocrisy. (Matt, xxiii. 25, 26; Luke xi. 39; Isa. i. 11-17.) Sacrifice should be of the heart, and the sacrifice should consist of the erroneous claims of the world. (Jer. vii. 22, 23; Mark xii. 33; Eccl. v. 1; Hos. vi. 6; Heb. x. 4-10.) Obedience is the first law of God. [“And to hearken (is better) than the fat of rams.”] Understanding is [the] “open sesame” to spiritual development, and infinitely better than the (“fat”) richness of worldly things.
V. 23: Disobedience is idolatry. It deifies self. “Witchcraft” is mesmerism, animal magnetism, demonology. Rebellion is estrangement from God. “Rejected thee from being king,” etc. Stubbornness, disobedience, self-will, ambition, pride. Witchcraft, the craft of animal magnetism, dethrones us, and we lose our sense of “dominion.” (Rev. xxi. 8; xxii. 15. 2 Cor. vi. 16. Gal. v. 19-22. Matt. x. 22.)