Title: Obedience is Better than Sacrifice
Theme: As the title states
Text: 1 Samuel 15:1-23
Introduction
After Saul had assumed rule over Israel, he fought against their enemies on every side: Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment on them.
Saul was a fighting King. He was a great general. He dealt all kinds of misery to Israel’s enemies from the day he took charge…. It’s not unusual for God to use gifted people when He has a job to be done. Saul’s talent was making the enemies of Israel dead. He was good at it!
God had a job that needed to be done, and don’t you know it was right up Saul’s alley… We read about it beginning in Chapter 15…-
(1) Samuel also said to Saul, "The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the LORD.
Saul was the King of the people. In 1 Samuel 8 we read that the people called for a king. Two reasons 1) Samuel was old and his sons had rejected the heritage of their father. The people were afraid of what would happen when Samuel would die 2) The nations around them had a king and they had been tormented by them. They wanted a leader. In this same chapter we read that God was angry yet gave into their request.
Samuel was prepared to anoint a king. Here is Saul. He is described as
1Sa 9:2 And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.
This was the peoples king. Even Samuel was impressed. Yet as we read in 1 Samuel 16 this was Samuel’s problem he looked on the outside. God was looking on the inside
1Sa 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
So in verse 2 of 1 Samuel 15, God gives a command to Saul
(2) "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. (3) 'Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'"
Don’t get distracted by the commands of the Lord here. This sometimes can cause us confusion when we read of these commands. This was not uncommon during this time for all nations. This is how God had chosen to judge some nations. The judgment for Amalek was prophesied in Exodus 17. They were a thorn in Israel’s flesh, attacking them, Numbers, Judges.
(4) So Saul gathered the people together and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah. (5) And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and lay in wait in the valley. (6) Then Saul said to the Kenites, "Go, depart, get down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt." So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
(7) And Saul attacked the Amalekites, from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt.
(8) He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. (9) But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.
As you know this is direct disobedience against what God had told him to do.
(10) Now the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying,
God’s Response to Samuel
(11) "I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me,
and has not performed My commandments." And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the LORD all night.
KJV “I repent, that I have made Saul king”
Samuel prayed for Saul all night.
(12) So when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, it was told Samuel, saying, "Saul went to Carmel, and indeed, he set up a monument for himself; and he has gone on around, passed by, and gone down to Gilgal."
As you can see he had already become distracted. He was setting up monuments to the victory when God was rejecting him as king. This was the same King who in 1 Samuel 9 he hid from Samuel, knowing he was going to be anointed king.
Amazing what fame will do for you.
(13) Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, "Blessed are you of the LORD! I have performed the commandment of the LORD."
(14) But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating (noise) of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?"
What is the noise that I am hearing?
I got to stop right here and tell you something. This so typical of some Christians. We call out to the Lord and talk about how we want to be delivered. We come to church and “dance on the head of our devils”. Yet if we listen closely we can hear the noise were we are still holding on. We know it is wrong but we still hold to relationships. We know we need to let go yet that secret sin is still there.
(15) And Saul said, "They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed."
Saul still don’t get it.
(16) Then Samuel said to Saul, "Be quiet! And I will tell you what the LORD said to me last night." And he said to him, "Speak on."
Samuel has to interrupt him. Saul is talking too much. Covering his tracks.
(17) So Samuel said, "When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel? (18) "Now the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, 'Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.' (19) "Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the LORD?"
(20) And Saul said to Samuel, "But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. (21) "But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal."
Excuses. Saul’s Excuse for Disobedience
1) Partial Obedience
2) He did it, no matter what is said, he is convinced
3) The Men took the stuff, it was for them
4) Bringing God in the picture
(22) Then Samuel said: "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 heed than the fat of rams.
Obedience is better than sacrifice.
How Saul disobeyed? Reason
i) He turned away from the Lord: v 11 the Lord himself testifies to this. The same Saul, who was among the prophets prophesying, anointed King of Israel and head and shoulders above his brothers has now turned away from God.
ii) Pride came into his heart: v 17 he was once small in his own eyes, now he was going to build a monument for himself (v 12). The Lord had lifted him up but now his pride was becoming his downfall. Pro 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
iii) He was afraid of the people: v 24, and so gave into them. The people were leading him instead of he leading the people. Pro 29:25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.
iv) He prioritized religion over obedience: v 15, he thought that the Lord would be very happy to receive all the sacrifices over the slight disobedience of sparing the animals. Perhaps these trophies of war including Agag would have added to his stature.
Jesus said, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." (John 14:21)
Obedience is better than sacrifice.
Why? First of all, because of the evil of disobedience. Samuel said to Saul, "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry." That is serious. If we minimize disobedience, it is because true humility and faith in God are not consciously dwelling in our hearts. It is because we are stubborn, self-willed, insistent upon our own way. Disobedience is not confusion. Disobedience is not that we get ourselves into a position where we get all mixed up and cannot tell what we should do. Should we tell the truth? Should we do what we are told? Should we have ungodly friends? Then we say, "Oh, I'm confused." No, we are not. We are not confused at all. Disobedience is because we are proud. We will entertain the thought that our desires are more important than listening to God.
Samuel brings out the seriousness of this disobedience. He says, "Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft." Disobedience is rebellion against God. He says it is witchcraft and stubbornness. And it is as the sin of idolatry. Now witchcraft and idolatry are forms of disobedience to the first commandment: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Witchcraft is the sin of seeking supernatural power and knowledge of the future from somewhere other than the Word of God. Idolatry is the worshipping of another god. Disobedience is just like witchcraft and idolatry. That is what disobedience is. It is witchcraft and idolatry. Just as the idolater and the one who goes to a witch is seeking someone or something other than God to be his guide, so the one who disobeys God is doing the same thing - seeking to guide his life by something other than the Word of God. Therefore, it is witchcraft and idolatry.
God delights in obedience because it is good. God delights in obedience. God is happy. And why is He happy? Because, as disobedience is a denial of God, obedience is the most beautiful confession of God that can be made. Obedience to the Lord is saying, "The Lord is God! He is my God. I confess and submit to His authority and Lordship. He is my God, I trust Him and love Him. I want to obey and honor Him. How much I love Him my actions will show."
Obedience is doing God's will in your life. And God says, "I delight in that because no sermon and no poem and no piece of music is so beautiful as a life of obedience to God." How excellent is obedience. It is excellent because it is evidence of the grace of God powerfully working and moving within our souls.
Hear the Word of God: Obedience honors God. Sincere, from the heart, obedience. Repentance glorifies God. This is His delight. The fruit of the cross of Jesus Christ is a life of principled obedience to God now in our hearts, and one day, in glory, perfectly. The sense of God's delight in obedience is precious. Therefore, for Him to say to us, "Well done, good and faithful servant," oh, what words for mere mortals to hear. Oh, for the grace, then, for each day to live a life of obedience to Him. Christ has saved us so that we might show forth our praise and thanks. And nothing so expresses praise to God as obedience.
Why is obedience more important to God than sacrifice? Obedience is more important than sacrifice because we can sacrifice without loving God, but we obey God because we love Him. Jesus said (John 14:15 NIV) "If you love me, you will obey what I command
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness (iniquity).”
Matthew 7:21-23
(23) For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king."
Rebellion, Why?
Impatience, Abraham and Ishmael
Fear, not trusting God, 12 spies
Greed Joshua 6:17-19, Achan
Jas 2:17-20 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (18) But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (19) You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe; and tremble! (20) But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
WHY GOD DELIGHTS IN OBEDIENCE AND HATES DISOBEDIENCE
I see at least five reasons in this story why God hates disobedience and takes pleasure in obedience. I'll mention them in the order from least to most serious, as it seems to me.
Why God hates disobedience
1. Disobedience shows a misplacement of fear.
Notice verse 24: "Saul said to Samuel, 'I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.'"
Why did Saul obey the people instead of God? Because he feared the people instead of God. He feared the human consequences of obedience more than he feared the divine consequences of sin. He feared the displeasure of the people more than the displeasure of God. And that is a great insult to God.
Samuel had said twice to Saul and the people in 12:14 and 24, "Fear the Lord, and serve him faithfully with all your heart." But now the leader himself has feared man and turned away from following God (l Sam. l5:ll).
2. Disobedience shows a misplacement pleasure
Saul tried to persuade Samuel that it was a noble intention that led him to disobey God and keep the best sheep and oxen alive (v. 21). He said they wanted to sacrifice these to the Lord in Gilgal. But the Lord had given Samuel insight into the true motive of Saul and the people. We see it in his words in verse 19:
Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop on the spoil, and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?
They swooped down on the spoil like hungry birds eager to fill their bellies. This word, "swoop on" is used back in 14:32 to describe how the people swooped down on the spoil when the Philistines were defeated. It says, "The people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep and oxen and calves, and slew them on the ground; and the people ate them with the blood."
When Samuel says in 15:19, "Why did you swoop on the spoil, and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?" he implies that the people were driven by an overweening desire for the pleasures of all that meat. (Remember, those who sacrifice get to eat the meat.) Their pleasure was misplaced. It should have been in God. But they delighted more in the meat of sheep and oxen than they did in the smile and fellowship of God. This is, of course, a great insult to God, and therefore very displeasing in his sight.
3. Disobedience shows a misplacement of praise.
When Saul had defeated the Amalekites the first thing he did was build himself a monument. Verse 12: "It was told Samuel, Saul came to Carmel and behold, he set up a monument for himself." Evidently Saul was more interested in getting a name for himself than in making a name for God through careful obedience to his word. He had misplaced praise from God to himself.
This sin becomes even worse when you read verses 17-18:
And Samuel said, "Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. And the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, Go, utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed. Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord?"
Back in 9:21 Saul had seemed amazed that God would choose him to be king over Israel when he was from the smallest tribe, the tribe of Benjamin, and from the least of the families of his tribe. And he should have been amazed! If he wanted honor he should have been amazed and satisfied with the honor that God had given him. This is Samuel's point here in verse 17 -- why are you driven by a lust for human glory when God has in fact given you a glorious privilege as the head of the tribes of Israel and the anointed king of God's people?
4. Disobedience is as the sin of divination.
Why is rebellion and disobedience as the sin of divination? Divination is seeking to know what to do in a way that ignores the word and counsel of God. And that is exactly what disobedience is based on. God says one thing, and we say, I think that I will consult another source of wisdom -- namely, what? MYSELF! Disobedience of God's word puts my own wisdom in the place of God's and thus insults God as the only sure and reliable source of wisdom.
5. Disobedience is idolatry.
This is what Samuel says in the last half of verse 23: For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
When God says one thing and we consult the little wizard of our own wisdom and then stubbornly choose to go our own way we are idolaters. We have not only chosen to consult ourselves as an alternative to God, and thus become guilty of divination, but we go beyond that and actually esteem the direction of our own mind over God's direction and become guilty of idolatry. And worst of all, the idol is our own self.
But obedience, being the exact opposite, in all these things enthrones and honors God. And therefore God has pleasure in obedience.
