Thursday, June 26 || SACRIFICE WITHOUT OBEDIENCE IS HYPOCRISY!

Honey Drops for Every Soul
Jun 26
2 min read

Read : I Samuel 15:1-11

“... To obey is better than sacrifice. ... Rebellion is like the sin of divination. ...”

- I Samuel 15 : 22, 23

Our Lord is a gracious God. Although Saul failed miserably once, He gave another chance to him to correct himself. In I Samuel 15, we read that the Lord sent Samuel to convey His message to Saul. “Attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them. Put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.” What was the reason? In Exodus17:8-16, we read that the Amalekites attacked the Israelites at Rephidim shortly after they left Egypt. So the Lord commanded the Israelites to blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. (Deuteronomy 25:19) Accordingly, Saul attacked them and killed all the people. But, he deliberately disobeyed God by permitting the king of Amalek to live, and sparing the “best” of the flocks and herds! Besides wilfully disobeying the Lord, we read that Saul went ahead in committing yet another sin - lying.

When Samuel asked him about the noise of cattle’s mooing and bleating, Saul put the blame on his soldiers that “they” spared the best, but “we” totally destroyed the rest. (I Samuel 15:15) First, he lied to himself in thinking he could get away with the deception, and then he lied to Samuel, and he even tried to lie to God by saying he would use the spared animals for sacrifice! But Samuel pointed out to Saul his sins of rebellion. He said that in God’s sight they were as evil as witchcraft and idolatry. Both sins were evidences of a heart that had rejected the Word of God.

Dear friends, the Lord wants obedience from our heart.  He is not interested in our “donations.”  The sacrifice He desires is a broken and contrite heart. (Psalm 51:16-17)  So let us be careful to listen to God.  When He commands us not to do something, let us obey totally and not partially.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, out of the stubbornness of my heart when I fail to do Your will, You graciously give me a second or even a third chance. Help me not to become arrogant and keep on sinning against You, but obey You wholeheartedly since no sacrifice would be equivalent to my obedience. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

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