I Samuel 13: 13-14
...For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom will not endure.
15: 22, 24
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice.
Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have indeed transgressed the command of the Lord and your words because I feared the people and listened to their voice."
Saul feared the people more than he feared the Lord. He didn't listen to that "new heart" God had given him, and listened to the people instead. Now God will rip the kingdom away from Saul and give it to another (15:27-28).
God's Plan will succeed. But He has given us free will. Even if we take ourselves out of the realm of obedience to Him when He's chosen us to do something significant, like He did Saul, He will still accomplish what He has planned. But what a loss we would sustain. Saul lost not only the present kingdom, but also the future, forever Kingdom, and to produce the Messiah. Saul may never have known just how much he lost, but God chose another to receive all these blessings.
Instead, Saul just keeps sinking lower, away from God.
This is a strong warning! God would've had Saul sit on His Throne, and father the Dynasty that would produce Jesus and reign forever. If only!
If God wants me to do something significant for His Kingdom, I want to be sure to seek Him and not my own devices, to be the one to do His Will to further His plan; and to receive His reward at the (Bema Seat) Judgment Seat of Christ.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
