No More Bulls

Psalm 50:1-14

A psalm of Asaph.

1The mighty God, the LORD, has spoken;

he has summoned all humanity from east to west!

2From Mount Zion, the perfection of beauty,

God shines in glorious radiance.

3Our God approaches with the noise of thunder.

Fire devours everything in his way,

and a great storm rages around him.

4Heaven and earth will be his witnesses

as he judges his people:

5“Bring my faithful people to me—

those who made a covenant with me by giving sacrifices.”

6Then let the heavens proclaim his justice,

for God himself will be the judge.

Interlude

7“O my people, listen as I speak.

Here are my charges against you, O Israel:

I am God, your God!

8I have no complaint about your sacrifices

or the burnt offerings you constantly bring to my altar.

9But I want no more bulls from your barns;

I want no more goats from your pens.

10For all the animals of the forest are mine,

and I own the cattle on a thousand hills.

11Every bird of the mountains

and all the animals of the field belong to me.

12If I were hungry, I would not mention it to you,

for all the world is mine and everything in it.

13I don’t need the bulls you sacrifice;

I don’t need the blood of goats.

14What I want instead is your true thanks to God;

I want you to fulfill your vows to the Most High.”

Where was Samuel? That’s what King Saul and his troops were wondering as they prepared to fight the Philistines. The old priest was late, and he had to perform the customary sacrifice before the army went into battle. The sun was rising in the sky, and with every hour more frightened Israelite soldiers deserted camp.

Finally Saul felt he could delay no longer. Taking matters into his own hands, he stepped into the priestly role and prepared the burnt offering himself. As he was finishing the ritual, Samuel showed up.

The priest was not happy. “What is this you have done?” he barked. Saul muttered his excuses, but Samuel wanted none of it. Saul had disobeyed God’s command, and as a result the kingdom would be taken from him.

What was Saul’s mistake? He was putting his trust in the sacrifice rather than in God. He assumed the ritual alone would give him victory over the Philistines, but he forgot that a personal God was the source of his power.

Today’s psalm pictures God at the center of the world, judging his people. “Thanks for all your sacrifices,” he says, “but I don’t need any more bulls and goats. I need your honest thanks and your obedience.” It’s a lesson Saul should have learned and one the rest of us can learn as well.

Not all the blood of beasts on Jewish altars slain

Could give the guilty conscience peace or wash away the stain.

But Christ, the heavenly Lamb, takes all our sins away;

A sacrifice of nobler name and richer blood

ISAAC WATTS

Bible Networking

Follow the leading of verse 14 and celebrate Thanksgiving all year round. See Psalm 69:30; 2 Corinthians 9:11; and Ephesians 5:20.

Notable Quotable

“Our most heinous sin is not the act of wrong done, but the fact that such wrong incapacitates us from fulfilling our highest function of glorifying God.”

G. CAMPBELL MORGAN