To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice

(1 Samuel 15)

Mike Johnson

After Saul became Israel’s king, Samuel, a prophet, was told by God to inform him that he must “utterly destroy” the Amalekites due to them having mistreated Israel while in the wilderness. The command was very specific, making it clear that it included every person and animal.

Israel then defeated the Amalekites, but Saul did not completely destroy this foe.  Contrary to what God said, he spared their king, Agag, and the best of their flocks.  Samuel confronted Saul, who immediately said, “Blessed are you of the Lord! I have performed the commandment of the Lord” (13).  Samuel then responded (14), “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?”

At first, Saul insisted he had obeyed God’s command, even though he spared some of the animals and Agag.  As reproof continued, Saul blamed the people he ruled over for taking the animals. To further justify himself, he said they took the animals to sacrifice to God.  Samuel then admonished, “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 than the fat of rams.”  Saul then admitted he had sinned, but he then attempted to justify himself by saying he did not obey God because he feared the people.

Saul attempted to defend what had been done (sparing the best of the animals) by the good (having them to sacrifice) that was accomplished.  He made an argument, commonly made today, that the ends justify the means, also called “Situation Ethics.”  This approach says that a good outcome excuses any wrongdoing required to obtain it.    It may involve doing something sinful to achieve a positive result and then justifying the sin by pointing to a good outcome.  In our text, Saul, in effect, says that disobeying God is acceptable since it resulted in something good, i.e., having the animals for worship.

Consider some applications today where an act might otherwise be good, but it is not acceptable if it involves disobedience to God.

  1. Attracting numbers to a church building is good, but not if done through carnal means such as fleshly rewards and inducements (Jn. 6:26, 27; Rom. 1:16). Someone might say,  “but look at all the people who are coming.”  If we do not use Scriptural means, then there is disobedience.
  2. Reading religious literature (e.g., commentaries, books, and religious magazines) is great, but not if used as our ultimate authority. We can benefit from the writings of others, but the Bible is our guide (2 Tim. 3:16-17; Col. 3:17).
  3. Baptizing people is good, but not if those baptized are infants. Infants are not proper subjects for baptism (Mt. 28:18-20; Acts 18:8).  Instead, the Bible teaches that baptism is for penitent believers (Mk. 16:16, Acts 2:38).
  4. Worshiping God is good, but not if done through men’s innovations, such as using instrumental music in the service (Col. 3:17, Eph. 5:19). Worship must be as God specifies (Jn. 4:24, Mt. 15:8-9).  The very foundation of worship is obedience to God, and it involves honoring, reverencing, and respecting Him.  To worship while in the very act of disobedience would not make sense!
  5. Marriage is good (Gen. 2:18), but not if a person is married to another whom they have no right to be married (Mt. 5:32-33, 19:9).
  6. Preaching the gospel is good, but not if a church does this by contributing to a human institution instead of overseeing their own work (1 Tim. 3:15; 1 Pet. 5:4).

In each case, the ends do not justify the means.

Today, we cannot justify sin or sinful methods by appealing to some good accomplished. God’s Word is our only standard.  Disobedience is not justified by some perceived good accomplished.  Remember, TO OBEY IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE!