By Shan Yi
As the moon was shedding silvery light on the earth, I, sitting at my desk, opened the Bible and read the verses in Samuel: “And Samuel said, Has Jehovah as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of Jehovah, He has also rejected you from being king” (1 Samuel 15:22–23). After reading these words, I couldn’t help but wonder: What’s the true meaning of the verse “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams”? Saul was the first king of the Israelites chosen and established by God, but he was rejected by God because he kept the best of the animals for sacrifices. What lessons are we believers in God to draw from this story? After constantly praying and seeking, I understood some of God’s will.
From biblical records, we can know that Jehovah God clearly told Saul to kill all the Amalekites who resisted God, as well as their cows, sheep, camels and asses, which was God’s requirement. But Saul spared the king of Amalek and the best of the sheep, oxen, fatlings, lambs, and all that was good without permission. When Samuel asked him about this, Saul explained that those animals were kept for offerings to God. From the outside, it seemed he did so to satisfy God, but in fact he already seriously violated God’s command. Not only did he have no shred of reverence toward God, but he even found excuses and reasons to vindicate himself. This caused God to detest and reject him. Samuel said, “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22). This is to say, listening to God’s words and strictly acting according to His words come before sacrificing to Him, and obedience to His words is better than all offerings. Consequently, Saul was forsaken by the Holy Spirit for not obeying God and not acting in accordance with God’s requirement.
Afterward, I read the story of Abraham in the Bible. When God asked him to give his only son Isaac back to God, though he felt sad, Abraham didn’t argue or blame God, but instead, he split the wood, and took Isaac to the mountain where God had appointed him, prepared to offer Isaac as a sacrifice according to God’s requirement. Just when he had raised the knife ready to kill Isaac, God sent an angel to stay Abraham’s hand. Because of Abraham’s faith and obedience, God bestowed him with great blessings—descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and grains of sand on a beach.
Having read to this point, I couldn’t help but call to mind a passage of God’s words, “To God, no matter whether a person is great or insignificant, as long as they can listen to Him, obey His instructions and what He entrusts, and can cooperate with His work, His will, and His plan, so that His will and His plan can be accomplished smoothly, then that conduct is worthy of His remembrance and worthy of receiving His blessing.”
I understood from God’s words that as long as we do things in accordance with God’s requests and obey His sovereignty and arrangements, we will obtain His satisfaction, praise and blessing. Take Abraham for example. When God asked him to return his only son to God, which is at odds with our notions, Abraham gave no thought to personal gain or loss, but instead obeyed God’s request and did as He instructed. Abraham’s conduct showed his sincerity to God, and thus God swore an oath and blessed him so that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars and the sand. On the contrary, when faced with God’s request, Saul acted based on his own personal preferences and basically did not consider whether the way he did things conformed to God’s will. As a result, he suffered rejection by God for disobeying Him and violating His demand. It can be seen that to obey is indeed better than sacrifice. God approves those who have a heart obedient to Him and listen to His words. This is the expectation God has for man.
Thinking of us believers in the Lord of today, although we generally pray saying that we wish to love the Lord, be loyal to Him, and some of us even give a tenth of our earnings as tithes, when encountering practical environments, we simply do not practice in accordance with the Lord’s words, nor listen to His teachings. For example, when we suffer the torment of illness, family disharmony, hardships in work or financial constraints, we don’t pray or seek within God’s words, or think of how to obey God and practice in accordance with His will. Instead, we do things according to our own will, likes and individual benefits, flinging God’s words to the winds. This kind of faith will never obtain God’s approval.
As I pondered all of this, I came to understand the true meaning of the words: “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.” God does not want us to offer many material things; rather, He wants us to listen to His words. As Christians, when facing various situations, only by seeking God’s will, obeying His requirements and practicing in accordance with His words can we receive His approval and blessing.
Taking off my glasses, I stood up and stretched myself after long hours of sitting. Looking up at the bright moon in the sky, my heart was bright and clear. I was able to gain these understandings in studying the Bible thanks to God’s enlightenment and guidance, and I could but offer up my thanks and praise to God silently in my heart …
Source: Daily Devotionals
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