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Bible study · 1 Samuel 15:1-35

1 Samuel 15: Better than sacrifice

Read 1 Samuel 15:1-35 before you meet.

In a few lines

Saul told Samuel, "I have obeyed the LORD’s voice" (15:20), and four verses later, "I feared the people and obeyed their voice" (15:24). In Hebrew it is one verb with one word for voice, and Samuel had already said which voice matters: "to obey is better than sacrifice" (15:22).

The verse to carry

“Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the LORD’s voice? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.”

1 Samuel 15:22

To talk about

  1. 1. Saul said, "I have performed the commandment of the LORD" (15:13), while the sheep were bleating. Where is it easiest for you to say yes to God and stop short of doing it?

  2. 2. Samuel said, "to obey is better than sacrifice" (15:22). What do people sometimes offer God in place of doing what he asks?

  3. 3. Saul said he "feared the people and obeyed their voice" (15:24). Whose voice is hardest for you to say no to?

Prayer requests