Obedience to God is better than sacrifice. When Israel's first anointed king, Saul, brought justice upon the Amalekites (for attacking the desert wandering Israelites), he elected to follow the desires of the soldiers and did not complete God's decree. Samuel, acting as The Lord's mouthpiece, informs Saul for the second time that God seeks men after his own heart, or devoted loyalty, not haphazard “worship” on man's terms (1 Samuel 15:22). As foretold by Samuel, the kingdom is eventually torn from Saul, due to his perpetual disobedience, and given to David. (1 Samuel 16:13). Many self-proclaimed Christians run the risk of worshiping The Lord like Saul - on their own terms and not Gods. If we profess to love Christ, then we must obey his commands (John 14:15), which will prove difficult if we don't learn what he commands in scripture. God doesn't want us to sacrifice our service, our time, or our money to him. He wants us. We are called to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to The Lord. (Rom. 12:1). We are commanded to render everything, to love The Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30).
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Fealty to God's King breaks life's sin cycle. Before the Monarchy is established in Israel, the people repeatedly fall into apostasy which leads to judgment, from which they return to God who raises up a deliverer for a time before they fall back into apostasy (Judges 2:16-19). The book of Judges implies this process occurred with at least six judges, because Israel didn't have a king to guide them. (Judges 21:25). With the appointment of God's anointed king (2 Samuel 5:4), the sin cycle disappears...so long as the king does what is right in the eyes of the Lord (1 Kings 15:11). Sin still takes believers on a roller coaster of success and defeat, but thankfully the anointed kingly line of David has been consummated with Jesus (Matt. 22:45). Each of us needs to crown Jesus as King of our lives (Luke 9:23) and swear our lives to the kingdom (Matt. 6:33) breaking the first step of apostasy. Then in times of trouble, we can run to our King who will defend us as a strong tower (Proverbs 18:10). Even if we fall, we stand sure that our judgment has been absolved by Christ's sacrifice as the cross, as our eternal deliverer (Romans 11:26).
Only God can say “Mine.” In the nation of Israel, the Lord instituted a Sabbath rest even for the land itself, and seven such Sabbath years resulted in a redemptive year called Jubilee effectively resetting all debts (Lev. 25:8-54). Since only God can claim possession of the world and all that is in it (25:23), the Israelites could only sell the fruits of the land (25:18-22) and even the destitute who were forced to sell themselves into slavery were released in the year of Jubilee (25:39-43). God revealed his total proprietorship to Moses by proclaiming that the whole earth “is mine,” including the people who would be his treasured possession (Ex. 19:5). Christians should recognize that all their material possessions belong to God, and at the very least they can give back 10% (a tithe) to advance The Kingdom. However, after Christ purchased us back with his blood on the cross, we as individuals belong all the more God (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Ultimately, we will have to give account for everything we have been given from heaven; our money, our gifts, our personalities, our callings and our very lives, to carry out God's work (John 3:27).
Victory through community. As the nubile nation of Israel escaped from Egyptian incarceration, they quickly fell prey to the marauding Amalekites. In a queer display of divine intervention, the Israelites only achieved victory while Moses held up his arms; however, as the strength of man fails, so too did Moses arms, but victory was achieved through brothers of the faith (Aaron and Hur) who each upheld Moses' arms (Ex. 17:8-13). King Solomon's wisdom echos this strength in numbers by revealing how even cords of multiple strands are not easily broken (Eccl. 4:12). The Kingdom of God cannot advance with lone-wolf Christians who forsake the assembly, but calls for community that spurs one another on toward love and good deeds as the various body members of the church (Heb. 10:23-25). Contrary to common cultural opinion, victory over sin can never be achieved by individual strength or will-power alone, but can only be found in a community of believers who mutually confess and pray for one another so that they may be forgiven and that they may be healed (James 5:15-16).
Fear God alone. As the Hebrew population grew unchecked in the land of Egypt, two midwives defied imperial orders to engage in an early form of eugenics. These women recognized that God supersedes all other authorities; therefore, God alone should be feared, regardless of the ramifications (Ex. 1:15-19). As a result of their faith, God blessed these two midwives and the entire Hebrew people by their actions (or in-actions) (Ex. 1:20). The Psalms and Proverbs are filled with praise for those who fear The Lord and condemnation for those who fear man (Prov. 29:25), defining Godly fear as the fountain of life (14:27) and the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10). Even Jesus affirms that only God should be feared since man can only kill the body, while God can destroy both body and soul in hell (Matt. 10:28). Fear may be recognition that God will call us at a moment's notice to forsake wealth and family to reach impoverished nations. Once on the mission field, and faced with a martyr's death, Christians should still reserve fear for God alone, who will deny those who deny the son (Mark 8:38).
Watch weighty words of wrath. The future founder of Israel, Jacob, fled from his father-in-law Laban who quickly pursued in search of his missing household gods. Jacob, quick to vindicate himself with weighty words of wrath, nearly issues the death sentence for his favored wife Rachel who had secretly carried off the idols (Gen. 31:31). While Jacob was fortunate to escape the repercussions of his words (31:34-35), later generations did not fair as well: Judah is trapped by Tamar and forced to eat his words of condemnation (Gen. 38:24-26) and Jephthah sacrifices his own daughter due to a mindless vow (Judges 11:30-38). Weighty words still divide today as James and Paul remind us that the tongue cannot be tamed (James 3:7-8) and not to let the sun set in anger (Eph. 4:26). Fathers should encourage their children instead of berating them with reminders of past failures and shortcomings lest resentment split their families (6:4). Christians should choose gentleness and respect over ultimatums and venomous ad hominem when debating with unbelievers so our words will attract them to the gospel (1 Peter 3:15-16).
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