Obedience Is Greater than Sacrifice
“Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in obedience to him.” Psalm 128:1
Israel begged God for a king. They wanted a king like all the other nations so that when they went into battle, the other nations could see their leader and they would be successful. But what Israel didn’t understand is that they DID have a king…God was their king. Unlike any other nation, God was on Israel’s side and the other nations saw the power and might of Israel’s God. Yet, Israel rejected Him and begged for a human king. So, God relented and chose Saul to be the first king of Israel. Israel’s rejection of God led to hardship and heartache. And their king? He started off good, but got distracted by fame, by power, and by selfishness. He did what he wanted and then offered sacrifices to earn God’s approval.
Saul was anointed king, but he struggled with obedience to God. He seemed to think that his way was better than God’s way. He was impatient to wait for God’s timing, going so far as to offer the sacrifices himself rather than wait for Samuel, the priest, to manage the sacrifice as required by the Law (1 Samuel 13). The last straw was when God told Saul to destroy the Amalekites, every man, woman, and child, every herd and flock, take no spoil, leave nothing intact. But Saul thought better of that and chose to capture the King, Agog and bring him back to Israel, alive. Saul’s men plundered the best of the flocks and herds to “offer in sacrifice to God” (1 Samuel 15). Was this what God asked of them? No, it was not. Was this better than God’s plan? No, it was not. Did this put Israel at risk? Oh, yes, yes it did. Yet Saul didn’t see it. He continued to make excuses and offer platitudes. He blame-shifted and spoke bravely and self-righteously. Samuel, the high priest, wasn’t having it, neither was God.
“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.”” I Samuel 15:22-23
Samuel called Saul out on his disobedience and proceeded to tell him that God was grieved that He chose him as King. As a result, God removed His blessing from Saul and chose another to take his place. Saul, in all his efforts to engineer his fame and success had offended and disregarded the One in Whose hands his fame and success were held. He missed the whole point. Saul was God’s servant, a tool to be used to bring Him glory and accomplish His purposes. Yet Saul opted to be his own master and make it look good by offering sacrifices after the fact. Saul did not fear God. He did not respect God. Saul tried to manipulate God, and it didn’t work.
Saul isn’t unlike us, is he? How often do we, or our children, choose to do what WE think is best, ignoring God’s commands and compromising our integrity, morality, and spiritual testimony to satisfy our selfish desires? We think we know better. Do we balk at what God asks of us, instead pursuing an alternative and ‘dedicating it to Him’? Or, in an effort to ‘make up for it’ we offer sacrifices, we ‘do’ things to honor God or ‘give’ to bless Him. Our disobedience and efforts after the fact are offensive to Him. Yet we think we can engineer our life, our choices, and our results. We cannot. God is Sovereign. He is in control. He sees our heart. He sees that we fear failure, suffering, and loss more than we fear Him. He sees that we put more faith in our own efforts and plans than we do His. He sees. He knows. And He will respond.
God saw Saul’s heart. He saw that Saul was more concerned with his own fame and success. His offerings and sacrifices to God were an effort to appease Him rather than an act of worship to bring pleasure and delight to God with a fully surrendered heart. He was not a servant of God but was serving himself. Isaiah 65:5 says, “Such people are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day.” Their fake sacrifices are a stench, not a pleasing aroma.
Today, it’s time to take stock on what and how you sacrifice to God:
Is our heart surrendered to Him?
Are our motives pure?
Do we ask God to bless our actions after we take them? Or do we search out the heart of God before we act?
Do we consider how our words and actions will testify to our love for and fear of God?
Are we more concerned with honoring Him than with getting the desired outcome for ourselves?
Are we willing to do whatever He asks or do we resist, instead trying to bargain with Him and offer compromises?
Obedience is greater than sacrifice.
Deuteronomy 28 gives a very detailed description of the benefits of obedience and the dangers of disobedience. He wanted Israel to understand the blessings of obedience and to see that they were nothing the Israelites could ensure on their own.
The LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. (Deut 28:1)
You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. (Deut 28:3)
The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. (Deut 28:4)
Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. (Deut 28:5)
You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. (Deut 28:6)
The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. (Deut 28:7)
The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. (Deut 28:8)
The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in obedience to him. (Deut 28:9)
Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. (Deut 28:10)
The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Deut 28:13
Wow! That is a list of blessings that no man could ensure for himself- only God. And all of these blessings were what Saul was longing for, and yet he chose to pursue his own path and ended up losing it all.
When we teach our children obedience, it is not just for their compliance, but for their good, their protection, and their success. As they become adults, we pray they carry those lessons with them. And we pray, too, they understand the value and importance of obedience to God.
Even if obedience does not make sense, we need to remember that God’s ways are higher than our own. His wisdom is eternal, His plan is divine, His methods are not human. We can choose to go our own way and suffer the consequences of faulty, limited, unwise humanity, or we can choose to obey God and rest in His eternal, Sovereign, all powerful ways that will protect us and prosper us according to His will and for His glory. These are good things to remind our sons and daughters.
It’s a hard lesson to learn, isn’t it? Obedience is always more powerful than sacrifice. It carries a stronger testimony and offers Godly protection. Obedience glorifies God. Sacrifice without obedience is a stench.
Today, let’s pray that our sons and daughters understand obedience to God and pursue it with their whole heart. “Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in obedience to him.” Psalm 128:1
“Heavenly Father, You are a good God who asks us to pursue You with our whole heart. You promise blessing and protection in our obedience. I pray that You would surround (name) today and impress upon them a desire to obey You. Please keep them from compromise. Keep them from going their own way and then trying to offer sacrifices to appease Your disappointment and anger. Lord, we cannot bargain with You. That is not how You work. You require our obedience, yet You’ve given us a free will to choose whom we will follow and obey. I pray that (name) would always choose You. Lord, show them the rewards of obedience. When things do not make sense, give them an unshakeable trust in You and Your plan. Help them to rest in the knowledge that You are all-knowing. You are all-powerful. You are the King of kings and Lord of lords, there is none greater, stronger, or wiser and there is salvation in no one else. Jesus, You are the Messiah, our Savior, Redeemer and Friend. I pray that (name) would trust and obey You each and every day. Help me to live a life that demonstrates obedience and surrender to You. I pray these things in Jesus’ name, amen.”
Pray without ceasing!
Presents or Presence?
In this season of giving gifts and celebrating Christ’s birth with family and friends, we look forward to time spent together. If given the chance, most parents would likely say they would prefer seeing their children on the holidays versus receiving a gift from them. The gift is thoughtful, but having our son home for a visit, or eating together with our daughter, sharing conversation with our children and enjoying one another’s company means so much more. The relationship takes precedence over the gift. A gift can be thoughtful, but it doesn’t embody the person. It doesn’t talk to us or give the warmth of affection, personality, or life. It’s a gesture, not a relationship.
Much like an absentee parent might ply their child with expensive gifts to try and make up for their absence, too often we try to do the same with God with our acts of service, our ‘checklist of righteousness’, our talents and offerings. Yet we sometimes withhold the very thing He wants most- our heart.
The child is not fooled, and neither is God.
God doesn’t crave substitutions. He doesn’t desire our sacrifices for Him in lieu of our being with Him. He wants our presence, not our presents. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. All the riches of Creation are His. He lacks nothing and there is nothing out of His reach, beyond His ability or budget. The one thing He wants is our hearts. And that, friends, is the one thing we can withhold from Him, if we choose not to surrender. Oh, our heart’s cry should be that our sons and daughters surrender to the Lord with their whole heart- no compromise, no negotiation, no cheap substitutions, but an authentic relationship with God Most High.
God longs for us to abide in Him, to spend time in prayer, to commune with Him, rest in His Presence and find shelter, peace, and assurance in Him. When we opt to ‘do’ and ‘give’ and think that God should be impressed and delighted, we miss the point. Our gifts do not take the place of the relationship with Him. Nor do they make up for our shortcomings, failures, willful defiance, or conscious sin. God wants our being more than our doing. Doing without being found in Him is empty and really, it’s false religion.
King Saul did that very thing. He opted to do as He wished and give gifts to God to make up for His rebellion. But God saw through his ruse. God didn’t accept the gifts. And Saul’s willful defiance and attempt at ‘doing’ sacrifice versus ‘being’ obedient brought his downfall and his death.
1 Samuel 15:22-23 “Samuel said, “Does the LORD have as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than a sacrifice, And to pay attention is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as reprehensible as the sin of divination, And insubordination is as reprehensible as false religion and idolatry. Since you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected you from being king.”
What do we want most from our children this Christmas? We want them to follow Jesus- willingly and passionately. We don’t want them going through the motions, acting the part. We don’t want dramatic sacrifices that make big impressions on others. We don’t want lavish displays of talent ‘all for the glory’. We long to see authentic faith being lived out every day. We want to see our sons and daughters crave time with Jesus. We want to see fruit that gives evidence of a heart surrendered to Him. We want to see them living in the Presence of the Almighty God and Savior and, in turn, living a life that is a gift to Him, all day every day. Fully surrendered and loving Him intentionally and authentically. A present is short-lived. It often doesn’t fit, or we already have it. Soon after the holidays it may find itself on a pile to donate or put in a drawer or closet, to be forgotten until another time. But Presence doesn’t wear out. Presence brings a warmth and memory that endure. Presence is investment in the life of another by way of time spent, words spoken, arms extended and hearts knit together. This season, let’s pray that our sons and daughters practice presence with God, intentionally, authentically, and regularly- not just for this season, but for every day of their life.
“Holy Father, You make it clear your expectations of us. Yet too often we try and negotiate the terms. We try to do things our way, substitute gifts for obedience, acts of service for submission, and sacrifice in lieu of surrender to You. Lord, I know you see (name)’s heart. You see through the facade that we all put up and You see to the heart- the true condition of what lies there, our loyalties and our cravings, our willful sins and those that are hidden. Lord, I pray that You would speak clearly to (name) today. Holy Spirit, call them into fellowship with You. Open their eyes to recognize the emptiness of things and actions without Jesus. Help them crave time with You. Let their ‘being’ in Christ motivate their ‘doing’ that gives evidence of fruit- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. A selfish heart can’t produce those, only a heart that is truly surrendered to You. Lord, have your way with (name). May they give You their whole heart, every day, without reservation, so that You, in turn, can give them abundant life. Lord, I pray that You would give me the gift of seeing (name) follow after You authentically and intentionally from this point onward. Lord, do a work in (name)’s heart and life. May You be pleased with them and may it be for Your honor and glory, in Jesus’ name, amen.
On a personal note…
Thank you for following along in 2024. It’s been a joy to have you all read and pray- I know God is working in our sons and daughters, and He’s working in our hearts, too!
I will be taking a brief break to spend time with my own sons and daughters for the next couple of weeks. But don’t worry, Join the PAC Prayer will be back in 2025 with more devotionals and prayers….and a NEW BOOK releasing on Amazon soon!! - Stay tuned for updates on the new title: 40 Days of Prayer for the Prodigal.
“For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” Romans 11:36
I pray you have a blessed celebration of Christ’s birth and a wonderful new year. Look ahead and be excited about what God is doing! He is moving and working and I’m confident He will show us great things in the year to come!
Pray without ceasing!
Accomplished or Obedient?
Psalm 128:1 “Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in obedience to him.”
We live in a world where people judge others on their accomplishments. Just look at any awards show- the actors or musicians gather to celebrate achievements and accomplishments and those who get the attention are those who performed well and gained attention and accolades. Those who didn’t find their stars fading quickly. As popular as someone can be one year, they might be just a memory the next. The world would have us believe we’re only as valuable as our accomplishments. Unfortunately, this mindset often begins early and can set a trajectory for a son or daughter that implies their worth is based on what they can do or accomplish, rather than on their relationship to God.
Have you ever wondered, if Noah’s parents were present as their son worked tirelessly on the ark, what did they think? There he was, continually building that large boat when the world hadn’t even seen rain. Perhaps family friends pitied Noah’s parents… “He’s so smart, so capable, why would he waste his time on a silly project like that? Is he…..okay?” Meanwhile, other parents may have taken the opportunity to share their children's successes and accomplishments. Would Noah’s parents have tried to discourage him? Or would they have encouraged him to keep obeying the Lord and His commands? Would they build him up, reminding him that integrity is of greater value than fame and achievements? Would they tell him to ignore the other voices and focus on what God called him to do?
Then there’s Daniel. Oh, how his relatives might have been excited to see him work his way up through the ranks to the King’s service. But when he was thrown in the lion’s den for his insistence on praying so publicly where others could see his bold disobedience to the King’s decree, I’m sure others looked on with pity…or disdain. Were they embarrassed at how he seemingly ‘threw away’ his position and title? Or did they encourage him and pray for him, standing by his decision and trusting the Lord for his care and keeping among the lions?
What about Abraham? When he announced he was going to leave his father’s home and follow God - a God that his family didn’t know, were they angry or hurt?. He was stepping away from the cultural expectation that he would live alongside his father and continue the family business, traditions and carry on the family name. He was giving up his family’s reputation and wealth to follow God- a God they didn’t know or follow themselves. Or did Abraham’s bold faith move them to consider surrendering their hearts to a God that was greater than any they’d ever known?
Here’s the thing, each of these men chose obedience to God over accomplishments and associations. In each circumstance, it was clear the world deemed this the ‘wrong choice’. They could have chosen a different path that would have given them social acceptance, lucrative connections and power and fame. Yet, those choices would have ultimately led them away from the Lord and to death. Instead, they chose to obey and in their obedience, they were used by God to impact people and nations, not just in their time, but throughout history. Obedience brings life. The choices the world lauds leads to darkness….and death.
That, friends, is what we need to pray about today. How do we encourage our sons and daughters? Are we more concerned with their earthly success and financial achievements or are we burdened to see them following after the Lord? Do we care what the world says or are we passionate to see them hunger and thirst after Jesus?
Psalm 49:16-20 “Do not be overawed when others grow rich, when the splendor of their houses increases; for they will take nothing with them when they die, their splendor will not descend with them. Though while they live they count themselves blessed— and people praise you when you prosper—they will join those who have gone before them, who will never again see the light of life. People who have wealth but lack understanding are like the beasts that perish.”
Accomplishments or Obedience?
This week, let’s pray that our sons and daughters are moved to unwavering obedience to Christ and to following after Him rather than the world and it’s charms. Then, let’s begin to memorize Psalm 128:1 and pray it over our sons and daughters. “Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in obedience to him.”
Pray without ceasing, Friends.