Obedience The fat of rams — The choicest part of all the

sacrifice. Claimed by the Lord as His right and

due; or the fattest rams or best sacrifices.
1 Samuel 15:22 - English Standard
1 Samuel 15:22 - Berean Standard Bible
Version
But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight
And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great
in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as
delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in
in obedience to His voice? Behold,
obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to
obedience is better than sacrifice, and
obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen
attentiveness is better than the fat of
than the fat of rams.
rams.

This account serves as a warning that the Lord values obedience to his commands over
religious practices.

Background Information:
First Samuel 15 tells the tragic story of the Lord rejecting Saul as Israel’s king.
Saul and his army were commanded by the Lord to destroy the Amalekites and to leave nothing
behind. But when Saul returned from the battle, the Lord was displeased.
Saul brought with him the Amalekites’ king and the best of their cattle home from the battle.
God commanded to leave nothing behind – this means to destroy everything, both men and
animals.
Saul had failed to honour the entirety of the Lord’s command.
God spoke to Samuel and expressed His regret for making Saul king (v. 11).
Samuel was upset, and he cried out to God all that night.
The next morning, Samuel brought a message to Saul.
- “Why did you not obey the Lord?” he asked (v. 19).
- Saul replied, “But I did obey the Lord.”
- Saul explained to Samuel that his men brought home the cattle for offering a sacrifice to
the Lord (vv. 20–21).

Then Samuel explained a core principle:

“To obey is better than sacrifice” (v. 22).

God desires our obedience more than our religious rituals.

Old Testament References:
Psalm 40:6–8; Proverbs 21:3; Hosea 6:6;
Psalm 50:8–15; Proverbs 28:9; Amos 5:21.
Psalm 51:16–17; Isaiah 1:11–15;
Proverbs 15:8; Jeremiah 6:19–20;
Observation:
- On the surface it may have looked like Saul was doing an honourable thing to please
the Lord.
- However, the Lord showed Samuel that formal religious worship is not a substitute
for an obedient life.
- God is concerned with the heart rather than the external appearance (1Sa 16:7).
- Saul’s sacrifices did not please the Lord because they did not flow from a heart of
repentance and faith.
- Samuel delivers the final word of judgment (1 Samuel 15: 22 – 26).
- Saul has rejected the Lord, so the Lord has rejected Saul and will strip the kingdom from
his hands.
- Saul’s repentance again reeks of self-justification.
- Saul makes excuses for his disobedience, claiming he feared the people.
- Saul’s repentance is not genuine, for he fails to truly acknowledge his own sinfulness.

Example of Obedience in the New Testament:

1. Jesus
- Jesus demonstrated what a life of obedience to the Father looked like in practice.
- Jesus upset the religious leaders of the day because he disobeyed the external religious
laws and customs.
- Jesus was not concerned with impressing those around him.
- He was only concerned with pleasing his Father.
- Jesus’ obedience was what God wanted—for him to lay down his life for sinners.
- Jesus demonstrated costly obedience to the Father throughout his life (John
10:18; Romans 5:19; Hebrews 5:8; 1John 3:16).
- Ultimately, Jesus was obedient to death on a cross (Philipians 2:8).
- Jesus’ obedience was the most pleasing sacrifice to the Lord. By his obedience,
sinners can now be free from sin.

Why is Obedience Better than Sacrifice?

There are several reasons why obedience to God is better than making sacrifices or offerings to Him:
1. disobedience is an act of rebellion,
2. disobedience is sinful,
3. disobedience is a form of idolatry,
4. disobedience disrespects God’s Word, and
5. disobedience is based on looking good to other people rather than to God.

What Does This Mean for Us?

The general concept of obedience both in the Old and New Testament relates to hearing or
hearkening to God.
- One of the Greek terms for obedience in the Bible conveys the idea of positioning oneself
under someone by submitting to their authority and command.
- Another Greek word for obey in the New Testament means "to trust."
Holman's Illustrated Bible Dictionary defines biblical obedience as "to hear God's Word and act
accordingly."
- Sacrifices were a religious observance pre-Jesus’s birth, Strong's Concordance 8085
death, burial and resurrection.
shama: to hear
- It was commanded by the Lord.
- However, we should understand that sacrifice without Original Word: ‫שָׁ מַ ע‬
obedience is empty.
- The sacrifices that we should bring to God are a repentant Part of Speech: verb feminine; verb
heart (Psalm 51:16-17) and our bodies surrendered to His masculine
service (Romans 12:1). Transliteration: shama
- If we love God, we will obey Him.
- We won’t be perfect in our obedience, but we desire to Phonetic Spelling: (shaw-mah')
submit to Him and do His good works.
Definition: to hear
We could make thousands of sacrifices to God or for His service
by giving money to His work, visiting people, feeding the poor, etc. but all our sacrifices
mean nothing if our hearts are not surrendered to God which is shown by simple
obedience.

Biblical obedience to God means to hear, trust, submit and surrender to God and his Word.