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. 1 Samuel 15:22-23.
This
chapter is basically about God telling Saul (through Samuel) to
conquer Amalek. They were to destroy everything and
not to take anything from
there. Well, Saul was an independent thinker. He won the battle but
kept the king and the best of the sheep and the oxen after God had
already told him not
to take anything.
Samuel
tells Saul that God isn’t happy with him because he took the spoil
of the land against God's wishes. Saul, being the fast thinker that he
was, said the reason that he kept all the best of the sheep and oxen
was because he brought them back to sacrifice them to God. Then
Samuel tells Saul that God wants us to us to follow Him and do
exactly what He asks of us. He goes on to ask Saul (paraphrased),
“Which is more important, offering sacrifices to God or doing what
He asks you to do?” God wants us to obey Him, not to be
independent thinkers and do our own thing, trying to rationalize our
actions.
Because this is an example of how I’ve applied this Bible passage to my life, it doesn't necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the passage.
This is a connection I've made from this Bible passage. Please share your connections.
Please click on comments below to share your suggestions. Thanks! Debbie
