Puzzling Old Testament Times

Scripture verses that caught my attention today: 1 Samuel 15:22-23 And Samuel said,
“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is no less a sin than divination,
and stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
he has also rejected you from being king.”
Observation: Given the situation, these are difficult verses to swallow. The Lord had told Saul to utterly destroy everything of the Amalekites—including all the livestock. But Saul kept the best of the livestock, purportedly to offer as sacrifices to the Lord. The Lord was not pleased. So what we have here is a situation where what the Lord originally asked for seems unreasonable and yet Saul will be punished for not following through with what seemed like an unreasonable request.

Application: This is one of those parts of Scripture that is difficult to reconcile in my mind. There is a part of me that wants to side with Saul and finds the command of God unreasonable, even wasteful. Yet we read that obeying is better than sacrifice and that stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry.

This is one of those cases where the new covenant of the New Testament is a welcome reprieve. There we are reminded that love trumps ridged adherence to procedures and regulations.

Of course, given the times, I’m not sure that Saul really spared the best of the livestock out of love. Even he admitted later that it was because the people wanted to save the livestock that he did so. Besides, is it really a “sacrifice” to offer up to the Lord what one has stolen from others?

Prayer: Lord, it’s often interesting to read of our ancestor’s feats and to try to make sense of them all. Someday people will likely say the same about us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Readings today included: 1 Samuel 15-16, 1 Chronicles 5, and Matthew 1)