Hey, Carpool Crew. Welcome back to Carpooling with Heroes of the Bible. I'm really glad you're here today. Maybe you're riding in the car, doing some errands, hanging out on a long road trip, or just relaxing at home, listening to a podcast. I love that. So far in our story, we've been following the life of Samuel, the boy who heard God's voice and grew up to become one of the most important prophets in Israel. In the last episode, we met the man the people of Israel chose as their king. Saul. Saul looked exactly like the king the people imagined. He was tall, strong, impressive. And the Bible says he stood a full head taller than everyone else in Israel. If the people were voting for a king based on appearance alone, Saul would've been easily chosen. And at first, things seemed promising. One of Saul's first big moments as king came when the Ammonites threatened the city of Jabesh-Gilead. Saul gathered an army and led Israel to victory. The Bible says the Spirit of God came powerfully on him, and the people followed him into battle. After that victory, the nation celebrated and officially confirmed Saul as their king. But here's something the Bible teaches again and again. A good start does not guarantee a good finish. Saul's problems began when he stopped trusting God and started trusting himself. The first warning sign came during a battle with the Philistines, Israel's longtime enemies. Now, the Philistines were powerful. Archeologists believe they had advanced iron weapons when Israel was still mostly using bronze tools and farming equipment. The Bible even tells us Israel had very few blacksmiths, which meant that many Israelite soldiers went into battle with basic tools instead of real swords and real spears. So when Saul's army gathered to fight them, things looked terrifying. The enemy army was massive. The Bible describes thousands of chariots and soldiers gathering along the coast. Saul's soldiers started getting very nervous. Honestly, I would be nervous too. Some hid in caves. Some of the soldiers ran away. Others crossed the Jordan River just to escape before the battle. Samuel told Saul something very specific: 'Wait seven days for me. I will come and offer sacrifices to God before the battle.' Now, in Israel, kings were not supposed to perform priestly duties. That was one of the rules that was made. That was the role of prophets and priests like Samuel. But as the days passed, Saul became anxious. He was nervous. He was worried. The soldiers were leaving, and the enemy was growing stronger. Samuel had not arrived yet. So Saul panicked. Instead of waiting for Samuel, Saul decided to offer the sacrifice himself. And just as Saul finished, Samuel arrived. Samuel asked Saul a very direct question: 'What have you done?' Saul immediately started explaining himself. He said that the soldiers were scattering, the enemy was approaching, and Samuel had not come yet. So Saul said he felt forced to offer the sacrifice. But Samuel gave Saul a serious warning. In 1 Samuel chapter 13, verse 13, Samuel said, 'You have been foolish. You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you.' And Samuel told Saul something shocking. Because Saul disobeyed God, his kingdom would not last. God was already looking for someone else to be king. But Saul's biggest failure came later, during a battle with a group called the Amalekites. Now, the Amalekites, they didn't like flying kites. No, no, no. They were vicious. They were brutal. They were longtime enemies of Israel. In fact, they were the first nation to attack Israel when the Israelites came out of Egypt hundreds of years earlier. Because of their cruelty, God gave Saul a very clear command: defeat the Amalekites and completely destroy their army and their possessions. But Saul didn't fully obey. He didn't listen to what God said. Instead of following God's clear instructions completely, Saul kept the best animals and allowed the Amalekite king to survive. The king's name was Agag. And guess what? When Samuel arrived, Saul tried to act like everything was fine. He said, 'I've carried out the Lord's instructions.' But Samuel immediately knew it wasn't true. He heard sheep and cattle in the background. So Samuel asked a direct question to Saul: 'What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears?' In other words, if you obeyed God completely, why do I hear animals? Saul tried to blame the soldiers. Then he said the animals were saved to sacrifice to God. He was blaming others and making excuses. That's never good, right, Carpool Crew? We don't make excuses. We don't blame others. But Samuel answered with one of the most important lessons in the Bible. In 1 Samuel chapter 15, verse 22, Samuel said, 'Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord?' That's like Samuel saying, hey kids, do your parents take pleasure in gifts and drawings as much as listening to them when you're supposed to clean your room or take a bath or sit down for dinner? Look, to obey is always better than a sacrifice. See, God wasn't interested in Saul making religious excuses or blaming other people. God wanted obedience. Because Saul rejected God's command, Samuel told him something heartbreaking. God had rejected him as king. Samuel then carried out God's command himself and executed King Agag. Now, here's a really fascinating piece of history that many people miss. The name Agag was likely a royal title for Amalekite kings, similar to how Egypt had kings called Pharaoh. And hundreds of years later, in the book of Esther, a villain named Haman appears. The Bible calls him Haman the Agagite. A lot of scholars, including Pastor Justin, believe that means he was a descendant of the Amalekite royal line. So, in other words, the enemy Saul failed to fully defeat would continue causing trouble for God's people generations later. But that's a story for another time. It's a really good one. We'll probably do it on the podcast eventually. For now, Saul's story was heading in a very different direction. Saul had the crown, he had the army, he had the power. He did not have the most important thing though: a heart that fully obeyed God. And because of that, God was already preparing the next king. Next time on Carpooling with Heroes of the Bible, Samuel will travel secretly to a small town called Bethlehem. There he'll meet a family with several sons, and one of those sons will be the most famous king in Israel's history. A shepherd boy. You may have heard of him. His name is David. I'll see you next time, Carpool Crew. Have a good one.
