To Obey is Better than Sacrifice

I wrote this a couple years ago...but it still applies to me today.


It is so important to learn this:

"...to obey is better than sacrifice..."

This is only part of a section of God's word that is speaking of the words God spoke through Samuel about Saul, here it is in more of a context from 1 Samuel 15:18-24, this is the Amplified version...

"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, but swooped down upon the plunder and did evil in the Lord's sight?

Saul said to Samuel, Yes, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag king of Amalek and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

But the people took from the spoil sheep and oxen, the chief of the things to be utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.

Samuel said, Has the Lord as great a 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 witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim (household good luck images). Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.

And 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.

Saul went and did some of what was told him to do, but he didn't obey God in all...because of a fear of man. To please God, we MUST do His will fully, this is where I am in this...will I obey FULLY??? I want to, I know I need to...but there is this 'fear of man' that stands in my way...it is a hard thing for me to get past, it is HUGE in my mind. Will I let this stop me from obeying God? I can't let it stop me, so, everyday I continue to battle this small thing that has made itself a giant in my mind. But there is more than that...obeying...Saul 'reasoned' his obedience away and made it 'OK' to take the spoil as a 'sacrifice' to Samuel's God...thus admitting he did not have a relationship with God himself, but relied on Samuel's words. We have to know God, when we know Him, obeying is so much easier...we want to please Him alone...no one else words matter but His.

So I ask myself again...will I obey? My only answer is to seek Him...if I seek Him with all my heart, I will find Him...that is a promise, so I will seek Him in this as I do all else.

Jeremiah 29:13 (amp) Then you will seek me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

He is a vital necessity to me, I need Him, I want to know Him, I can't imagine trying to live without Him. He is my "vital necessity", and I will continue to seek Him with all my heart. This is my choice. What do you choose this day? Will you obey or will you go your own way? Will you seek Him in all or will you be swept away by a deception of your own making? He just wants us to love and obey Him. Time is running out, chose you this day whom you will serve...I will serve the Lord God Almighty. My Father in Heaven. My Savior. My Friend. My Strength. My Shield. My Everything.

Matthew 6:33 NKJV But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

His righteousness...He is holy, we then must be holy before Him...righteousness...what is right to Him, not what we think is right...I choose His way.

What will you choose?

~Courage


To obey is better than sacrifice
I don't need your money
I want your life
And I hear you say that I'm coming back soon
But you act like I'll never return

Well you speak of grace and my love so sweet
How you thrive on milk, but reject My meat
And I can't help weeping of how it will be
If you keep on ignoring My Word
Well you pray to prosper and succeed
But your flesh is something I just can't feed

To obey is better than sacrifice
I want more than Sunday's and Wednesday nights
Cause if you can't come to Me every day
Then don't bother coming at all

To obey is better than sacrifice
I want hearts of fire
Not your prayers of ice
And I'm coming quickly
To give back to you
According to what you have done

~ by Keith Green