Sunday, October 9, 2022
Theme: “Worship that pleases the Lord"
Text: 1 Samuel 15:13-23
13. Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, Blessed be of the LORD! I have observed the word of the Lord. 14. Samuel said, What is this bleating of sheep that comes to my ears, and this lowing of oxen that I hear? 15. Saul answered, They brought them from among the Amalekites, because the people spared the best sheep and the best oxen, to sacrifice them to Yahweh your God; and the rest, we have devoted it by interdict. 16. Samuel said to Saul, Stop, and I will declare to you what the LORD has spoken to me this night. And Saul said to him, Speak! 17. Samuel said, When you were small in your eyes, did you not become the chief of the tribes of Israel, and did not the LORD anoint you to be king over Israel? 18. The LORD had sent thee away, saying, Go, and devote by interdict these sinners, the Amalekites; you will make war on them until you have destroyed them. 19. Why did you not listen to the voice of the Lord? why did you pounce on the spoil, and do what is evil in the eyes of the LORD? 20. Saul answered Samuel, I have listened well to the voice of the LORD, and I have followed the way by which the LORD sent me. I brought Agag, king of Amalek, and I devoted by interdict the Amalekites; 21. But the people took sheep and oxen out of the spoil, for the firstfruits of what should be sacrificed, to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal. 22. Samuel said, Has the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obedience to the voice of the LORD? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifices, and the keeping of his word is better than the fat of rams. 23. For disobedience is as sinful as divination, and resistance no less so than idolatry and theraphim. Since you have rejected the word of the Lord, he also rejects you as king.
Let's remember:
Overzealousness leads to drift even when the ambition is good. Wanting to please God by proceeding through disobedience is sinful. The expected effects will become opposite; and in the case of Saul, the irreparable is consummated. God delights in obedience more than in sacrifice. It is good to sacrifice one's wealth to God but in obedience to his Word. We cannot absolve ourselves of an evil committed against the Eternal by our own when we have not condemned it. The leader or the great must be on the side of the Eternal when an evil is being committed. Let's keep the obedience we had when we were little and grow with the same momentum. Responsibilities should not depart from our good habits. Obedience is the best worship; however, Saul reversed things by favoring sacrifice while obedience was muted. Disobeying is as sinful as divination, magic, sorcery. Know that obedience is, in itself, a sacrifice; it is also God's favorite worship. Excellent Sunday. Amen Alain Louz.-
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