First Samuel 15:4

The Bible says in First Samuel 15:4-9, “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.[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.” When Saul spared the Kenites, that was probably God who moved Saul’s heart to do that because of the great promise that God made to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3, “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:[2] And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:[3] And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” That is why the Kenites were spared and the Amalakites were destroyed. God always keeps His promises. The nations of the world had better be careful how they treat Israel. God is watching.

Verse nine is a sad verse. It is a verse that tells us the failure of Saul. It is the type of failure that has been repeated many times probably by millions of people. It is one of the reasons that we rely on grace instead of law. It says in verse nine, “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…” They probably spared king Agag in order to display him as a captured trophy. Of course, they kept the good material possessions because they wanted them. The problem is that God told them to destroy everything. “The love of money is the root of all evil.” They disobeyed God because they wanted to. What they wanted for themselves was more important than being faithful to the Lord. Be careful about your selfish will. Your will is often your worse enemy. Your selfishness will lead you astray.

The Bible says in First Samuel 15:10-11, “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.” The Lord lifts up and the Lord casts down. Yes, God “set up Saul to be king.” That is true of everyone in a position of authority. Christians who lived in the Roman Empire were told in Romans 13:1, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.” The Lord giveth, and the Lord can take away. That certainly was the case with King Saul. God said that Saul “hath not performed my commandments.” Saul sinned, and there would be consequences to his sin because God is holy and God sees and knows. And Saul lived in the Old Testament under the law. Thank the Lord Jesus that we do not live under law, but under grace. We have the sure mercies of David. An eternal relationship with God is given to us freely because of the effects of the blood of Christ once we take Jesus as our personal Savior. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” It says in Romans 8:1-3, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.[2] For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.[3] For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.”

Notice that it says at the end of First Samuel 15:11, “And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.” God loves everyone. It is very sad when anyone fails to become what he or she could have been. That is the story of the human race. Never rejoice when someone fails. Continue to pray for them. That is what Samuel did.

The Bible says in First Samuel 15:12-21, “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.[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.[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?[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.” The first thing that Saul says to Samuel in verse thirteen is a lie. Saul’s sins against the Lord are increasing. He did not perform the commandment of the Lord because the Lord told Saul to destroy all the possessions of the Amalekites, and Samuel knew. Notice Samuel’s response in verse fourteen. It is a great response. Samuel said, “What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears?” If Saul had obeyed the Lord, there would be no sheep. You can be sure of one thing: “Your sin will find you out.” If not in this life, then surely at your judgment. That is why honesty is such an important part of finding forgiveness from the Lord. Thankfully, the Lord will forgive us because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us, but we must honestly confess our sins. If you lie to God about your sins, you are no better than the devil who is the father of lies.

In verse fifteen Saul tells another lie. Saul said that he only spared the sheep so that he could sacrifice them to God. But we were already told that Saul spared the sheep because they were valuable, and he wanted the sheep because of their material value. “The love of money is the root of all evil.” The love of money will cause you to lie and to steal and to resist God’s will, just like Saul.

Samuel said to Saul in First Samuel 15:17, “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.? Of course, Saul did not remain “little” in his own sight. He became proud, disobeyed God, lied, and grasped at power. God wants us to have the correct view of ourselves. Unfortunately, people tend to be arrogant especially if they are successful compared to other people. We are sinners. If we compare ourselves to the Greatest, the Lord Jesus Christ, we should be able to stay humble. In a healthy way we should have a low and balanced view of ourselves. The Apostle Paul called himself “the chief of sinners” and “the least of the Apostles.” He was not just saying that. He honestly believed it. Power corrupts, and so does too much public attention. The human ego cannot take it. One benefit to confessing our sins daily is that not only does it keep us in fellowship with Christ, but also it reminds us of what we really are.

Notice in verse twenty-one that Saul blames others for his own failures. He said, “But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed.” Saul blamed the people when he was king, and of course, he was responsible for that situation. You cannot be right with God unless you confess your sins. Stop blaming others for your errors.

The Bible says in First Samuel 15:22-23, “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.” There are some great phrases and very important statements in these two verses. The first is found at the end of verse twenty-two: “to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” What does God want from you? Does He want you to take everything that you have, to sell it, and to give to the poor? No. Does He want you to deny the normal needs of life to prove how holy you are? No. He does not want sacrifice. God wants obedience. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.”

The first part of verse twenty-three says, “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” Rebellion is a great problem for the human race. We could call the last hundred or two hundred years the age of rebellion. God wants an orderly society where everyone knows how to respond to authority, and of course, God is the highest authority. He made us. Be careful about your own ingrained “stubbornness.” Whatever you do, avoid stubbornness towards God. When the Apostle Paul was converted to Christ, Paul said to Jesus on the road to Damascus, “Lord, what will you have me to do?” If you cannot surrender to Jesus like that, then you are committing the sins of witchcraft, and idolatry.

How will you know what God wants you to do? Notice the end of verse twenty-three where Samuel said to king Saul, “Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD.” God gave us His Word so that we will know His will. Read the Bible. Think about its teachings. Ask the Lord to give you understanding. Be ready to conform your life to His will and His Word. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”

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