11-25-23

I woke up this morning to the sound of one of the dogs peeing on the floor.  My “flesh” woke up in great anger and ungodliness towards the offending dog.  In my anger my thoughts turned to such things as “what is wrong with this stupid dog” and “why is this happening to me” and “I was looking forward to my quiet time this morning.  Now it’s ruined!”  I remembered what MFAW (Mike From Around the World, counciloftime.com) had been talking about, how when we get to the point of wanting to read the word, pray, and have a deeper relationship with God that interruptions would come that would turn us away from those desires.  A spiritual battle would ensue that would derail my desires to seek God. The Holy Spirit reminded me about how God’s mercy and grace are extended to me when I sin and fail Him.  My “unrighteous” anger towards my dog really boiled down to a sin of pride and self-centeredness.  I wanted to sleep.  I wanted to have a good quiet time.  I was put out by the inconveniences of the day. I was put out because I had to clean up this mess.  I had plans for the day and now they are all ruined.  I will be in a bad mood all day.  I want…I was..I had…etc. etc. etc.!  I realized my own sinful self-centeredness and reluctantly began to pray confessing to God how I felt in my flesh asking that God instead would look to my spirit and see how much my spirit wanted to meet with Him.  The Holy Spirit reminded me how pride and rebellion are at the root of sin and my anger was walking in a form of pride.  I confessed my sin.  He showed me that rebellion is putting my will above His will.  He led me to 1 Samuel 15:23 –

“For rebellion is like the sin of divination,

and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.”

 Anytime I put my will and desires above His will I am in rebellion to God.  He likens rebellion to divination or witchcraft.  The way the passage is poetically written in Hebrew, arrogance is a restatement of rebellion.  In several translations the words insubordination and stubbornness are used.  All are a form of pride (rebellion, arrogance, insubordination, stubbornness).  And what does God liken them to?  Answer: divination, witchcraft, iniquity, and idolatry!

In the context of this passage, Saul was commanded to completely destroy the Amalekites including men, women, children, infants, livestock, and all the Amalekites’ goods.  They were to take no plunder at all.  Instead, Saul took hostage the king and allowed his soldiers to take plunder of the best of the livestock (he says to offer to God but they were really to keep for themselves).  When confronted by Samuel, this was Saul’s response

“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 soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal” (1 Samuel 15:20-21). 

He took no responsibility, lied about what happened, blamed the soldiers for taking the plunder, and made it sound like it was all done so they could make an offering to Samuel’s God (no connection or relationship as God being his own God!). It was a pious sounding excuse but was really based in pride, arrogance, stubbornness, insubordination, and rebellion to the word of the Lord.  Saul placed his own will above God’s! God responds through Samuel to Saul’s excuse:

“But Samuel replied:

“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
    as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
    and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

Keil and Delitzsch, in their Commentary of the Old Testament, write about this passage saying,

“But it necessarily follows that sacrifices without obedience to the commandments of God are utterly worthless; in fact, are displeasing to God, as Psalm 50:8., Isaiah 1:11., Isaiah 66:3, Jeremiah 6:20, and all the prophets, distinctly affirm. There was no necessity, however, to carry out this truth any further. To tear off the cloak of hypocrisy, with which Saul hoped to cover his disobedience, it was quite enough to affirm that God’s first demand was obedience, and that observing His word was better than sacrifice; because, as the Berleb. Bible puts it, “in sacrifices a man offers only the strange flesh of irrational animals, whereas in obedience he offers his own will, which is rational or spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1). This spiritual worship was shadowed forth in the sacrificial worship of the Old Testament. In the sacrificial animal the Israelite was to give up and sanctify his own person and life to the Lord…But if this were the design of the sacrifices, it was clear enough that God did not desire the animal sacrifice in itself, but first and chiefly obedience to His own word.”

Romans 12:1 NIV1984 states:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”

True worship of God is spiritual in nature.  Jesus said that we must worship in spirit and in truth.  Worshipping in spirit is to offer our own bodies not the bodies of a dead animal.  It is to be a “living sacrifice” not a dead one.  By a living sacrifice we are to submit willfully and joyfully our wills to do God’s will.  It is to walk in true humility, recognizing our sinful brokenness but also God’s mercy, grace and love for us.  Romans 12: 2 goes on to say:

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

The pattern of this world is to walk in self-will and pride.  However, my mind is to be renewed daily (even moment by moment) as I take captive every thought to make them obedient to Christ.  In obedience I am transformed into the person God calls me to be.  When I spiritually offer my body to Him as a living sacrifice, submitting my will to His will, becoming obedient to Him through taking every thought captive, and walking in obedience to His will and calling, THEN I will be able to test and approve what God’s will is in my life.  AND, His will is good, pleasing, and perfect!

Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV1984 personalized:

“For it is by grace I have been saved, t,0]hrough faith —and this not from myself, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that I cannot boast.  For I am God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,  which God prepared in advance for me to do.

Spiritual worship, worshipping in spirit and in truth, submitting my will to His, doing the good works He prepared in advance for me to do, is all done by being obedient to His calling on my life.  When I do this, I am walking in the Spirit so as to not gratify the desires of my sinful nature (flesh).

Romans 12:3 NIV1984 warns of the pitfall of pride and having a correct valuation of who I am in Christ.  Paul writes:

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

My prayer to You today:

Father, I come to you recognizing my own sinfulness but thanking you that I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Thank you for Jesus’ sacrifice for me that I can have a relationship with you.  Thank you that you saved me by no works of my own but by your grace and faith you have given me.  I praise you for your faithfulness even when I am unfaithful.  Thank you for your forgiveness.  Help me to walk in all your ways by the power of your Holy Spirit that I may do the good works you have prepared for me to do so that others may praise you because of them.  I submit my will to yours today.  I see myself in sober judgment according to the faith you have given me.  I praise you and worship you.  I am yours.

I pray in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, the only begotten of the Father, who died on the cross for me.  Amen!