What meaneth the bleating of the sheep

“And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” – 1 Samuel 15v14

Saul had a real problem with faith living. When Samuel instructed him on defeating King Agag he told him to kill the king, all the inhabitants of the city. He told him to destroy all of the livestock in the city.

In the minds of Saul and the people it did not make any sense to destroy all that food so they spared Agag and all the livestock. Once again he acted by sight instead of by faith.

When Samuel arrived he Saul came forward and boldly proclaimed, “I have followed the commandment of the Lord!” What arrogance! He boldly lied to the Samuel and thought he could get away with it because he had offered his one and only sacrifice.

He didn’t reckon on Samuel’s response – “What meaneth the bleating of the sheep?” The Bible says, “be sure your sin will find you out.” The evidence of Saul’s sin was there. He said he obeyed God, but the sheep he spared we sounding out that he was a liar!

It is easy for us to think we can get away with sin and mask it with spiritual activity. We must be aware that our sin will eventually find us out. We should not be surprised at the “bleating of the sheep” when we are trying to cover up our own sin.