1 Samuel 15

“Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice …” (v22).  After the battle with the Amalekites, King Saul again demonstrated his lack of faith and trust in God’s command.  God had told him not to take anything from the Amalekites as plunder, yet Saul and the people seized “all that was good,” supposedly to offer it to God as sacrifice (v9,15), trying to “serve God” on their own terms.  The prophet Samuel declared that God didn’t need Saul’s sacrifice; God desired an obedient heart.

“For …presumption is as iniquity and idolatry” (v23).  Thinking we know better than God is the core of sinful behavior.  Rather than sacrifices or comprises, He wants the simple obedience of our hearts.