Obedience Sacrificed

INTRODUCTION

Good morning. My name is Jordan Dudgeon, if you don’t know me, I’m a member here, and it’s an honor to be able to bring the Word to you this morning.

When we look at the Scriptures we’re dealing with today, it seems like we start off on a good note. The end of chapter 14 gives us a summary of Saul’s kingship in a positive light, even saying he “did valiantly” in verse 48.

We have a summary of Saul's military campaigns in 47-48, and some history on his family in 49-51. Verse 52 points out that all of Saul’s reign was filled with fighting against the Philistines, and even says that Saul attracted strong and valiant men to himself. 

But it’s not as positive as it may seem. This is a very generous description of Saul's reign, especially considering the huge mistakes we’ve been seeing from him lately. But there's some things to note. 

First of all, God isn’t mentioned once in this recap of Saul. The Lord’s opinion on Saul is absent here, but it’s going to become crystal clear soon.

Second of all, the final “positive” statement that summarizes Saul’s reign doesn’t actually say much about Saul at all. The fact that there was warring against the Philistines all the days of Saul, isn’t exactly all Saul’s doing. 

As we witnessed a couple weeks ago, the most recent initiative to fight the Philistines was from Saul’s son, Jonathan. Jonathan took action, trusting God, as opposed to his father Saul, who was indecisive as a leader, so this is not totally thanks to him, and sort of puts a bad taste in your mouth if you know the history from chapter 13 onwards.

Lastly, it’s striking that this summary of Saul’s reign is placed here all of the sudden in the first place. What’s it doing here?

The most common place that these recaps tend to happen is at the end of a king's reign. So what should that tell us about what’s about to take place? 

Even if this recap may sound positive at first glance, it’s very presence here in the narrative foretells the end of Saul's time as God’s king over Israel. 

It would be like if you were walking around one day, doing business as usual, and you begin to hear a narrator's voice reading your eulogy. 

You’d think “uh oh. That can’t be good”.

So this recap is sort of prophetic of what’s going to happen.

Even more striking than how this passage begins, is how this passage ends. Not with the actions of Saul, but with the actions of Samuel, who we are told “hacked Agag (the king of the Amalekites) to pieces”, and with God regretting that He even made Saul king.

So we open with a point that reminds us of Johnathan doing Saul's job for him, and we end with Samuel doing Saul's job for him. This is pretty revealing of the sort of man we’re dealing with here.

And notice how the text says in 15:33 that Samuel hacked Agag to pieces “before the Lord”, before Yahweh. Students of the Bible agree that this implies it was a gruesome act of worship that happened in God’s sight.

And the question we ask today is how did we get here? How do we go from Saul reigning valiantly, to a man being violently dismembered as an act of worship, and God regretting making Saul king over Israel? 

What happens at point A that brings us all the way to Z at lightspeed?

And the answer is a simple act of disobedience. So go back to the beginning with me, and we’ll walk with the text as the story comes together.

It begins with a task that God gives to Saul. A commission.

COMMISSION

1 Samuel 15:1 And Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord.

2 Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt.3 Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”

“Saul, God used me to declare you king, and now he’s using me to tell you what to do as king - so listen!” What Samuel relays here is not his own words or agenda as a man, but God’s plan, and God’s command to Saul.

And we need to remember this, because this command, as awful as it seems, can not be reduced down to human initiative, or the ideas of man, but is, to Saul, the very Word and command of the perfect, wise God.

Don’t leave anything Saul. Go destroy the Amalekites, and leave nothing left. Not even the children. Why? Because of what they did to my people Israel when they were coming out of Egypt.

Many of you will remember Exodus 17, where Amalek and the Amalekites came to fight Israel in the wilderness, and when Moses would raise his staff, Israel would win, and when Moses would lower his staff, Israel would begin to lose the battle.

And after that battle - after Amalek attacked God’s people, and God fought for them, here’s what God spoke to Moses:

Exodus 17:14: 14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 

So why is God asking Saul to destroy the Amalekites? He’s making good on His promise. The Amalekites messed with His kids, and generations later, Yahweh still remembers, and will not turn back on His word. So destroy everyone, and spare nobody.

Now there's so much we could say here on the fact that God commands the destruction of not only military men, but women, and children, and infants. We won’t say everything today, because I’ll actually be preaching again next week, a whole sermon, just to deal with some hard things that come out of this text.

But maybe all we’ll say for now is to just recognize that it means what it says. We aren’t doing God any favors to try and rescue Him from how this may look. The Bible doesn’t feel the need to defend God here, and so neither should we. If you wrestle with this, then tune in next week, but we just can’t cover that this week. 

So that’s the commission. Destroy every last Amalekite. Don’t leave one human left alive. Not even the sheep, or the lambs, or the camels. Nothing. They messed with God’s kids in the wilderness. He remembers. He’s repaying.

So, how does Saul do?

If we continue on, we see that Saul starts good, but that it ends in catastrophe. 

CATASTROPHE

In verses 4-5 we have what seems like quick action, Saul gathers up thousands of men in one place, close to the enemy, all on the same page, hiding in a nearby valley, ready to launch their attack.

So far so good! This is a great initiative for Saul so far! He has a plan, and the men behind him to follow through!

In verse 6 we see Saul telling the Kennites, who lived nearby, to get out of the area, so they don’t get destroyed:

No issues yet - God didn’t command Saul to destroy the Kenites, so they’re free. 

And in verse 7, we read:

7 And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt.

If you looked at these spots on a map, you’d see that Saul swept a large area, in the southwest, and it’s safe to say He probably got them all. Verse 8:

8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword.

So is this it? Mission accomplished? Saul taking action? Following through on God’s instructions finally?

Yes they took Agag, the king alive, but surely, they’ll kill him after right?

Do we finally have Saul obeying?! 

9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. (only) All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.

We should all be face-palming for Saul right now.

Saul was told to spare nobody. Not even livestock. And here he has the Amalekite king, and a flock of animals behind him.

Why did I call this disobedience a catastrophe? He only left some animals, and one guy, who doesn't even have a people to rule over anymore. Surely this can’t be that bad, right? It seems like such a small thing, I mean, Saul effectively completed the mission, so what’s a few details? 

I call it a catastrophe, because that’s how God sees it. We know this because of how God responds in the rest of the passage.

But we should just pause for a second, and realize how bad this is for Saul. First with his un-lawful sacrifice in chapter 13. Then with his son Johnathan taking the leadership role, while he panics in the background. Now this. His rule is just becoming marked by disobedience, and incompetence.

In verse 10, we begin to see the consequences for Saul's disobedience.

CONSEQUENCE

10 The word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night.

The heart of the Almighty God moved to regret, at least speaking in human language, because Saul has not kept His Word down to the detail. Catastrophe.

And Samuel! Don’t you think it must have been a tiresome thing to be Samuel? The one who God had him make king, failing again. More bad news to deliver. More sin to rebuke. 

This must be especially frustrating because in 1 Samuel 8, Samuel tried to talk the people out of wanting a king. He only made Saul king because God said to, and now here, God regrets making Saul king.

And so, Samuel, angry, confused, and sad, cries out to the Lord all night long. 

If you’ve ever cried out to the Lord, angry and confused, you’re in the company of the prophets of God. 

And so, without wasting any time, Samuel gets up, on little sleep, to go and confront Saul. Verse 12:

12 And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” 

A what?! Saul made a Monument? A statue? To commemorate what? His sin?

You can just feel Samuels anger here. If he wasn’t tired, and operating on no sleep, you wonder if he might have started swinging on the poor guy who told him about this statue.

Verse 13:

13 And Samuel came to Saul, (you can just feel his righteous indignation at this point - he probably passed by the monument on his way to Saul) and Saul said to him, (Ah! Samuel!) “Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.”

Clueless! He actually thinks Samuel should be happy to see him! He really thinks he did what was right!

“Samuel! There you are! I did it!”

 14 And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” 

Something gave you away Saul. 

It looks like you’re bringing the evidence of your sin around with you on your victory lap, and the evidence goes baaa.

And in keeping with his character, look at how Saul deflects with his response, in verse 15:

15 Saul said, “THEY have brought them from the Amalekites, for THE PEOPLE spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord YOUR God, and the rest WE have devoted to destruction.”

“Uhhhh… The People! They brought the animals back! The people spared them! But the rest, WE destroyed!” 

Notice how Saul separates himself from the sin, but still wants to take credit for what was destroyed, by saying “WE” destroyed the rest? This is pure cowardice on display.

And notice also how he calls Yahweh Samuel's God - “the Lord your God”. When someone distances themself from God in the Scripture, that’s never good. It’s like he’s saying “Yahweh’s your God, not mine”...

But Saul's not obeying, so maybe it’s accurate.

And he gives another excuse, that they only brought back the animals to sacrifice them to God, because we thought God would want the sacrifice, and ya know, we figured that it was fitting with the battle and all, and maybe guys may have gotten hungry on the victory lap, and we can’t come back empty handed, and, and, and, and, and,... 

Verse 16:

16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop!” That’s enough Saul! I’ve heard enough, I can’t take it anymore!

“I will tell you what the Lord said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.”

17 And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? 

 The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 

18 And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?” 

Why would Samuel say Saul is little in his own eyes? Mr. Monument-builder. Mr. Victory lap. How is Saul small in his own eyes? Well he obviously doesn’t mean he’s humble. 

But clearly Saul doesn’t realize the weight of his position as king. This is un-serious to him. He’s not taking the job seriously. 

In his eyes, he’s just the new leader of this small skirmish of rag-a-muffins in the middle east. But not in God’s eyes. In God’s eyes, Saul has been set as king and ruler over His precious, beloved children, Israel. This is a high calling.

In other words, “Saul, grow up! This isn’t a game! You’ve received a task from the God of heaven and earth! Why didn’t you obey?”

20 And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” 

• Disobey God, 
• erect a statue of yourself, 
• Congratulate yourself to the prophet!
• Blame it on your people
• Argue with the prophet

Whatever happens to Saul after this, you are not allowed to feel bad for him! That’s not on the table! It’s like he’s begging for a righteous slap from the prophet!

And it looks like he’s even trying to paint bringing the animals back in a positive light, by saying “well yeah, it was the people’s idea, but we thought we’d use them as sacrifices. And we even kept the best for sacrificing. And after all Samuel, it’s for your God, so you should be excited. Doesn’t your God love sacrifices?”

At this point Samuels had enough of Saul's foolish talk, and in verses 22-23, he finally just puts Saul in his place:

22 And Samuel said,

“Has 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 listen than the fat of rams.

Now that little word “as” in verse 22 helps us here. Samuel is not saying that the Lord doesn’t delight in offerings and sacrifices. He clearly does, He formed a whole temple system around them. But they’re not as sweet to Him as plain and simple obedience. 

The Lord doesn’t just want what we can offer Him, which is pretty much nothing, because He gives us everything, and the cattle on 1000 hills belong to Him. 

He wants us. The whole package. To quote Romans 12, Saul should have offered himself as a living sacrifice to God, and obeyed every command. 

And we see here, not just that obedience is sweet, but that disobedience is putrid, or evil in God’s eyes. Samuel continues in verse 23;

23  For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
    and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.

Samuel doesn’t call Saul's mistake an oopsie - he calls it what it is - rebellion. And Samuel says in God’s eyes, it’s just as bad as divination, a pagan practice to gain knowledge by demonic tools. 

It's just as bad as the idolatry that Saul was supposed to drive out of the land.

It doesn’t matter if Saul destroys all the idols of the Amalekites, if he has just as many Idols in his heart! 

In other words, who needs the Amalekites to corrupt the land, when you have king Saul? You may as well be king Agag, Saul!

And here’s the crushing blow from Samuel, in the second half of verse 23:

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
    he has also rejected you from being king.”

This is a new punishment for Saul. You’ll remember back in chapter 13 when Saul failed, Samuel told him that none of his children would ever reign over Israel.

But now Samuel tells Saul that he himself has been rejected. He will not finish his course as king. His time is up. We don’t know exactly how, or when, but his days as king are few.

You’ve gotta wonder if Samuel tasted angry tears on his cheeks when he proclaimed this. This king that Israel demanded to have. Even though Samuel warned them, they demanded. And now his reign is collapsing. 

The king that he invested in. Prayed over. Lost sleep over. Proclaimed God’s Word to.

I don’t think Samuel has a “told ya so” feeling. I think he’s just sad.

And finally. Finally… Saul apologizes. Verse 24:

24 Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. 

There it is. Fear of man. Saul admits this was his mistake, and it’s because he feared the people.

Fear of man will tear anyone down. From the smallest peasant, to the king of Israel.

So Saul admits finally that he caved under pressure, and sinned. But this is likely just a half hearted apology to save face, because look at what Saul asks Samuel in verse 25!

25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the Lord.”

Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry Samuel, but I’m sort of on this victory lap, so if you could just come to bless me before the people, and give me the prophets approval, that would look really good for me!

26 And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 

27 As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore.28 And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. 

You almost feel bad for Saul, but like I said, that’s pretty much off limits now. His last beacon of hope to keep his act up begins to walk away - his kingdom is slipping through his fingers, and in total desperation, he grabs at his robe, and it rips.

And Samuel uses this as an illustration to add to the prophecy - not only will the kingdom be taken from you Saul. But it will be ripped away and given to a neighbor of yours. A friend maybe. Someone in your midst. And that man is better than you.

Now we know this is referring to David. But Saul doesn’t know that yet. I imagine it's at this point in Saul's life that paranoia and envy for all of his companions begins to set in. Burning to know who’ll replace him. Angry that Smauel said there's someone better than him. Wondering who it is obsessively.

It’s truly over for Saul. Someone better than him from among his men will replace him. It could be anyone, and so therefore in Saul's proud mind, it’s everyone.

And the sentence is sealed in verse 29 by Samuel.

29 And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” 

Now if you’ve been paying attention, you’re probably wondering why verse 11 says God regretted making Saul king, and verse 29 says that the Lord does not regret like men do. I’d love to say more on this, but we just don’t have time this morning. We will be looking at this next week though, along with the slaughter of the Amalekites, so again, tune in next week.

For now, we just need to say that it’s final, and the Lord will not turn back on what he’s decided for saul.

In verses 30-31, Saul actually has the nerve to once again apologize and ask Samuel to come back with him, to honor him before the people. And this time Samuel actually goes with Saul! Is Samuel compromising? Is he going to help Saul save some face?

Not so fast. Samuels not going back for Saul. He’s going back to complete unfinished business.

COMPLETION

32 Then Samuel said, “Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him cheerfully. Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 33 And Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.

Since Saul wouldn’t do it, somebody had to. This would have been humiliating for Saul. He thinks that Samuel is coming back with him to honor him! To give him clout in front of his boys!

But don’t we know Samuel better than that by now? A prophet who never cared about what man thinks.  A prophet who never flinched when delivering God’s word. And now a prophet who did not flinch when delivering God’s justice.

This is a screaming statement that Saul didn’t finish the job, painted in red. Every swing of the sword is a rebuke to Saul. His ego is massacred along with Agag. His monument is just a laughing stock now. His work is finished for him in front of everyone.

Now Saul knows what it feels like when people point out the clerks typos at a congregational meeting. 

And as we covered at the start, “before the Lord” implies this is an act of worship. Why? Because obedience is better than sacrifice. Finishing what God said to finish is better than any ritual worship, or offering on an altar.

To state the obvious, this is not an act of worship that Christians are called to emulate today. Under God’s covenant with His people at the time, this is how He chose to carry out divine justice on the Amalekites and on Agag, and the very fact that it was an act of obedience, makes it an act of worship.

And now, in dead silence, Sammuel goes back to his home in Ramah, and Saul up to his house in Gibeah. 

And verse 35 ends our passage on this somber note:

'35 And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

Saul's kingdom slipping through his hands. The prophet who guided him, gone. The God who set him as king, done with him. Samuel and God both grieving Saul instead of celebrating him. Someone better than him in his ranks to replace him. 

Israel is primed to receive a better king. Saul is primed to go mad.

That’s our passage.

That's how we got from point A to point Z. From Saul doing valiantly, to Agag being severed to pieces before God by Samuel. A little disobedience. A little twisting of the truth. A little defending of sin. Turned into a bloody rebuke.

Saul’s refusal to ever get the point, has led to him losing the entire kingdom.

So what now?

Now, like last week, this is not a go-and-do-likewise passage. If you were hoping it was, the phone numbers of our pastors are in the bulletin.

Also, if you were hoping it was, you’re the reason we don’t have their addresses in there too.

But how do we apply the truths from this text to our lives?

I had a handful of application points for this morning. But I realized that most of them can be wrapped up by just staring at the principle that obedience is better than sacrifice, which is at the heart of our text. So let’s look at this truth, and turn it around to see how it hits different areas of our life.

Obedience is Better than Sacrifice

This is a truth from our passage that’s repeated in the New Testament in different ways. In Mark 12:33, when a Scribe makes Jesus happy by saying that “To love God with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

We also see this principle time and time again when the Pharisees out ritual above actually obeying the intent of the law, and Jesus corrects them, and tells them that he’d have mercy over sacrifice (though He’d really prefer both). 

Again, they should have done both, because it’s not that God hated sacrifice. It’s that God loved heartfelt obedience more.

You might think you’re home free on this rule, because we live in a time in salvation history where there are no more sacrifices or offerings. Not so fast.

Don’t many people today still think they can give a little sacrifice to get out of actual, whole heart, obedience?

We see this today in thousands of Catholic churches, where people go to the sacrifice of the mass, or confession, or indulgences, so that they can live in sin the week up until then, and still be covered.

We see this on the calendar during Lent, where people give up extra of the things keeping them from God, which begs the question of what they were doing the rest of the year besides full submission.

But let’s bring this home a little closer. Do we sometimes see attending Sunday service, or taking communion, or helping with weekly ministries as a sacrifice that makes up for disobedience?

Isn’t it true that sometimes we separate our lives into 2 categories? Spiritual stuff, and personal, or secular, or regular stuff? And if we do enough spiritual stuff, it cancels out the personal stuff?

Here are some tests to see if you’re putting the “sacrifice” of spiritual service in your church above obedience in all of life:

• When you leave service on Sunday, if you go out for lunch, how do you treat your waitress?
• When you take communion, are you sub-consciously planning your next sin?
• When you help at Young Adults, or FAITH night, or a study, do you view that as your “spiritual” service and use that to justify wasting time on the TV, or video games, or whatever else? (I’m not talking fair, and needed rest/recreation. I’m talking about viewing any time that isn’t in the church calendar as “your time”, and not the Lord’s). 
• Do you give to the church, and then dishonor God with your spending in the rest of your budget?
• Young adults, do you help around town with community service, and then drag your feet at home when chores need to be done? God’s not looking at the year end slideshow, He’s looking at your life!
• Little kids, do you pray to Jesus at bedtime, and sing to Him at FAITH night only to fight with your siblings, and say no to your parents?
• Wive’s do you come and give great insight at women’s studies on femininity, only to domineer and control your husband at home?
• Men, do you sacrifice long hours for ministries with your evenings, and time, only to neglect family issues that God has called you to address and lead in?
• Bible college students - do you go on and on about how sinful you are, and how pitiful and sinful you are before God, instead of actually just obeying? As if the sacrifice of self-deprecation can replace just obeying God?
• People who haven’t committed to Christ - do you think you and God will “figure it out”, because you treat everyone kindly, and pay your bills, and think that replaces God’s command on your life to repent from your sins and believe the gospel?
• And so on…

I don’t want to tire you out - I want to show you that this little lie can show up everywhere in life. The lie being that as long as we’re sacrificing somewhere, total obedience is not needed. But we saw how that worked out for Saul

God doesn’t want your sacrifices, as much as He wants you altogether! 

Let me rephrase that - God does want a sacrifice - and it’s you! 

Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies (your whole self and life) as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

Kid’s, parents, adults, elders, teens, all of us - pick up your cross and become a living sacrifice in all of life!

God requires real obedience from us, and it really is possible by His Spirit! 

Think of how easy it was for Saul to convince himself he was obeying God, just because he got some points right. He even made a monument for himself. How easily do we congratulate ourselves for a little obedience here and there, when our lives are sloppy? And then we get defensive like Saul. And then we start to justify ourselves with our sacrifices. And on and on… 

Don’t hear me saying that if you don’t have absolutely perfect obedience or else you’re fooling yourself. A righteous man falls 7 times.

David was described in our passage today as a man who is better than Saul. And remember what happened with Bathsheba? David had many oversights, some even worse than Saul's.

But what was the difference in David? David confessed His sins, he didn’t hide them, asked God not to take the Spirit away from him, and then he asked God to restore to him the joy of his salvation, and renew a right spirit within him.

David, even in the old covenant, wanted to walk in the power of God’s Spirit. He turned from sin when he fell, and got up to keep walking in a general direction of obedience.

Saul hid his sin. Saul planned his sin. Saul gave a half hearted apology to move on to public affairs… The difference is not perfection, but direction.

So, because of time, that’s all we should say about obedience and sacrifice.

But lastly, we need to consider Jesus’ obedience and sacrifice.

Jesus’ Obedience & Sacrifice

See, for Jesus all of this talk about obedience and sacrifice and be summed up in one verse - Philippians 2:8

“And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Jesus always obeyed. Every Hour. Every second. Every breath. He always did what His Father told Him, and He earned a righteousness that we could never earn, or buy with any sacrifice. But a righteousness that we need to be with His Father.

And where did Jesus’ obedience take Him? According to Philippians 2:8, it took Him to a cross. Where He sacrificed His life for His sheep. He didn’t throw His people under the bus for His own sin like Saul. He had no sin of His own, and yet he took the blame for us.

Jesus didn’t just obey. And Jesus didn’t just sacrifice. Jesus obeyed His Father by sacrificing His life for us on that tree. In Jesus obedience and sacrifice come together perfectly in an obedient sacrifice that saves His people.

Because of the cross, in Jesus we have someone to give us grace for all of the times we didn’t obey the Father. In Jesus there is hope for us Sauls who have rebelled against God.

If you’re walking in obedience, would you come to Him today to find grace to keep going?

If you realize this morning that you haven’t been walking in obedience would you come to Him to ask for forgiveness and mercy? He will not turn you away.

One day he will return and make Agag’s judgment seem like a kid’s story. One day He will return and make David’s great kingdom seem like a lego set.

Come to Him today with all of your broken sacrifices, and totally trust in His perfect, obedient sacrifice.