Introduction

1 Samuel 15 tells the story of Saul and the Amalekites. The Amalekites were a wicked people and enemies of the Lord. God, in his good justice, commanded Saul to take their city and destroy every man, woman, child, and animal. This may seem harsh and not something a God of love would do. The Amalekites were descendants of Esau, who gave up his birthright from Isaac for a bowl of soup, thus, giving away his heritage from the Lord. These descendants of Esau attacked the descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people of Israel, when they were weak and untrained after being set free from a life of slavery in Egypt. Israel prevailed. Now Saul was tasked by God with wiping them out once and for all for their wickedness. Saul sacked the city, but spared the king of the Amalekites, Agag, and all the best livestock and lambs. Everything else was put to the sword. The best of the spoil was given as an offering to the Lord as an act of worship. However, God was not pleased with Saul’s rogue act of worship. God is so displeased that he even proclaims to have regret for making Saul king. ¹ He tells Saul in verse twenty-two “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.” ²

In modern Christianity, how often does the church commit the same sin? Granted, God is not asking the modern church to ransack an entire city and kill every living thing inside of it, but is there a way in which God desires to be worshiped that the church ignores because it is not in line with their preferences? A central part of Christian worship throughout its history has been the reading and preaching of Scripture. ³ Too often, in modern churches, there seems to be a more of a focus on the self and what God can do for me like he is a gigantic vending machine or some magical genie in a lamp. Without a doubt presenting our requests to the Lord is something that he commands of us to do, but when the reading of the law is forgotten, when sins are not confessed, when there is no call to repentance, when we sing songs that lack scriptural truth, the worship delivered by the church lacks potency.

Obedience to the Law

Many Christians tend to hear the word obedience and immediately equate it with legalism. There is this feeling among many church goers that the law is this constrictive and overbearing wet blanket that is in the Bible, but it is no longer relevant because Christ has set us free. Indeed, Christ has set us free, but free to do what? Paul tells us in Galatians, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” ⁴ When the Bible talks about freedom, it is not suggesting a free-for-all or anarchy; rather it is a freedom from our sins that kept us from God. Now we are free to pursue the law, even though we have failed.

Obedience Over Emotion

Another aspect in modern worship is to focus on the emotional side of worship, particularly in our music. Music is always used to manipulate emotions. When a football team runs onto the field there is high likelihood that “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC will play over the loudspeakers. Or if you’re out on a pontoon with friends, one would find it difficult to not crank “Chattahoochee” by Alan Jackson on the boat stereo. Or after a tough breakup, one might find their mid-2000’s emo playlist. Perhaps that last one was just me. The point is music is often designed to draw out certain emotions. Worship music is no different. Worship music uses momentous chord progressions and a musical tool known as appoggiatura, which creates tension and stirs emotions. 5 There is also a focus on personal pronouns such as you, me, and I. God is frequently addressed simply as “you,” making each song ambiguous to who we are worshiping at times. This creates stimulated intimacy, or a facade of intense personalization in a mass setting. ⁶

There is nothing wrong with getting emotional when we worship. My critique is that we ought not be engineering it through the music itself. I remember seeing the band Angels and Airwaves (not a Christian band) and getting that spiritual high feeling. Upon listening to their music, it is not hard to see how that is. Their epic crescendos, soaring guitar riffs, and spacy keyboard sounds give a person a feeling of invincibility. However, was I experiencing God while watching this band, or was I getting moved by the music? I would argue the emotional sway experienced in churches across America is driven more by the music than the Holy Spirit. There are other moments in a service where emotions may run high, perhaps in a convicting sermon or a moment of prayer. Even the Israelites in Nehemiah wept upon the hearing of the law, but Ezra tells them “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” ⁷ Again, we may get emotional during worship, but the Lord never allows us in Scripture to give in to those emotions. God does, however, command us to have self-control. In 1 Peter, he tells us to be “self-controlled and soberminded for the sake of our prayers.” ⁸ On top of having self-control, Paul tells us in Titus to be “upright, holy, and disciplined.” ⁹

Conclusion

Scripture also commands us repeatedly to rejoice. As we consider obedience in worship, being upright, disciplined, and self-controlled does not mean boring. The curtain has been torn in two and we get to come before the Father to worship. That is something worth rejoicing in. That is something worth singing about. We just ought to be careful with the music we choose to worship the Lord with and not allow our minds to be manipulated into getting “spiritually high.” We ought not use music because it is trendy or has a good beat. The songs must have biblical truth. We ought to “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” ¹⁰ We ought not worship like King Saul and do what suits us in worship but do what suits God in obedience.

Footnotes

1. 1 Samuel 15
2. 1 Samuel 15:22, English Standard Version
3. Robert Webber, Worship Old & New : A Biblical, Historical, and Practical Introduction (Grand Rapids, Mi: Zondervan, 1994).
4. Galatians 5:13-14, English Standard Version
5. “‘God, You Come Back with the Head of My Enemy’: Hillsong, Bethel and Emotional Manipulation in Worship Music,” Religious Language, April 20, 2022, .
6. Ibid.
7. Nehemiah 8:9, English Standard Version
8. 1 Peter 4:7, English Standard Version
9. Titus 1:8, English Standard Version
10. Romans 12:2, English Standard Version