Samuel’s words to Saul are a sharp reminder that God is the One who anointed Saul, 1 Samuel 15:1. God was going to punish the Amalekites because of what they did to Israel, 1 Samuel 15:2.
This would happen four hundred years after the events of Israel coming out of Egypt, Exodus 17:8-13 / Deuteronomy 25:17-18. The Amalekites also attacked Israel at Hormah, Numbers 14:43-45.
They also joined forces with Eglon, the king of Moab, to attack Israel, Judges 3:13. Later still, they joined forces with the Moabites when they raided Israel’s fields and crops, Judges 6:3-5 / Judges 6:33 / Judges 7:12 / Judges 10:12.
Samuel tells Saul to totally destroy the Amalekites, 1 Samuel 15:3. This was God’s way of wiping them from the face of the earth; it was now time for them to be punished.
God tells Saul he must spare no one but totally destroy every living thing, and take no spoils, 1 Samuel 15:3 / Joshua 6:17-21. The reason God’s punishment is so harsh is because of the way they treated God’s people in the past.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘When a city or people were thus made cherem, everything living was to be destroyed, and no part of the spoil fell to the conquerors, 1 Samuel 15:21. The valuables were put into the sacred treasury.’
Notice that Saul summoned the men at Telaim, 1 Samuel 15:4. This appears to be the same place as Telem in the land of Judah in southern Israel, Joshua 15:24. Telaim was the closest part of Israel to the Amalekites.
Notice how many foot soldiers Saul now has, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand from Judah, 1 Samuel 15:4. This number of soldiers has grown from six-hundred men, 1 Samuel 13:15.
The Kenites were related to the Midianites and lived among the Amalekites, Numbers 24:21, they were to be spared if they moved away, 1 Samuel 15:6 / Numbers 24:9 / Genesis 12:3.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following concerning the Kenites.
‘The Kenites were an ancient people. Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, was a Kenite. Hobab, his son (if the same person is not meant), was a guide to the Hebrews through the wilderness. They had a portion of the promised land, near the city Arad, Judges 1:16 / Numbers 26:20-21.’
Although Samuel had warned Saul that God wanted no one spared and that all the living creatures should be totally destroyed, Saul ignored God’s commands again.
When Saul attacked the Amalekites, he spared the life of Agag, the king of the Amalekites, 1 Samuel 15:7-8, and they spared the lives of some sheep, cattle, calves and lambs, and they kept everything which was good, 1 Samuel 15:9, which was the spoils of war. Later in 1 Chronicles 4:43, we find that some of the Amalekites actually managed to escape and wage war against Judah again during the reign of Hezekiah.
Although God knew what kind of King Saul would become, he deeply regretted making him king, because of his disobedience to the Lord, 1 Samuel 15:10-11 / 1 Samuel 15:35. Samuel, too, became very angry and cried out to the Lord all night, 1 Samuel 15:11 / Jonah 4:1, but please note his anger was aimed at Saul, not God.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following concerning Samuel’s crying out to God, 1 Samuel 15:11.
‘With the wild scream or shriek of supplication, 1 Samuel 7:8-9 / 1 Samuel 12:18. The phrase and the action mark Samuel’s fervent, earnest character.’
When Samuel goes to meet Saul, he was told that Saul has gone to Carmel and set up a monument in his own honour and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal, 1 Samuel 15:12 / 2 Samuel 18:18.
When Samuel finally meets him, Saul, full of pride, tells Samuel he has carried out the Lord’s instructions concerning the Amalekites, 1 Samuel 15:13, but he must have known that he didn’t, 1 Samuel 15:3.
Slowly but surely, we see how Saul was failing as a king. He started off so humble, from the lowly tribe of Benjamin, he was started off willing to obey God and please Him in every way, but now he’s become arrogant and self-reliant, and totally disobeys God in whatever he does.
Samuel then asks Saul about the bleating of the sheep he can hear and the lowing of the cattle, Samuel 15:14. Notice also how he didn’t even take responsibility for his actions; he tells Samuel it wasn’t him but the soldiers who spared the best livestock, 1 Samuel 15:15.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘There is something thoroughly mean in his attempt to shift the responsibility of what was done from his own kingly shoulders to those of the people. Every word uttered by Saul seems to indicate the breaking down of his moral character.’
Samuel tells Saul what God told him the evening before, he tells him that even though he was nothing, God anointed him to become king, 1 Samuel 15:17. God sent him on that mission to totally destroy the Amalekites, 1 Samuel 15:18, but he totally disobeyed God, 1 Samuel 15:19.
Saul still tries to defend himself by telling Samuel that he did obey God, he says he completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king, 1 Samuel 15:20.
The problem was he was supposed to destroy everything, including the king, 1 Samuel 15:3. And once again, he blames his soldiers for allowing the sheep and cattle to live, but tries to justify it by saying the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal, 1 Samuel 15:21.
Samuel asks him whether the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? Then he tells him that ‘to obey God is better than sacrifice’, 1 Samuel 15:22.
This phrase is repeated throughout the Scriptures and carries a lot of importance with it, Hosea 6:6 / Psalm 50:8-14 / Psalm 51:16-17 / Isaiah 1:11 / Jeremiah 6:20 / Micah 6:6-8 / Matthew 9:13 / Matthew 12:7.
There’s no doubt that sacrifice was commanded by the Lord, but not on this occasion; what was required here by the Lord was obedience. Although Saul obeyed the law to sacrifice, he was disobedient to the law to destroy the Amalekites.
Many people today fall into the trap of thinking if they just sacrifice many things for the Lord, whether it be their time, money or personal material goods, that their sacrificial acts will save them.
The truth is, none of these things counts for anything if they aren’t living obediently to the Lord’s commands, Isaiah 64:6 / John 14:15. Samuel tells him for rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because Saul has rejected the word of the LORD, God has rejected Saul as king, 1 Samuel 15:22.
I don’t doubt for one moment that Saul’s confession of sin was genuine, 1 Samuel 15:24-25 / Psalm 51:1-8, but it does appear he’s more concerned about his reputation as king among the people, rather than his standing before the Lord.
As a result of his disobedience, Samuel tells Saul that the Lord is going to remove the kingdom from him, 1 Samuel 15:26. This is illustrated in the tearing of Samuel’s robe, 1 Samuel 15:27.
Samuel then tells Saul that the kingdom will be given to someone better than him, 1 Samuel 15:28. This is an obvious reference to David, who would be a man after God’s own heart.
The main difference between Saul and David is that David, when he sinned, would take full responsibility for his actions. He always wanted to please God and be obedient to Him; he would rather please God than please people.
Notice how God is described as the Glory of Israel, 1 Samuel 15:29. In other words, if it weren’t for God, Israel as a nation would never have existed in the first place, Ezekiel 16:1-14.
And God is not about to change His mind; He isn’t going to lie concerning Saul’s fate, 1 Samuel 15:29. It’s difficult to tell what Saul’s motives were for worshipping the Lord, 1 Samuel 15:30.
Maybe he genuinely wanted to make things right, but it is possible, knowing the character of Saul, that he simply wanted to pay lip service to the Lord, Mark 7:1-9. A few people often wonder why Samuel went back with Saul to worship in the first place, 1 Samuel 15:31.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
1. Samuel sincerely desired to help Saul in the presence of the people, for he dearly loved the man.
Had Samuel refused the honour due to Saul’s rank, it would have given an occasion of intrigue and resistance against Saul’s government and could well have been a step toward bringing back the old anarchy.
2. Another possibility is that Saul might have threatened to take Samuel’s life if he refused.
His seizing of Samuel’s robe was in itself an act of violence, and Saul was certainly capable of killing anyone whom he considered to be a threat to himself.
3. The third alternative is that Samuel’s action here constituted a sin on the prophet’s part.
‘We consider this to be the least likely of the reasons cited here, and that the first reason is probably correct.’
After worshipping the Lord, Samuel requests that Agag be brought to him, and Agag appears to think that his life is going to be spared, 1 Samuel 15:32, but Samuel put him to death, 1 Samuel 15:33.
Samuel fulfilled the Lord’s command, 1 Samuel 15:3 / Leviticus 27:28-29, and did what Saul refused to do. After this event, Saul returns home, 1 Samuel 15:34, and was never to see Samuel again, 1 Samuel 15:35.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following concerning Samuel seeing Saul again.
‘But we read, 1 Samuel 19:22-24, that Saul went to see Samuel at Naioth, but this does not affect what is said here. From this time, Samuel had no connection with Saul; he never more acknowledged him as king; he mourned and prayed for him, and continued to perform his prophetic functions at Ramah, and at Naioth, superintending the school of the prophets in that place.’
Notice that Samuel mourned for Saul, 1 Samuel 15:35. This tells us how much he truly loved him. We can still love someone even though they sin, much like God still loved Saul but regretted making him king, 1 Samuel 15:35 / 1 Samuel 15:10.