To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice

May 20

I Samuel 15

Psalm 63:1-5

Proverbs 14:5-7

John 10

To Obey is Better Than Sacrifice

“Then Samuel said, ‘Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? Look: to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.’ Samuel mourned for Saul and the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.” I Samuel 15:22, 35 HCSB

God gave Saul very specific instructions to attack the Amalekites and completely destroy everything they had. He was told to kill the men, women, children and infants, oxen, sheep, camels, and donkeys, not sparing any of them. Their evil ways and demonic practices would have had an influence on the children of Israel if they were allowed to survive, so God commanded him to annihilate them completely. Saul went to battle and destroyed the men, women, children, and infants, but he spared Agag their king and the best of the sheep, cattle, and choice animals. This was an act of pride and selfishness. He wanted the best animals and plunder for himself and he wanted to parade King Agag before the people to exalt himself as a great warrior. When Samuel confronted him, Saul claimed that he did obey God and that the reason he spared the animals was so that he could sacrifice them to the Lord. He thought that going through the motions of religious observance would somehow make up for the fact that he had only partially obeyed God. Are we guilty of the same mindset? Do we think that we can make up for not obeying God during the week if we go to church on Sunday? Do we think that because we read our Bible every day it will somehow make up for the fact that we fail to live according to what it says? Do we fall into the trap of believing that partial obedience is ok? Do we think that if we get the important stuff right, God will overlook the little stuff?

Saul had the idea that God wouldn’t notice that he had not obeyed if he just gave part of it back to God. Can we cheat on our taxes if we give part of our savings back to God? Is it ok to gamble if we give Him a tenth of our proceeds? Will God overlook ill-gotten gain if we give Him a cut? I think the answer to these questions is found in the verses above. “To obey is better than sacrifice.” God does not honor disobedience and He will not bless deceit and dishonesty. Our obedience is evidence of our faith and faith pleases Him far more than religious practices.