To obey is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22-23)
God sends the prophet Samuel to Saul, and gives him a mission to destroy the Amalekites, so Saul goes and defeats them, but takes their king captive and takes the best "loot" from the them.
Samuel finds Saul and call him to account, hearing Saul's excuses and having none of it.
That's when Samuel says, in verse 22 and 23...
"Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is
better than the fat of rams.
For Rebellion is like the sin of divination
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king."
Now, I'm sure that none of you have been asked, by God, to go fight some Amalekites. But if you call yourself a Christian, and if when you did you did not lie, then the lesson here should be most abundantly clear.
If, by chance, it is not, then know this. God is not a toy. He is not your homeboy. He is not your polite and quite friend who you can have coffee with and chatter about meaningless nothings...
He is, if you were not lying when you acknowledged him before men, your God.
He is your king.
He is your creator.
He is not be feared with awe and respect.
God is to be FEARED.
The sailor who looks at the approaching storm, terrified at the fierceness of it's winds and the impossible depths of it's waves. That man knows a small part of what sort of fear we must...no...we WILL have for God, if, when we meet him, we see him for who he really is...
...fully able to crush us with less than a thought.
Even the presence of God could kill us if he did not shield us from his full glory. He hid Moses in the cleft of the rock and let him see only a small, passing portion of his fullness...
The hunter attacked by a bear...
The sky-diver who's parachute fails...
The person staring down the barrel of a mugger's gun...
The person given the terminally ill news...
The fear of imminent death.
That is the fear of the Lord.
Hearing what many in this world have to say about God, I am stricken by an overt lack of real, gut wrenching, spine chilling, fear.
"It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Hebrews 10:31)
Obey God. Read your bible and pray so that you will know how to obey God. You cannot obey to earn anything. You obey to obey. Because it pleases God.
Because when you said that Jesus Christ was the Lord of your Life, you meant it, and did not lie.
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding. To Him belongs eternal praise." (Psalm 111:10)
Be wise with fear.
But know that when confronted by a terrifyingly powerful God, He tells you again and again and again..."do not be afraid."
Fear God's power. Embrace God's offered wisdom.
Samuel finds Saul and call him to account, hearing Saul's excuses and having none of it.
That's when Samuel says, in verse 22 and 23...
"Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is
better than the fat of rams.
For Rebellion is like the sin of divination
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king."
Now, I'm sure that none of you have been asked, by God, to go fight some Amalekites. But if you call yourself a Christian, and if when you did you did not lie, then the lesson here should be most abundantly clear.
If, by chance, it is not, then know this. God is not a toy. He is not your homeboy. He is not your polite and quite friend who you can have coffee with and chatter about meaningless nothings...
He is, if you were not lying when you acknowledged him before men, your God.
He is your king.
He is your creator.
He is not be feared with awe and respect.
God is to be FEARED.
The sailor who looks at the approaching storm, terrified at the fierceness of it's winds and the impossible depths of it's waves. That man knows a small part of what sort of fear we must...no...we WILL have for God, if, when we meet him, we see him for who he really is...
...fully able to crush us with less than a thought.
Even the presence of God could kill us if he did not shield us from his full glory. He hid Moses in the cleft of the rock and let him see only a small, passing portion of his fullness...
The hunter attacked by a bear...
The sky-diver who's parachute fails...
The person staring down the barrel of a mugger's gun...
The person given the terminally ill news...
The fear of imminent death.
That is the fear of the Lord.
Hearing what many in this world have to say about God, I am stricken by an overt lack of real, gut wrenching, spine chilling, fear.
"It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Hebrews 10:31)
Obey God. Read your bible and pray so that you will know how to obey God. You cannot obey to earn anything. You obey to obey. Because it pleases God.
Because when you said that Jesus Christ was the Lord of your Life, you meant it, and did not lie.
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding. To Him belongs eternal praise." (Psalm 111:10)
Be wise with fear.
But know that when confronted by a terrifyingly powerful God, He tells you again and again and again..."do not be afraid."
Fear God's power. Embrace God's offered wisdom.
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