Saul: King of ExcusesExemplo

Blame-shifting

Since Saul’s claim of obedience failed, he switched to his second tactic: blame-shifting. Blame shifting is when you shift the blame for your sin to others, the law, or the law-giver. Verse 21 tells us that Saul blamed his army for taking the best things for “sacrifice” to the Lord. Saul gave the impression that he was not responsible for his army’s actions. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

Historically, the Israelites were required to obey their leaders to the most minute detail. Since the Lord commanded Israel to devote Amalek to destruction, the Israelite army was required to do so. Israelite custom mandated that a leader was expressly prohibited from requiring obedience in violation of God’s law. The soldiers in Saul’s army were required to kill all of the Amalekites and all of their livestock, even if Saul had objected. Furthermore, Saul did not redirect his army to devote every living thing to destruction when he saw them violating the Lord’s command. Even though Saul was ultimately accountable for the Israelite army, he blamed his lack of obedience on them. If someone was in the wrong here, it was Saul. He did not stop the army’s disobedience. Instead, he blamed them.

However, verse 21 tells us that Saul claimed the army “took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction to sacrifice to the Lord.” (Italics added.) When Saul told Samuel the animals were to be sacrificed to “the Lord your God,” he called God “your God,” indicating that he did not have a personal relationship with the Lord. Saul distanced himself from the Lord and the Lord’s command. He then attempted to shift the blame to Samuel and God.

However, he failed to mention sparing King Agag, the responsibility of whose death fell completely upon Saul. Saul had no one to blame except himself for sparing the life of the evil Amalekite king. His attempt at shifting the blame for disobedience had failed. He moved on to another tactic to wriggle out of his responsibility.

Saul is not alone in blame-shifting. We are all accustomed to blaming others for our own violations of God’s law. How many times while driving have you disobeyed the speed limit because the other cars around you are speeding? We attempt to justify it by thinking, “If I obey the speed limit, I will be a hazard to the other drivers.” But, at the heart of it, we are still violating the law. Our obedience to the law is not subjective – it does not depend on how we feel or whether or not others break the law. It only matters whether we follow the law or not. Others are not responsible when we violate God’s law. We are. And when we violate the law, the responsibility is ours alone.