It’s Time To Kill Agag (Title is link to sermon)
The scripture tells us that King Saul spared King Agag. He slew the women, the children, the infants and all the men, but he spared Agag, why?
1 Sam 15:8-11 (8) And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. (9) But Saul and the people spared Agag , and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. (10) Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, (11) It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.
I believe that many people have saved back something that God has commanded them to kill in their lives!
1 Sam 15:12-19 (12) And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. (13) And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD. (14) And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? (15) And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. (16) Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. (17) And Samuel said, “When thou wast little in thine own sight, was thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?” (18) And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. (19) Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?
Why do people hang on to just enough to cause them problems?
Just enough sin that it will cause us to be disobedient to God?
What this chapter represents is not a cruel God destroying women and children, but it speaks to us about the separation from the world.
If Israel had been obedient to God, they wouldn’t have the problems they have to day.
If America would just be obedient to God, we wouldn’t be having all the problems we are having today! Amen?
Unless you destroy the enemy in your life he will be there for you to fight every day.
If you don’t destroy an addiction you will always fight with it until it finally destroys you.
You can’t keep it around, you can’t taper off a little at a time you must destroy it once and for all or you will become its slave forever.
Saul was to cleanse the land of the Amalekites and their false Gods so that Israel wouldn’t fall victim to false worship.
Israel was no different than we are today, people fail to separate themselves completely from sin, holding on to just enough to cause god to be angry with them.
1 Sam 15:20-23 (20) And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. (21) But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. (22) And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. (23) For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
This scripture tells us that God demands our complete obedience to His word!
One of the biggest problems in the world today is that most people will not follow instructions.
Samuel gave the command to Saul, he obeyed some of the command but not all, and he saved Agag.
Saul was motivated by the love of money, they kept all the best animals, they kept all the best possessions, collected the spoils of victory.
They spared the king. Why? Why would Saul be so blatantly disobedient?
Well, it wasn't just materialism; in this case it was pride.
Here was a vicious terrorizing monarch of this tribe who was known to everybody as the greatest fighter and warrior and victor before whom others crumbled.
Saul was going to show his great mighty power, his great force by holding up the trophy Agag and saying,
"Look what I have, look who I defeated." It was pride and materialism.
It was just an evil heart on Saul's part to flatly and blatantly disobey God.
1 Samuel 15:32- Samuel said, "Bring me Agag the king of the Amalekites." And Agag thinking all is going too well, Saul is off the throne, everything is forgiven, comes in cheerfully.
And Agag said, "Surely the bitterness of death is passed." Well, that's all over.
And Samuel said, "As your sword has made women childless so shall your mother be childless among women."
Which is another way of saying, "I'm going to kill you and Samuel hued, or hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal."
Before I close: As I said, this is a tremendous insight into God's attitude toward sinners and His holiness and wrath against sin.
But I want to use it just as an analogy; it is an illustration of the sin that remains in the believer's life. When you were saved, and I was saved there was at that moment a crushing defeat of sin. Amen?
From one end to the other, east to west, north to south our sin was crushed. Amen?
But we still have remaining sins. There are some Amalekites running around loose in everybody's life.
We all have our Agags!
And the problem in our Christian lives is not that sin has not been defeated, it has, but there is still remaining sin.
There are some loose Amalekites in some. And though there was a great and glorious and triumphant defeat at the time of our salvation, there is the necessity that the remaining sins be hacked to pieces or they will revive, they will plunder our hearts and zap our spiritual strength.
We cannot be merciful with the Agags of our life.
We cannot be merciful with the remaining sins in our life or they will turn and create an insurrection and a rebellion to attempt to destroy us.
It Is Time to Kill Agag! Kill your Agag today!
Comments
Amen