God also wants people to love and follow Him personally, not just as an outward show, or as devotion to earn points with Him. He just wants us to believe in Him and to love Him and to obey Him. Sometimes this may include sacrifices of various kinds. But sacrifice may not include obedience. When God calls upon us to fast something to get some things out of our lives, or lined up in our lives.. we should do it. When our spiritual authority calls on us to corporately fast... we should do it.
I believe some things only come by prayer and fasting. However, I do not fast to earn "points" with God.
In the original context, quoted below, Saul had been given a command which he had not completely fulfilled. Then he had done a sacrifice to appear righteous, even using some of the animals he shouldn't have had to do the sacrifice. Thus his sacrifice was thus a disobedient sacrifice and so was displeasing to God.
1 Samuel 15:17-26 (King James Version)
17And 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?18And 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.
19Wherefore 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?
20And 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.
21But 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.
22And 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.
23For 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.
24And 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.
25Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.
26And 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 spoke on behalf of God, and also regarded Saul's sacrifice on this occasion as a form of rebellion against God.
People frequently imagine that God requires sacrifice, when He just wants us, and us to love Him and serve Him. That may involve in some cases a lot more than one sacrifice. It may involve giving up our lives, rather than some small religious act. Further to all this, and perhaps this is why rebellion is involved, sacrifice is often something that we decide upon. In this case God is not Lord. He wants all of us, and He wants us to do what He wants, not what we want.
Sacrifice may thus be us choosing our own way instead of God's way. God's way is through His son Jesus Christ. He has already paid the price to earn peace and favor with God. And so many sacrifices and religious acts (the modern day equivalent of what Saul did) are grossly offensive to God since they are effectively stating that Jesus has not done enough on Calvary in His 'once for all' act - the ultimate sacrifice of a loving God for rebellious mankind.
Simple obedience is far better. It shows we trust in what He has done and are resting in that. It also shows we acknowledge Him as Lord of our life.
So, please know that obedience is better than sacrifice.. However, a sacrifice may be in order to get you from where you are... to where God wants you to be. Amen?
For the Harvest,
Cathie
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