Jeremiah warns the people that God’s wrath is to be poured out on man and beast and the whole created order. This is an irreversible prophecy. It came to us beginning with our ancestors, Adam and Eve. God sent the curse on sin. Every generation since has followed in the footsteps of the first sinners. We felt shame and remorse and try to hide from God and even appease Him with our sacrifices. But none of that will assuage God’s wrath on sin. He does not want our sacrifices. He wants our obedience. Jeremiah explains this to the children of Israel who have turned from God to idols. In Jeremiah 7:21-23 we read, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat the flesh. For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’” This is reminiscent of 1 Samuel 15:22. Saul disregarded Samuel’s instructions and offered the sacrifices on his own, “And Samuel said, ‘Hath 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 hearken than the fat of rams.’”
We seem to think, maybe subconsciously, that we can do something or give something that will make up for our failure to obey. It’s a lesson we all have to learn the hard way. David had learned the hard way that obedience is better than sacrifice. He had learned it with Bathsheba. He learned it when he failed to handle the Ark in accordance with God’s instructions to Moses, and it cost Uzzah his life. He learned it again in 1 Chronicles 19 when Satan inspired him to take a census contrary to God’s instructions, and a plague killed thousands of his citizens. Yes, David learned the hard way (like most of us) that obedience is better than sacrifice. This theme is repeated in the Bible a lot. Solomon speaks of it in Ecclesiastes. It’s in Proverbs. According to Loizeaux, “The book of Esther contains principles of great value at all times, but especially at the present one when some who delve very little into the word of God are liable to wonder at some of His ways and grow discouraged in the path of obedience. It is needful, therefore, that such, and all of us, should have detailed before us the fact that ‘obedience is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.’ May God richly bless your effort to bring to the surface what His Spirit has laid up for us in this little book.”[1]
As I ponder the struggles in my life right now, there are some ways in which I don’t feel I have the ability to do even know I believe God wants me to do them. I still harbor some bitterness against people. I’ve said some things that I should go apologize for. I’ve even told some lies that I should go back to those people and ask for forgiveness. This thinking has often led me to the pit of despair. It was extremely refreshing to read Charles Stanley’s explanation from the Christian perspective. He writes, “What happens when you ignore God? In your mind, do you picture Him just walking away, looking forlorn and rejected? Or do you have a mental image of God getting mad at you and banishing you to forty years of wilderness wandering? Neither is correct. God loves you perfectly. And His love for you is not based on your obedience. Though He tells us in His Word that obedience is better than sacrifice, the thing that God wants most from you is a love that comes from your heart. He doesn’t stop loving you just because you do something wrong. None of us can earn God’s love by being good or trying to be perfect. For one, we do not have the ability to do either of these on our own. We need a Savior. And this is why Jesus came to die for you and me. He does the very thing that you cannot do for yourself. He makes you acceptable in God’s eyes. He sets you free from sin. When we ignore the Lord, we are the ones who suffer and miss a great opportunity for blessing. God is not a strong and mighty taskmaster who waits for us to do something wrong so He can pounce. He is a loving God who listens to our cries. When He draws you to Himself, He uses love, not a rod of thunder. God knows that once you drink of His love, the world’s appeal will fade. Give Him your heart, and you will be blessed by what you receive from Him.”[2]
[1] Loizeaux, Paul J. 1921. “Prefatory Note.” In Notes on the Book of Esther, 2d ed., 5. New York: Loizeaux Bros.
[2] Stanley, Charles F. 2006. Pathways to His Presence. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.