A Loving Question: Is This Christian Zionism in Disguise?
Reflecting gently on 1 Samuel 15, the New Covenant, and the pull of Old Covenant thinking.
Sometimes a sermon unsettles us not because the preacher intends harm, but because something in the message seems to nudge our hearts back toward an older way of seeing God — a way that Jesus has already fulfilled and transformed. What follows comes from a place of affection and humility, not accusation. I simply want to keep my eyes on Christ and invite others to do the same.
After hearing a sermon on 1 Samuel 15, I found myself wrestling with a sincere and gentle question: are we, without meaning to, slipping toward a kind of Christian Zionism? Not the political form — but the theological drift where Old Covenant commands begin to overshadow the words and heart of Jesus.
When Old Covenant Commands Become the Template
The sermon framed Saul’s failure as this: he fell out of God’s favor because he didn’t complete a total genocide. The pastor described God’s command to wipe out the Amalekites — men, women, children, animals — and taught that Saul’s mistake was sparing anything at all.
Historical notes were added suggesting that the Amalekites deserved destruction because of their ancestors’ sins — an explanation that unintentionally echoes the idea of blood guilt or inherited condemnation. That’s a heavy theological claim, and one Jesus never affirms.
The troubling part was not that 1 Samuel 15 was read aloud — Scripture should always be read. The concern was that the destruction itself was presented as a timeless model of obedience, without placing that moment beneath the feet of Jesus, the One who fulfills and transforms the entire story.
A New Covenant Shaped by Love
Jesus never asks His followers to imitate the violence of the Old Covenant. Instead, He repeatedly corrects it, reframes it, or redirects it:
- “You’ve heard it said… but I say to you…”
- “Put your sword away.”
- “Love your enemies.”
- “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”
Obedience in Christ is not unthinking compliance. It is discernment shaped by the Spirit. When we equate obedience with accepting an Old Covenant command without question, we risk forgetting that Jesus Himself overrides, fulfills, redirects, and completes the law. Our allegiance is to Him — not to earlier shadows of what He came to reveal.
Why This Question Matters Today
This isn’t about attacking a pastor. It’s about waking up to a real spiritual danger: when we normalize Old Testament depictions of total destruction as ideal obedience, we may unintentionally become comfortable with similar violence today.
If we learn to read ancient genocide as “righteous,” then modern suffering can start to look “justified” too — or at least easier to ignore. And in a world where children and families are being killed right now across the Middle East and North Africa, that should give every follower of Jesus pause.
Jesus has given us a new command — one that removes any ambiguity:
“A new commandment I give you: love one another, as I have loved you.” — John 13:34
Enemy love. Radical mercy. A cross-shaped posture that refuses to baptize harm, even when we can find ancient texts that describe it.
A Gentle Return to Jesus
My hope is simple: that we keep Jesus at the very center of our interpretation. Even difficult stories like 1 Samuel 15 must be read through Him, not instead of Him. When we do that, we discover a God revealed not in destruction, but in self-giving love.
May we follow the One who fulfilled the law, revealed the Father’s heart, and reshaped obedience around compassion, truth, and peace.
A gentle question can guard the heart. Asking it together may keep us anchored in Jesus — not in the shadows He came to fulfill.
Scriptures Shown in the Image
Matthew 5:38–39
“You’ve heard, ‘An eye for an eye.’ But I tell you not to strike back. If someone hits you on the right cheek, offer the other also.”
Matthew 5:43–44
“You’ve heard, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who mistreat you.”
Matthew 12:6–7
“Someone greater than the temple is here. If you understood ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you wouldn’t have condemned the innocent.”
Matthew 9:13
“Learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I came not for the righteous, but for sinners.”
John 1:17
“The law came through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
Hebrews 8:13
“By calling this covenant ‘new,’ God made the first one obsolete and fading away.”
Matthew 5:17
“Don’t think I came to abolish the Law or Prophets. I came to fulfill them.”
Luke 9:54–55
The disciples asked if they should call down fire from heaven. Jesus corrected them: “You don’t know what spirit you’re speaking from.”
John 18:36
“My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my followers would fight. But my kingdom is not from here.”
Matthew 26:52
“Put your sword away. Those who live by the sword will die by the sword.”
Mark 7:18–19
“Nothing entering from outside makes a person unclean — it goes into the stomach, not the heart.” (By saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)
Matthew 19:8
“Moses allowed divorce because your hearts were hard. But that wasn’t God’s intention from the beginning.”
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Together, we’re shaping something good in the world.