Has 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. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. I Samuel 15:22
Sometimes we know what to do in a certain situation but we don’t want to do it. So we substitute another action that appears “sacrificial”. In an attempt to appease God…and assuage our guilty conscience. It might be any number of things – perhaps God is speaking to us about our finances, and instead of obeying what He says to do, we volunteer to keep the nursery instead. Or maybe the opposite is true – perhaps God is calling us to serve somewhere and instead we want to write a check!
Maybe He is telling us to abstain from some habit but we ignore that and try to do something “big” for Him instead. Or we might refrain from a step of faith, telling ourselves that we should be “content” with wherever we are at the moment.
The rebuke from the prophet Samuel to King Saul is recorded above for doing this very thing. He tells us plainly that obedience is the lifeblood of the one who wants to follow God. Disobedience is serious, not trivial at all and this verse sends that message strongly. Here we learn that God labels disobedience as rebellion. And a stubborn heart as idolatry. Because it places the desires of self (pleasure, approval of others, power, fame or material gain) above the commands of God.
But obedience , ah, obedience, is the opposite of this! Obedience honors God because it acknowledges His right to the throne. God delights in the obedience of His people because it glorifies Him as God. And because He is always good, always loving, we can know that obedience to His commands is the path to blessing for u s!
Sometimes we act as though obedience is sooooooooo hard. TOO hard, in fact. But that is a lie. God’s commands are NOT too hard. Deuteronomy 30:11 says “This commandment which I command you this day is not too hard for you” and I John 5:3 tells us “This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome”.
Also, let’s remind ourselves that whatever God tells us to do is for our own joy. So He is really delighting in us and for us when He tells us to obey. Deuteronomy 10:12,13 says, “And now, Israel, what does the Lord our God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, t o love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord which I command you this day for your good.”
Obedience. Not sacrifice. Honors the Lord. Blesses us. Let’s do it.