1 Samuel 15:22

22 Then Samuel said, "Is the LORD as delighted with burnt offerings and sacrifices as he would be with your obedience? To follow instructions is better than to sacrifice. To obey is better than sacrificing the fat of rams.

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1 Samuel 15:22 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 15:22

And Samuel said
In reply to Saul:

hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in
obeying the voice of the Lord?
no, certainly, the one being merely ceremonial, the other moral; the one supposes sin committed, for which sacrifice is offered; the other moral, and is a compliance with the will of God, and is neither sinful, nor supposes anything sinful, and therefore must be the more acceptable:

behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat
of rams;
which always was claimed by the Lord as his right and due; or the fattest rams or best sacrifices, of whatever sort, whether burnt offerings, or sin offerings, or peace offerings; for had man obeyed the will of God, and not sinned, there would have been no need of sacrifice; and that was only acceptable to God when offered with a heart truly sensible of sin, and penitent for it, and in the faith of the great sacrifice of Christ, of which all sacrifices under the law were typical, and led unto.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

1 Samuel 15:22 In-Context

20 "But I did obey the LORD," Saul told Samuel. "I went where the LORD sent me, brought [back] King Agag of Amalek, and claimed the Amalekites for God.

21 The army took some of their belongings--the best sheep and cows were claimed for God--in order to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal."

23 The sin of black magic is rebellion. Wickedness and idolatry are arrogance. Because you rejected the word of the LORD, he rejects you as king."

24 Then Saul told Samuel, "I have sinned by not following the LORD's command or your instructions. I was afraid of the people and listened to them.