OBEDIENCE over SACRIFICE?

Scripture Reading:

1 Samuel 15:20-22 KJV

And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. [21] But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal. [22] And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

Hello child of God! Welcome back to A Word A Day! Today we're going to talk about choosing obedience over sacrifice and how important it is in our lives as children of God. In the scripture reading above, we see the Prophet Samuel come unto King Saul to rebuke him for disobeying the command God had given him. In case you're not familiar with the passage here's a short summary.

After Saul had been anointed by God, his first assignment given to him by God was to destroy the Amalekites. Now according to scripture, the Amalekites had oppressed Israel for a period of time, and God was ready to get vengeance for His people. Saul's assignment was to go and destroy everything "amalekite", animals alike.

King Saul summoned 30,000 men altogether to fight against the Amalekites and they won the battle. But the assignment was half done. Saul did destroy eveything "amalekite"...except he captured annd spared king Agag of the Amalekites, spared all the animals and everything that was "good" with the intention of using them (the animals) as burnt offering to God.

Then the rebuke of the Lord came through Samuel to Saul. God grieved that He had made Saul, king. Why is that? you may ask....God was looking for a King for Israel who will be willing to listen to Him and obey Him. God being sovereign knew the end from the beginning and would have preferred someone who was willing to listen to Him, and do whatever He told him to, for the wellbeing and safety of the people He loved. But unfortunately, Saul failed.

Even though he had a good intention, which was wanting to sacrifice for God, God said, "the sacrifice I needed was not the material things you thought you could impress me with; the sacrifice I needed was your heart, a heart sober enough to listen and obey my voice".

Many times as Christians, we falter in this area. In our mind's eye, we put into order of priority what God demands from us; leaving out the most important thing which is Obedience. We say, "but I'm a good person, I help people, isn't that enough?"

No Sweetie, it's not. God does not need your goodness for anything. Anything we think should be good enough for God is like rags before Him (Isaiah 64:6). What God seeks after is a broken spirit and a contrite heart (Psalm 51:17), obviously not goodness and sometimes pointless material sacrifices.

Why is this all God needs? Because an individual with such qualities will be able to tell what exactly God requires from them at any given time; maybe it's some more time with Him, giving an offering in Church, providing someone's needs, or simply a time of worship. Don't be that child of God who waits on others to tell them what God wants them to do, prepare your sacrifice of a "broken spirit and a contrite heart" and present it to God. With obedience, your sacrifice is complete.

And if you already know what God desires from you, stop lazying around and get doing! God bless you!

Prayer:

Father, help me understand what it means to have a contrite heart and a broken spirit so that my sacrifice before you will be acceptable in Your sight, and my obedience will be complete. Thank You Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name, amen!