Admonition Podcast

Aaron Cozort examines why worship can be rejected even when its outward forms appear correct, using Saul’s disobedience in 1 Samuel 15 and Israel’s hypocrisy in Isaiah 1 and 58. The lesson connects sincere worship with obedience, repentance, justice, and care for others, and continues in a later installment.

Chapters

00:00 Introducing the study of hypocritical worship
03:39 Saul’s command to destroy Amalek
06:09 Saul spares the best and builds a monument
11:27 Saul claims obedience, but the livestock tells another story
15:15 Samuel confronts Saul’s disobedience
17:26 Why obedience matters more than sacrifice
21:06 Worship used to win praise and please people
25:16 Isaiah 1: sacrifices cannot cover unrepented sin
34:29 Repentance, justice, and the promise of cleansing
39:16 Isaiah 58: fasting while exploiting workers
44:32 The fast God chooses: free the oppressed and feed the hungry
45:48 Worship must be about being right with God

Creators and Guests

Host
Aaron Cozort

What is Admonition Podcast?

The Admonition podcast brings you Bible lessons and sermons from the Collierville Church of Christ with host Aaron Cozort. Each episode focuses on interpreting Scripture in its original context, exploring the background of key passages, events, and teachings. Gain deeper insight into God’s Word as we study together, applying timeless truths to everyday life.

Aaron Cozort (00:00)
Good evening.

As we are continuing our study of worship, ⁓ take your Bibles if you will and open them to first Samuel chapter fifteen as we will continue.

Discussing matters related to worship.

Let's begin with a word of prayer and then we'll get into our study. Our gracious Father in heaven, we bow before your throne, grateful for the day that you've blessed us with, grateful for the life that you have granted to us, the opportunity that we have to serve you, and the abilities that you have blessed us with to be able to do so. Lord, as we are aware of your works and of your word.

And the things that you have placed before us, we ask that you would help us to have a heart willing to be diligent in the work, to be fervent in the labor of your kingdom, to be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Lord, we pray that you be with those who are traveling, those who are away from us, those who may be sick or dealing with recovering from illnesses or surgeries. Lord, we pray that you be with each and every one of them and give them the strength, the health.

and the blessing of once again being in our presence. Lord, all of this we pray and ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

Wanted to spend some time. We we've noticed the idea of wholehearted worship. We've noticed the idea of giving God that which is first. And we've noticed some of the other things pertaining to the laws and the rules, the ordinances of the Old Testament. I wanted to spend some time this evening and maybe even beyond this evening dealing with the idea of God's rejection of hypocritical worship.

Quite often we consider and and discuss and appropriately so the fact that God does not accept worship that isn't authorized by him. You step back all the way into the book of Genesis and into Genesis chapter four with the account of Cain and Abel, and it's clear from the text, both Old and New Testament, that God had in given instruction concerning worship.

And Abel had followed that instruction. He had obeyed out of faith, which is why the Hebrew writer lifts him amongst those heroes of faith. By faith, Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice. So Abel did what was commanded, and Cain in some way didn't do what was commanded. And so we spend time, rightfully so, discussing the fact that God rejects.

And always has rejected worship that is not authorized. But there's another sense of worship, another aspect of worship that God rejects. And that is worship that is hypocritical. It is worship where the one offering the worship is knowingly wrong in the eyes of the Lord and yet proceeds to offer the worship anyway.

And so we're going spend some time beginning here in 1 Samuel chapter 15 and notice a number of things related to this as we go throughout the text of Scripture. A little bit of background in 1 Samuel chapter 15 for those who may not be familiar with it. Samuel had given instruction to Saul by the command of the Lord to go against Agag and to go against the Amalekites and to fulfill what God had commanded concerning the Amalekites.

That the Amalekites were to be completely wiped out as a result of the sin and the things that they had committed against the Lord. God gives Saul as King of Israel the responsibility to carry that judgment out. So God sends Saul and Israel to go do his bidding. And

Samuel is going to say in chapter 15, verse 1: The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people, over Israel. Now therefore heed the voice of the words of the Lord, thus says the Lord of hosts. I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and attack Amalek and utterly destroy all that they have.

And do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. So Saul gathered the people together and numbered them in Telame, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah. And Saul came to a city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. So you're gonna read concerning the the things that transpire as you go through the text. We're not gonna take time to read all of it tonight, just for the sake of

focusing on the matter at hand, but God is going to give Saul an instruction through Samuel, and Samuel is incredibly clear. The Lord is telling you to this.

Go do it. But then you get down to ten or verse nine rather. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them, but everything despised and worthless that they that they utterly destroyed.

Now the word of the Lord came to Samuel saying, I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments, and it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the Lord all night. Notice that Saul has been anointed, Saul has been placed in a position of being the king, Saul has been put there because Israel wanted a king.

Let's not confuse the fact as we get into this text that Saul is not in this position because Saul wanted to be king. As a matter of fact, when Saul was going to be anointed as king and selected as king, where did you find Saul? Saul was hiding so as to not be found, so as to not be made king. Saul didn't select the position he was in, and yet Saul is in the position.

Saul is in that position because of Israel's choices of rejecting the Lord. So now Saul's in the position, and now God says, I greatly reject, or regret rather, that I have set up Saul as king. And what is it that Saul did that caused God to say, I greatly regret.

Putting him in his king.

He followed ninety-nine point three, just for round numbers, percent of the instructions.

The only one he left off was the first one. All.

The thing that he failed to do was to reason, as the Lord does, about a command. Because what Saul did is Saul got into the land, and Saul got into the battle, and then Saul completed the battle, and Saul said, You know what? This is the best. This is the most valuable.

You notice they they didn't keep anything that was despised or anything that was was dilapidated, anything that was broken down. They didn't keep any of that.

Rather they kept what was good. But then notice Samuel's reaction. How does Samuel react to the situation with God saying he regretted putting Saul in the position of being king?

He grieved and cried out to the Lord all night. Now the cried out to the Lord here is this is not the idea of whined and moaned and no no. He pleaded on behalf of Saul. It is the role of both a priest and in this scenario, a judge and a prophet, of which Samuel was to.

Petition on behalf of the people. You remember back in the Old Testament in the earlier passages when we're dealing with Exodus and Leviticus Numbers, Deuteronomy, that Moses would often cry out to the Lord on behalf of Israel. He's fulfilling the role of mediator. So Samuel is going to cry all night to the Lord.

So when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, it was told Samuel saying, Saul went to Carmel, and indeed he set up a monument.

What's the passage say? For himself. For himself.

Saul had really become something now, hadn't he? Saul won a decisive victory.

And first thing Saul does is he doesn't meet Samuel where he's supposed to meet Samuel. Saul has left where he's supposed to meet Samuel, and he has ventured to Mount Carmel to erect a monument to himself.

So

Saul is gone to Carmel. He has set up a monument to himself, and he has gone, and he has gone on around, passed by, and gone down to Gilgal. So not only did Saul not end up where he was supposed to be, not only did he go set up a monument at Carmel, he's now passed on from the monument he set up, proceeded to Gilgal. Samuel went to Saul and said to him, Blessed are

Are you of the Lord?

You know, in Scripture there is such a thing as irony. There's a little bit of irony here.

Because when a blessing is a blessing, it's great.

But blessings are sometimes curses, aren't they?

When you don't qualify for the blessing, you're rather judged by the blessing.

So as this greeting proceeds forth, Saul is going to say, Blessed are you of the Lord, I have performed the commandment of the Lord.

You might imagine that Samuel sorry, rather Saul, was sitting there, sees Samuel coming, and is just waiting for the applause.

I'm pretty sure Saul's already had plenty of applause from the people.

I don't think Saul built the monument himself. I suspect there were some minions involved.

As far as they're concerned, they've had an overwhelming victory like their parents and their ancestors had in the days of Joshua. They've had a victory like they often didn't experience in the time of the judges. You know what? We were right about getting this king. We knew it all along. We should have had a king from day one.

This was the answer to all of our problems. You remember what they said when they said they wanted a king?

Israel said, We want a king who will go out and fight our battles.

And now they had one.

Saul has the audacity to declare to Samuel, I have performed the commandment of the Lord.

But Samuel said, What then is this bleeding of the sheep in my ears? And the lowing of the oxen, which I hear.

Samuel wants to know if Saul, you have done what the Lord commanded.

Why am I hearing flocks and herds?

Wha why why am I hearing a whole bunch of things that ⁓ came back from the battle?

And Saul said, They have brought them. Notice immediately, not I have.

They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God.

Samuel?

They're doing this for you.

And the rest we have utterly destroyed. Then Samuel said to Saul, Be quiet, and I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night. And he said to him, Speak on. So Samuel said, When you were little in your own eyes, were you not the head of the tribes of Israel?

When when is Samuel talking about?

What time period in Saul's life was he little in his own eyes?

Before he met Samuel.

But even after he becomes king at the very beginning, he doesn't want to be king. He is small in his own eyes, he is humble, he does not seek power or prominence or position.

But Samuel's pointing out something has changed in Saul. Saul is not the man he used to be. He says.

When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel? Now the Lord sent you on a mission and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed. Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil?

And do evil in the sight of the Lord. And Saul said to Samuel, But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag, king of Amalek, and I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took the plunder, sheep and oxen, best of the things that should have been utterly destroyed, the sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal. So Samuel said, Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings?

and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord?

Simple question, so

Which one does the Lord prefer?

An abundance of sacrifices at his tabernacle or obedience.

Behold, Samuel says, To obey is better than to sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams, for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry, because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you from being king.

Samuel points out that Saul's actions were not just disobedience. They were not vanilla disobedience, inconsequential failures and slip ups.

He calls them rebellion.

And he equates rebellion and stubbornness to what?

Iniquity, idolatry, and witchcraft.

God is saying to Saul.

You considered it a little thing that you didn't do everything I commanded you.

Well that's not how I viewed it at all. Because I could see your heart.

I could see your motivations in doing what you did. I could see your reason for doing what you did. And it isn't because you were humbly following me. It is because you desired elevate you.

There's a reason why this rebellion, this stubbornness, is described as idolatry. It's because Saul had dethroned the Lord.

and placed himself in authority.

And God is going to reiterate to Saul that Saul's never getting his throne.

Saul is not going to be the authority in Israel. The Lord put him there, and now the Lord is removing him.

But when you look at this text, consider

That Saul has reiterated multiple times the reason the people had for bringing home the sheep and the oxen.

Hasn't he?

And the reason was what?

To sacrifice, to offer worship.

What God's pointing out is When you reject my commands so that you can turn around and offer me worship

you're operating at a polar opposite position of what I've commanded you to do.

This comes back to the mindset of those who want opulent worship. They don't want they don't want to walk in the building and give. They want to be the biggest giver.

They want to make sure their checks are larger than anybody else's. They want to be seen putting the gift in the offering. They want to be seen leading in the worship. They want to be praised by God and by people.

for what they've done. And Saul was taking it to the far degree of Saul was now building monuments to himself.

Have you noticed a historical problem in the history of the church and if you include the denominations as well?

With building monuments to people.

Saint so-and-so's names on this. Saint so-and-so's names on this. Brother so-and-so's names on this because of all the great things that he did. Now, is there an appropriate time to honor someone for the work that they've done? To show gratitude and think, yes.

Not to rub too many wounds in a sore. But we have a president who likes to see his name on things.

Anywhere he can find his name to put on a thing. And tell everybody. And tell everybody about it.

He is of that personality says, I want monuments to me.

Saul.

Is making it clear by his actions and by what he's allowing the people to do that Saul's making these choices because of what it gets him. It gets him people who like him. It gets him the ability to say yes to the people who want to do what they want to do.

One of the biggest challenges in leadership in the church is that you have to say no to people who have ideas that they don't realize are bad ideas.

And they think their idea is great. Their idea is their idea is wonderful. Imagine how amazing it would be if we would just do fill in the blank.

And elders especially have the unpopular role of saying, No, that doesn't at that does not meet scripture. So no matter how much you think that is a good idea, the Lord didn't authorize your idea.

Saul wasn't about to tell the people no. Because Saul had the same problem that some Pharisees did in the first century. You remember what Jesus said concerning the Pharisees? They loved the what?

Praise of men more than the praise of God. They're Saul's problem. Jesus would refer to them as hypocrites over and over again. Let's turn to Isaiah chapter one and see another example of God's rejection of worship because of hypocrisy. The first one is they substituted sacrifice for obedience.

But in Isaiah they offer sacrifice while rejecting God's instructions on morality.

In Isaiah chapter one, beginning in verse ten, as they are going to be accused of practicing wickedness, hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom. calling somebody a ruler of Sodom, is that a compliment?

Don't think so. And Isaiah hasn't made it ten verses in before he's calling the leaders of Israel the rulers of Sodom. He says, Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom. Give ear to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah. He's not just saying the leadership. He's calling them out from the top to the bottom. He says, To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to me?

I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls or of lambs or of goats.

You ever have somebody come to you?

And it's kind of been one of those days you're on your last nerve. And they come to you one time and they need something.

And you get what they need. And then they come to you again, need something, and you get what they need. And they come to you again, and you get what about the fourth or the fifth time in the day

They come in and you go, What?

Why are you back here again?

That is essentially what the Lord is saying about Israel and their sacrifices.

Why are you here again? What is the point of your endless parade of sacrifices? I am sick of them.

Now, if we were to stop right there, we'd have to question and pause and wonder why that thing that God described as a sweet aroma pleasing to the Lord, way back at the tabernacle, is now something he describes as something he is fed up and sick of.

Exactly right. He says, When you come to appear before me, who has required this from your hand? To trample my courts? Bring no more and there's a key word here feudal sacrifices.

What does the word feudal mean?

Pointless, worthless, valueless. Is God saying, I I don't I don't see any value in lambs or rams or doves. I I don't I don't see any value their market values really dropped. It's a commodity that everybody's got. No, it's He's talking about what they are when they show up.

He says, When you appear before me, who has required this from your hand to trample my courts? Bring no more feudal sacrifices, incense is an abomination to me. The new moons, the Sabbath, the calling of assemblies, I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.

God says, I could love the sacred meeting.

But I can't love it with you showing up all covered in your sins.

I will not endure you, Israel, showing up unrepentant of your iniquity, but wanting to offer sacrifices to gain favor.

He says, Your new moons and your appointed feasts, my soul hates.

They are a trouble to me. I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands?

What what what would they do when they would spread out their hands?

They would pray.

He said, When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you.

Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear.

What is he accused them of at the end of that verse?

Your hands.

are testifying against you when you lift them up to me.

He says, your hands are full of blood.

Now, pause for a moment and just consider the irony again.

If the people instead of the priests

had taken the sacrifice and performed the offering themselves and went through the procedure of butchering the animal and doing the process and offering the sacrifices, would their hands have been covered in blood?

Yeah.

S there's more than just an analogy here.

God is presenting a visual

Here comes Israelite number one, head of his household, ruler in Israel, one of the seventy. And he shows up with a large parade of family. And he shows up with a large parade of sacrifices. And he hands off the work of the worship and the sacrifice to the priests.

And stands back and keeps his hands clean.

Now, was that what he was commanded to do? Yes. The man from Judah is not authorized to butcher the sacrifice. The man from Judah is not authorized to prepare the sacrifice. The man from Judah is not authorized to put the sacrifice on the altar. The man from Judah has no right to do that.

But the man from Judah is not considering nor mindful of why the animal's dying.

He he's just there to show up to do the thing that they do. They worship. He's just there to be seen worshiping. He's just there because this is what he's been doing since he was a kid.

when he went with his dad to Jerusalem to worship.

God says, You think your hands are clean.

It's the priest's hands that are covered in blood. You think your hands are clean when you lift them up in prayer to me.

But what I'm telling you is all the blood is still on you.

Not the blood of the offering, but the blood of your iniquity, the blood of your transgressions, the blood of your sins. Notice what he says. He says, Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean, put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes, cease to do evil, learn to do good, seek justice, rebuke the oppressor, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.

The whole point, if you go over to Hebrews chapter eight, of offering the blood of the sacrifice was to atone for the sin you had committed.

But God says you're showing up and you're offering the sacrifice while never admitting to the sin.

You're not asking for repentance. You're not washing yourself of your iniquity. You are wallowing in it.

God says verse 18 Come now and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as well. God says, I can make your sins go away. I can fix the problem.

If

What follows the if

If you are willing and obedient.

You shall eat of the good of the land, but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. And then the accusation against the city at large. How the faithful city has become a harlot. It was full of justice, righteousness lodged in it. But now

Murderers. Your silver has become dross, your wine mixed with water, your princes are rebellious and companions of thieves. Every one loves bribes and follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, nor does the cause of the widow come before them.

God makes the point.

If you want me to honor your worship?

Then first you're going to honor my law.

But if you show up and worship as if you adore me.

And yet you won't do what I say? You won't repent of your iniquity? You won't do justice in my city, in my land, the place where I put my name.

Then I can tell you what you're not gonna have.

You're not going to have me accepting your worship.

God is making it clear to Israel.

You want me to accept your worship?

Step one, repent. Step two, then offer your worship. Step three, continue in what I told you to do.

But Israel would say no.

If you turn over to Psalm fifty eight.

Sorry, Isaiah fifty eight. I can read my notes. Isaiah fifty eight.

There's a hole in

Isaiah 58, beginning in verse one, Isaiah writes, Cry aloud and spare not. Lift up your voice like a trumpet. Tell my people their transgression and the house of Jacob their sins. Pause for a moment and ask yourself a question. Would you love for someone to stand on the street corner and declare to everyone?

Your sins?

Raise your hand if you would like to spend every day walking by the corner where someone has listed for all the world to see everything Aaron Kozort is guilty of.

No thanks. I'd prefer not to. I already know what he's guilty of. I don't need it proclaimed to everybody else.

But God calls upon Isaiah and he says, you go, you go sound yourself out like a trumpet. You go shout so that no one misses it.

Why historically would the military in the good old days use a trumpet to call everyone to order? You don't miss it. You don't not hear it. God says to Israel, live or to Isaiah, lift up your voice like a trumpet, tell my people their transgression and the house of Jacob their sins, yet they seek me daily.

And delight to know my ways is a nation that did righteousness, and did not forsake the ordinance of their God, they ask of the of me the ordinances of justice, they take delight in approaching God. Why have they fasted, they say, and you have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls and you take no notice? In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasures.

And exploit all your laborers.

God here does what he does often through the Old Testament prophets. He gives what Israel's saying in private, in public, at the dinner table, in their own minds, in their hearts. And then he gives his answer. Israel is saying, We seek the Lord every day. We seek his righteousness. We are a nation of righteous people.

We don't forsake his ordinances. We ask for his justice. We take delight in approaching God.

But as they think about themselves

They wonder why is it we fasted and afflicted ourselves and the Lord hasn't noticed?

What's wrong? Lord go on a vacation, as Elijah once said.

God says, No. Here you are fasting. What is a fast, by the way?

Not eating. Is it not eating because you would like to lose a few pounds around the middle?

No, that's affliction, not fasting.

What is fasting? It is not eating so that you can focus your mind through the natural process of hunger on the Lord. It is using it to focus on spiritual things because there's this gnawing, constant reminder you haven't eaten. And the moment your brain says, you know what, I haven't eaten, your brain is supposed to say,

So now I'm going to think about spiritual things. Now I am going to understand how much I need the Lord's provision. Now I am going to appreciate what the Lord has done, or now I am going to cry out to the Lord on behalf of this situation of which I'm mourning.

But that's not what Israel was doing. Israel was fasting while finding pleasure.

And then they considered that not quite enough. You know what? It's a fast day. We're gonna we're gonna observe the fast.

But that servant over there.

Double his burden. Make him work twice as hard. I'm going to sit over here.

He said, All while you're fasting, you're exploiting your laborers.

He says, Is it a fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bull rush and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast and an acceptable day to the Lord?

Is this not the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bonds of wickedness? To undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry? And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out? When you see the naked, that you cover him and not hide yourself from

Your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you. The glory of the Lord shall be your rearguard. Then you shall call, and the Lord shall answer, you shall cry, and he will say, Here I am.

God says you're doing it wrong.

Because you've made the fast about you.

instead of making the fast about you being right with me.

And you've neglected the, as Jesus would call it, the weightier matters of the law while you're over here holding a fast. Okay. We'll consider this idea of God's rejection of worship because of hypocrisy in further detail next week. Thank you for your attention.