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 Samuel
15:22 NLT
Saul was chosen by God to be King of Israel,
but Saul disappointed God. Over and over he did things his own way and was not
obedient. Finally, Saul was told to eliminate the Amalekites—all the people and
their animals. But Saul and his soldiers captured Agag, the Amalekite king, and
kept for themselves the choice animals. After this final act of disobedience
God sent the prophet Samuel to confront Saul. Saul claimed to have followed God’s
orders—even offering a burnt sacrifice offering. But that wasn’t what God
wanted. There was no repenting from this action—God removed him as king of
Israel. Samuel explained that Obedience
is better than sacrifice.
How often do
we do something good, expecting it to please God…where what He wants is just obedience to His commands? Can we really
keep all of the Ten Commandments? In a conversation with a religious expert Jesus
pointed out… Jesus replied, "The most important commandment
is this: 'Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD. And you
must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind,
and all your strength.' The second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as
yourself.' No other commandment is greater than these." Mark 12:29-31. Love God and love those around you.
If you can do that, totally, then you are fulfilling all the Ten Commandments.
Seems pretty easy…but in reality, I’ve found that can only be done in obedience
to God…not just in trying. Do you agree?
Prayer
~ Lord God, I love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength…help me to
love myself so I can love those around me.
Daily
Bible Reading: Song of Solomon
Friday’s
Feast at the King’s Table
 |
| The remains of my "burnt offering." |
As usual every Friday is Feast Day—Feasting at the King’s Table. We can’t
live on just spiritual food …nor can we live on bread alone. We’ve got to have
some meat, veggies and fruit. And that meat shouldn’t be a burnt offering.
Maybe God likes burnt offerings…but burnt food is not healthy and not enjoyed
by most people…including my husband. Watch the temperature. Heating cookware to
too high of a heat is not good for the pans. It can release dangerous chemicals
from Teflon and can even warp cast iron pans. Oil in frying pans can also catch
fire quickly. Ask my niece Michelle about that. As a teenager her home caught
on fire when she was cooking French fries in oil on the stove and left the
stove unattended to answer the phone. Safety first. I blame my “burnt offerings”
on my range top. It has a couple of burners that are superhot…even on low. What
is your excuse?
©
2017 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All
scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
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