S. 1 Samuel 15:22b-23 (NIV) 22 But Samuel replied:“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”
O. Samuel teaches that God desires obedience over human justification or rationalization. When we do not obey God and follow our own reasoning, we set ourselves up to be our own god and God will hold us accountable. He likens disobedience to divination and idolatry.
A. I think this Life Connect Article sums it up (quoted partially), “…Sometimes I need to cull certain activities in order to make room for HIS priorities. I only have a specified amount of time and energy. Sometimes God will even establish what skills I must develop according to my gifts and passions. God may indicate which risks to take and which to avoid even when the likehood of success seem obvious to me. In the end God will not hold me accountable for what i have done as much as He will hold me accountable for what He has asked me to do - kill the bleating sheep. No side stepping. No self justification. No excuses. Then I can have the confidence to say to God, “I have carried out the Lord’s instructions” and not have the bleating of sheep in the background. (Life Connect Study Bible, page 326)
P. Thank you Father for giving me further enlightenment on this passage. Holy Spirit fill me and lead me to complete obedience to God’s call in my life so that there is not any sound of “bleating sheep” in my life. In Jesus’ name
