Saul and the people spared Agag… – 1 Samuel 15:9, AMP

In 1 Samuel 15, God instructed Saul to utterly destroy the Amalekite nation in return for their great sins against Him. Chapter 15 records that Saul only partially obeyed, saving alive King Agag and the best of the livestock. As a result of his partial obedience, God rent the kingdom from Saul and gave it to David.

1 Samuel 15 does not record, however, a very important fact. In addition to saving King Agag and the best of livestock alive (later killed by Samuel in obedience to God), Saul was slack in pursuing the people trying to escape his attack. As we learn in 1 Chronicles 4:43, a remnant of Amalekites escaped Saul, and the Israelites destroyed that remnant some 300 years later in the days of King Hezekiah.

The point? The book of Esther is filled with fear, drama, and bravery, and it is filled with these things because of the desire of one man, Haman, to exterminate the Jews. The Book of Esther records Haman as an Agagite, an Amalekite man with ties to the family of the King Agag of 1 Samuel 15. The reason the conflict in Esther happened at all is because Saul failed to fully carry out his orders from God. Had Saul obeyed fully, Haman would have never lived, and the Jews would have never been threatened by him.

Never be fooled into thinking that the only person hurt by your sin is you. Just because you cannot see the consequences of your actions doesn’t mean they’re not there. Sometimes those consequences will arise immediately. Sometimes they will take time to emerge. But, rest assured, they will emerge, and they will affect others just like they affect you.

The question is, who do you care more about? Yourself, or others?