


How To Be Acceptable in God's Sight Under the Old
Testament or Under the New: Obey, Obey, Obey.
Text for the Week: I Samuel
Memory verse: I Samuel 15: 22
"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."
Narrative: The book of I Samuel
is a study in two characters: Saul
and David. There is a marked
contrast between the two. Both
had their weaknesses, and both
committed some atrocious sins.
But the difference ultimately would
be that of obedience.
Big_Picture Perspective: We have
long discussed, even argued,
whether faith or works or grace has
the biggest part in our salvation.
Certainly scripture can be cited,
showing the value of each
(Hebrews 11: 6; James 2: 14-26;
Ephesians 2: 8-10). Probably we
should not be pitting one against
the other, but rather putting
obedience above all three and
making sure that we obey.
We can obey by believing
something that God has
commanded us to believe (see
I John 3: 23; 4: 7; 4: 15), do what
God has commanded us to do (see
Titus 3: 14, John 14: 15,
II Thessalonians 1: 6-10 for only a
few passages emphasizing works),
and sometimes to not do but rather
to let God handle some things
(Matthew 6: 25-33). Believing,
doing, and not-doing all are forms
of obedience. We might call these
"faiths", "works", and "graces" for
this purpose.
The Bible Story: Who will be
acceptable?
I Samuel 13: 5-14. Saul did not
wait to let the appointed one,
Samuel, offer the sacrifices. He
rushed into the ceremonies himself.
". . . Your kingdom shall not
endure."
But David waited until Saul was
fully removed from office as king
until he assumed the office for
which David had already been
anointed (I Samuel 17: 13).
Though he had several chances to
kill Saul, he served Saul in his
palace until God fully removed
him. Isaiah 40: "30 Even youths
shall faint and be weary, and young
men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the LORD
shall renew their strength, they
shall mount up with wings like
eagles, they shall run and not be
weary, they shall walk and not
faint." Message: sometimes
letting God do it is the right thing.
Man has created all kinds of
problems by "selling" Christianity
for him, making the Gospel more
palatable, tricking people to come
to church, and making the Bible
"more user-friendly."
Sparing the unpleasant parts
because he didn't like them
(works): See I Samuel 15: 1-31.
Killing people and animals doesn't
seem like a very nice job--but God
said to do it. Saul decided he
would do only the parts that he
wanted to do. He is not unlike
people today who read the Bible
with their scizzors in their hands.
When David faced a similar
situation (I Samuel 31: 8-19) he
did all that God commanded him
(v.8). This form of obedience is
called works.
What about faith? How did each
man obey or not obey with regard
to believing what God had told
him?
Saul showed a lack of faith in God
by not believing what he had been
told about doing sacrifices
acceptably or by doing the military
operation he was told to do. But
David showed his faith by his
obedience (James 2: 18 "Yea, a
man may say, Thou hast faith, and
I have works: show me thy faith
without thy works, and I will show
thee my faith by my works.")
Saul was removed from his office
by God and eventually died by his
own sword. David was a man
after God's own heart and the
author of many of the Psalms such
as the 23rd and 40th (vs. 1-8). What
a contrast!
How obedient are you to God
today? And, to put it another way,
how are you obedient to Him
today?
We hope that by visiting this website,
you have been blessed.
Sid Womack, webmaster
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