Chapter Fifteen
YHWH Rejects Saul
15:1 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.’ ”
Samuel reminds Saul that in the past he was sent by God to anoint him as king over His people, this unique privilege should not be overlooked, as God Himself put Saul in that position. This reminder serves as a strong qualifier to support the instruction that follows. In other words, he is saying, “God sent me to make you king in the past, so listen carefully to what what I am about to say as these are God’s words, not mine.” Samuel tells Saul that God says that it’s time to fulfill the prophecy given to Moses. “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. Therefore when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.” (Deuteronomy 25:17-19, ESV, see also Exodus 17:8-16) Though the incident between the Amalekites occurred over four-hundred years earlier, God wants Saul now to “devote to destruction” what remains of the Amalekites. The instructions are clear, they are to kill every Amalekite man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camel, and donkey.
When God calls something to be "devoted to destruction" it is more than an instruction to kill or destroy, it is to be completely destroyed (see Exodus 22:20; Leviticus 27:29; Numbers 21:2-3; Deuteronomy 2:34; 3:6; 7:2; 13:15; 20:17; Joshua 2:10; 6:18, 21; 8:26; 10:1, 28, 35, 37, 39, 40; 11:11-12, 20-21; Judges 1:17; 21:11). Nothing is to remain or be taken as booty. This is not open for discussion, debate, or even rationale, when God tells His people to devote to destruction it should be handled just as they would when an offering is devoted to God. Serious consequences can result in non-compliance.
15:4 So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah.
Saul responded to the command and assembled 210,000 men at Telaim, an unknown location (some believe it’s the same as Telem, see Joshua 15:24, near Judah’s border with Edom in the Negev, exact location is also unknown). The Septuagint notes that the men were counted in Gilgal a location where Saul had previously met with his men (see 1 Samuel 10:8; 11:14-15; 13:4-15), but that location would be more that fifty miles to the north. It is interesting to note that the Septuagint records that Saul’s soldiers numbered 430,000 men.
15:5 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.
To Saul’s credit he was careful to protect the Kenites, a Midianite tribe, who were originally to be eliminated like all the other Canaanites in the Promised Land (see Genesis 15:19), but they aided the Israelites (and later we see that Moses’ father-in-law was a Kenite) and were spared (see Exodus 2:18; 3:1; Numbers 10:29-32; Judges 1:16; 4:11; 5:24-27, also note their absence on the list of people to be removed from the land in Exodus 3:17). Saul asks them to leave the area, and they did.
15:7 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.
Saul and his men were able to defeat the Amalekites from Havilah to Shur. The exact location of Havilah and Shur are unknown, they are mentioned together in Genesis 25:18 referring to where the Ishmaelites settled, saying that they were “opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria” (ESV) making them near the northeastern border of Egypt. Saul took Agag, the king of the Amalekites alive, and kept all of the best animals and all that was good. All other Amalekites were killed and all that were despised (Hebrew nemiḇ·zā(h)’, useless booty) were destroyed. In other words Saul and his men kept for themselves what they wanted and destroyed all the rest. This is not what God commanded, as all were to be devoted to destruction.
15:10 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.
This ‘mission’ could be considered a test, a test to see if Saul would comply to God’s commands, if so he then failed the test. Here we read that God regretted (Hebrew ni·ḥǎm’·tî, to be sorry, to pity, to comfort) making Saul king. This can be a stumbling block for some, but we need to remember that God is omniscient and cannot truly regret as we can, this could be considered an anthropomorphism where God explains Himself to man using human terms. Saul blatantly disobeyed God and even though He knew Saul would disobey, it still hurt Him. Samuel understood what that meant and it grieved him tremendously as he cried out to YHWH all night.
15:12 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.”
After the defeat Saul stopped at the city of Carmel in the hill country of Judah south of Hebron, to erect a monument for himself and then proceeded to Gilgal. Saul apparently was very pleased with himself and showed no signs of remorse. Saul started off as a humble king before God and now he is a prideful man who believes he should choose what he should or should not do.
15:13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the LORD. I have performed the commandment of the LORD.”
Saul believed he was obedient and fulfilled God’s commandment. Partial obedience is still disobedience. He obeyed God to a point and then rationalized to himself reasons why he would spare Agag’s life and keep all of the good spoil, and devoted all the worthless to destruction. The historian Josephus records an interesting perspective about Saul in his sixth book of The Antiquities of the Jews (137-138):
He also took Agag, the enemies’ king, captive;—the beauty and tallness of whose body he admired so much, that he thought him worthy of preservation; yet was not this done however according to the will of God, but by giving way to human passions, and suffering himself to be moved with an unseasonable commiseration, in a point where it was not safe for him to indulge it; for God hated the nation of the Amalekites to such a degree, that he commanded Saul to have no pity on even those infants which we by nature chiefly compassionate; but Saul preserved their king and governor from the miseries which the Hebrews brought on the people, as if he preferred the fine appearance of the enemy to the memory of what God had sent him about.[1]
15:14 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.”
In hearing Saul say that he did as God commanded him to do, Samuel asks then why does he hear sheep and oxen. Saul openly admits he “spared the best” to be used as sacrifices to YHWH, Samuel’s God. Samuel interrupts and tells Saul to stop talking so that he can tell him what God told him that night. Saul acknowledges and tells him to proceed.
15:17 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?”
Samuel reminds Saul of his humble beginnings, that he was little in his own eyes, and now he is the head of the tribes of Israel. God had him anointed as king and He sent him on a mission with the simple instruction to devote to destruction the sinners known as the Amalekites and fight them until all was completely consumed. So why did he not obey YHWH? Why did he pounce (Hebrew tǎ·‛ǎṭ, to rush greedily) on the spoil? In his mind he did obey, but took the prerogative to modify the outcome. But even as the king of Israel, he did not have the authority to change God’s command. Nobody does!
15:20 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.”
Saul once again defends his actions, saying he did what God wanted him to do, he’s convinced he is right. He notes that he brought Agag, the king of Amalek, and devoted the Amalekites to destruction. He then says that the people took the spoil, the best things that were devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to YHWH (he again identifies Him as Samuel’s God) in Gilgal.
15:22 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.”
Samuel’s response reveals several important facts about God, he asks, “What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice?” (1 Samuel 15:22b, NLT) He answers by telling Saul to, “Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22c, NLT) Samuel points out that disobedience is a form of rebellion and rebellion is as sinful as divination (Hebrew qě’·sěm, witchcraft, cultic practices) since opposition to the will of God renounces Him and that presumption is as evil as idolatry since it elevates self-will into a god. Saul was guilty of both of these, he didn’t obey (that would be rebellion) and he presumed he had the authority to change God’s commands.
Samuel then tells Saul that because he disobeyed and rejected the Word of YHWH, that He, God, has rejected him from being king.
15:24 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.”
Saul understood what Samuel was saying, but was not sorry for what he did, as he blames the people for disobeying God. He was neither humble nor repentant before God. In an attempt to avoid a public scandal, Saul asks Samuel to pardon his sin and return with him, so that he may worship YHWH. He seems to be more concerned about public opinion or the appearance of his authority being weakened, than his relationship with God.
15:26 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.”
Samuel tells Saul, it’s all over. He rejected the Word of YHWH, and now YHWH has rejected him, if he is not going to repent there is nothing that can change the situation.
15:27 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.
Samuel began to walk away when Saul reached out and grabbed the edge of Samuel’s robe and the hem tore. Samuel turned and said that YHWH has torn the kingdom of Israel on that day and has given it to one of his neighbors, who is better than him!
15:29 And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.”
The Glory (Hebrew nē’·ṣǎḥ, to lead, be overseer, preeminent) of Israel, a title of God, as He will not lie, change His mind, or have regret (Hebrew yin·nā·ḥēm’, from the same root of the word seen in verse eleven), for God is not a man that He should have regret. While the Lord could be grieved, He did not grieve, or become sorry, so that He changed His mind as a human does.[2]
15:30 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.
This is another pair of difficult-to-follow verses. Saul once again acknowledges that he had sinned, was this confession more sincere than the last? It does not appear so, as he still references “before the elders of my people and before Israel,” and calls YHWH, Samuel’s God. But he does say he will worship Him. So why does Samuel change his mind and returns with him? Some say Samuel is disobeying God, while others point out that the king God wants to take the throne next is not yet ready, so Saul will continue to reign until then. Samuel does not go back with Saul to keep the appearance that God is with Saul, but that He is still their God, the God of Israel. Plus, Samuel needs to correct one more error that Saul made.
15:32 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.
Samuel asks that Agag, the king of the Amalekites, to be brought to him. The text reads, “Agag came to him cheerfully” (Hebrew mǎ·‛ǎḏǎn·nōṯ’, the term is not fully understood, other translations include referring to an object: bands, bonds, chains, or, for an attitude: haltingly, confidently, cautiously, delicately, with fear and trembling, etc. Note: the Septuagint reads “trembling.”) In context the word seems to be implying that Agag thought that since he was not killed by Saul, and now standing before an aged prophet of God, saying, “Surely the bitterness of death is past,” that he was not going to be killed. Samuel then pronounces a death sentence, and explains that due to his sword had made women childless, that his mother will now be childless among women, and then he proceeded to put Agag to death followed by cutting him into pieces. Samuel fulfilled God’s command to kill all of the Amalekites which included the king.
15:34 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.
Samuel left Saul at Gilgal and went to Ramah in Benjamin, his hometown, while Saul returned to his house in Gibeah. We are told that Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, this verse can be a little puzzling. Samuel did not approach Saul again as Saul is on his own, with no God to guide him, although Saul does later go to Ramah to see Samuel (see 1 Samuel 19:24). Samuel nonetheless grieved over over Saul. One commentator wrote:
The remark that Samuel “didn’t see Saul again until the day of his death” has an interesting ambiguity to it. Whose death is referred to? The usual understanding is that it refers to Samuel’s death, meaning that he never saw Saul again. But readers know that the medium of En-Dor will summon Samuel from the dead and that Samuel will talk with Saul on that occasion (1 Sam 28). This event transpired on the eve of Saul’s death in battle.
The repetition of “and Yahweh regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel” from 1 Sam 15:10 frames the entire episode of Saul’s rejection. It may appear that the description of Samuel’s grieving over Saul forms the connection to the following narrative of the anointing of David. But in fact both Samuel’s grieving and Yahweh’s regretting serve that purpose.[3]
Verse thirty-five closes with essentially the same sentiment as verse eleven conveyed, Samuel mourning over Saul, and God regretting that He made Saul king. Again, God did not change His mind, but the people’s chosen leader was undone by his sinfulness. Regardless of who anyone is, chosen by God to do a task, or following God’s commandments, God’s love will not deter Him from judging sinners.
Considerations
Ack! My God Would Never Do That!
When people, both believers and unbelievers alike, hear about how God commanded the destruction of every man, woman, child, and farm animal in nations or family groups like the Amalekites, many reject the idea that God could give a command like that, or think perhaps that the text was wrong or speaking of a different ‘god’. It is true that God is a loving God, and He is truly compassionate with people, even sinners. But He is also a ‘just’ God, which means that justice must be served. Verses like, “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6, ESV, see also Numbers 23:19; Psalm 102:26-27; Isaiah 34:4; 41:4; 48:12; Hebrews 13:8; James 1:17) tells us that God never changes. So why do we read such commands in the Old Testament? To some, God looks like an angry despot! Our first error, is that we don’t take sin seriously, but God does. According to God’s law, sin requires atonement, which involved regular sacrifices of animals, the shedding of innocent blood. The law was also impossible for man to maintain…okay, now before you start pointing finger at God and say…”See! There’s an example of that unfair nature!” We also know that is the reason God sent His Son to live a sinless life, suffer, die, and rise to life again, was to satisfy the law. Jesus fulfilled the law for us (see Matthew 5:17-18; 22:35-40; Mark 1:44; John 8:46; 1 Peter 2:22), because no one else could. Through Jesus, forgiveness is possible, but even Jesus seeks justice, if someone rejects Jesus as their Savior that person will be condemned forever (see John 3:16-18). Going back to the Amalekites, God gave them an opportunity to turn away, but instead they engaged the Israelites and was promised through prophecy (see Deuteronomy 25:17-19, see also Exodus 17:8-16; Numbers 24:20) that they would be completely shut off and destroyed.
To “offer sacrifices” is a command and “to obey” is also a command. Okay, I'm confused!
Samuel asked if God delights in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as He delights in someone obeying His commands (see 1 Samuel 15:22-23). These two verses are packed with valuable information about the character and nature of God. In an often repeated premise in the Bible we read that God delights more in obedience than sacrifice (see also Psalm 40:6–8; 50:8-9; Proverbs 21:3; Isaiah 1:11–13, 16-17; Jeremiah 7:22-23; Micah 6:6–8; Hebrews 10:6–9). We also see other comparisons with offerings and sacrifices, such as having love or mercy (see Ecclesiastes 5:1; Hosea 6:6; Matthew 9:13; 12:7; Mark 12:33).
This is hard for some to digest these verses as it was God who commanded that the sacrifices be made, making the offering of sacrifices also an act of obedience. When we study how this and similar phrases are used in the Bible, we can see that God desires us to first seek Him, but also understand we need to renew our minds (see Romans 12:1-2) and make what is important to Him also important to us, such as the love for others and having mercy.
We also see that rituals, such as the offering of burnt sacrifices, can be made without much regard for God (like someone just going through the motions), the task gets done but the heart is not involved. God wants His people to desire Him, not just heartlessly follow protocol.
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[1] Josephus, F., & Whiston, W. (1987). The works of Josephus: complete and unabridged (p. 162). Hendrickson.
[2] Baker, W., & Carpenter, E. E. (2003). In The complete word study dictionary: Old Testament (p. 723). AMG Publishers.
[3] Hoffner, H. A., Jr. (2015). 1 & 2 Samuel (Vol. 1, p. 533). Lexham Press.