1 Samuel 15:22

1 Samuel 15:22 says, 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.  We need to understand and live by this today.  As Samuel told Saul, what God wants from us as followers of Christ is our obedience to His word.  Any offering that we bring Him is already His.  Of course, having said this, being obedient to His word also means bringing Him our tithes and offerings, but not as an act of obligation, but of love and obedience.  Verse twenty-three adds, 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.  Samuel added that rebellion against God’s word was as bad as witchcraft and stubbornness against obeying His word is as bad as iniquity and idolatry.  We may profess to put our faith in God, but if we at the same time resist doing as He commands or calls us to do, we need to heed this warning.  Samuel then told Saul, who had just recently been anointed king, that because of his attitude toward God, his rejecting His word, that God had rejected Saul as the king of Israel.   Verse twenty-four states, And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.  Saul again attempted to put the responsibility for his sin on his fear of the people he was king over.  He said because he feared them, he obeyed their voice.  As Christians, we can never allow our fear of anyone or anything in this world to keep us from being obedient to God’s word.  Verse twenty-five adds, Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.  Saul asked Samuel to forgive him and turn to him again so that he might worship the LORD, but we are not told that he confessed to God and turned to Him by faith.  No one in this world can restore our relationship to God but us.  I believe that Saul was more interested in continuing to be king than he was in following God, and some people today want God to bless what they are doing more than they want to be obedient to His word.  Verse twenty-five declares, And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.  Samuel refused to do as Saul asked, even though Saul was the appointed king of Israel, and therefore technically in a position of power over Samuel.  Samuel told Saul that since he had rejected God’s word, that God had rejected him as the king of Israel.  Of course, we know that there is but One King of God's people, and that is Jesus Christ, but God does call us to service in His kingdom as followers of Christ, and we need to obey His calling by faith, and we can never change His word because we are afraid of those around us.