The will of God at the start lest the military campaign be a dud
Yet he was patently presumptuous-a fact that becomes clear to us
This proved to be his Achilles heel, his spiritual banana peel
Israel was at war with the philistines whose enmity had no remedy
Saul mobilized his forces-plenty footmen but hardly any horses
The troops were to wait in Gilgal for seven days
For then Samuel would arrive and pray for the warriors to thrive
This schedule was agreed with Saul who saw no need to argue
The people waited loyally till the seventh day and began to melt away
Saul fearing desertion decided to usurp Samuel’s function
He would offer sacrifices and prayers to kick start the battle
This he did with relish-till Samuel appeared
For not waiting for God’s time, his dynasty was cut off in its prime
His sons would not inherit the throne, for usurping another they lost his own
This Samuel pronounced when he came as announced
One day God instructed Saul through Samuel
To invade the land of Amalek and decimate both man and beast
A sorry fate, a harvest of history for centuries before
Amalek had ambushed Israel in her fledgling wilderness-state
Saul went to battle and God was with him, granting victory to the brim
At the scent of victory the man sent forgot his message
Saul spared Agag from slaughter, failing to obey to the letter
Perhaps he wanted to show off the prestigious prisoner on parade
He let people keep the best of the flocks-destroying the rest
Wrong again for all animals were to suffer the pain of death
He presumed that God would prefer sacrifice to obedience
God whispered this treachery to His prophet
Samuel came to the camp of the returning victorious army
He heard the bleating of thousands of sheep and the greeting
Of a man who had just lost the right to keep his kingdom for good
Samuel again pronounced God’s verdict-it was an indictment
God had rejected him, and his royal lights would immediately dim
He had presumed-ventured beyond the authority of the Word
Presumption had led to false assumption and a dynastic conclusion
In God’s sphere, never assume, never presume, never read reason’s resume
Only believe the Word and you will have no dread on the path you tread
