1 Samuel 15:22

22 And Samuel said, Whether the Lord will burnt sacrifices, either slain sacrifices, and not more, rather, that men obey to the voice of the Lord? (And Samuel said, Desireth the Lord burnt sacrifices, and slain sacrifices, or rather, that people obey his voice?) Forsooth obedience to him is better than sacrifices, and to take heed to his word is more than to offer the inner fatness of rams;

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.

1 Samuel 15:22 In-Context

20 And Saul said to Samuel, Yes, I heard the voice of the Lord, and I have gone in the way, by which the Lord sent me, and I have brought Agag, the king of Amalek, and I have killed Amalek. (And Saul said to Samuel, Yes, I did listen to the Lord's voice, and I have gone on the way where he sent me, and I have brought Agag, the king of the Amalekites here, and I have killed all the other Amalekites.)

21 Forsooth the people took of the prey, sheep and oxen, the first fruits/the chief fruits of those things that be slain, that they make sacrifice to their Lord God in Gilgal. (But the people kept of the prey, sheep and oxen, the first fruits/the chief fruits of those things that should be killed, to offer as a sacrifice to the Lord their God here in Gilgal.)

22 And Samuel said, Whether the Lord will burnt sacrifices, either slain sacrifices, and not more, rather, that men obey to the voice of the Lord? (And Samuel said, Desireth the Lord burnt sacrifices, and slain sacrifices, or rather, that people obey his voice?) Forsooth obedience to him is better than sacrifices, and to take heed to his word is more than to offer the inner fatness of rams;

23 for it is as the sin of maumetry to fight against God's behest, and it is as the wickedness of idolatry to not assent to God's behest. Therefore for that, that thou castedest away the word of the Lord, the Lord casted thee away, that thou be not king. (for it is like the sin of idolatry to fight against God's command, and it is like the wickedness of idolatry to not assent to God's command. And so because thou hast thrown away the word of the Lord, the Lord hath thrown thee away, so that thou not be king.)

24 And Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned, for I have broken the word of the Lord, and thy words; and I dreaded the people, and obeyed to the voice of them; (And Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned, for I have disobeyed the word of the Lord, and thy words; for I feared the people, and obeyed their voice;)