Sunday Recap for 2/4 Big Picture Question: What is obedience?
Sunday, February 4, Evident Grace Fellowship looked at 1 Samuel 13:8-15:
1 Samuel 13:8 He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. 11 Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, 12 I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” 13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” 15 And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin.
We pursued this Big Picture Question from these verses:
Big Picture Question: What is Obedience?
And we found these answers:
- Obedience is Worship
- Obedience is God’s Will
- Obedience is Blessing
Obedience is Worship
1 Samuel 13:8 He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering.
Saul didn’t wait for Samuel to arrive to offer the sacrifice. He gave into the pressure and offered it himself. The problem was that he wasn’t allowed to do that. God commanded that only the priests could offer a sacrifice. Worship is an act of obedience even more than it is an act of the will. We worship because God has commanded us to, and we worship the way God has commanded us to. Saul violated both of those principles.
Obedience is God’s Will
1 Samuel 13:10 As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. 11 Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, 12 I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.”
Saul rationalizes his sin. He blames his sin on the pressure he is enduring (the people are scattering). He blames the threat (the Philistines). He blames Saul for not arriving on time, and he goes with the “I never intended to do it, but I just did. I didn’t really want to do it” excuse. Obedience is God’s will for us no matter the circumstance. We can’t blame our circumstances, other people, or our intentions. It is God’s will for us to obey.
Obedience is Blessing
1 Samuel 13:13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” 15 And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin.
God promised blessing to Saul and the people if they had obeyed. We saw that in 1 Samuel 12:
12:14 if you will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well. 15 But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king.
Since Saul disobeyed with this act of worship, God strips the kingship from him. We too are promised blessing when we obey. See 1 Peter 1:
1 Peter 1: 13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.
22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
Friends, we will always celebrate grace, but we are called to obey. We are called to be holy as God is holy. God’s grace is what enables us to obey.
Big Picture Question: What is Obedience?
Truth: Obedience is an act of worship where the believer enjoys God’s blessing while walking in His will.
Application: Live knowing that your daily obedience enables you to worship God while simultaneously finding great joy in God’s will and blessing.
Action: Pray this week to make your obedience an act of worship.