When I was teaching at Glenview Christian School, we had a music teacher who would have the children recite, "Obedience is immediate, complete, and without complaining or it is disobedience" or something to that effect. In todays lesson, we read that Saul only partially obeyed God's command to wipe out the Amalekites. He brought King Agag and the best of the livestock back as trophies for his own glory.  He then fabricated a cover, telling Samuel that he planned to sacrifice the animals to YOUR God.  I emphasize the fact that Saul referred to the Lord as Samuel's God rather than "our God" or "my God."  Saul was again seeking to appease a God he didn't worship as his own rather than to please God out of love and awe of Him.  Saul's sin was disobeying God's direct orders and then trying to pin the blame on others.

Obedience is more important to God than sacrifice.  Sacrifice atones for disobedience, sin.  Obedience pleases the Lord.  Of course the only way we can truly please God is through faith in Jesus.
      "...the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself 
       to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; and those who are in the flesh
       cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, 
       if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you..." (Romans 8:7-9a) 
Then God replaces our heart of stone with a heart more yielded to His will. Then we have the ability to obey Him. He uses the rest of our lives to continue that process of "conforming us to the image of Christ." (Romans 8:29)

The last statement in today's lesson is "Samuel learned that sometimes obedience is the sacrifice."  I am reminded of the famous statement by missionary Jim Elliot who wrote in his journal, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."  Not long after that he was killed by the people he was trying to bring the message of Christ.  Obedience does not mean the ultimate sacrifice for many of us, but we may need to sacrifice our pride, self-reliance, and arrogance daily.  As King David would later write:

"For Thou dost not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it: Thou art not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart, O God, Thou will not despise." (Psalm 51:16-17)

I have the word "broken" underlined in my Bible, and in the margin, I have written "smashed".  Am I willing to allow God to smash my pride that I might bring Him glory?  I remember the night of my graduation with my bachelor's degree.  I was feeling a great deal of satisfaction and pride with myself.  Then I had an overwhelming sense of my smallness in the sight of the God of the Universe.  I sat down and wrote the following prayer that night.

Lord, please keep me on my knees
because from that position I can see
that You are truly all I have, yet You are all I need. 
Lord, please keep me on my knees.

May that still be my daily prayer, O Creator and Sustainer of the universe, my Lord and Master.
 

When my son was headed to Iraq as a 1st Lieutenant and acting a company executive officer, he asked me to pray specifically that he would have an excellent, experienced sergeant to serve directly under him.  You see, a sergeant is somewhat like an armor bearer.  He serves closely with the lieutenant, fights with him, advises him, and is a liaison between him an his men.  He is a very important person in the young officer's life. I prayed that Tom would be supported by a man like Jonathan's armor bearer who followed Jonathan out of trust and loyalty and stuck close to him even in the most dangerous situations.

Jonathan's armor bearer pledged himself to Jonathan "heart and soul" which I believe to mean completely, passionately, and not out of mere responsibility or assignment.  I'll share with you the prayer/poem I wrote in the margin of p. 15 of the workbook this afternoon.

Father,

Help me to love You with all of my heart,
following faithfully, never to part.
Help me surrender all of my soul.
Please take my brokenness and make me whole.
Help me to live each day seeking Your face.
Grant me courage to follow You any place. 

May we all seek to follow our Lord and Master "heart and soul", for He truly is the only One who can make us complete and wash away our sin with His precious blood.

For the Ladies' Bible study at North Pointe Baptist Church in Hurst this semester we are using  David - Seeking a Heart Like His by Beth Moore.  I will post comments on the study material and/or videos on this blog and invite other ladies who are participating or have participated in this study in the past to comment as well.  My first real post will probably be later tonight or tomorrow morning...so stay tuned.