The Strand Study Bible

I SAMUEL 15:15

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I SAMUEL 15:35

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, 1 When thou wast 2 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 3 utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. 22 And Samuel said, 4 Hath the LORD as great delight in 5 burnt offerings and sacri- fices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, 6 to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 23 For 7 rebellion is as the sin of witch- craft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. 24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the command- ment 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 8 turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD. 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. The promise of a new king (David) to rule over Israel (Fulfilled - II Sam 5:3 - 1043 BC) 28 And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, 9 and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. P 29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent. King Saul’s sixth mistake (Desiring the praise of the people) 30 Then he said, I have sinned: yet hon- our 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 10 turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD. 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. 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 11 the day of his death: never- theless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the

1. I Sam 9:21 2. or, “humble” - Psa 86:14 3. Deut 7:1-2 & 20:16-17 4. Psa 50:13-14 & 51:15-17 & 69:30-31 & Isa 1:11-17 5. Lev 1 6. Hos 6:6 & Mk 12:33 Note - If God does not have our “obedience,” He does not want our “offering” (Mt 5:23-24). External religion is never a substitute for internal holiness (Mic 6:6-8). We may pretend great zeal for God’s glory, but willful neglect of divine commands will surely condemn us (Isa 1:11-17). Nothing is so pleasing to God as giving Him the “last say” in our lives (Heb 11:6 and Mk 12:29-33) Regrettably, it is always easier to bring an offering than “every thought to the obedience of CHRIST ” (II Cor 10:5). 7. Ezk 2:6-8 8. that is, “enable me in my folly” 9. Fulfilled - II Sam 5:3 (A New King, David) 10. or, “enabled Saul” 11. I Sam 25:1

15:15 Saul said, “We only did what we thought was right” ( for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God ). Saul even had a good attitude about what he had done, because it was for God that he had done it. However, Saul’s motive for why he did what he did for God was based on how much he loved God, not on how much God loved him ( II Cor 5:14 ). Saul forgot that God’s love for him far outweighed his love for God, and that God’s love for him came directly from His Word. Thus, to ignore God’s instructions (vs 3) is to ignore God’s love. If why we do what we do for God is based on how much we supposedly love Him instead of how much He loves us, then our motive for why we do what we do will always be wrong, no matter how much we think we love God (Mt 7:21-23). The key to pleasing God is thinking like He thinks, and then trusting what He thinks enough to give Him the last say in our lives ( Gen 4:5 ). Question: Why do you do what you do (motive) for God? ( Mt 6:1 & 20:1,11 , I Cor 3:13b , Jude 1:21 and Rev 2:4 ). 15:31 Samuel knew it was wrong for him to “ turned again after Saul ”(enable Saul in his folly - vs 26). Nevertheless, he ended up facilitating him anyway, thinking it was the merciful thing to do. The problem with enabling is that it doesn’t change the ending. Saul still failed, despite Samuel’s desperate attempt to aid him. Enabling someone in their failure only prolongs the inevitable. We need to learn to stop enabling people and start reacting to prodigals like the prodigal father did ( Luke 15:11 Subject Head – point #2). It’s better for people if they fail sooner than later. Less damage.