David: God's own heart Chapter 6: God vowed to blot them out

 God vowed to blot them out 

When God commanded the complete destruction of the Amalekites, Samuel did not question it. He simply delivered the message to King Saul for execution. Although God was initially pleased with this obedience, He was later grieved when Saul failed to carry out the command fully—showing misplaced mercy. Saul’s disobedience revealed a false sense of compassion that ultimately cost him God’s favor. Was God indifferent or uncertain? Certainly not. His command was deliberate and absolute.

This Lenten season, my devotions led me to wrestle with this uncomfortable topic—genocide. It's difficult to comprehend how such total destruction, even of innocents, could align with divine justice. Yet, understanding the severity of God's command requires spiritual discernment.

The Amalekite spirit, as revealed through history, had a corrupting influence: it elevated false leaders—charismatic in appearance, yet incapable of righteous leadership. God's instruction was not rooted in cruelty, but in divine justice. The order to destroy even infants may sound brutal, but it reflected the need to eradicate a generational threat that would otherwise corrupt nations and hinder God’s redemptive plan.

When God said He would "blot them out," the phrase carried immense weight—an expression of divine wrath beyond human comprehension. If we could measure it, God's hatred of Amalek would stretch wider than the earth and into the heavens. Samuel, unlike many prophets, understood this. He bore the burden of communicating a justice that demanded immediate and uncompromising action.

God’s hatred is not to be questioned, but revered. It is rooted in the protection of His purposes and His people. It paved the way for Christ’s arrival—ensuring a lineage uncorrupted and a path of salvation unblocked.

Saul failed this divine test, prompting God's rejection of him. Samuel, standing between God and man, was tasked with finding the next anointed king. He found him hidden among Jesse’s flocks: David, a man after God’s own heart.