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. 1Samuel 15:22
Samuel spoke those words to Saul after God had given him specific instructions to wipe out the Amalekites and everything that belong to them. What Saul did instead was spare the life of King Agag and he kept the best of the best for himself and the people. God rejected Saul as king from that point on and although Saul wanted Samuel to go worship with him, God had already rejected him.
It's interesting that King Saul was rejected immediately after not following God's orders. Saul's heart was not in the right place. As king, he was more concerned with hearkening to the voices of the people instead of the voice of the Lord. By pleasing the people, he in turn disobeyed God.
In life, serving God and living according to His word must
be of utmost importance. We have to put that above everything else. We cannot please the world and expect to please God as well. Those two do not correlate. Also we often believe because God is a merciful God, we can disobey Him and then ask for forgiveness later or in Saul's case offer up a sacrifice. For Saul, it was too late, God gave Him specific instructions and he disobeyed. From then on, there was nothing he could have done to make up for what he had done.
Let's try to obey God when He speaks to us the first time instead of thinking we can disobey and repent later. To obey when He talks to us is way better than any sacrifice we can ever offer up to Him.
Hope this was a blessing to you. Please share this message with others. God bless you.
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