Obedience is better than Sacrifice

Genesis 22:15-18 AMP,

¹⁵The Angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time ¹⁶And said, I have sworn by Myself, says the Lord, that since you have done this and have not withheld [from Me] or begrudged [giving Me] your son, your only son, ¹⁷In blessing I will bless you and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants like the stars of the heavens and like the sand on the seashore. And your Seed (Heir) will possess the gate of His enemies, ¹⁸And in your Seed [Christ] shall all the nations of the earth be blessed and [by Him] bless themselves, because you have heard and obeyed My voice.

The scripture said God tested Abraham’s faith by telling him to sacrifice his only son to Him. Abraham obeyed. He took his only son and set out to sacrifice him where God had told him to do so.

When they arrived at the place, Abraham tied his son Isaac and placed him on the altar of sacrifice and was about to kill him when God intervened and prevented him from doing so. God provided a lamb for the sacrifice. He offered the sacrifice and Abraham called the place Yahweh-Yireh which means “the Lord will provide.”

Then God spoke through an Angel from Heaven saying, “Because you obey me ... I swear by my own name that I will surely bless you.” God is not man that He will not bring His word to pass. He blessed Abraham and made him father of all believers through his son Isaac.

Beloved the word that rings bells in this message is obedience. God demands total obedience not sacrifice. He spared Isaac's life because He demands obedience from all mankind. Abraham obeyed God to the letter. When God told him to go and sacrifice Isaac he never questioned the wisdom of God nor did he doubt whether it was God who was speaking to him. All he believed was that it was God who gives and who takes. He never knew that God would spare Isaac's life [his son], Abraham was very gracious and grateful to Almighty God.

1 Samuel 15:22-23 AMP

²²Samuel said, Has the Lord as great a delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. ²³For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim (household good luck images). Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.

Child of God, it pleases the heart of God when you obey His command(s) wholeheartedly. Submitting and yielding to His will, authority and power is better than remedial offerings. Committing wilful and habitual sin and then seeking penance or asking for forgiveness before God is nothing but worshipping an idol, yourself. In essence, when one commits this type of sin, they are saying GOD my way is better than yours, I am only saying sorry to cover myself but its not sincere. For some people their credo is “I will do it, I will do what I want and go ask for forgiveness afterwards.” It is rebellion.  And rebelling against God’s command is witchcraft. Constantly rebelling against God can lead to His rejection. God forbid for you and your loved ones!

God desires you obey Him and walk with Him faithfully in all things. Don’t choose what to obey and what not to obey. Partial obedience is as good as no obedience at all. To God there is no small sin or big sin.

Again, whenever God says, “Do this or don’t do this” it is for your own good. God does not need to obey anybody for He alone is God. God is a God of order and orderliness. He wants you to live in peace and harmony with your neighbour hence He says, “Love your neighbour as yourself.” “Don’t kill”, “Don’t commit adultery.” When you are obeying God, you love yourself, your neighbour and humanity. You are helping to make His will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven and to bring His will in Heaven to the Earth.