1 And Samuel said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the LORD. 2 Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. 3 Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”
4 So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah. 5 And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. 6 Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7 And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. 8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.
10 The word of the LORD came to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the LORD all night. 12 And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” 13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the LORD. I have performed the commandment of the LORD.” 14 And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the LORD your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.” 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the LORD said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.”
17 And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. 18 And the LORD sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the LORD?” 20 And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the LORD. I have gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.” 22 And Samuel said,
“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to listen than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
he has also rejected you from being king.”
24 Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the LORD.” 26 And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. 28 And Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. 29 And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” 30 Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the LORD your God.” 31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul bowed before the LORD.
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him cheerfully. Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 33 And Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. 35 And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the LORD regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Samuel approached Saul with a directive from the Lord. God was still the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sabot—Lord of armies) and He had a divine mission for Saul. When God brought Israel out of Egypt, the Amalekites had attacked Israel from the rear and God had promised to avenge their actions someday (Ex 17:14-16). Saul’s mission was to devote all of Amalek to destruction. Nothing was to be spared. This was a holy war where Israel served as an instrument of God’s severest judgement. Because of the holiness of the task, the soldiers were not to profit by acquiring slaves or spoils of war.
Saul gathered his army and approached the city of Amalek. Saul spared the Kenites who had shown kindness to Israel (Ex 18:9-10; Jethro was a Kenite, Judg 1:16). Saul proceeded to carry out the Lord’s command and defeated the Amalekites but he didn’t follow God’s command completely. He spared king Agag and his soldiers kept the best of the animals and all they considered good. Whatever they considered worthless they devoted to destruction.
The Lord let Samuel know what had happened. God expressed regret at having made Saul king because he had disobeyed and not followed His commandments. God was grieved because of Saul’s failure to obey completely. Samuel shared in the Lord’s anger and prayed in anguish all night. When Samuel went to confront Saul he was told that Saul had erected a monument for himself. Saul’s chief concern was his own glory over devotion to God. Saul greeted Samuel declaring he had done what the Lord had asked. But Samuel asked about the animal sounds he could hear. Saul tried to justify his disobedience by claiming the best of the sheep and oxen were kept to sacrifice to the Lord. When asked about his disobedience Saul blamed the people for taking the spoil and the animals. Samuel responded with a timeless principle we would all do well to remember: Does God delight in sacrifices over obedience to His word? The answer is a resounding “no”. We cannot partially obey God and then think that acts of religious piety will cover our disobedience.
Samuel declared that Saul was guilty of rebellion, arrogance, and rejecting the word of the Lord. As a result, God rejected Saul as king. Saul desperate to have Samuel pardon him grabbed his garment and tore the edge of his robe. Samuel used that as an illustration of Saul’s kingdom which was torn from him and would be given to another, David—a man after God’s own heart.
Samuel executed Agag, the king of the Amalekites, which is what Saul and his army should have done. Samuel never again met with Saul until he died. Samuel’s absence was a symbol of God’s absence from the disobedient king. While God permitted Saul to continue to reign, He was grieved over how Saul had chosen to lead.
In what area of your life are you only partially obeying God? Obeying God on your terms is not obedience at all. What do you need to change today to make things right?
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
Feeding the Four Thousand: Mark 7-8