Behold, to obey is better….

1 Samuel 15: 2, “ So 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.”

The Lord anointed Saul and made him the 1^st king of Israel. But before long, the king lost his focus on the Lord. His own honor started becoming more important than anything else. We note Saul obeying the Lord in completeness in the beginning but then as he starts disobeying. He presents the same under various reasons and justifications. The Word of the Lord has always emphasized on obedience more than anything else. Jesus said, “if you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (Jn.14:15). But often, when obedience becomes tough, one easily presents his or her disobedience in various tags, which tends to convince and please any flesh. Continuing in this tendency slowly hardens a heart, so much so that the voice of the Lord no more convicts the person. Saul’s life teaches us about the various snares of disobedience, which can easily deceive anyone.

1 Samuel 13:11-12, “ And Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, ¹² then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.” Samuel had asked Saul to wait for seven days and till he reached the place (1 Sam.10:8). Saul waited for seven days, but not till Samuel came. He then said that the scattered people and the situation compelled him to offer the burnt offering, for which he was not qualified. Situation can compel a person to disobey, but a person who is focused on the Lord who rules any situation, receives the grace to obey in all situations. Abraham’s heart might have been burdened beyond one’s imagination,  when asked to offer Isaac as an offering. But as he was focused on the Lord’s voice in completeness, he obeyed the Lord even in this. If we are focused on Him, we will receive grace to obey Him in completeness in all situations.

In v 13 to v 15 of 1 Sam.13, Samuel warned Saul of the outcome of his disobedience. Yet we see Saul ignoring it easily and going ahead with his endeavors. Ignoring the convictions of sins allows one’s heart to begin hardening. We need to be sensitive to the convictions of the Holy Spirit. Every time one ignores it, one grieves Him.

1 Samuel 15:13, “ Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the Lord! I have performed the commandment of the Lord.”  In 1 Samuel 15:10, God clearly spoke to Samuel that Saul had not kept His commandments. But in v 13, Saul confidently told Samuel that he had performed the commandment of the Lord. Here too, Saul had obeyed partially.  1 Sam.15:9, “ 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.”  Partial obedience can give one a feeling that he or she has obeyed the commandment. But its only a deceiving feeling, not the truth. Heaven accepts obedience in completeness. We ought not to go by feelings and be deceived.

1 Samuel 15:14, ‘But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?’ Every disobedience leaves back a trace or an evidence which loudly and clearly witnesses against one’s disobedience. Gen.3:9-11, ‘Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” The consequence of disobedience i.e realization of nakedness, openly spoke about Adam’s disobedience. No cleverness of human mind can ever wipe off the evidences of disobedience. May all fear the divine court, where witnesses will rise up from unexpected quarters.

1 Sam.15:15, “ 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.”” Here we note Saul taking shelter under the banner of ‘sacrificing to the Lord’ and hiding his disobedience. Such spiritually sounding banners can indeed impress the world around, but let us fear the One whose eyes are as flames of fire and from whom no intentions can be hidden.

1 Sam.15:21, “ 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.” In V 17 to V 19, prophet Samuel sharply rebuked Saul and warned him of God’s judgement. Yet Saul again confidently claimed to have obeyed God and said, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me….”. Confident claims of obedience cannot be trusted always. Consistent disobedience can cause hardening of heart and confident sounding claims.

At the same time, Saul blamed the people by saying ‘the people took of the plunder”. In v 15, he said, “the people spared the best of the sheep…”. A person who refuses to accept the conviction of sin  readily blames others for one’s own disobedience. But no person or situation can be held responsible for one’s disobedience. James 1:14-15, “ But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” In Genesis, we see that Adam did not take responsibility on himself for disobeying the Lord’s commandment. Instead he said, “the woman you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” (Gen.3:12).  A rebellious heart easily blames others for one’s own disobedience.

“to sacrifice to the Lord your God”…Saul used such phrases time and again. Instead of saying ‘the Lord my God’, he said ‘your God”. When we have a close personal relation with God, we say, ‘my God’ or ‘my Lord’. Without a personal relation with God, its difficult to continue and grow in complete obedience.

The Lord patiently waited for Saul to repent. Samuel prophet mourned, cried and interceded for him much. But Saul continued in disobedience and rebellion. Finally, the Spirit of the Lord departed from him and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him (1 Sam.15:14). The Lord rejected Saul and chose David to take his place. It’s easy to disobey but it takes a heart of commitment and courage to obey in completeness. Saul lost the great privilege of being the king and being God’s anointed one, on grounds of disobedience. No man can obey in completeness always. But the Lord sees our heart. Our earnest desire to walk in obedience, backed up by sincere efforts is considered as ‘perfect obedience’ by the heaven. That is His grace. Such lives are sensitive to the voice of the Lord & convictions of the Holy Spirit. And they are quick to confess and  repent every sin of disobedience one might fall into. Behold, to obey is better……

GOD bless us all