Lessons / Doctrine / The Law of Rewards
The Law of Rewards
Doing Things God's Way
Doctrine Series·
1 Samuel 15:22·
November 15, 2025
"
Has 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 listen than the fat of rams.
— 1 Samuel 15:22 (ESV)
Lesson Overview
God Means What He Says
The Bible is full of stories of people who heard God's instructions and then modified them — usually with good intentions. Every single time, the consequences were serious. This lesson looks at ten of those stories. The pattern is always the same: God gives specific instructions, and He means them.
10 Stories — One Pattern
🔥
Nadab & Abihu
Strange fire — Leviticus 10
👑
King Saul
Partial obedience — 1 Samuel 15
🪨
Moses
Struck the rock — Numbers 20
🏺
Achan
Secret sin — Joshua 7
🤴
King Uzziah
Burned incense — 2 Chronicles 26
🐄
The Golden Calf
Right God, wrong way — Exodus 32
🏗️
Tower of Babel
Our way, not His — Genesis 11
💰
Ananias & Sapphira
Pretended obedience — Acts 5
🧂
Lot's Wife
One command — Genesis 19
🍎
Adam & Eve
The first disobedience — Genesis 3
Three Key Stories
1 Samuel 15 — Saul's "Partial Obedience"
"To obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams." — 1 Samuel 15:22
God told Saul to destroy everything connected to the Amalekites. Saul kept the best animals — to sacrifice to the Lord. It sounded religious. It looked generous. But it was disobedience dressed up in worship language. Saul lost the kingdom for it.
→ Partial obedience is disobedience — even when it looks religious.
Exodus 32 — The Golden Calf
"Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD." — Exodus 32:5
Israel didn't want to worship a different god. They wanted to worship Yahweh — but their own way. Aaron even called the calf "the LORD." They meant well. God judged them anyway. It's not enough to worship the right God the wrong way.
→ Good intentions don't make disobedience obedience.
Acts 5:1–11 — Ananias & Sapphira
"…you have not lied to man but to God." — Acts 5:4
They didn't have to donate everything. The problem was pretending to fully obey while secretly holding back. God struck them both down immediately — not to punish generosity, but to protect the integrity of the early church.
→ God sees the gap between what we perform and what we actually do.
The Pattern — Every Time
1
God gives specific instructions.
2
People think they can modify them.
3
People assume their motives will "make up" for the disobedience.
4
God takes His instructions seriously.
5
The consequence reveals the holiness and seriousness of His word.
Big Idea
Even great leaders are accountable. Even good intentions don't cover disobedience. Even secret sin has community consequences. God's instructions are not suggestions — and the reward belongs to those who follow them His way, not ours.
Takeaways
Living It Out
•
Don't assume your motives justify modifying God's instructions. Ask: what does He actually say?
•
Partial obedience is not obedience. Half-steps don't count as faithfulness.
•
God takes His word seriously. That's not harsh — it means His promises are serious too.
To obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.
1 Samuel 15:22