To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams

1 Samuel 15:17-35

Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?

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. 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.

Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you. He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.”

Then Samuel left for Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

Why?

To obey is better than sacrifice, so obeying and trusting in the Lord is better than worshiping the Lord and donating and attending the activities of churches.

Samuel mourned for Saul, but there was no way to return to the beginning.

Rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the evil of idolatry. 悖逆的罪與行邪術的罪相等；頑梗的罪與拜虛神和偶像的罪相同.

Arrogance: I thought I was better than anyone else and trusted myself more than others. Arrogance is promoting myself, so it is the same as the evil of idolatry, honor myself.

Rebellion from the word of the Lord is like sins of divination, it is a very severe sin.

How?

Obeying the word of the Lord and fearing the Lord is the basic foundation of a Christian.