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In 1 Samuel 15, God says that "obedience is better than sacrifice." What does that really mean?

Key Points:

  • “Obedience is better than sacrifice.” As new covenant believers in Jesus, Christians have both perfect obedience and perfect sacrifice found both in Jesus. His sacrifice was once-and-for-all and is valuable for all who believe in and follow Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10).
  • The Hebrew prophets speak often about how obedience is better than sacrifice. Sacrifice is only needed because of disobedience. Not keeping the Law (Torah) requires another law in place (sacrifice) to atone for sin. If you obey, you don’t need to sacrifice.
  • King Saul of Israel disobeyed God’s command. He thought that by altering God’s command, he somehow developed a better solution than what God had outlined. This is the context for the statement “obedience is better than sacrifice” spoken by the Prophet Samuel.
  • Sacrifice is the issue at hand in this context. What this sums up to is, “obedience is better than disobedience.” Making the phrase say something it doesn’t mean in its original context is to misinterpret the phrase and what it means for Christians.
  • Obedience is always better than disobedience both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. When Samuel says “obedience is better than sacrifice,” what he is saying to King Saul is, “You should have obeyed God instead of disobeying God and bringing these animals for sacrifice.”
  • The lesson we should take away is, “obey God rather than developing your own solutions.”

Quote This:

1 Samuel 15:22 “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.

See Also: Bible Interpretation, Old Testament, Sacrifice

Talk About It
  1. What is your initial reaction to this topic? What jumped out at you?
  2. Have you ever heard the phrase “obedience is better than sacrifice” used in a sermon or by a Christian friend or teacher? Explain.
  3. Have you ever had a clear leading from God that He was asking you to do something? Explain.
  4. Have you ever been tempted to “improve” God’s plans for your life? Explain.
  5. Have you ever been tempted to explain away parts of the Bible that you dislike or disagree with? Explain.
  6. In Genesis 15:16, God tells Abram: “After four generations your descendants will return here to this land (Canaan/Israel), for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.” Some of these sins included idolatry, orgies and sexual sin, violence, and child sacrifice to the false god, Molech. With this in mind, was their destruction by the Israelites warranted? Explain.
  7. Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
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