1 Samuel 15:22

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Summary

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.

Hath the lord

Obey

General references

Bible References

Hath the lord

I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices
or for your burnt offerings,
which are continually before Me.

You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it;
You are not pleased with a burnt offering.

Doing what is righteous and just
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

“What are all your sacrifices to Me?”
asks the Lord.
“I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams
and the fat of well-fed cattle;
I have no desire for the blood of bulls,
lambs, or male goats.

for when I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak with them or command them concerning burnt offering and sacrifice.

For I desire loyalty and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

I hate, I despise your feasts!
I can’t stand the stench
of your solemn assemblies.

What should I bring before the Lord

when I come to bow before God on high?
Should I come before Him with burnt offerings,
with year-old calves?

Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice.

For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

If you had known what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice,

you would not have condemned the innocent.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. These things should have been done without neglecting the others.

For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Obey

Now if you will listen to Me and carefully keep My covenant, you will be My own possession out of all the peoples, although all the earth is Mine,

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Better to draw near in obedience than to offer the sacrifice as fools do, for they ignorantly do wrong.

However, I did give them this command: Obey Me, and then I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must follow every way I command you so that it may go well with you.

which I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron furnace.’ I declared: ‘Obey Me, and do everything that I command you, and you will be My people, and I will be your God,’

So now, correct your ways and deeds and obey the voice of the Lord your God so that He might relent concerning the disaster that He warned about.

For I desire loyalty and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

And to love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

General references

Then the man replied, “The woman You gave to be with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.”

The Israelites did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

He told him, “Because you did not listen to the voice of the Lord, mark my words: When you leave me, a lion will kill you.” When he left him, a lion attacked and killed him.

inflicting vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,

Doing what is righteous and just
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

I give you a king in My anger
and take away a king in My wrath.