May 15 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

1 Samuel 15:24–33

Devotional

“Surely the bitterness of death is past.” It was Agag, king of the Amalekites, who spoke these words. The outcome of a battle had exceeded his expectations. Since he had lost the battle against Saul, he had counted on nothing more than death. Yet Saul was friendly to him and spared his life. But Saul acted against the stated commandment of God that Samuel had made known to him. The king of Israel wanted to be more merciful than the God of Israel. He wanted to keep Agag, the enemy of God, alive, even though he deserved death. To be more merciful than God is always an abomination.

Agag was deceived. He lived in the delusion that he would continue to be spared. In high spirits he appeared before Samuel, the prophet. Before Samuel had even said a word to him, Agag already rejoiced, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”

Yet the imminence of death quickly became a sobering reality to Agag. Samuel took away his life in a dreadful manner. Man cannot make a more dreadful mistake than to think he will live when death comes knocking. Agag thought that the fear of death had passed. He had confident assurance that his life was sure. Being filled with good courage, he came to Samuel. At the moment that he thought life was his to enjoy, the sentence of death was pronounced to him. His last words were, “Surely the bitterness of death is past,” but one’s final word can also be the greatest mistake. Agag’s self-delusion is to be pitied. It is a bitter disillusionment to lose life at the moment one was certain of life.

Suppose a man is terminally ill. All signs are present that it will not be long before death will come to take his life. You ask him how it is with him. The man answers that he is improving. Yes, he says he is improving, very much so. The sick person thinks that recovery is close at hand. Yet instead, death is very near. Just one more day and he perishes; life is cut off. It was thought that the bitterness of death had passed, but death came unexpectedly with its chilling grip.

Suppose a sailor has escaped many storms at sea. He has been in extreme perils of life and he is confident that he will, as always, see the harbor again. But when he finally sees the harbor, his ship disappears in violent waves. The sailor found the bitterness of death at the very moment that he thought he would taste the sweetness of life.

Be sure of this, however, dear reader. There is something worse than self-delusion. It is one thing to die when you expected to live. It is far worse to know no comfort in life and death. The most terrible selfdelusion is when one thinks he will enter into heaven and he enters into eternal perdition.

Let us not be under this self-delusion. We must be personally ingrafted into the Prince of Life by a true faith. Whoever is in Christ, even the most unexpected death will be an entrance into life eternal. We must know Him personally in the power of His resurrection.

 

From The Everlasting Word by Frans Bakker, compiled and translated by Gerald R. Procee. Reformation Heritage Books and Free Reformed Publications, 2007. Used by permission. For further information, click here.