Obedience and Sacrifice

In the early days of the Israelite monarchy, God commanded Saul, “Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey” (1 Samuel 15:3).

Saul defeated the Amalekites, but he disobeyed the Lord by saving Agag the king and sparing “the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good” (1 Samuel 15:9). When Samuel confronted him, Saul blamed others, saying the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen to sacrifice to the Lord. Yes, he had spared Agag’s life, but the rest had been devoted to destruction.

Samuel rebuked the king, saying, “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice” (15:22). Worship should seek a balance between spirit and truth (John 4:24). Enthusiasm is good, but we must remember that our worship is for God. Any benefit that we derive is secondary. That being the case, our worship ought to be regulated by God’s word. God’s wishes were for Saul to utterly destroy the Amalekites. He didn’t want their sheep and oxen—they were corrupt in his eyes. Saul may have had good intentions: he may have been sincere in wanting to sacrifice the spoils of war to the Lord. But that was only half of it. In his eagerness to worship, he had forgotten the will of God. Therefore, Samuel said, “Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king” (1 Samuel 15:23).

This may be an Old Testament story, but its lessons are still relevant in the Christian age. Like Saul, many believers are enthusiastically bringing the spoils of war from the world to the sacred worship of the church. Sometimes these attempts are outrageous. The other day I heard about one church that introduced cage fighting into their worship services! Other times the innovations are subtler: dramatic presentations, soothing instrumental music, communion services on Saturday evenings. It is impossible to count the number of ways worshipers have conquered the world, only to adapt worldly things for worship that is more satisfying to them.

Remember Samuel’s words: “To obey is better than sacrifice.” If we have the right attitude when we come to worship God, we will praise Him in spirit and in truth.

Drew Kizer