My last blog got my daughter shocked. She could not believe that GOD would send a man (King Saul) to kill an entire community of people (Amalekites) and then get upset that one man got spared! (1 Samuel 15) . Abraham questioned this very idea. In Gen 18:26 NIV, when God told him of his plan to completely destroy Sodom, he protested... "Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?'" . Right reaction. We all have a conscience that, unless dulled, intuitively senses right from wrong. God's not afraid of honest questions and protests. He does not mind us exhibiting our sense of justice... in fact, he welcomes it (e.g. Isaiah 1:18). But here's the thing.... God is JUST. This means he is the very origin of right or wrong. Even the discerning ability of our conscience is from him. He is Good and as a result, He judges. He is love, but he binds himself to the integrity of his own words. Psalm 138:2 This means, he honours what he says. In fact, this is the only way his words can be the law that govern the universe and prevent chaos. Laws that carry no consequence are not worth existing. Judgement has to be executed in the event of the braking of laws or they would be useless. If there are no consequences, laws are no laws and God could not be a righteous Judge. He would not be God - the origin of order, upholding all things in balance by his words (Hebrews1:2-4). In the instance of the Amalekites, God's instruction was based on his justice. Years before the command to Saul for their complete destruction, Amalek as a nation had attacked Isreal (unprovoked) in their most vulnerable state in the desert after they left Egypt. God had told Moses then - “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.” Exodus 17:14 NIV Saul's later instruction was based on this declaration by God many decades before. When studying the bible, we can actually find out the personality of God. We find out that even though he owes none of us explanations, he is always fair, merciful and kind. Faith therefore, is trusting that there is always a good reason for his actions whether they are immediately obvious to us or not; faith is trusting in the integrity of a JUST God. ...... ...... He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. Deuteronomy 32:4 NIV