GOD TAKES DELIGHT IN OBEDIENCE?

14th MAY 2021

^“ 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. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.” – 1 Samuel 15:22-23

God is praiseworthy and reliable. He does not contradict himself; neither is He two-faced or double-tongued. The word of God today says God desires obedience rather than sacrifice. This scripture touches all aspects of our material and spiritual lives. God was displeased with Saul over the Amalekites mission because Saul utilized the loots he collected to satisfy himself and serve God wrongly. The scripture says God was not pleased with Saul because  God had actually directed that those things should be destroyed ( 1 Samuel 15:1 – 30 ). The word of God today explains to us that; 1) disobedience is an act of rebellion, 2) disobedience is sinful, 3) disobedience is a form of idolatry, 4) disobedience disrespects God’s Word, and 5) disobedience is based on looking good to other people rather than to God, and 6) anyone found guilty of disobedience to God will be lowered in esteem or even rejected by God. How do we assess our obedience to God?

Many of us try to look good as we serve God by doing some religious observances such as giving money to charity, attending church services, or praying in public, fasting for everyone to see, or even keeping the Sabbath, etc. Jesus criticized all that, and in Matthew Chapter 6, Jesus teaches us how we should conduct our religious observance. For Jesus, therefore, we are not called to superficial obedience to God’s laws and commandments. Rather, our obedience to laws must be weighed against the course of humanity and ensuring that such obedience brings praises and glory to God, NOT TO US OR ANYONE ELSE.

God punished Saul apparently for his disobedience; Based on his own explanation, “Saul said to Samuel, ‘I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.’ (1 Samuel 15:24) Therefore, fearing man is a great insult to the infinite God. In correcting the abnormalities in the Laws, Jesus stood firm and was never afraid to say things the way they were. Jesus Christ reasoned the laws beyond religious, cultural and philosophical sentiments. For Jesus, every law must be interpreted and obeyed so that it uplifts the greatest needs of man and glorifies God at the same time.

So it stands to reason that God will be displeased with disobedience if:

·         it becomes an attack on His glory.

• It puts the fear of man in the place of the fear of God.
• It elevates pleasure in things above pleasure in God.
• It seeks a name for itself instead of a name for God.
• It consults the wisdom of self instead of being satisfied with the will of God.
• And it sets more value on the dictates of self than on the dictates of God and thus attempts to dethrone God by giving allegiance to the idol of the human will.

PRAYER

Father in the name of Jesus Christ, I thank you for your word this morning. Help me to understand your word better, and give me the spirit of obedience which brings glory to you and serve the needs of humanity. AMEN

FURTHER READING: Mark 2: 22-25; Luke 6:9