1 Samuel 15

Saul Spares King Agag

1 Samuel also said to Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the Lord.2 Thus says the Lord of hosts: I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt.3 Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.4 So Saul gathered the people together and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah.5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and lay in wait in the valley.6 Then Saul said to the Kenites, Go, depart, get down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed 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 attacked the Amalekites, from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt.8 He also took Agag 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, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.

Saul Rejected as King

10 Now the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying,11 I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments. And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the Lord all night.12 So when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul went to Carmel, and indeed, he set up a monument for himself; and he has gone on around, passed by, and gone down to Gilgal.13 Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, Blessed are you of the Lord! I have performed the commandment of the Lord.14 But Samuel said, What then is this bleating of the sheep in my 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 the oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.16 Then Samuel said to Saul, Be quiet! And I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night. And he said to him, Speak on.17 So Samuel said, When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel?18 Now the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the Lord?20 And Saul said to Samuel, But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.21 But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.22 So Samuel said: Has 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 heed than the fat of rams.23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.24 Then Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.26 But Samuel said to Saul, I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.27 And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore.28 So Samuel said to him, The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.30 Then he said, I have sinned; yet honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.32 Then Samuel said, Bring Agag king of the Amalekites here to me. So Agag came to him cautiously. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.33 But Samuel said, As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women. And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul.35 And Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.

1 SAMUEL 15

Saul Disobeys the [Lord]

1  t One day, Samuel told Saul:
The [Lord] told me to choose you to be king of his people, Israel. Now listen to this message from the [Lord]:

2 t “When the Israelites were on their way out of Egypt, the nation of Amalek attacked them. I am the [Lord] All-Powerful, and now I am going to make Amalek pay!

3 “Go and attack the Amalekites! Destroy them and all their possessions. Don't have any pity. Kill their men, women, children, and even their babies. Slaughter their cattle, sheep, camels, and donkeys.”
4 Saul sent messengers who told every town and village to send men to join the army at Telaim. There were 210,000 troops in all, and 10,000 of these were from Judah. Saul organized them, 5 then led them to a valley near one of the towns int Amalek, where they got ready to make a surprise attack.

6 Some Kenites lived nearby, and Saul told them, “Your people were kind to our nation when we left Egypt, and I don't want you to get killed when I wipe out the Amalekites. So stay away from them.”
The Kenites left, 7 and Saul attacked the Amalekites from Havilaht to Shur, which is just east of Egypt. 8 Every Amalekite was killed except King Agag.

9 Saul and his army let Agag live, and they also spared the best sheep and cattle. They didn't want to destroy anything of value, so they only killed the animals that were worthless or weak.t

The [Lord] Rejects Saul

11 “Saul has stopped obeying me, and I'm sorry that I made him king.”
Samuel was angry, and he cried out in prayer to the [Lord] all night.

12 Early the next morning he went to talk with Saul. Someone told him, “Saul went to Carmel, where he had a monument built so everyone would remember his victory. Then he left for Gilgal.”

13 Samuel finally caught up with Saul, t and Saul told him, “I hope the [Lord] will bless you! I have done what the [Lord] told me.”

14 “Then why,” Samuel asked, “do I hear sheep and cattle?”

15 “The army took them from the Amalekites,” Saul explained. “They kept the best sheep and cattle, so they could sacrifice them to the [Lord] your God. But we destroyed everything else.”

16 “Stop!” Samuel said. “Let me tell you what the [Lord] told me last night.”
“All right,” Saul answered.
17 Samuel continued, “You may not think you're very important, but the [Lord] chose you to be king, and you are in charge of the tribes of Israel. 18 When the [Lord] sent you on this mission, he told you to wipe out those worthless Amalekites.

19 Why didn't you listen to the [Lord]? Why did you keep the animals and make him angry?”
20 “But I did listen to the [Lord]!” Saul answered. “He sent me on a mission, and I went. I captured King Agag and destroyed his nation.

21 All the animals were going to be destroyedt anyway. That's why the army brought the best sheep and cattle to Gilgal as sacrifices to the [Lord] your God.”
22 “Tell me,” Samuel said. “Does the [Lord] really want sacrifices and offerings? No! He doesn't want your sacrifices. He wants you to obey him.

23 Rebelling against God or disobeying him because you are proud is just as bad as worshiping idols or asking them for advice. You refused to do what God told you, so God has decided that you can no longer be king.”
24 “I have sinned,” Saul admitted. “I disobeyed both you and the [Lord]. I was afraid of the army, and I listened to them instead.

25 Please forgive me and come back with me so I can worship the [Lord].”

26 “No!” Samuel replied, “You disobeyed the [Lord], and I won't go back with you. Now the [Lord] has said that you can't be king of Israel any longer.”
27  t As Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed the edge of Samuel's robe. It tore! 28 Samuel said, “The [Lord] has torn the kingdom of Israel away from you today, and he will give it to someone who is better than you.

29 Besides, the eternalt God of Israel isn't a human being. He doesn't tell lies or change his mind.”

30 Saul said, “I did sin, but please honor me in front of the leaders of the army and the people of Israel. Come back with me, so I can worship the [Lord] your God.”
31 Samuel followed Saul back, and Saul worshiped the [Lord].

32 Then Samuel shouted, “Bring me King Agag of Amalek!”
Agag came in chains, t and he was saying to himself, “Surely they won't kill me now.”t

33 But Samuel said, “Agag, you have snatched children from their mothers' arms and killed them. Now your mother will be without children.” Then Samuel chopped Agag to pieces at the place of worship in Gilgal.
34 Samuel went home to Ramah, and Saul returned to his home in Gibeah.

35 Even though Samuel felt sad about Saul, Samuel never saw him again.

The [Lord] Chooses David //To Be King