To Obey is Better Than Sacrifice

Thursday, June 11, 2015
1 Samuel 15:17-23 KJV 

17 And Samuel said, When thou [wast] little in thine own sight, [wast] thou not [made] the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? 18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. 19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD? 20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. 22 And Samuel said, Hath 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 hearken than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion [is as] the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness [is as] iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from [being] king.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What did the Prophet Samuel remind King Saul of after the king disobeyed the Lord? (v.17-18)
2) What question did the prophet ask King Saul? (v.19)
3) How did the king respond to Samuel? (v.20-21)
4) What else did the prophet say to Saul? (v.22-23)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) Have you ever willfully disobeyed the Lord?
6) If so, what were the consequences for your rebellion?

LIFE LESSONS
7) The blessings of obedience to the Lord are great, as are the consequences for disobedience.