HACKING AGAG TO PIECES
1. Pivotal event in the reign of Saul was disobedience to
God's command in 1 Sam. 15 to annihilate the Amalekites. He
sinned before then (sacrifice at Gilgal), and proved
cowardly later (Goliath), but God pointed to this episode
as the decisive turning point in Saul's reign (1 Sam. 15:28).
2. This account serves as a great illustration of the
Christian's war with sin.
I. AGAG AND SIN.
A. Saul and Agag.
1. The command to destroy Amalekites (15:1-3).
a. Amalekites were descendants of Esau
(Gen. 36:12), attacked Israel in the
wilderness (Ex. 17).
b. Whole story recorded in Deut. 25:17-19.
They attacked the weakest, most vulnerable
Israelites.
c. So Saul is to carry out in a national way
the legal principle of "eye for eye."
2. After a promising start (15:7-8), Saul proved
disobedient (15:8-9).
3. Samuel confronted and condemned him
(15:10-11, 26).
4. Then, Samuel took matters into his own hands
(15:32-33).
B. Like Saul, Christians are to put sin to death--completely!
1. Our conversion is really an execution, the old
man of sin put to death in baptism (Rom. 6:6. 3-4).
2. But baptism does not end our conflict with
sin. The old man constantly tries to revive and
ruin us.
3. So, God commands us to put sin to death!
(Rom. 8:12-13; Col. 3:5-6).
4. Sin must be dealt with ruthlessly and without
mercy, just as Saul was to deal with Agag and the
Amalekites.
C. But just like Saul, sometimes Christians refuse to put sin to death, giving Agag a reprieve.
How does this happen?
II. WAYS SIN IS SPARED.
A. By denying it (Saul acted as if he had not sinned,
"I have obeyed the command of the Lord" -- 15:10-13).
1. Others take the extra step of attempting to
conceal sin:
a. Drunk who hides bottle and drinks
in private.
b. Dishonest like Ananias and Sapphira
who engage in deliberate deception.
2. If you deny your sin you will eventually
delude yourself (James 1:22, 26).
3. If you merely deny sin it will eventually
destroy you (Prov. 28:13).
B. By justifying it. (Saul attempted to justify his
sin by claiming to offer the spoil as a
sacrifice--15:14-15).
1. The end does not justify the means. The
means must justify themselves.
2. The catch phrase today is, "God would not
want me to be unhappy." This phrase is used to
justify things God blanketly condemns:
a. "I am unhappy in my marriage, so since
God would not want me to be unhappy I can
divorce", thus justifying something God
says He hates (Mal. 2:16).
b. "I am sexually attracted to the same
gender, and since God would not want me to
be unhappy, I can practice homosexuality,"
thus justifying something God considers
an "abomination" and will not tolerate in heaven (1 Cor. 6:9-11).
3. God wants us to be joyful, but that joy is
found in the Lord (Phil. 4:4), not in
iniquity.
C. By excusing it. (Saul attempted to foist
blame on the people--15:20-21, 34).
1. The blame game is played a lot of ways today:
a. From the beginning of the human
family there has been a tendency to
blame family members ("the woman you
gave me....").
b. Now we are more sophisticated and
blame genetics (not just homosexuality;
"Bad temper runs in my family").
c. Circumstances ("life has not been
fair to me so I am going to give up").
2. David sinned as well, but the gigantic
difference between him and Saul is that when
David sinned, he did not deny, justify, or
excuse it, he simply confessed "I have sinned
against the Lord." That is why he was a man
after God's own heart.
III. HOW DO WE PUT SIN TO DEATH?
A. Recognize how horrible sin is to a "holy, holy, holy" God.
1. Illus. with the rash of novels and movies
portraying murderers and attempting to draw
sympathy. Perhaps feel pity, until you see the
pain and cost of their murder in the lives of
the victim's families. From that perspective,
we would have no problem executing justice.
2. What pain did our crimes cost? The death
of Jesus!
3. We can crucify our old man of sin through
constant meditation on the cross of Christ
(Gal. 6:14).
B. Do whatever it takes to avoid sin.
1. Make no provision for the flesh (Rom. 13:14).
2. If your problem is fornication, never put
yourself in a position where you are alone with
the opposite sex. Or if it is drinking, don't go
anywhere that serves the stuff.
Jesus once told a man who had a problem with covetouness
to sell his goods and give to the poor (Matt. 19).
3. Extreme? Not in comparison to avoiding hell!
(Matt. 5:27-30)
C. Get busy doing what is right.
1. Put on righteousness (Rom. 6:12-13).
2. Go on the offensive against sin by doing
good works (Titus 2:14; 3:14).
Conclusion
1. Agag was cheerful when he thought he was going to be
spared. Sin is always happy to be spared--because it knows
it will have another opportunity to destroy you.
2. Ironic that in 2 Sam. 1:13 an Amalekite claimed credit
for killing Saul.
Saul's decision to spare the Amalekites came back to haunt
him.
3. This battle between us and sin will never end, but the
key is that we actively engage in combat, not denying our
sins but confessing them (1 John 1:8-9).
4. But if you do not commit yourself to merciless combat
against sin, some day, like Saul, it will come back to
haunt and destroy you.
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