In (1 Samuel 15:22) Samuel utters these well known words: “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.” If you remember your Old Testament history God anointed Saul as the first king of Israel and send him on a mission to utterly destroy the wicked nation of the Amalekites. We read God’s command to Saul in (1 Samuel 15:3): “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.” But rather than completely obeying the command of the Lord Saul chose to keep alive the Amalekite King Agag and the best of the animals; which he said he would later sacrifice them to the Lord. Let’s examine why this partial obedience was so disappointing to the Lord.
First, partial obedience is not obedience at all. It’s kind of like saying that I love Jesus with part of my heart instead of with all of my heart. We are told in many places in Scripture to love Jesus with all of our heart so partial love will never do. And we read in (John 14:15): “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Thus, true love clearly implies wholehearted love; which Saul fell far short in doing in this situation with the Amalekites.
Second, sacrifices to the Lord are good as long as the motive is good. When God tells us to do something, to then tell Him that we have a better idea, as Saul was doing here, it shows that we are acting independent of God rather than being totally dependent on Him. This is never a wise or trustworthy idea.
Third, disobedience is an act of rebellion. Clearly Saul decided to rebel against God’s clear command and in essence told God that his idea of sacrifice was more important than God’s idea of obedience. Again, we see Saul acting independent rather than dependent on the Lord’s commands.
Fourth, disobedience is sinful because it flat out decides not to listen to God.
Fifth, partial obedience disrespects God’s Word. When God says to do things according to His plan and timetable and we decide to take matters into our own hands we basically are telling God that we know better than He knows and that His Word is not that important.
And sixth, usually when we sacrifice rather than obey we are trying to look good to other people rather than to God. And perhaps this is the worst motive possible because it shows we are more concerned with how we look than how God looks. Sadly, even after Samuel confronted Saul with his disobedience and Saul admitted that yes, he did sin, we read: “Then Saul said to Samuel, ‘I have sinned, for I have violated the command of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice. Now then, please pardon my sin and return with me, so that I may worship the Lord.’” Note even here Saul is still more concerned with his reputation than God’s glory.
Even today we see Christians doing good works but yet their motives are not pure. For example, people often want to show off in public prayer, make sure everyone knows when they are fasting, and want credit when they help those in need – wanting to look good in front of others rather than giving God all the glory. So, the next time God tells us to do something let’s examine our motives and obey God fully – for to obey is better than sacrifice. I think a fitting verse to close and mediate on is (Psalm 51:16-17): “For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”