When it comes to the commands and the law of God, must we obey every detail of what God has set forth or are we permitted to violate His will and remain in fellowship with Him? In other words, is it really that important that we strictly adhere to the teachings of God's word? Must we seek Bible authority for all that we do, or is it only important that we have faith in Jesus?
Romans 15:4 says that the Old Testament was "written for our learning." While we're not bound to the law of the Old Testament (Gal. 5:1-4), there are many, many things that we can learn from the stories found therein. In this article, I'd like to consider one story in particular that will help us answer the questions set forth in the first paragraph above. Let's turn to 1 Samuel 15 to establish the importance of obedience to the commands of God.
Saul was king of Israel. God commanded Saul through Samuel, saying, "Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey" (1 Sam. 15:3).
King Saul assembled the army and attacked the Amalekites just as God commanded, but notice what is said in verse 9: "But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed."
Did Saul obey the command of God? I think the answer is pretty obvious. While they utterly destroyed all the people, they spared the king as well as the best of the animals. One might argue that they did "good enough," that they mostly obeyed God's command, but as we're going to see, partial obedience really isn't obedience at all.
Between the time that Saul went to war against the Amalekites and the time that he returned from war, God told Samuel, "I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments" (vv. 11). You see, even though Saul partially obeyed God, God counted it as disobedience. But what's even more telling is Samuel's conversation with Saul afterwards. Skip down to verses 13-14...
"Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, 'Blessed are you of the Lord! I have performed the commandment of the Lord.' But Samuel said, 'What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?'" Samuel knew that Saul had disobeyed God, but Saul clearly believed that he had done all that God had commanded him to do. Before Samuel could even say anything, the king blurted out, "I have performed the commandment of the Lord." What does this tell us? It tells us that self-confidence is not enough. One may feel justified and saved, but that doesn't mean that they are. One may view himself as a faithful follower of the Lord, but that doesn't mean anything.
But the story doesn't stop here. Go to verse 15: "And Saul said, 'They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed." I get the impression here that Saul is on the defensive. His self-confidence has been replaced with self-preservation. To get himself out of trouble, he blames the people. Then he tries to soften Samuel by saying that the animals are for sacrifice. Sounds good, right? Sure, they didn't utterly destroy everything like God commanded, but their intentions for not doing so were good and wholesome. They did it for God!
But Samuel replied, "Be quiet!" (vv. 16). He goes on to say (and I'm paraphrasing here), "Listen, you're the king. You're the one in control. Therefore, you're responsible." Saul goes back to the same argument he used earlier, "I HAVE obeyed the voice of the Lord...I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen...to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal" (vv. 20-22).
And here we find the famous statement spoken by Samuel to Saul: "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams" (vv. 22). As a result of Saul's disobedience, the Lord rejected him from being king over Israel (vv. 26).
There are many lessons that we learn from the Amalekite affair...
First of all, we learn how critical it is that we fully obey the commands of God. Even though Saul warred against the Amalekites as God commanded him, and even though he utterly destroyed the people, he spared Agag and the best of the animals. His partial obedience was considered to be outright disobedience. God didn't say, "Well, at least he did most of what I commanded him to do." No, God condemned Saul for his disobedience. This reminds me of James 2:10, "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all."
Second, we learn that good intentions don't matter. Even though we may say that what we're doing is for God; even though we may call it worship; even though we may connect some activity to our service to God...it doesn't mean that God accepts it. The people spared the best of the animals that they might sacrifice them unto God. While God was pleased with sacrifice (He had commanded it in the Law of Moses), in this case God had commanded them to destroy all the animals. So their sacrifice was the result of disobedience. Hence the statement, "To obey is better than sacrifice."
Instrumental music may sound great and religious people may view it as a wonderful way to worship the Lord. Churches may think that by building gymnasiums and fitness centers that they are doing a wonderful thing for the kingdom of God and for the lost. A person may convince himself that he is saved because he has prayed the sinner's prayer or because he was baptized as an infant. But instrumental music is not authorized in the New Testament. The church is not authorized to promote social and recreational works. The sinner's prayer and infant baptism are both unscriptural practices.
TO OBEY IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE.
Must we fully obey the commands of God? Absolutely! As Christians, we need to strictly follow the doctrine of Christ. Partial obedience isn't good enough.
Let us learn from the Amalekite affair...
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