INTERMEDIATE
AGE: 12 - 13
YEARS
STANDARD/GRADE:
VII & VIII
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LESSON – 15
OBEDIENCE IS BETTER THAN
SACRIFICE
Saul –
the First King of Israel
In the previous lessons we had learnt about how the judges ruled Israel. Samuel was the last judge of Israel and after him kings started to rule Israel. The Israelites asked Samuel to anoint a king for them so they could be like all the other nations around them. God told Samuel to anoint Saul to be Israel’s king. Saul was chosen by God to be the first king of Israel. Being the first king, he had no palace, army, or royal city. The Israelites continued to have fierce battles against many heathen nations around them. King Saul needed an army, so he selected 3,000 men.
King Saul
Offers Sacrifice
Once there was a battle against the Philistines. Saul called the people together at Gilgal and the Philistines too gathered together to fight them. The Philistines had 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen and a multitude of people ready to fight against Israel. When the men of Israel saw the Philistines, they were terrified. They even tried to hide in thickets, caves, rocks and pits. Saul was still in Gilgal and the people were scared. Saul wanted to offer a sacrifice before the battle so they could ask God for help. Samuel told Saul to wait for him at Gilgal. Then Samuel would offer the sacrifices and Israel would be ready for battle. Saul waited for seven days for Samuel to come; but Samuel didn’t show up. Only Samuel, the priest, could offer sacrifices but he wasn’t there yet. Saul was tired of waiting. He decided to offer the sacrifice himself without waiting for Samuel anymore. Saul could have made supplication for the nation of Israel in any number of ways, just like other men of God in the Old Testament did and God would have listened, but instead he did the one thing he must not do: offer a sacrifice.
Samuel Rebukes King Saul
As soon
as he finished the sacrifice, Samuel came. Saul went out to meet him and Samuel
asked him “What have you done?” Saul told Samuel that when he saw that the
people are getting scattered, and Samuel hadn’t come at the appointed time, and
the Philistines had gathered ready for battle, he decided to offer the
sacrifice to the Lord. Samuel told Saul that he was unwise because he didn’t keep God’s
commands. God would have established Saul’s kingdom over Israel forever.
However, now Saul’s kingdom will not continue in his family. The Lord has
looked for a man “after His own heart” and he would be the next leader of
Israel.
Samuel left and Saul had 600 men with him. There wasn’t a blacksmith in the land of Israel. That meant the Israelites had to go to the Philistines to have their battle weapons sharpened by the Philistines. This shows how unwise and unprepared King Saul was for the battle. On the day of the battle, Saul and Jonathan were the only men with weapons.
King Saul
fights the Amalekites
Once again Samuel had an urgent message for King Saul. God had commanded him to completely destroy the Amalekites and everything they possess. The Amalekites were descendants of Esau. The Amalekites and Israelites were constantly in war. They were the first nation to attack the Israelites when they left Egypt (Exodus 17:8; Numbers 14:45). Years earlier Moses had pronounced a curse from God on the Amalekites. He had declared that after the Israelites settle in the promised land, they would return to completely destroy the Amalekites (Deuteronomy 25:19). God wanted to fulfill it through Saul and his army.
King Saul
Disobeys God
Saul called the army together at Telaim. The Amalekites were destroyed from Havilah to Shur. The Lord had told Saul to destroy everything. King Saul killed all the people, but he took Agag king of the Amalekites alive. They spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs - everything that was good. It was a practice among heathen nations to keep a conquered king alive. They would take him back to their country, humiliate him and then he would be put to death. That could be the reason why Saul had kept Agag alive. Saul was very proud of his actions that he even erected a monument in his honour at Carmel. Saul thought that he had obeyed God, even though he hadn’t obeyed God’s word fully! Obeying partially or incompletely is disobedience in God’s eyes.
King Saul
Rejected by God
Samuel came out to meet Saul and Saul said, “Look! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions!” But Samuel said, “If you obeyed God completely, why do I hear the sheep bleating? And why did you allow King Agag to live?” Instead of regretting his actions and repenting, Saul tried lying and then made excuses. Saul said that he had sinned because he was afraid of the people and had listened to them. He blamed the people saying that they only kept the animals alive to make sacrifices to the Lord. Samuel had to tell Saul of the Lord’s anger. Samuel told Saul that God is delighted more in obedience than in sacrifice. To obey is better than sacrifice. Bringing a sacrifice without being obedient to Him is unacceptable to God. Rebellion is equal to engaging in witchcraft, and stubbornness is as bad as idolatry. Samuel also conveyed to Saul that because he had rejected the word of the LORD, God has rejected him as the king.
New
Testament Worship & Spiritual Sacrifices
In the
Old Testament days people worshipped God by offering sacrifices. In the New
Testament even though we don’t offer animals as sacrifices, every Christian
believer has to offer spiritual sacrifices as part of worship to God (1 Peter
2:5). The spiritual sacrifices mentioned in the New Testament are
ü Physical
body presented to God (Romans 12:1,2)
ü Prayer
(Revelations 5:8; 8:3)
ü Faith
(Philippians 2:17)
ü Praise
& Thanksgiving (Hebrews 13:15)
ü Offerings
(Philippians 4:18)
ü Charity and Doing Good Works (Hebrews 13:16)
Self - Indulgent Worship
The worship that is done in obedience to the word of God is the only worship that is acceptable to God. Our worship should acknowledge and proclaim the sovereignty of God. We worship God for who He is and we offer thanksgiving for His goodness and mercies. If our needs, desires, ambitions and emotions become the point of attention in a worship and if God is only acknowledged as an agent of our success, it is a self-indulgent narcissistic worship. Such self-indulgent worship is contrary to the word of God. The word “Narcissism” is used to refer to self-centeredness.
The narcissistic worship is usually led by individuals, who are made the center of attraction and the worshippers are led to admire the talent, ability or the individual himself or herself. For such worship leaders, worship is an opportunity to display their talent and to gain admiration and fame. This is the same sin that caused the downfall of Lucifer. Such type of worship is a result of celebrity-obsessed Christian society and it doesn’t have any precedence in New Testament worship or Christian history.
In Prophet Isaiah’s vision (Isaiah 6), when the cherubim worshipped God, the cherubim, the magnificent creations of God, covered and concealed themselves with their wings, when they proclaimed the holiness of God. God is at the center of a true spiritual worship and He is the receiver of our worship, hence worship should be offered in a manner pleasing to him, according to His will as revealed in the word of God. King Saul brought to God that God had already condemned to present as a sacrifice and his sacrifice was rejected. Our worship too will be unacceptable if we bring to God that which God has rejected in our behavior, actions, attitudes and interactions, even if we give the best excuses, explanations and reasons! God delights in our worship when it is done in obedience to his word is the lesson we learn from Saul’s life.
Bible Reference: I Samuel 13 - 15
Memory Verse: I Samuel 15:22
ASSESSMENT
ACTIVITIES
Fill in the blanks:
1. King
Saul needed an army, so he selected ………………….. men.
2. The Israelites had to go to the
Philistines to have their battle weapons sharpened because there were no
………………………… in Israel.
3. King Saul erected a
monument in his honour at ……………..
4. In Prophet Isaiah’s vision the
……………….. covered and concealed themselves with their wings, when they
worshipped God.
Give short answers:
1. Why
were the Israelites afraid of the Philistines?
2. Why
did King Saul offer the sacrifices?
3. What
was the reason given by King Saul for sparing Agag and the best of the sheep and
cattle?
4. How
did Samuel respond when he found that King Saul had kept some of the best sheep and
cattle?
Answer in brief:
1. Write
in brief about the New Testament worship.
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