Tuesday May 23rd, 2023
« And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient »
17 And Samuel said to king Saul, ‘when you were little in your own eyes, you became the head of the tribe of Israel. Has the LORD not anointed you king over Israel?
18 And the LORD sent you on a mission, saying ‘go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wipped them out’.
19 Why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the LORD?
20 And Saul said Pastor Samuel, ‘but I did obey LORD, I went on the mission the LORD assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king.
21 The soldiers took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.
22 So Samuel said, ‘has 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 heed is better than the fat of rams.
Disobedience has the evil tag of being the first sin man committed.
The deadly mystery of this sin is that disobedient people more often than not never accept blame for their act.
They tend to give excuses and blame other people or “factors beyond their control”.
This is what Adam did when God questioned him concerning his disobedience.
Genesis 3:12NKJV says:
« Then the man (Adam) said to God, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate. »
Unfortunately, his excuse did not clear him of responsibility, nor did it deter God from punishing him.
Another person who gave excuse for disobedience is King Saul. In today’s Bible reading, when he was confronted with his sin, he tried to justify himself by using the good act of sacrifice as an excuse for his disobedience. In response to his attempt at justifying himself, God’s prophet told him in 1 Samuel 15:22 NIV:
« …has 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 heed is better than the fat of rams »
Let us take a closer look at King Saul’s excuse for disobeying God.
1 Samuel 15:21NLT says:
« Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal »
Saul’s excuse was that it was not him, but the people who took the spoil.
This makes one wonder who was leading who in the battle against the Amalekites.
He was just trying to pass the buck.
He felt he could appease God or His prophet, Samuel, by presenting a big offering in the form of sacrifice:
Beloved, in what areas are you disobeying God? You better repent today and cultivate the habit of living by the dictates of the infallible word of God.
No amount of service you render to God can take the place of obeying His word. No amount of money given as seed offerings, tithes or donations can justify indulging in fraudulent practices at your place of work.
Delayed obedience or partial obedience is considered full blown disobedience in the eyes of God.
May the Lord give you the grace to obey His commandments to the letter in Jesus’ Name.
Prayer point : Father, please help me to obey you willingly and completely as a show of my gratitude to You for Your goodness and mercy over me.
Author: Bishop Enoch. A. Adeboye.
Edited by Naomie
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