David Jeremiah 17th January 2024 Devotional
Read David Jeremiah 17th January 2024 Devotional, Wednesday Turning Point Devotional Message
TOPIC: Total Obedience
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.”
1 Samuel 15:22
Recommended Reading: Jeremiah 7:22-23
Sovereign authority is not an easy concept to grasp immediately. From a young age, children find creative ways not to obey a parent’s instructions, complete with rationalizations. Adults can do the same—like explaining to a police officer why we were exceeding the speed limit. But sovereign means sovereign, even when we don’t agree or understand.
Israel’s first king, Saul, learned obedience the hard way—twice. Once he performed sacrificial offerings instead of waiting for Samuel as he had been instructed and lost the promise of his kingship as a result (1 Samuel 13:8-14). Then he failed to totally destroy the Amalekites as he had been instructed and was removed as king (1 Samuel 15:12-34). In both cases, Saul had excuses and reasons for his disobedience. He learned that “to obey is better” when it comes to honoring God. Sadly, Saul learned that man’s ways are not God’s ways. He learned that God desires obedience above all.
Settle in your heart today that you will obey our sovereign God in all things, big or small.
Let us beware of being wiser than God.
John Blanchard
Read-Thru-the-Bible: Exodus 5 – 7
Turning Point is the broadcast ministry of Dr. David Jeremiah and was founded in 1982 to deliver the unchanging Word of God to an ever-changing world.
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