WHAT GOD DELIGHTS IN (1 Samuel 15:12-22)

Delight. It means great pleasure, gratification or joy, or something that gives great pleasure or enjoyment.

You know what gives you delight and I am sure you indulge in them every now and then. For some it may be as simple as watching their favorite TV program while lying on a sofa with their feet up after a hard day’s work, or a cup of ice cream in a hot and humid day, or reading a good book on a lazy afternoon. For others it may be a trip to a local or foreign destination with family or friends.

Have you ever wondered what is it that God delights in? Have you ever considered what it is that gives God pleasure?

We find in our scripture for today what God delights in and what He does not.

But before we go into that, it will be helpful for us to consider the immediate context of our Bible text.

In our Old Testament reading we find the revered prophet Samuel confronting the King Saul about something.

God gave King Saul a clear and radical command: Destroy Amalek.

Why? What did the Amalekites do that was very bad? Samuel explained to Saul (v.2)

This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt.

The Amalekites were the first peoples to attack Israel after their escape from Egypt. These were not innocent bystanders, in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In Deuteronomy 25:17-19 we read:

Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God. Therefore, it shall be, when the Lord your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget.

The Amalekites attacked the Israelites with no provocation, no reason except violence and greed. On three other occasions the Amalekites attacked Israel.

God hates it when the strong and powerful take cruel advantage over the weak,

especially when the weak are His people. So God promised to bring judgment against the Amalekites.

Saul’s been told to “totally destroy” them and leave nothing, not even sheep or cattle behind. That may sound to us as an excessively harsh order. Some of God’s commands sound harsh, irrational and illogical from our limited human perspective.

And so, just like King Saul, some people would give God something else, instead of obedience. They offer God their piety. But God does not delight in mere religious piety.

1. NOT MERE RELIGIOUS PIETY

We read in verses 12-15:

12 Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, "Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal." 13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, "The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord's instructions." 14 But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?" 15 Saul answered, "The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest."

Really? Sacrifice for God? And was God pleased with what Saul offered? Unfortunately, not.

Now, we are expected to worship and serve God with all our mind, heart and soul, for He deserves our worship and service. But God does not delight in our service, our outward piety on two counts:

1. If it is meant only to feed our self-pride

Saul “kept King Agag alive to present him as a trophy – a public exhibit. He did not slaughter the sheep and cattle for the very same reason: he saved the best to make himself look better.

Saul even marched himself all the way from the South to Carmel in the north before going down to Gilgal with a great deal of pomp and parade, being sure to show off to those around him.

It is human nature to desire honor and recognition. A well-known preacher was given a flowery introduction. When the pastor stood up to give his message, he said, “May the Lord forgive this man for his excesses,and me for enjoying them so much.”

When we serve the Lord, however, many times God will have us walk the lowly path like Jesus who “made himself of no reputation, and took upon himself the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:7). Many times God will ask us to do something for him and the only recognition we will receive is in the eyes of the Lord.

Secondly, God does not delight in our service, our outward piety…

1. If it is divorced from obedience

King Saul’s excuse that he spared King Agag and the best sheep and cattle for the Lord was unbelievable to the prophet Samuel.

In verse 22 we read,

But Samuel replied: "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?

We, Filipinos, are religious. No doubt about it. But being righteous or upright is another story.

Ironically, we are the only predominantly Christian nation in Asia and the most corrupt at the same time. And most of those who figure out in corruption issues are graduates of one of the most prestigious schools run by a Church religious order.

Charles Ringma in his book “Dare to Journey” writes,

“Obedience is an uncomfortable idea for us. We find service and worship easier. Service is what we do for the other. And worship is the adoration we give to the God of Creation. Obedience, on the other hand, is responding to what is asked of us… it involves the call to do that which we are not doing.”¹

God does not delight in mere outward religious piety. What He delights in is…

1. OBEDIENCE AND FAITHFULNESS

The latter part of verse 22 reads,

To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

I believe obedience and faithfulness go together when it comes to carrying out God’s commands. According to a dictionary “faithfulness is being consistently trustworthy, especially to duty; it is being conscientious and devoted to duty.”²

God is pleased with those who are faithfully obedient. As with Saul, some things prevent us from living a life of obedience and faithfulness.

One of these is…

1. Partial obedience
   
   Saul obeyed only part of the Lord’s command. He spared Agag the king and the best of the livestock. Saul’s obedience was not 100%, 95 % maybe but not complete.

In verse 20 Saul says,

But I did obey the Lord," Saul said. "I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king.

The bottom line is that he didn’t obey completely what God has demanded. Partial obedience is disobedience.

Disobedience is further compounded by…

1. Denial
   
   In v 13 when Samuel caught up with Saul the latter boldly says “I have obeyed.” It is not unusual for those who engage in acts of disobedience to also become very good at denial. Somehow you are able to convince yourself at least that you are doing okay regardless of what you know to be God’s Word.
   

One day, while a village man was cutting a branch of a tree above a river, his ax fell into the river. When he cried out, the Lord appeared and asked, "Why are you crying?" The man replied that his ax has fallen into water, and he needed the ax to make his living.

The Lord went down into the water and reappeared with a golden ax. "Is this your ax?" the Lord asked. The man replied, "No." The Lord again went down and came up with a silver ax. "Is this your ax?" the Lord asked. Again, the man replied, "No." The Lord went down again and came up with an iron ax. "Is this your ax?" the Lord asked. The man replied, "Yes." The Lord was pleased with the man’s honesty and gave him all three axes to keep, and the man went home happy.

Some time later the man was walking with his wife along the riverbank, and his wife fell into the river (or was pushed by her husband). When he cried out, the Lord again appeared and asked him, "Why are you crying?" "Oh Lord, my wife has fallen into the water!" The Lord went down into the water and came up with Angel Locsin. "Is this your wife?" the Lord asked. "Yes," cried the man. The Lord was furious. "You lied! That is an untruth!"

The man replied, "Oh, forgive me, my Lord. It is a misunderstanding. You see, if I had said ’no’ to Angel Locsin, You would have come up with Marian Rivera. Then if I also said ’no’ to her, You would have come up with my wife. Had I then said ’yes’, you would have given all three to me. Lord, I am a poor man, and I am not able to take care of all three wives, so THAT’S why I said ’yes’ to Angel Locsin."

We deny that we have sinned.

Another thing that may mar faithfulness is…

C. Blaming other people

In verse 15 Saul says that his soldiers did it. In verse 21 he says the people took the plunder.

but the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God.

This is the oldest trick. Adam tried to do it to Eve who tried to do it to the serpent.
We live in a society that has made it very acceptable to blame others for our problems.

A concerned husband went to a doctor to talk about his wife. He says to the doctor, ’’Doctor, I think my wife is deaf because she never hears me the first time

and always asks me to repeat things.’’ ’’Well,’’ the doctor replied, ’’go home and tonight stand about 15 feet from her and say something to her. If she doesn’t reply move about five feet close and say it again. Keep doing this so that we’ll get an idea about the severity of her deafness’’.

Sure enough, the husband goes home and does exactly as instructed. He starts off about 15 feet from his wife in the kitchen as she is chopping some vegetables facing the kitchen sink and says, “Honey, what’s for dinner?” He hears no response.

He moves about five feet closer and asks again. No reply. He moves five feet closer. Still no reply. He gets fed up and moves right behind her, about an inch away, and asks again, “Honey, what’s for dinner?”

She replies, “For the fourth time, nilagang baka!”

We often blame other people when we are the ones who are at fault.

CONCLUSION.

Christ finished his work of redeeming us from the penalty of sin through his death on the cross. As an expression of our gratitude to Him it is but proper for us to live in obedience and faithfulness to God.

God delights in our obedience. He is pleased when we obey even when people are not looking.

No partial obedience. And if we fail, no denials, no blaming of other people. Just simply get back to the track and do what God wants us to do.