1 Samuel 15:1-35

Israel’s First King

1 Samuel

Helen Pocock

Chapter 15

God refuses Saul as king

v1 Samuel said to Saul, ‘The *Lord sent me to *anoint you as king over his people, the *Israelites. Now listen to this message from the *Lord. v2 This is what the most powerful *Lord says. “The *Israelites came out of the country of Egypt and went to the country of Canaan. But the *Amalekites tried to stop them. So I will punish the *Amalekites. v3 Go and attack the *Amalekites. Completely destroy everything that lives. Do not save anything. Kill the men and women, children and babies. Kill their cows and sheep. Kill their camels and *donkeys”.’

v4 So Saul called his army together. They met at Telaim. There were 200 000 soldiers and 10 000 men from the *tribe of *Judah. v5 Saul and his army went to a town in the country of Amalek. They waited in a valley. v6 Saul warned the people from the Kenite *tribe, ‘Go away. Leave the *Amalekites. I will destroy the *Amalekites. I do not want to destroy you. You were kind to the *Israelites when they came out from the country of Egypt’. So the Kenites left the *Amalekites.

v7 Then Saul attacked and defeated the *Amalekites. He fought them all the way from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt. v8 Saul seized Agag alive. Agag was king of the *Amalekites. Saul killed all the people with his sword. v9 But Saul and his army let Agag live. They did not kill the best old and young sheep or the fat cows. They let all the good animals live. They did not want to destroy them. But they destroyed all the animals that were weak and worth nothing.

v10 Then the *Lord spoke to Samuel, v11 ‘I am sorry that I made Saul king. He has stopped following me. He has not obeyed my commands’. Samuel was very sad. He prayed aloud to the *Lord all that night.

Verse 2 ‘The most powerful *Lord’ (see 1 Samuel 1:3). God is the ruler of everything that he made. God is the true captain of the *Israelite army. God made their army successful.

The *Amalekites lived in the land that was between southern *Israel and the country of Egypt. They did not build many towns. Instead, they lived in tents. They wandered about the land. They attacked the *Israelites and other nations. The *Amalekites stole animals and crops from the farms in those nations. You can read how the *Amalekites tried to stop the *Israelites in Exodus 17:8-16. So God said that he would destroy the *Amalekites completely (Exodus 17:14 and Deuteronomy 25:17-19). This was God’s war. God is holy. The *Amalekites were evil (verse 18). They had opposed God. So God decided to ‘completely destroy’ them. God did not always do this with *Israel’s enemies. (God did it with the town of Jericho in Joshua 6.) God gave very clear commands in verse 3. He said, ‘Do not save anything’. No one could misunderstand what God meant.

The Kenites probably lived near or with the *Amalekites. They had not opposed God. Some of the Kenites lived with the *Israelites (Judges 1:16). Saul did not want to kill them by mistake.

God gave Saul success in this battle. In many battles, God let the *Israelite army keep the animals or goods that they seized. Sometimes Saul and his army seized the king and put him in prison. This showed other nations that the *Israelites had the most powerful leader. But this time God wanted to punish the *Amalekites. Saul did not understand God’s purpose. Saul did not obey God’s clear commands. Instead, Saul did what he thought was right. God had given the *Israelites the type of king that they wanted. God wanted the king of the *Israelites to follow and obey him. He wanted a king that he could trust. God wanted the king to love him. He wanted the king to give him honour. But Saul did not behave like this. God was sad that Saul had not obeyed him. Samuel was very sad about this too.

v12 Samuel got up early the next morning. He went to meet Saul. Someone told Samuel, ‘Saul went to the town of Carmel. He put up a column to give himself honour. Then he went to the town of Gilgal’.

v13 Samuel went to find Saul. Saul said to Samuel, ‘May the *Lord bless you. I have obeyed the *Lord’s commands’.

v14 But Samuel said, ‘Why can I hear the voices of sheep and cows?’

v15 Saul answered, ‘The soldiers took them from the *Amalekites. They saved the best sheep and cows. They will *sacrifice them to the *Lord your God. We destroyed all the other animals’.

v16 Samuel said to Saul, ‘Stop talking. I will tell you what the *Lord said to me last night’.

Saul said, ‘Tell me’.

v17 Samuel said, ‘In the past you thought that you were not an important person. Now you are the leader of all of the *Israelite *tribes. God *anointed you as king of *Israel. v18 The *Lord gave you a task. He said to you, “Go and destroy the *Amalekites. They are evil people. Fight against them until they are all dead”. v19 Why did you not obey the *Lord? Why did you keep the best things? Why did you do what God said was wrong?’

v20 Saul said, ‘I did obey the *Lord. I did what the *Lord told me to do. I destroyed all the *Amalekites. I brought back Agag their king. v21 The soldiers did not kill the best sheep and cows. They brought them to *sacrifice to the *Lord your God at Gilgal’.

v22 But Samuel replied,

‘Is the *Lord most pleased when people give him *offerings and *sacrifices? Or is he most pleased when people obey him?

The *Lord is most pleased when people hear and obey him. This is better than when they *sacrifice the best sheep to him.

v23 You *sin if you refuse to obey the *Lord. This *sin is as bad as doing evil magic.

Pride is a *sin which is as bad as *worshipping *idols.

You refused to do what the *Lord commanded. Now the *Lord has refused you as king’.

In Chapter s 10 and 11, we see that Saul was a humble man. But Saul became proud. He was proud of his success in the battle. He did not give God honour. Saul probably made the column from stone. Everyone who saw it would give Saul honour.

In verse 13 Saul said, ‘I have obeyed the *Lord’s commands’. But this was not true. Saul had not obeyed all the commands. Perhaps he told a lie on purpose. Or perhaps he thought that he had obeyed enough. When Samuel demanded an answer, Saul blamed the soldiers (verses 15 and 21). Saul gave an excuse. He said that the soldiers wanted to *sacrifice the animals to God. In fact, the soldiers probably wanted to keep the animals for themselves. Saul led the army. He should have commanded the men to kill all the animals. Saul used the phrase, ‘the *Lord your God’. He did not say, ‘the *Lord our God’. Saul knew that he did not follow God now. He did not follow him as he used to. God had commanded the *Israelites to give him *offerings and *sacrifices (Leviticus 1:7). This was how God forgave their *sins. But God cannot forgive a person who refuses to obey him. If a person did not obey God, their *sacrifice had no value.

When a person does not obey God, they *sin. The Bible calls this *sin ‘rebellion’. Verse 23 gives us a very serious warning. Evil magic comes from the devil. Rebellion is as bad as evil magic. People who *worship *idols do not give honour to God. They think that the *idol is better than God. A proud person thinks that he is the best person. He gives honour to himself. He does not give honour to God or *worship him.

v24 Then Saul said to Samuel, ‘I have *sinned. I did not obey the *Lord’s command or your words. I was afraid of the people. I did what they wanted. v25 Now I appeal to you. Please forgive my *sin. Come back with me so that I may *worship the *Lord’.

v26 But Samuel said to Saul, ‘I will not go back with you. You refused the *Lord’s command. Now the *Lord refuses you as king of *Israel’.

v27 Samuel turned away from Saul and left. But Saul seized the edge of Samuel’s coat and it tore. v28 Samuel said to him, ‘The *Lord has torn the *kingdom of *Israel from you today. He has given it to one of your neighbours who is better than you. v29 The *Lord is the *glory of *Israel. He does not lie. He does not change his decision. He is not like a man who changes his decision’.

v30 Saul replied, ‘I have *sinned. But please give me honour in front of the leaders and people of *Israel. Come back with me so that I can *worship the *Lord your God’. v31 So Samuel went back with Saul. Saul *worshipped the *Lord.

v32 Then Samuel said, ‘Bring Agag, king of the *Amalekites, to me’.

Agag was still in chains when he came to Samuel. But Agag thought, ‘I do not think that I will have the bitter pain of death now’.

v33 But Samuel said, ‘You have killed many people. Now some mothers do not have any children that are still alive. Now your mother will have no children’. And Samuel cut Agag into pieces in front of the *altar at Gilgal.

v34 Then Samuel left Gilgal and went to his home in Ramah. But Saul went to his home in Gibeah. v35 During the rest of his life Samuel never saw Saul again. But Samuel was very sad about Saul. And the *Lord was very sorry that he had made Saul king of *Israel.

At last, Saul confessed that he had *sinned. But he did not realise that God would not change his decision. So, Samuel had to repeat what God had said. Saul *sinned because he was afraid of the people. So, he did what they said instead of what God commanded. This was a foolish way to behave. The way to become wise is to fear the *Lord (Proverbs 9:10). This ‘fear’ means to respect the *Lord. And to obey him and give him honour.

Verses 27-28 are like picture language. Saul had turned away from following the *Lord. The *Lord did not want the *Israelites to turn away from him too. The ‘*kingdom’ means the people and the land that Saul ruled as king. The new king of a country is usually the son of the previous king. But God took his authority away from Saul. God gave it to one of Saul’s ‘neighbours’, not to one of his family. This man was David. David was better than Saul was because David obeyed the *Lord.

‘The *Lord is the *glory of *Israel’. This means that the *Lord lives for ever. This emphasises that God is not like people. He has very different qualities from theirs. Saul realised then that nothing could change God’s decision. Saul did not want Samuel to leave him. Saul said that he wanted to *worship the *Lord. But Saul really wanted Samuel to give him honour. Saul wanted the people to think that nothing had changed. Samuel changed his decision the second time that Saul asked. He went back with Saul. Saul *worshipped the *Lord. But Samuel did the job that Saul should have done. He killed Agag. Agag thought that he would not have to die. But Samuel punished Agag because he had killed so many people.

After this, Samuel left Saul. They lived only 16 kilometres (10 miles) apart. Samuel never went to visit Saul again because God had refused him as king. Samuel was as sad about Saul as if he had died. And the *Lord was sad about the first king of *Israel too. Saul continued to rule *Israel until he died many years later. But from this day, Saul had many problems. And he was not a good leader.

Lord ~ the name of God in the Bible. The special name of God that he announced only to the Israelites (Genesis 3:13-15). It links God with his covenant (promise) to them.

Israelites ~ the people of Israel; the people who speak the Hebrew language.
Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
Hebrew ~ the language of the Israelite people. A Hebrew is an Israelite person.
anoint ~ to mark a person with oil to show that God has chosen him for a special job.
Israelites ~ the people of Israel; the people who speak the Hebrew language.

Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
Hebrew ~ the language of the Israelite people. A Hebrew is an Israelite person.
Amalekite ~ a person who came from the family of Amalek. Amalek was the grandson of Esau (Genesis 36:12). The Amalekites lived in the land between southern Israel and the country called Egypt. They were one of Israel’s enemies.

Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
donkey ~ an animal like a small horse. Donkeys can carry heavy loads on their backs. People ride on them.
tribe ~ a family from one man. The first Israelites were the 12 sons of Jacob. The family of each son became a tribe.

Israelites ~ the people of Israel; the people who speak the Hebrew language.
Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
Hebrew ~ the language of the Israelite people. A Hebrew is an Israelite person.
Judah ~ one of the 12 tribes of Israel. The land in southern Israel that belonged to the tribe of Judah.

tribe ~ a family from one man. The first Israelites were the 12 sons of Jacob. The family of each son became a tribe.
Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
Israelites ~ the people of Israel; the people who speak the Hebrew language.
Hebrew ~ the language of the Israelite people. A Hebrew is an Israelite person.
Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
sacrifice ~ to give something to God, usually an animal, grain or wine; to ask God to forgive sins as the priest killed an animal. This sacrifice was a special animal. The priests killed and burned it on the altar.

sin ~ when people do things against God or other people; when people do not obey the commands of God; the things that people do that are wrong or evil.
altar ~ a table, where the priests burned animals and gave other gifts as a sacrifice to God or false gods.
offering ~ a gift for God (or false gods) from the priest and people; an Israelite’s gift to God.

gods ~ gods with a small ‘g’ are all the false gods.
Israelites ~ the people of Israel; the people who speak the Hebrew language.
Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
Hebrew ~ the language of the Israelite people. A Hebrew is an Israelite person.
sin ~ when people do things against God or other people; when people do not obey the commands of God; the things that people do that are wrong or evil.
worship ~ to thank God and to give him honour, usually with other people. Often, people pray and sing as they worship God. To bend down to God or to a false god to show him honour.
idol ~ an object that people worship instead of the real God. People make idols from wood, stone or metal. An idol was usually an image of a person, animal or object. Idols are false gods.

worship ~ to thank God and to give him honour, usually with other people. Often, people pray and sing as they worship God. To bend down to God or to a false god to show him honour.
kingdom ~ the people and land that a king rules.
glory ~ the power and greatness of God.
altar ~ a table, where the priests burned animals and gave other gifts as a sacrifice to God or false gods.

sacrifice ~ to give something to God, usually an animal, grain or wine; to ask God to forgive sins as the priest killed an animal. This sacrifice was a special animal. The priests killed and burned it on the altar.
sin ~ when people do things against God or other people; when people do not obey the commands of God; the things that people do that are wrong or evil.