1 SAMUEL CHAPTER 15 Samuel sendeth Saul to destroy the Amalekites: his army, 1 SAMUEL 15:1. He favoureth the Kenites; spareth Agag, and the best of the spoil: God rejects Saul from being king, 1 SAMUEL 15:6. This Samuel declares to Saul; he commendeth, excuseth, at last humbleth himself, 1 SAMUEL 15... [ Continue Reading ]
I seem to have forgotten, but now I will show that I remember, and now will revenge, those old injuries done four hundred years ago, which now I will punish in their children; which was the more just, because they continued in their parents cruel practices, below, 1 SAMUEL 15:33. _In the way when he... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL THAT THEY HAVE, both persons and goods; kill all that live, and consume all things without life; for I will have no name nor remnant of that people, whom long since I have cursed and devoted to utter destruction. SPARE THEM NOT; show no compassion or favour to any of them. The same thing repeate... [ Continue Reading ]
Who are particularly noted here, as also MALACHI 11:8, either as select persons of extraordinary strength and courage; or to commend that tribe, which, though the kingdom had been promised to their own tribe, yet were forward in serving and obeying a king of another, and that a far meaner tribe.... [ Continue Reading ]
A CITY OF AMALEK; their chief city, where their king was, as is probable from 1 SAMUEL 15:8. LAID WAIT, intending to draw them forth of their city by some pretence, like that of Joshua, JOS 7, and then to intercept them, and so surprise their city: which haply they did, though it be not here recorde... [ Continue Reading ]
THE KENITES; a people descending from or nearly related unto Jethro, who anciently dwelt in rocks near the Amalekites, NUMBERS 24:21, and afterwards some of them dwelt in Judah, JUDGES 1:16, whence it is probable they removed, (which, dwelling in tents, they could easily do,) and retired to their ol... [ Continue Reading ]
i.e. From one end of their country to the other; he smote all that he met with; but a great number of them fled away upon the noise of his coming, as is usual in such cases, and secured themselves in other places, until the storm was over, when they returned again; of whom we read before, 1 SAMUEL 1... [ Continue Reading ]
Saul spared AGAG, either out of foolish pity for the goodliness of his person, which Josephus notes; or for his respect to his royal majesty, in the preservation of which he thought himself concerned; or for the glory of his triumph: compare 1 SAMUEL 15:12. ALL THE PEOPLE, to wit, the body of the pe... [ Continue Reading ]
SAUL AND THE PEOPLE; the one proposed to do so, and the other consented to it, and so both were guilty. ALL THAT WAS GOOD; which it is more than probable they reserved for their own use, rather than for sacrifice, because they knew God would not accept a sacrifice contrary to his own command. Thus t... [ Continue Reading ]
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IT REPENTETH ME: repentance properly notes grief of heart, and change of counsels, and therefore cannot be in God, who is unchangeable, most wise, and most blessed; but it is ascribed to God in such cases, when men give God cause to repent, and when God alters his course and method of dealing, and t... [ Continue Reading ]
CARMEL; not Mount Carmel, of which JOSHUA 12:22, but another mountain or town in the tribe of Judah, of which see JOSHUA 15:55. A place, i.e. a monument or trophy of his victory, as the same Hebrew word is used, 2 SAMUEL 18:18. And this may be here noted by way of censure, that he set it not to God'... [ Continue Reading ]
BLESSED BE THOU OF THE LORD; I thank thee, and I beg that God would bless thee, for sending me upon this employment, and giving me this opportunity of manifesting my obedience to God. I HAVE PERFORMED THE COMMANDMENT OF THE LORD, to wit, for the main and substance of it, to wit, the extirpation of t... [ Continue Reading ]
How can this evidence of guilt consist with the profession of thy innocency?... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY, i.e. the people. Thus, after the manner of all hypocrites, he excuseth himself, and lays the blame upon the people; whereas they could not do it without his privity and consent; and he should have used his power and authority to overrule them for God's sake, as he had done formerly for his own... [ Continue Reading ]
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LITTLE IN THINE OWN SIGHT, i.e. modest, humble, and submissive, as 1 SAMUEL 9:21, 1 SAMUEL 10:22; whereby he implies that now he was grown proud, and stubborn, and impudent, both to commit sin and justify it.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SINNERS; so called by way of eminency, as that word is used, GENESIS 13:13 MATTHEW 9:10 1 THESSALONIANS 9:24,31.... [ Continue Reading ]
Who cannot be deceived by thy fair professions of religion, but knows very well that thou didst not seek sacrifices for God, but prey for thyself.... [ Continue Reading ]
He addeth obstinacy and impenitency to his crime, and justifies his fact, though he hath nothing of any moment to say but what he said before. So he gives Samuel the lie, and reflects upon him as one that had falsely accused him. HAVE BROUGHT AGAG to be dealt with as God pleaseth, and as thou thinke... [ Continue Reading ]
Heb. _the chief of the devoted things_; which being devoted to destruction, I thought it most proper to destroy them by way of sacrifice to God. But God had commanded Saul himself to smite and slay all upon the place, above, 1 SAMUEL 15:3.... [ Continue Reading ]
TO OBEY IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE, because obedience to God is a moral duty, constantly and indispensably necessary; but sacrifice is but a ceremonial institution, sometimes unnecessary, as it was in the wilderness; and sometimes sinful, when it is offered by a polluted hand, or in an irregular manne... [ Continue Reading ]
REBELLION, i.e. disobedience to God's express precept, which was Saul's case. IS AS THE SIN OF WITCHCRAFT; is, though not so great, yet as inexcusable and impudent a sin as witchcraft; as plainly condemned, and as certainly destructive and damnable. STUBBORNNESS; either wilful and presumptuous sin,... [ Continue Reading ]
I HAVE SINNED; which confession proceeded not from true repentance, but from the sense of his great danger, and from a desire of recalling that dreadful sentence denounced against him. THE COMMANDMENT OF THE LORD, AND THY WORDS, i.e. the commandment of the Lord delivered to me by thy words; another... [ Continue Reading ]
PARDON MY SIN; use thy great interest with God to obtain the pardon of my sin. Or, do thou pardon my sin against thee; for he had sinned not only against God, but against Samuel also, as God's prophet; and therefore needed a pardon both from God and man. AND TURN AGAIN WITH ME, to Gilgal, whence Sau... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL NOT RETURN WITH THEE: this was no lie, though he afterwards returned, because he spoke what he meant; his words and intentions agreed together, though afterwards he saw reason to change his intentions: compare GENESIS 19:2,3: which may relieve many perplexed consciences, who think themselves... [ Continue Reading ]
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Samuel makes use of the emergent occasion, as a sign, to signify and confirm his former prediction. A NEIGHBOUR OF THINE; either another man, or another Israelite; for the word neighbour is used both ways; or rather, one of the neighbouring tribe, even Judah, whose inheritance did not only join to t... [ Continue Reading ]
He calls God THE STRENGTH OF ISRAEL; partly, to show the reason why God neither will nor can lie; because lying is a weakness, and proceeds from the sense of a man's weakness, because he cannot many times accomplish his design without lying and dissimulation; which therefore many princes have used f... [ Continue Reading ]
Here he plainly discovers his hypocrisy, and the true motive of this and his former confession; he was not solicitous for the favour of God, but for his honour and power with Israel.... [ Continue Reading ]
SAMUEL TURNED AGAIN AFTER SAUL; not to worship the Lord with him, for that he did not; and therefore it is here mentioned that Saul only _worshipped the Lord_; but for two other reasons: first, that people might not upon pretence of this sentence of rejection immediately withdraw all respect and obe... [ Continue Reading ]
DELICATELY, or _in delights_, or _in his ornaments_, i.e. he came not like an offender, expecting the sentence of death, but in that garb and gesture which became his quality. AND AGAG SAID, or, _for Agag_ said; this being the reason why he came so. THE BITTERNESS OF DEATH IS PAST: I who have escape... [ Continue Reading ]
THY SWORD HATH MADE WOMEN CHILDLESS; whereby it appears that he was a cruel tyrant, and guilty of really bloody actions, and that towards God's people, though it be not related elsewhere. And this seems to be added for the fuller vindication of God's justice, and to show, that although God did at th... [ Continue Reading ]
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TO SEE SAUL, i.e. to visit him, either in token of respect or friendship; or to seek counsel from God for him, or to give counsel to him. _Seeing_ is put for _visiting here_, and 2 KINGS 8:29. Otherwise he did see him afterwards, 1 SAMUEL 19:24. Though indeed it was not Samuel that came thither with... [ Continue Reading ]