Dr Paul Allen

Now the word of LORD came to Samuel , saying, “I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, far he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments” ( 1 Sam. 15:10–11a). When God observes Saul’s failure to carry out the dictates of holy war against Amalek , He shares His reaction with Samuel: “ ‘I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king.’ ” The Hebrew word here translated as “regret” is rendered elsewhere as “repent.” It is interesting that in this same chapter, in verse 29, Scripture declares that God “ ‘will not lie nor repent’ ” ( KJV ). The apparent contradiction between these verses is solved when we understand that verse 29 is addressing God’s determination to carry out His set purposes, but in verse 11 He is expressing His genuine grief over Saul’s disobedience. His subsequent words make this clear: “ ‘[Saul] has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments.’ ” Disobedience always grieves God, and especially

You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections (2 Cor. 6:12). It is not uncommon for Christian congregations to reject their pastors. This was quite often the case with Israel. God gave them shepherds and prophets, but the people refused to listen. They loved their sin too much to follow the leaders God had given them. The result was judgment. When God’s people refuse to submit to God-ordained authorities, when they refuse to repent of their sins, one way that God judges them is by removing faithful ministers from their midst. Paul did not want this to happen to the Corinthians . They had used every excuse to justify their sin. They had even cast blame on Paul, but his ministry among them was blameless. The problem did not lie in him but in the hearts of the Corinthians. The apostle had opened his heart to them, but they refused to open theirs. This brought much grief to Paul as he struggled to serve them. Still they would not submit to his authori