obedience is better than sacrifice

I have heard a lot of talk lately about whether or not we should be giving a tithe to the church. I believe that is the wrong question though. The Lord took me to 1 Samuel 15 to read the story of Saul, Samuel, and the Amalekites. You might be wondering how that story has anything to do with tithing, but hopefully, the Lord will show you the connection by the time you finish reading this. The story in 1 Samuel 15 is about obedience and shows us that even if you are trying to honor God in your actions, if you are not obeying His word completely, it is all for nothing and might even be sinful.

Samuel instructed King Saul that God wanted him to take the army of Israel and go into the lands of the Amalekites and “strike Amalek and completely destroy everything that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.” Saul obeyed part of the command when he went into the Amalekites land and killed almost every living thing. The scripture says, “He captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and completely destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the more valuable animals, the lambs, and everything that was good, and were unwilling to destroy them completely; but everything despicable and weak, that they completely destroyed.” By itself, this action appears to be in disobedience on the part of Saul and the people. As the leader of Israel, Saul would hold a much higher level of accountability to God because the command was given to him as the king. Why would they disobey such a direct order from God?

God was not pleased at all, and He told Samuel that He was finished with Saul as king and regretted ever putting him into that position. Samuel went to see Saul to let him know what the Lord said. When Saul saw Samuel, it appeared that he knew nothing of his disobedience as he welcomed Samuel by saying, “Blessed are you of the LORD! I have carried out the command of the LORD.” I am sure Samuel was wondering what kind of excuse Saul might come up with that would allow him to be so deceived.

Samuel confronted the king’s disobedience by repeating God’s plan for dealing with the Amalekites, but first, he exposed Saul’s heart by pointing out a weakness in him that might not have been so obvious at the time to the children of Israel or even Saul himself. Samuel tells Saul, “Is it not true, though you were insignificant in your own eyes, that you became the head of the tribes of Israel? For the LORD anointed you as king over Israel.” You see, Saul did not feel like he was adequate or worthy enough to be king of Israel. He was constantly looking for man’s approval in all of his actions as king. God had anointed him as king and that should have been enough for him, but it wasn’t. Saul tried to defend his actions to Samuel, but it was not enough to change the mind of God.

We read earlier that “Saul and the people” spared King Agag and the choicest of animals, but Saul tried to blame it all on the people with his useless excuse. In fact, he tried to tell Samuel it was all for God, “But the people took some of the spoils, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things designated for destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God at Gilgal.” One of Saul’s biggest problems is evidenced in that he thought of God as Samuel’s God and not his own. He also blamed the people rather than being accountable for his own actions. Samuel responded with one of the most quoted scriptures in the bible,

“Does the LORD have as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices

As in obeying the voice of the LORD?

Behold, to obey is better than a sacrifice,

And to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.

“For rebellion is as reprehensible as the sin of divination,

And insubordination is as reprehensible as false religion and idolatry.

Since you have rejected the word of the LORD,

He has also rejected you from being king”

This is the word of God being spoken by Samuel. He likened rebellion unto the sin of witchcraft. God told Saul, and therefore, all of us that He would rather for us to listen to His commands and obey them than do what we think He would like us to do instead. How can we dare to think we might know God’s will better than He knows it Himself?

Samuel spoke straight to the heart of the matter behind Saul’s disobedience when he told him, “You were insignificant in your own eyes.” Many in the Body of Christ today do not understand their value or significance in the body because they do not see themselves as God sees them. They do not see the anointing placed upon them by God or the reason for that anointing. In 1 Corinthians 12:18, it says, “But now God has arranged the parts, each one of them in the body, just as He desired.” God anointed Saul as king over Israel, but Saul never saw himself as an anointed king. He was more concerned with how he looked through the eyes of the people rather than through the eyes of God, so he worried himself more about the will of the people rather than the will of God.

There are many in the Church today who do not listen attentively for the voice of the Lord but attempt to lean on their own understanding instead. Many times, this course of action leads to unlawful gains as the will of the Father is overlooked. Saul took what was not his and offered it to the Lord as a sacrifice. Are we taking from the Lord what does not belong to us and tithing, offering, or sacrificing it back to the Lord? When we take what the Lord has not commanded us to take, we are robbing Him of what is His. Moses says it this way in Deuteronomy 10:12, “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the LORD’S commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it.” Everything belongs to God. We are merely stewards of the things He gives us.

If we advance ourselves or try to design God’s plan for us, we are not walking in His perfect will. If we are out of His will, we are in error or sin. We are in error even if our actions are meant for God if we are not walking in absolute obedience to His will or commands. Being in error to the Father’s will is sin. If you want to read more about this point, you can read the message titled “Were we created to sin?” that I posted on December 23, 2023. The question “Should we be tithing to the church?” is the wrong question. We should be asking ourselves, “Are we are taking from God what is not meant for us in order to give to Him what He is not desiring from us?” God wants our obedience rather than sacrifice. In Mark 12:42, Jesus was moved by the woman who gave two mites because she gave all she had out of obedience from what God gave her. This applies to our work in the kingdom as well. If we are not daily asking the Father for His gameplan, we run the risk of walking in opposition to His will. I do not want the Father to regret giving me anything or making me anything like He did Saul. I only want to hear Him say like in Matthew 25:23, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little, I will put you in charge of many things; share in the joy of your master.”

You can read more about this and other truths by obtaining a copy of “Prodigal to Prince” by Beau Walsh at BarnesandNoble.com or Amazon.com.