"To Obey Is Better"

When Samuel confronted Saul about his disobeying the voice of the Lord in not carrying out His instructions to "utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed" (1 Samuel 15:15, KJV), Saul's defense was, "Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal" (vv.20-21).

Samuel was in no mood for the technicalities. The narrative continues, "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. And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice" (vv. 22-24).

Before we allow our righteous indignation to judge Saul harshly, can we honestly say we have not walked in his shoes? How many times have we not done the things God commands because we feared what others would think or say about us? How many times have we taken the easy way out by neglecting to take a stand for Christ in situations where such a stand is necessary? There in no denying that we are all capable of allowing, and we have allowed, others to influence the things we do. Unfortunately, this sometimes means we disobey the LORD; instead of doing the things we are supposed to do, we often end up doing the things we are not supposed to do. However, let us bear in mind that God's instructions are not mere suggestions, but mandates to be followed regardless of the consequences to ourselves. In the words of Samuel, "to obey is better."

The consequences to Saul were tragic; the LORD rejected him from being king over Israel (vv. 25-26). May God grant us the grace to do the things He says we should do. Today is a good time to start.