by Ivan Maddox
Decatur, GA


"Samuel also said unto Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee [to be] king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD.
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember [that] which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid [wait] for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.
Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass."
I Samuel 15:1-3.

Saul was instructed by God to completely destroy the Amalekites and all they had. This is very similar to what God instructed Joshua to do to the city of Jericho.

"And the city shall be accursed, [even] it, and all that [are] therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that [are] with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
And ye, in any wise keep [yourselves] from the accursed thing, lest ye make [yourselves] accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it."
Joshua 6:17-18.

To keep that which God had ordered destroyed was to take something that was accursed, and thus to make one's self and the nation of Israel accursed before God.

God's instructions to Saul were very clear; it seems almost impossible for anyone to misunderstand them. But Saul didn't carry out God's instructions.

"And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah [until] thou comest to Shur, that [is] over against Egypt.
And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all [that was] good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing [that was] vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly."
I Samuel 15:7-9.

Saul saved what he wanted to save, and destroyed what he wanted to destroy. He carried out part of what God said to do, and did part of the job his way. He got credit from God for carrying out none of it.

"And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed [be] thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.
And Samuel said, What [meaneth] then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?"
I Samuel 15:13-14.

Saul began to make excuses for what he had done, instead of confessing his sin and asking God's forgiveness. Yes, he had saved alive some of what God had ordered destroyed, but he had done it for a good reason: he wanted to sacrifice it to God.

"And Samuel said, Hath 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 hearken than the fat of rams.
For rebellion [is as] the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness [is as] iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, He hath also rejected thee from [being] king."
I Samuel 15:22-23.

The second part of Samuel's declaration here is very clear: deliberate disobedience to God's Word is equivalent in God's eyes to bowing down and worshipping another god. Deliberate disobedience to God's Word is the same as rejecting the Word of God.

The first part of his statement loses some of its impact to us, though, because we don't have to make sacrifices to God today. To say, "Obedience is better than sacrifice," to us is to make a very safe statement. It sounds good, but nothing strikes home.

Obeying God is better than reading your Bible or hearing God's Word taught. That's what the book of James has to say about the matter.

"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth [therein], he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed."
James 1:22-25.

According to James, if you hear (or read) God's Word without obeying God's Word, you're fooling yourself; you don't get the benefits that God's Word promises unless you obey God's Word.

Obedience is better than prayer. In John 13, Jesus gave a new commandment to his disciples.

"A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
By this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
John 13:34-35.

I Corinthians 13 tells us what happens to the things we do for God when we disobey this commandment.

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become [as] sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal."
I Corinthians 13:1.

Speaking in tongues (speaking with the tongues of men and of angels) is speaking unto God (I Corinthians 14:1), praying with the spirit (14:14-15), blessing with the spirit (14:16), and giving thanks well (14:17). How can you mess up something like this? Disobey God, by doing it without love; then your praying in the spirit becomes just making noise.

"And though I have [the gift of] prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge: and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing."
I Corinthians 13:2.

Do you want to mess up prophecy? Do you want to mess up receiving revelation from God? Do you want to mess up a powerful faith life? Throw in some disobedience: do it without love.

"And though I bestow all my goods to feed [the poor], and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing."
I Corinthians 13:3.

Do you want to mess up your giving to the poor? Do you want to mess up dying for the Lord? Disobey God: do it without love! Then your greatest sacrifice will count for nothing as far as God is concerned!

Obedience to God is the critical ingredient in your relationship with God. Prayer is wonderful; faith is wonderful; reading your Bible is wonderful; healing the sick is wonderful; doing mighty signs and miracles is wonderful; but obedience to God is better than all of these.

You need to pray. You need to walk in faith. You need to read your Bible. You need to walk in the greatness of the power of God. But don't forget to keep first things first. No matter what else you do, be sure you obey God. Obedience is the quickest way to God's heart!

---

Click to go back...