The End Does Not Justify the Means #2400

22 So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king” (1 Samuel 15:22–23, NKJV).

The Lord of hosts had commanded king Saul to execute His judgment against the Amalekites by utterly destroying them (1 Sam. 15:2-3). Instead, Saul and the people spared their king and the choice animals, being “unwilling to utterly destroy them” (1 Sam. 15:9). When confronted by Samuel about this clear violation of God’s word, Saul was confident he had “performed the commandment of the Lord,” making an excuse the people spared the animals for a sacrifice to the Lord (1 Sam. 15:13-15). But Saul was wrong. God’s prophet spoke of God’s displeasure and condemnation of this disobedience. Saul had led the people in stubborn rebellion. Because he had rejected the word of the Lord, God rejected him as king of Israel (1 Sam. 15:22-23). There is an obvious lesson for us; The end does not justify the means. Like Saul, we have no right to change the command of God and rationalize our alteration with a “good deed” we put in its place. Living by faith is about trusting God’s commands are correct and following them with devoted allegiance. “The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart” (Ps. 19:8). To obey God is better than offering sacrifices He has not commanded.

Uncircumcised in Heart and Ears! #879

51  “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers,” (Acts 7:51–52, NKJV)

As Stephen addressed the Sanhedrin council, he leveled the charge of stubbornness against them as the “betrayers and murderers” of Jesus Christ, the “Just One” (Jer. 23:5-6). They bore the outward sign of the covenant in the flesh (circumcision), but inwardly their hearts and ears were uncircumcised; covered and calloused by their rebellion against God. They were guilty of resisting the Holy Spirit by refusing the word of God that the Spirit delivered through the prophets. Then, they fully rejected the Son of God Himself. This should be our warning not to believe we can please God yet reject His word, the inspired Scriptures (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Our heart and ears are uncircumcised when we resist and refuse the inspired word of God. Let us open our hearts and ears to God’s word every day, and follow Jesus Christ, who Himself is the Word (Jno. 1:1-3, 14).