Perspective by Newman Rajoo
1 Samuel 15:22 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.”
1. Good intentions cannot replace God’s instructions King Saul kept the best of the livestock to offer as a grand sacrifice to God. The intention sounded noble, practical, and highly religious. Similarly, King David later tried to move the Ark of the Covenant on a brand-new cart, which was considered a modern and efficient method at the time.
Both men had good intentions, but both ignored God’s specific, established instructions.
They had begun to treat their own “good ideas” as equal to God’s commands.
This teaches us that we cannot substitute our own wisdom for God’s clear Word. We can have great plans, active ministries, and noble goals, but if they are not aligned with how God instructed us to operate, we miss the mark entirely
2. Sacrifice is often easier than obedience A sacrifice is often an event. It is something we do, sometimes on our own terms, to show our devotion. Obedience, however, is a daily posture of the heart. It requires ongoing surrender and letting go of our own control.
This shows that we can easily fall into the trap of offering God our “sacrifices”, such as our time, our money, and our church attendance, while quietly ignoring His instructions regarding our character, our relationships, or our integrity.
This raises the question: What do we use to justify our lack of obedience? Sometimes we become deeply focused on doing great things for God, but perhaps the more important question is:
“Are we doing things the way God asked us to do them?”
A Christian can continue functioning externally in ministry while internally living in disobedience
3. Worldly shortcuts lead us astray Why do people drift from God’s instructions today? Often, it is because God’s way requires patience, reverence, and doing things that do not make sense to a fast-paced world.
David putting the Ark on a cart instead of having the Levites carry it on their shoulders seemed faster and easier. But God’s presence cannot be handled with worldly convenience. There is a very relevant warning here: we cannot adopt the world’s methods and expect to get God’s results.
The question should not only be: “Are we moving forward?”
But also: “Are we walking on the path God instructed?”
4. Partial obedience is still disobedience It is important to note that Saul actually did most of what God asked. He went to battle, he won, but he kept a little bit back. He justified his partial obedience by saying it was for the Lord.
This completely changes the perspective of the passage. God’s standard of faithfulness is not just “mostly right.”
We may go through seasons where it is tempting to follow the parts of the Bible we like, but ignore or compromise on the parts that challenge our modern culture. But true faithfulness means submitting to the whole Word of God, even when it is difficult or unpopular
5. Remaining faithful requires community Although this passage is marked by a harsh correction for Saul, it is also a powerful warning to keep us on track. We are living in times full of distractions, shifting values, and easy compromises.
This highlights that staying focused on God requires help. When we realize that the culture is pulling people away, our response should be to anchor each other to the Word.
Sometimes God allows our “new carts” to break down so that we can discover our trust was placed in our own methods rather than in His instructions. How do we practically help keep each other focused on God in these times?
1 Samuel 15:22 is a call not to confuse religious activity with a submitted life.
Saul had the sacrifices, but he had lost reverence, obedience, and a right relationship with God. The greatest tragedy was not simply that he lost his kingdom; it was that he thought he could rewrite God’s rules and still keep God’s blessing.
This challenges us today to ask: Are we simply offering God our activity, or are we truly offering Him our obedience?
We can have an appearance of spirituality, tradition, experience, and even ministry activity, but God desires much more than our activity. He desires relationship, obedience, holiness, and a heart that is completely devoted to Him.
And perhaps the greatest lesson of obedience is this:
The greatest offering we can ever give to God is not what we achieve for Him; it is how faithfully we submit to Him.
JESUS TEACHES OBEDIENCE TOGETHER WITH SACRIFICE
Matthew 23:23
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
Jesus rebuked the hypocritical practice of the scribes and Pharisees, who placed great importance to the religious detail and precision of the tithe whilst neglecting the “weightier matters of the law”
The Greek word for “weightier” is …..
barús; meaning burdensome, heavy burdens, spoken metaphorically of burdensome precepts
(Extracted from CWSB)
Jesus intuitively identified the selective religious application of the law in the heart of the scribes and the Pharisees concerning their obedience to tithing.
We must remember the non negotiable constitutional elements of the foundation of His throne as declared by David that is now emphasised by Jesus (Matthew 23:23) in the New Covenant
Psalms 89:14
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Mercy and truth go before Your face.
Our sacrificial giving that has been demanded by the law must not be prioritised by neglecting the demand for righteousness, justice, mercy and truth
Amos 5:22-24
22 Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
I will not accept them,
Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings.
23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs,
For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.
24 But let justice run down like water,
And righteousness like a mighty stream.
Amos prophesied during a time of great economic prosperity in the nation of Israel. God had noted the systemic corruption and the religious hypocrisy that was prevalent among His people. The most gifted and skilled renditions of praise and worship was rejected as “noisy” by the Lord if it brings into disrepute the foundational elements of His throne; all the sacrificial offerings were declared “unacceptable” and rejected by God because it was presented from a culture that was deeply antagonistic to the foundational elements of the throne of God which are righteousness, justice, mercy and truth.
When we neglect to give attention to these “weightier matters”, it has a negative impact on the culture of the church. It would inevitably produce injustice and oppression. The believer is called to represent and become the image and likeness of Christ and the virtues that He represents.
Luke 4:18
18 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
RESISTANCE AND DISSENT
The religious complex is quick to call any form of “resistance and dissent” as rebellion.
When righteousness and justice is compromised the disciple of the Lord will dissent. There are blessings attached to resistance “for the sake of righteousness”
Matthew 5:10-12
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The Church is expected to resist and protest against any legislation that causes the believer to compromise his or her obedience to the Holy Scriptures.
The Apostles courageously defied religious and political demands that attempted to silence their witnessing concerning Christ Jesus as the Promised Messiah.
Acts 5:28-29
28 saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!”
29 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.
Obedience Over Sacrifice: Staying Faithful to God’s Instructions
Perspective by Newman Rajoo
1 Samuel 15:22 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.”
1. Good intentions cannot replace God’s instructions King Saul kept the best of the livestock to offer as a grand sacrifice to God. The intention sounded noble, practical, and highly religious. Similarly, King David later tried to move the Ark of the Covenant on a brand-new cart, which was considered a modern and efficient method at the time.
Both men had good intentions, but both ignored God’s specific, established instructions.
They had begun to treat their own “good ideas” as equal to God’s commands.
This teaches us that we cannot substitute our own wisdom for God’s clear Word. We can have great plans, active ministries, and noble goals, but if they are not aligned with how God instructed us to operate, we miss the mark entirely
2. Sacrifice is often easier than obedience A sacrifice is often an event. It is something we do, sometimes on our own terms, to show our devotion. Obedience, however, is a daily posture of the heart. It requires ongoing surrender and letting go of our own control.
This shows that we can easily fall into the trap of offering God our “sacrifices”, such as our time, our money, and our church attendance, while quietly ignoring His instructions regarding our character, our relationships, or our integrity.
This raises the question: What do we use to justify our lack of obedience? Sometimes we become deeply focused on doing great things for God, but perhaps the more important question is:
“Are we doing things the way God asked us to do them?”
A Christian can continue functioning externally in ministry while internally living in disobedience
3. Worldly shortcuts lead us astray Why do people drift from God’s instructions today? Often, it is because God’s way requires patience, reverence, and doing things that do not make sense to a fast-paced world.
David putting the Ark on a cart instead of having the Levites carry it on their shoulders seemed faster and easier. But God’s presence cannot be handled with worldly convenience. There is a very relevant warning here: we cannot adopt the world’s methods and expect to get God’s results.
The question should not only be: “Are we moving forward?”
But also: “Are we walking on the path God instructed?”
4. Partial obedience is still disobedience It is important to note that Saul actually did most of what God asked. He went to battle, he won, but he kept a little bit back. He justified his partial obedience by saying it was for the Lord. This completely changes the perspective of the passage. God’s standard of faithfulness is not just “mostly right.”
We may go through seasons where it is tempting to follow the parts of the Bible we like, but ignore or compromise on the parts that challenge our modern culture. But true faithfulness means submitting to the whole Word of God, even when it is difficult or unpopular
5. Remaining faithful requires community Although this passage is marked by a harsh correction for Saul, it is also a powerful warning to keep us on track. We are living in times full of distractions, shifting values, and easy compromises.
This highlights that staying focused on God requires help. When we realize that the culture is pulling people away, our response should be to anchor each other to the Word.
Sometimes God allows our “new carts” to break down so that we can discover our trust was placed in our own methods rather than in His instructions. How do we practically help keep each other focused on God in these times?
1 Samuel 15:22 is a call not to confuse religious activity with a submitted life.
Saul had the sacrifices, but he had lost reverence, obedience, and a right relationship with God. The greatest tragedy was not simply that he lost his kingdom; it was that he thought he could rewrite God’s rules and still keep God’s blessing.
This challenges us today to ask: Are we simply offering God our activity, or are we truly offering Him our obedience?
We can have an appearance of spirituality, tradition, experience, and even ministry activity, but God desires much more than our activity. He desires relationship, obedience, holiness, and a heart that is completely devoted to Him.
And perhaps the greatest lesson of obedience is this:
The greatest offering we can ever give to God is not what we achieve for Him; it is how faithfully we submit to Him.
JESUS TEACHES OBEDIENCE TOGETHER WITH SACRIFICE
Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
Jesus rebuked the hypocritical practice of the scribes and Pharisees, who placed great importance to the religious detail and precision of the tithe whilst neglecting the “weightier matters of the law”
The Greek word for “weightier” is ….. barús; meaning burdensome, heavy burdens, spoken metaphorically of burdensome precepts (Extracted from CWSB)
Jesus intuitively identified the selective religious application of the law in the heart of the scribes and the Pharisees concerning their obedience to tithing.
We must remember the non negotiable constitutional elements of the foundation of His throne as declared by David that is now emphasised by Jesus (Matthew 23:23) in the New Covenant
Psalms 89:14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face.
Our sacrificial giving that has been demanded by the law must not be prioritised by neglecting the demand for righteousness, justice, mercy and truth
Amos 5:22 Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings. 23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. 24 But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream.
Amos prophesied during a time of great economic prosperity in the nation of Israel. God had noted the systemic corruption and the religious hypocrisy that was prevalent among His people. The most gifted and skilled renditions of praise and worship was rejected as “noisy” by the Lord if it brings into disrepute the foundational elements of His throne; all the sacrificial offerings were declared “unacceptable” and rejected by God because it was presented from a culture that was deeply antagonistic to the foundational elements of the throne of God which are righteousness, justice, mercy and truth.
When we neglect to give attention to these “weightier matters”, it has a negative impact on the culture of the church. It would inevitably produce injustice and oppression. The believer is called to represent and become the image and likeness of Christ and the virtues that He represents.
Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me; To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
RESISTANCE AND DISSENT
The religious complex is quick to call any form of “resistance and dissent” as rebellion. When righteousness and justice is compromised the disciple of the Lord will dissent. There are blessings attached to resistance “for the sake of righteousness”
Matthew 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The Church is expected to resist and protest against any legislation that causes the believer to compromise his or her obedience to the Holy Scriptures.
The Apostles courageously defied religious and political demands that attempted to silence their witnessing concerning Christ Jesus as the Promised Messiah.
Acts 5:28 saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!” 29 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.
CCF International Church 
Leave a comment