Genesis 4:6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if you don’t well, sin lieth at the door….
The issue of partial obedience also surfaced in the life of Moses at one time, where he did everything that God told him to do, except one. On account of remonstrances from his wife, he decided against the requirement of circumcision and God couldn’t move forward with him, unless the issue that he knew of was addressed and corrected…. Exodus 4:24 And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him.
When God stopped Moses in his tracks, it was the love principle at work, preventing him from going to do battle against satanic forces, while violating one express command of God. If The Lord had let things slide, that would have been the end of Moses as he entered satan’s turf…. Exodus 4:25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, surely a bloody husband art thou to me.
Exodus 4:26 So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision. Again, the issue of partial obedience reared its head when Saul partially fulfilled the mandate given him by God, and just as it was with Cain and Moses, The Lord could not and did not accept it. The command was as simple and straightforward as it gets, because the Amalekites and everything that pertained to them were to be utterly destroyed with no exceptions.
1st Samuel 15:2 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. 3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!