OBEDIENCE_AN ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE

INTRODUCTION
Instructions are given by a leader for followers to follow. Relationship involves two parties, it can be between a man and a woman or otherwise of which both parties benefit. Here I will base it on relationship between man and God. The benefit man receives in his relationship with God are numerous which includes protection, provision and so on.
On the other hand, God also receives benefit which can only be given through obedience. It therefore important to note here that for the relationship to last long both parties must keep to their obligations.

Textual Source:

1 Samuel 15:22-24 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. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king. And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

There are two things to note in the passage above. These are:

1. Obedient to God's voice and
2. Obedient to Man's voice.

It is a choice to choose who to obey when a command is given.

SOURCE

As a small child grows, the child begins to choose whose voice to follow and how to address everything in the surroundings. Many a times selection made for the child but the child yet still decide what to do. This we call free will.
The child also make his/her own decision on whose voice to obey as regards command and guidelines on how things are being done.

What is obedience?

Obedience simply means an attitude of heart toward a higher authority. It is therefore important to note that as Christians the higher authority is God Himself. The Lord said in
John 14:15, "If ye love Me, keep My commandments." It also deals with the individual's own attitude toward God.
It also means to hear intelligently from the Hebrew word Shama.

OBEDIENCE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

God's clear instructions to the very first human beings in the garden of Eden was to refrain from eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Gen 2:16 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

He expected their obedience. They disobeyed, thereby losing initial favor with God. Nonetheless, they were restored to favor when God granted them the privileged role of being the first parents of all subsequent generations of humankind.

The obedience of Abraham is perhaps most exemplary in the Old Testament. On two occasions, he demonstrated total submission to God's will. First, he obeyed God's command to go to a new land.
*Gen 12:1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you.
This response meant leaving the land of the Chaldees, a highly developed city, to go to the unknown, unfamiliar land that God would show to him the land of Canaan. Abraham's obedience results in his being elected a chosen one for a special role in God's salvation-plan for humankind. Second, he obeyed God's command to offer his son as a sacrifice (Gen 22:1-19 )

OBEDIENCE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
The reality of this new covenant was portrayed in Jesus' supreme example of obedience to the heavenly Father, when he gave himself as the ultimate sacrifice for atonement of sin.
NoteHe chose to obey the father, No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."(John 10:18)

Jesus' emphasis on being born again underscores the need of atonement for effecting forgiveness of sins. Jesus talks to Nicodemus about being born again or "from above" as the requirement for entering the kingdom of God ( John 3:3-6 ). The way of death would be thus changed to the way of life.

Jesus prayed that his disciples would be sanctified, be made inwardly holy, and thereby be enabled to live a holy life outwardly ( John 17:6-19 ). Provision for this inner holiness and cleansing requisite for true obediencewas effected by his atoning sacrifice on the cross.

The Holy Spirit is provided to all who believe in Jesus. The Spirit's abiding presence enables all God's people to carry out God's will and to live obediently before him.

WHY OBEDIENCE?
From the texual source above God only have obedience is seen as the only sacrifice required from us by God.

• 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*
  It is better than sacrifice

Benefit of Obedience.

SOURCE

•It strengthens relationship. When both parties involved obey one another it brings more strength and believe.

•God is interested in your prosperity, therefore obey His instructions and you will succeed. In the book of 2 Chronicles 20:20, Jehoshaphat admonished Israel, during a period of great fear, about the benefit of believing God: And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Takoma: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem;
Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. In that story, absolute obedience delivered the people from sure death. Absolute obedience will deliver you too.

Finally, obeying divine instruction ensures security and guarantees freedom. Absolute obedience ensures that we will not stray out of His shadow or the secret place where He hides us, nor fall prey to the adversary, the devil. We must strive to obey His instructions either through the Word of God, through His prophets, or through the still small voice.

Remember "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous" (Romans 5:19).

Thanks for reading to this end.
REMAIN BLESSED