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Lenten Reflection 1: Obedience or Sacrifice

Read: 1 Samuel 15:1-31

22 But Samuel replied:“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. 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.” (1 Samuel 15:22-23)

The purpose of Lent is to reflect, repent, and pray as a way to prepare our hearts for celebrating the resurrection. It is a time of waiting and preparation. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday (this year it falls today – March 6) and continues for forty days until Resurrection Sunday. In reality, there are forty-six days until Easter, but the six Sundays are not included in the forty days since they are always, even in the season of Lent, a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection.

In the Old Testament, God’s people were promised the Messiah would come and crush Satan as early as Genesis 3:15. Over the years, Israel lived with a persistent pattern of sin and repentance; wandering and return from the beginning until Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Many people choose to fast from something during Lent. It is a chance to “suffer” in a small way as a reminder of Jesus’ suffering for our sake on the cross. We willingly choose to not eat something; or to not participate in something for the forty days of Lent. We “suffer”, we “sacrifice” because Jesus did. As we consider our lives and seek to be more aware of our sin and our part in sending Jesus to the cross, our fast can be a vivid way of bringing us into the story. It can help to create in us a deeper awareness of Jesus’ presence and of our sin.

Throughout the Old Testament, sacrifice was a way to show love to God; to show repentance for sin; and to show a desire to make things right. And yet, from the beginning of creation until today obedience has always been better than sacrifice. Why? Why would this be the case?

Perhaps the biggest reason is that obedience is an even truer demonstration of love. It does not require repentance or need to make things right. It honors God from beginning to end. Obedience shows a love that puts God’s will above one’s own. It chooses to die to self rather than exalt one’s one desire above God’s. In obedience, there is sacrifice, but it is a sacrifice that submits to God and acknowledges him out of love and joy and a whole relationship.

We often struggle to live obediently. There are a variety of reasons we choose to do our own thing, but at their root are selfishness and pride. We think we know best. We put our desires above God’s. We want what we want.

In our passage today, Saul was given specific instructions to destroy the Amalekites completely. He was not to keep anything or anyone alive – no people, no livestock (1 Samuel 15:3). But Saul spared Amalekite king and the best of the sheep and cattle – everything that was good (1 Samuel 15:9).

When Samuel went to see Saul, Saul greeted him and said he had obeyed the Lord. Samuel confronted this boldfaced lie saying, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear” (1 Samuel 15:14)? Saul tried to justify his actions. He tried to say he did obey the Lord. He kept the best of the cattle “in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God…” (1 Samuel 15:21).

At that point, Samuel responded with the words above. Saul had not obeyed. He pridefully thought he knew better than God. He was unwilling to do all he had been instructed to do…stubbornly refusing to sacrifice his pride and his “wisdom”. He compounded his sin by rationalizing it; by defending it; by trying to say he had done what was right when he clearly had not.

When confronted, Saul admits his wrong and says, “I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them.” He begs Samuel to return with him and when Samuel refused, he again asks forgiveness and says, “Saul replied, “I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.” (1 Samuel 15:25, 30).

Is that true repentance? Is he showing fear of God? No! He wants to save face and not be dishonored before his men. He is still more concerned with appearances than with his heart. In his case, his sacrifice is meaningless because there is no repentance and obedience.

Questions to ponder:

Why is obedience better than sacrifice? How is sacrifice a part of obedience? How can sacrifice combined with obedience bring greater blessing?

As we begin the season of Lent, is God inviting you to sacrifice something?

Salem as a church is inviting members to take one day each week during Lent to fast. Have you chosen to participate in that? Why or why not? Is there another way you sense God calling you to obey and sacrifice instead or in addition to this?

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A Corporate Fast for Lent at Salem EFC

March 6-April 21

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

After the sermon on fasting at the beginning of February, I received an email from one of our Salem family who has been struggling with fasting. In the email, the following was shared:

I have this vision that we as a church are caged lions.  We are powerful, and fierce, and beautiful. But we have forgotten what it is like to hunger.  To hunt for that which we need.  To actively seek out God.  We have become content with the Bible in our laps and the music on our radios, and though we could be so much more if we were free, we stay in our cage. Because the wild is scary.  And we don’t know what we are doing.  But what if we all stepped out of the cage, TOGETHER?  Would it not be less scary?  Would we not lean on each other, and help each other, and learn from each other?

Through prayer and discussion with the elders, we believe there is wisdom in this vision and that God is inviting us, as a congregation, to pursue him with renewed vigor; to take an opportunity to seek after him in fresh ways; to ask desperately for a renewed hunger, a renewed passion, a renewed desire for Him. To that end:

We invite you to choose a day each week during Lent to fast. It can be whatever day you want. It could be the same day each week or a different day depending on your life circumstances.

Fasting is voluntarily going without food — or any other regularly enjoyed, good gift from God — for the sake of some spiritual purpose. It is markedly counter-cultural in our consumerist society. For our fast, we are inviting our Salem family to join with us in fasting and praying that God would stir in us a deeper longing, a deeper hunger for Him.

We invite you to choose the kind of fast that you will utilize.

  • Regular Fast – Traditionally, a regular fast means refraining from eating all food. Most people still drink water or juice during a regular fast.
  • Partial Fast – This type of fast generally refers to omitting a specific meal from your diet or refraining from certain types of foods.
  • Full Fast – These fasts are complete – no food and no drink for a period of time.

If possible, we invite you to participate in a regular fast for two or three meals. If you choose two meals, you might fast from breakfast and lunch and then break your fast with dinner. If you choose three meals, you would go a full day without eating. In a regular fast you could still drink water and juice.

If health concerns prevent you from a regular fast, we invite you to participate in a partial fast. Perhaps fasting from a specific food or food or from a specific meal would be a way you could join. Or you might choose an activity or something you enjoy like TV viewing or other media/internet use.

The point is to voluntarily refrain from something good in order to seek the giver of all that is good – God! We join with believers over the centuries in saying to God that we love him more than his creation. We too do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from his mouth (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4).

Each week, we will provide specific suggestions for fasting and prayer points for that week. If you have questions let us know – others may have the same questions. If you sense God putting something on your heart, share it with us. Others may be sensing the same thing. Let’s encourage and support one another as we fast.

David Mathis from Desiring God Ministries offers the following suggestions when beginning to fast:

Plan what you’ll do instead of eating.

Fasting isn’t merely an act of self-deprivation, but a spiritual discipline for seeking more of God’s fullness. Which means we should have a plan for what positive pursuit to undertake in the time it normally takes to eat. We spend a good portion of our day with food in front of us. One significant part of fasting is the time it creates for prayer and meditation on God’s word or some act of love for others.

Before diving headlong into a fast, craft a simple plan. Connect it to your purpose for the fast. Each fast should have a specific spiritual purpose. Identify what that is and design a focus to replace the time you would have spent eating. Without a purpose and plan, it’s not Christian fasting; it’s just going hungry.

Consider how it will affect others.

Fasting is no license to be unloving. It would be sad to lack concern and care for others around us because of this expression of heightened focus on God. Love for God and for neighbor go together. Good fasting mingles horizontal concern with the vertical. If anything, others should even feel more loved and cared for when we’re fasting.

So as you plan your fast, consider how it will affect others. If you have regular lunches with colleagues or dinners with family or roommates, assess how your abstaining will affect them, and let them know ahead of time, instead of just being a no-show, or springing it on them in the moment that you will not be eating.

We don’t pray to be seen by others, but sometimes our fasting becomes known and that’s ok. The important thing is that in our hearts our fast be for God and not the approval of people. Whether you choose to join us or not, would you return the commitment card with your intention checked (we don’t need your name on it!) so we have an idea of how many are fasting? There will be a box in the back of the sanctuary for this purpose.

We pray that God will be blessed by this offering of love and devotion. We pray that God will be honored by our desire to seek after Him. We pray each one who chooses to fast will find that God really does satisfy the deepest desires of our hearts and that he will stir a deep hunger in each heart for more of Him.

Pastor Rick and the Elders