23.31 To Obey is Better than Sacrifice (Part 1)

Hello friends!  Welcome to a continuation of our case studies in the lives of some prominent biblical characters who demonstrated moments of great disobedience that impacted not only their own lives, but the lives of a whole nation as well.  And often the implications of their disobedience spanned not just centuries, but in the case of today's person, implications were being felt over five hundred years later in the life of Israel.  Who are we talking about?  We're talking about King Saul and his interaction with the prophet Samuel as recorded in 1 Samuel 15.  It's where the classic verse that says, to obey is better than sacrifice...(v.22).  There's no arguing that what God called King Saul to do was incredibly difficult, but God had His reasons, and His reasons always are righteous and just.  He was called to wipe out a whole people group, young and old alike, and all their livestock as well.  Why?  Because this nation was demonstrating two things God hates, the sacrificing of infants and children to idols and a demonic desire to wipe Israel off the face of the earth.  King Saul did go to battle, and did, I'd say, about 99.9% of what God ordered.  It's that little .01%, though, that was so egregious to the Lord, and brought the whole future of the Children of Israel into question half a millennia later.  King Saul learned the hard way that, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams... Another important case study that we can learn from to help us build a healthy Indigenous Faith that is encamped close to the heart and Word of God.  We hope you'll stay with us for the whole series!