To obey is better than sacrifice
1 Samuel 15:22 “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.”
Any and all sacrifices….which are not followed with obedience, are worthless. Obedience is the measuring rod that shows how fervent we are and how much we love our Lord.
John 14:15 “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.”
(I was once going to have a message about the “fat of the sacrifices”. God always required it to be burnt up to Him….as a sweet savor.
Leviticus 3:15-16 “And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them….shall he take away. And the priests shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savor: all the fat is the Lord’s”
Fat is one of the means of showing how well the animal was cared for….and the inward fat was prized….for it was the purest and sweetest)
Samuel said that whole burnt offerings and sacrifices are not as loved by the Lord as simply obeying the Lord’s Word.
Samuel said that the sweet savor of fat, burnt up to the Lord, is not as pleasing to Him, as hearkening….or inclining our ears to hear HIs Word, and do it.
Obedience, then, is required of the servants of God.
God has revealed no purpose to save any….except those, when they hear the gospel, obey it.
Acts 5:30-32 “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
Him hath God exalted with HIs right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, a forgiveness of sins.
And we (Peter and John before the counsel) are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, Whom God hath given to them that obey HIm.”
If we want to please the Lord….we need to obey Him and His Word to us.
We often think a “general” obedience is good enough…but it is not. To be well-pleasing to Christ Jesus and HIs Purpose for us, we need to do what we are told,…personally, daily.
If we would get obedient….really diligently seek HIs Will and obey Him….we would begin to feel some of that religious fervor we are in need of.
Back to Samuel….and what he said to Saul, the king of Israel, when he refused to do completely what God had said.
What had God said?
1 Samuel 15:3 “Now go and smite Amalek and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.”
( The Amalek’s were the people that had “laid in wait for Israel” when they had come from Egypt….and had come up behind them and sneekily killed the slowest and weakest among Israel.
Now God would judge them, and destroy them, using Saul and Israel’s army.)
But what did Saul do?
1 Samuel 15:19 “Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord?”
Spoil…something taken to enrich the victors.
There was to be no spoil….only a judgment of God…which said…..”I remember what you did to My people. Vengeance is mine, I will repay.”
Saul had taken the king of the Amaleks for a trophy…..as other kings did. Saul and the people had taken the best of the flocks and herds to enrich themselves. And a few for sacrifice to God.
God had wanted a clear judgment….nothing was to be saved or left.
They were to clearly show that this was a judgment from God….not a taking of land or goods in battle.
God does not need the flocks or herds of enemies…..the sacrifices to God were to be from the Israelites flocks and herds….their own herds, not what was taken in battle.
Psalm 50:13-14 “Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:”
Proverbs 21:3 “To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.”
The sacrifices were to point to Jesus Christ….sacrifices which were to be from the heart, counting the cost….but gladly paying it, for His sake.,…from their own flocks and herds.
Isaiah was another prophet which spoke of sacrifices…and obedience:
Isaiah 1:11, 16-17, 19 “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me? Saith the Lord:…
Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.”
Isaiah 55:6-7 “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon HIm while He is near:
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”
Jeremiah said:
Jeremiah 7:22-23 “For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices:
But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be My people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.”
“Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”
When John the Baptist came to Israel, to prepare the way for the Messiah….his message was simple:
Luke 3:3 “And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;”
Repent….change the way you are doing things…and be baptized as a sign that you have repented.
Luke 3:10 “And the people asked him saying, What shall we do then?”
This is exactly what we should be asking the Lord….what shall we do then?
Maybe we have done what we thought was right….
…..and maybe we know we have not been “completely” obedient….
…..then seek ye the Lord, and find out what needs to be repented of….and prepare ourselves for the Lord’s blessing.
You will notice…the things John the Baptist said were very practical.
He did not speak of more sacrifices, or better ones….
…….but of giving to the poor, don’t cheat, do no violence, do not speak lies about others (Luke 3:11, 13-14).
He spoke….of doing the what the commandments really spoke of….Obeying and loving God….and thy neighbor.
To obey is better than sacrifice….because obeying is the bowing of our hearts, reasons, and actions to our God.
Christ Jesus deserves our best.
Will there be sacrifices we must make? Yes, for we are called to place ourselves on the altar to Him.
But He looks to the heart in all we do….
…for obedience in the Greek means: believingly doing what we are told.
In other words, to obey HIs Voice to us, through the Holy Spirit and HIs Word. Let us repent of anything that needs to be seen to, and get up and follow HIm, wholly.
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 