The Blame Game is very popular today. I’m not sure why, because everyone who plays loses.
No doubt, with the aroma of the burnt offering still lingering in the air, word came to Saul that Samuel had arrived in the camp at Gilgal. “Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him. And Samuel said, ‘What have you done?’” (1 Sam 13:10-11). Saul’s explanation? It was the people’s fault: “the people were scattered from me.” And it was your fault, too, Samuel: “you did not come within the days appointed.” And of course, it was the enemy’s fault, too: “the Philistines gathered together at Michmash” (v 11). And, really, it was the Lord’s fault, because He wouldn’t come to my aid when “the Philistines…come down on me” unless I do this offering thing first. “Therefore I felt compelled” (v 12). There you have it. I wasn’t acting in self-will; everyone else forced me into it. I’m the victim here. How modern! But Samuel’s response is clear and simple. “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God” (v 13). Doing foolishly is acting as if God doesn’t matter, as if He doesn’t exist (see Ps 14:1). As far as the nation of Israel was concerned, to act kingly was to be godly. Thus, said Samuel, “your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you” (1 Sam 13:14). Ah, that’s it. It isn’t how handsome you are; it’s how wholesome you are. It isn’t being a head taller than anyone; it’s having a heart like God’s heart. That’s what the Lord is seeking. Do you see the principle here? “The Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people.” The measure in which the Lord commands my heart is the measure of my spiritual influence with His people.