1 Samuel records an interesting story in the life of king Saul. In chapter 15, the Lord orders Saul to attack the Amalekites and completely destroy man, woman, child, and beast. There are to be no survivors, not even animals. Saul dutifully attacks and defeats the Amalekites, but he captures rather than kills the king (Agag), and he and his men keep the best of the flocks and herds alive. This was the point where God rejected Saul as king, and henceforth, Saul became paranoid and never enjoyed the blessings of God.
The author of 1 Samuel frames this story in a very interesting way. In verse 1, Samuel says “Now therefore listen to words of the Lord.” Then we skip ahead to after the battle when Saul tells Samuel that he did everything the Lord commanded. Samuel then says in verse 14 “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and lowing of oxen that I hear?” The Hebrew word for ‘bleating’ and ‘lowing’ is the same word and it translates as ‘voice.’ Samuel starts by saying Listen to the Word of the Lord, and then comes back around saying, but I hear the voice of the spoils. Essentially, Samuel is pointing out that Saul did not listen to the Word of the Lord, but instead listened to the voice of the world. And because Saul rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord rejected him (verse 23).
Do we listen to the voice of the world and allow it to entice us? Are we lured into unknowing rebellion by the temptation for possessions, spoil, or cultural conformity? When Samuel confronted Saul after the battle, Saul claimed to have listened to and obeyed (verse 20). Apparently, he really thought that what he was doing was fine. But that was because he did not genuinely listen to the word of the Lord. We, too, must be careful not to assume that God is just tickled pink with everything we are doing. We have the Word of the Lord to study and meditate on, so that it can challenge us and change us to always be more Christ-like.
Today, may you spend some time reflecting on what voices you listen to that are not the words of God.