The Lord's Delight

"But Samuel said: Does the Lord so delight in holocausts and sacrifices as in obedience to the command of the Lord? Obedience is better than sacrifice and submission than the fat of rams." (1st Sam 15:22)

These words spoken by the prophet Samuel to King Saul will be repeated in different forms throughout Scripture and culminate with the clear explanation in the letter to the Hebrews of their meaning and fulfillment in Jesus Christ. We've focused on these words of Samuel because they represent a profound theme in Scripture and lay the foundation for the perfect sacrifice that will defeat death, once for all, and they offer a clearer understanding of what God desires from those who follow Him.

Saul received this word from God because of his disobedience. The Lord had commanded Saul to completely wipe out the Amalekites. However, Saul spared their king Agag and the best of the oxen, sheep and lambs to sacrifice to the Lord. But the Lord had not asked for a sacrifice. Saul even greeted Samuel after his battle with the Amalekites with these audacious words, "The Lord bless you! I have kept the command of the Lord." (1st Sam 15:13) Samuel explained to Saul his disobedience and that it would cost him his crown, which the Lord would give to David.

To better understand the meaning of Samuel's words quoted above to Saul it would be good to look at Hebrews 10.

"For this reason, when he [Jesus] came into the world, he said: Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight in. Then I said, 'As is written of me in the scroll, Behold, I come to do your will, O God.'…By this 'will,' we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

The author of Hebrews, quoting from Ps 40, written of course by David who knew well Saul's disobedience and its consequences, explains how the obedience of Jesus to his Father's will accomplishes the act of salvation. This chapter of Hebrews also sheds light on the futility of the sacrifices offered by the Levitical priesthood which cannot pay the price for the sins of man. So as early as 1st Samuel, God is telling his people how the sacrifice of animals is not superior to obedience to His will, foreshadowing the need of a perfect sacrifice, and a perfect obedience to His will, which could only be accomplished by His own son.

Our Savior even emphasizes this theme in the Gospel of Matthew. "Go and learn the meaning of the words, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' I did not come to call the righteous but sinners." (Mt 9:13) He speaks this to the Pharisees who are more concerned with ritual purity than with love of neighbor.

The message in Samuel foretells of the need for Christ's perfect sacrifice and the insufficiency of man's, and is also a call for each of us to be obedient to God's will. As a musician who is signed to record label and is out touring and doing interviews I can often fall into the trap of thinking I have to be perfect. I want every note I sing, every key I play, every word I speak to be full of meaning and done perfectly. I want to be popular. I want success. I trust that creating art is God's will for my life but I misdirect that trust when I feel a better sung note, or a cooler image, or more cd sales will be a more perfect offering to God.

But what does God ask for? He wants love, mercy, and obedience, not success. We can answer this call by the way we treat others and by striving to trust Him more. He is deserving of all trust since he gave his all to us. And does doing God's will mean life will always be fun and safe? Of course not. It will most certainly mean carrying our crosses. But it's in the hard times that abandoning ourselves to God's love and mercy is so important. And of course we do God's will imperfectly but we must never give up trying to be faithful. The best prayer to keep faithful to this call of doing God's will seems to be the one Jesus taught us:

Our Father who art in Heaven
Hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom come thy will be done
On earth as it is in Heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen

I'm also reminded of some words Mother Teresa spoke "God hasn't called me to be successful. He's called me to be faithful." Let us pray for faithfulness and for a transformation of our will so we may love God and neighbor to the fullest.

Peace,
j&m