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1 Samuel Chapter 15
The Lord Rejects Saul
- 1Samuel 15:1 Samuel
also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king
over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto
the voice of the words of the LORD.
- 2 Thus saith the
LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how
he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.
- 3 Now go and smite
Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them
not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and
sheep, camel and ass.
This was a fulfillment of the words of
God recorded in the book of Exodus chapter 17 because when the
children of Israel came out of Egypt to go to the land of Canaan,
the people of Amalek came out against Israel and attacked them. That
was years ago from this time so it seems that God waited and gave
them time to change their ways.
- Exodus 17:15 And
Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi:
- 16 For he said,
Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with
Amalek from generation to generation.
The name of Jehovahnissi means, The
Lord is our Banner.
- 1Samuel 15:4 And
Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim,
two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
- 5 And Saul came to a
city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.
- 6 And Saul said unto
the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites,
lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the
children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the
Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
In Judges 4 we see that the Kenites
were relatives of the father in law of Moses and were kind to
Israel. They must have known God's plans for Israel through and saw
that God with with them.
- 1Samuel 15:7 And
Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur,
that is over against Egypt.
- 8 And he took Agag
the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed 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 fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and
would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile
and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
Showing mercy may seem good to us today
after the coming of Jesus our Christ, but it wasn't mercy that Saul
had. He coveted the good animals and such but got rid of the bad
ones showing his true motive that was a direct violation of God's
commands. Why he saved the king of Amalek we don't know.
- 1Samuel 15:10 Then
came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying,
- 11 It repenteth me
that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from
following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it
grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.
Poor Samuel. He did not want Saul to be
removed. He was a good prophet in that he obeyed the Lord but he
still had feelings and cared for the king. We need people that
really care for those they serve. He grieved that this had to be
done. When it says God repented, it doesn't mean the same as we may
think of repentance but just changing who was to be king.
- 1 Samuel 15:12 And
when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told
Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up
a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to
Gilgal.
- 13 And Samuel came
to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I
have performed the commandment of the LORD.
Saul assumed Samuel came to encourage
and give him praise for defeating the Amelekites.
- 1Samuel 15:14 And
Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in
mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
- 15 And Saul said,
They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people
spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto
the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
Looks like Saul tried to blame the
people instead of accepting the blame. Perhaps God would have
reversed this judgment had he repented and not tried to excuse his
sin.
- 1Samuel 15:16 Then
Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD
hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
- 17 And Samuel said,
When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the
head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king
over Israel?
- 18 And the LORD sent
thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners
the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
- 19 Wherefore then
didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon
the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?
For some reason God wanted it all
destroyed and didn't allow Israel to take the spoil of this war.
- 1Samuel 15:20 And
Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD,
and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought
Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the
Amalekites.
- 21 But the people
took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which
should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD
thy God in Gilgal.
Since only Saul was judged and not the
people, we know that it was Saul's command that they took the
animals. We can't lie to God since He knows all things. He used the
excuse that the good animals were to be used for sacrifice.
We find this in ourselves sometimes
when we doubt something we want to do that is questionable and we
tell ourselves we can use it for the Lord. One is becoming unequally
yoked with unbelievers by telling ourselves that we can win them for
the Lord but in reality we don't do that but allow them to influence
us instead. We are to witness for the Lord but without mingling
among them to appear to agree with their sin. Usually taking someone
along and being led of the Holy Spirit would be a way to do it and
not be unequally yoked.
- 1Samuel 15:22 And
Samuel said, Hath 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 hearken than the fat of
rams.
- 23 For rebellion is
as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and
idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he
hath also rejected thee from being king.
This is the reason we must study the written
word and pray without ceasing.
God is more pleased in our obedience
and respect toward His word than in offerings and sacrifices.
Getting to the place in our relationship toward God that we love to
be obedient because we love the Lord makes obedience easier. It is a
joy to obey God when we have love for God as our motive for service.
- 1Samuel 15:24 And
Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed
the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the
people, and obeyed their voice.
- 25 Now therefore, I
pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may
worship the LORD.
Repentance is good but his was not
genuine. He worried more about how it would look in front of the
people. I guess all of us may have a bit of that. When we get to the
place that we would rather obey God than please people, we can be
used of God and be more fruitful. It is not easy but it is necessary
to please God more than men. We are hindered when we began to fear
what people think. The only exception would be that we fear bringing
reproach on the gospel of Jesus because of bad actions that would
cause people to reject Christ.
- 1Samuel 15:26 And
Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou
hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected
thee from being king over Israel.
- 27 And as Samuel
turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his
mantle, and it rent.
- 28 And Samuel said
unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee
this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is
better than thou.
The future King David is about to
arise. We will notice too that David sinned many times but his
repentance when the sin is pointed out to him is geniune. He also
didn't try to cast blame on anyone but himself. Saul was different
but tried to divert the attention for his sin to the people. David
didn't do that.
Here it shows that God does not lie and
also this time God did not change His mind concerning Saul.
- 1Samuel 15:30 Then
he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before
the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with
me, that I may worship the LORD thy God.
- 31 So Samuel turned
again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD.
Samuel turned back and did as Saul
requested but Saul was still not going to be king. He was allowed to
continue until God brings in David. This seems to be hard for
Samuel. He did allow worshp to continue so that Saul is not
humiliated before the people.
- 1Sameul 15:32 Then
said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the
Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said,
Surely the bitterness of death is past.
- 33 And Samuel said,
As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be
childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before
the LORD in Gilgal.
We see now why Agag the king was to be
slain. He was reaping what he sowed. This should make all of us stop
and think. Without genuine repentance from the depth of our inner
being, we will reap what we sow. Without Jesus Christ taking away
our sins, we lose our soul for eternity. God looks on the heart, our
innermost being. He sees whether we are genuine or faking it.
- 1Samuel 15:34 Then
Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of
Saul.
- 35 And Samuel came
no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless
Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made
Saul king over Israel.
We see in Samuel the prophet a good
virtue to have. He didn't gloat but grieved over the future removal
of Saul as king. He mourned as one that mourns a friend's death.
-DC
1 Samuel Chapter 16
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