“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice.” 1 Samuel 15:22
So finally the time has come for Israel to destroy the Amalekites. It’s been a long time coming and God has been waiting for this moment for a while now. God tells King Saul through the prophet Samuel to destroy all the Amalekites and everything belonging to them. EVERYTHING. Sounds pretty clear and straightforward. Simple enough. Saul had a better idea though, didn’t he? He decided to spare the Amalekite King Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs. Everything that was despised and weak, they totally destroyed. The first thing that catches my attention is that when Samuel confronts Saul about this, Saul is so oblivious to his blatant defiance that he declares proudly to the prophet, “I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.” (1 Sam 15:13)
How delusional must we be to believe that we’re doing what God wants and yet we’re doing the exact opposite? I believe it must have something to do with going halfway in our obedience. Saul and his army destroyed almost everything and killed almost everyone. I mean, only the king survived. And of course, they only kept the fattest of the calves and lambs, and with good reason too! In verse 15 of the same chapter, Saul says, “…they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God…” Surely God will be pleased at this great sacrifice!
Which brings me to my second point. Saul thinks he has done an amazing thing because even though he disobeyed God’s instruction, he kept some of the spoils to sacrifice to God! This is like tithing on stolen money. It is like being unfaithful to your wife and taking your mistress to church. It doesn’t make it OK! God is saying don’t do Him any favours please! If you think He will turn a blind eye to your rebellion because you threw a few dollars His way or fed the poor with your blood money, you’re sorely mistaken. He is not impressed that you obey 9 out of His 10 commandments! Even the ‘silly’ sounding one about covetousness – He takes it as seriously as He does “Thou shalt not kill.” He says in 1 Samuel 15:22 “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” Don’t you remember how Cain’s sacrifice of fruits of the soil was rejected? There is no indication that they were bad fruits. For all we know, they could have been the very best of his crop! But they were not what God asked for! God is particular, my friend! He wants what He wants, and nothing else will do. “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?” (Genesis 4:7) He does not say “Will your sacrifice not be accepted.” Your sacrifice is an extension of yourself, and if your sacrifice is rejected, then so are you. A sub-standard sacrifice comes from a sub-standard commitment of yourself and God will not accept it. That is why He says to Saul, “Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king.” (1 Sam 15:23)
It’s very simple. Do what is right, and you will be accepted.
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