The Life of DavidSample

Day 7: 1 Sam. 14-15 x Sarahbeth Smith, Levite at UPPERROOM

“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 listen than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22 NKJV)

In these couple of chapters, we see the fall of a king who did not fully obey the voice of the Lord. God had commanded Saul to go defeat and strike Amalek and destroy all they had. Saul obeyed halfway, and this led to his imminent downfall. Saul had his men save what looked “good” to them, yet the Lord said to destroy everything in sight.

This makes me think of the times that God has asked me to take a big step of obedience, and I start to reason why it might be a good idea to obey halfway. God tells Saul through Samuel that he was “little in his own eyes” though the Lord had raised him up to be king over Israel. He did not see himself the way God saw him, eventually leading to disobedience and the desire to please people more than God. You begin to see in this passage that Saul didn’t understand the heart of obedience. God wants our hearts turned to Him when we hear His voice and then choose to obey.

Prayer: Lord, help me to hear Your voice when You speak to me and help me to obey not just a little bit but all the way. Thank You, Lord, that Jesus lived a perfect life in my place and made a way back to the Father so that I can learn obedience through faith. Amen.