1 Samuel 15:22
But Samuel replied, “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.“
Today this passage made me think of a saying I have seen on social media and have heard people use. It is something to the effect that, “it is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.” If we know what is right, we should do what is right. If I know God asks me to behave in a certain way and then I do something else, it is wrong for me to count on His forgiveness. I know God does forgive me, but that does not give me the freedom to act badly. God’s Holy Spirit, living in me, in my conscience, is my guide. I need to be listening and do it right the first time.
Holy Father, I am listening for your voice, and I am hearing you more and more. Lead me, guide me, I pray. Amen
Becky, transforming
1 Samuel 15:22
King Saul, a grown man seemed to believe that obey does not literally mean obey and it might be a bad word. Saul saids that he did obey the Lord, but he has only partially obeyed. This is a great lesson on obedience for me. Do I think that certain acts of obedience are better than others and can somehow make up for any lack of obedience in what I might consider not important. I fall into the same trap as Saul, thinking that somehow partial obedience is just as good as complete obedience, so long as that partial obedience is something that I think is really important. To obey is better than sacrifice. Samuel tells Sa…
1 Samuel 15: 22 But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
Obeying God’s word is much more important than offering sacrifices. This is the lesson I read in this scripture reading. To listen to God’s voice and obey his words. This is the way to honor God.
Dearest Lord, thank you for the many lessons that I can learn from the history of people in the Bible. Give me the grace through the Holy Spirit to listen to Your voice and obey your word. I do this through the power of the…
1 Samuel 15:22
Samuel’s lesson to Saul reminds me of Jesus’s parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple. There are plenty of people who put on a perfectly convincing show of obedience, but their heart is not in it. From the outside they appear exemplary Christians, but God will not be mocked. Obedience to His voice overrides any other actions in God’s assessment of where our treasure, and therefore our heart lies.
Prayer - God in heaven, forgive me, a sinner who has abused your gift of grace. Provide in me a clean heart let me hear only Your voice in the way I live my life. Amen
TAA