But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.” 1 Sam 15:22 (NLT)
In Old Testament times, most cultures viewed religion in a way that the gods needed a sacrifice to atone for their wrong-doings. If things went wrong, the logic was that it was because they hadn’t given enough or sacrificed enough and the gods required more of them. More sacrifice, more worship, greater costs… Having a ‘relationship’ with God was not something most were familiar with.
Unless you worshiped the God of Israel. The one true God. A sacrifice was still needed to atone for sins. But this God was different. Taking from the people was not His end game. He’s not an unsatisfied God, who wants more and more from us in a selfish and diminishing way. He’s a loving father who desires relationship over ritual, which is essentially what Samuel was saying to Saul. Perhaps Samuel didn’t realise how profound his words were, that one day Jesus Christ would come into the world and change everything.
Jesus lived a sinless life, ministered miraculously for 3 years, then was arrested, beaten, refused trial, mocked, shamed, paraded, killed, executed… Isaiah 51 says He was “wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities…” Jesus provided the final sacrifice. The atonement for our sins that would never burn up or go out of date.
His blood paved the way for His grace. His grace being our enabler when it comes to obedience and to walk the path God has called us to. We no longer have to worry about the sacrifice, Jesus has done that for us. Now we can be consumed with living, making every moment count, being in relationship with God.
Obedience is not a popular word. There’s an idea that obedient people have no individuality and are doormats… Not according to God. When you consider that God’s greatest commands are to love Him, yourself and others… obedience becomes noble, courageous and gutsy. And it denotes family. You don’t generally obey random strangers, but in relationship, within family, the idea of obedience is relational, not dictatorial.
In all you do today, remember that relationship trumps ritual every time. Don’t just go through the motions, but put love into all that you do.
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