1 Samuel 15
15
The Lord Rejects Saul
1#1Sa 9:16; 10:1Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you to be king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore listen to the voice of the words of the Lord. 2#Dt 25:17–19; Ex 17:8–16Thus says the Lord of Hosts, ‘I remember what Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. 3#Nu 24:20; Dt 20:16–18Now go and strike Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not have compassion on them but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”
4#Jos 15:24So Saul summoned the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah. 5Then Saul came to the city of Amalek and laid an ambush in the valley. 6#Jdg 1:16; Ex 18:19Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart, go 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#Ge 16:7; 25:18Then Saul struck the Amalekites from Havilah until you come to Shur, which is near Egypt. 8#1Sa 30:1; Nu 24:7He took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9#1Sa 15:15; 15:3But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, oxen, fatlings, and lambs. And of all that was good, they were not willing to utterly destroy them. But everything that was despised and weak, that they completely destroyed.
10Then came the word of the Lord to Samuel, saying, 11#Ge 6:6; 1Sa 13:13“I regret that I have set up Saul to be king because he has turned back from following Me, and he has not carried out My words.” And it grieved Samuel, and he cried to the Lord all night.
12#Jos 15:55; 1Sa 25:2When Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, “Saul came to Carmel and set himself up a monument. Then he turned and has passed on down to Gilgal.”
13#Ge 14:19; Jdg 17:2Samuel came to Saul. And Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the Lord. I have carried out the word of the Lord.”
14Samuel said, “Then what is the sound of this flock of sheep in my ears? And the sound of the cattle which I am hearing?”
15#1Sa 15:9; 15:21And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites. For the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have utterly destroyed.”
16Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop, and I will tell you what the Lord spoke to me this night.”
And he said to him, “Speak.”
17#1Sa 9:21; 10:22Samuel said, “When you were little in your own sight, were you not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed you king over Israel? 18And the Lord sent you on a journey, and said, ‘Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are destroyed.’ 19#1Sa 14:32Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? And why did you rush upon the spoil and do evil in the sight of the Lord?”
20#1Sa 15:13And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. And I have followed in the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21#1Sa 15:15; Ex 32:22–23But the people took from the plunder sheep and oxen, the first fruits of the banned things to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
22#Hos 6:6; Jer 7:22–23; Mic 6:6–8Samuel said,
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Obedience is better than sacrifice,
a listening ear than the fat of rams.
23#1Sa 13:14 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 has also rejected you from being king.”
24#2Sa 12:13; Pr 29:25Saul 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#Ex 10:17Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.”
26#1Sa 13:14; 16:1Samuel 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.”
27As Samuel turned about to go, he seized the edge of his robe and it tore. 28#1Sa 28:17–18Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you. 29#Nu 23:19; Eze 24:14; Titus 1:2Also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent. For He is not a man, that He should repent.”
30#Jn 5:44; 12:43Then he said, “I have sinned, yet please honor me before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn back with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul worshipped the Lord.
32Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag the king of the Amalekites.”
And Agag came to him reluctantly. But Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”
33#Jdg 1:7; Ge 9:6Samuel said,
“As your sword has made women childless,
so will your mother be childless among women.”
And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.
34#1Sa 11:4Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul. 35#1Sa 15:11; 16:1Now Samuel did not see Saul up to the day of his death. But Samuel mourned for Saul and the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.
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1 Samuel 15: MEV
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Military Bible Association
1 Samuel 15
15
Saul Disobeys the LORD
1Samuel told Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king of his people Israel. Now listen to the Lord’s words. 2This is what the Lord of Armies says: I will punish Amalek for what they did to Israel. They blocked Israel’s way after the Israelites came from Egypt. 3Now go and attack Amalek. Claim everything they have for God by destroying it. Don’t spare them, but kill men and women, infants and children, cows and sheep, camels and donkeys.”
4Saul organized the troops, and he counted them at Telaim: 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men from Judah. 5Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the valley. 6Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Get away from the Amalekites so that I won’t destroy you with them. You were kind to all the Israelites when they came from Egypt.” So the Kenites left the Amalekites.
7Saul attacked the Amalekites from Havilah to Shur, east of Egypt. 8He captured King Agag of Amalek alive. But he claimed all the people for God by destroying them. 9Saul and the army spared Agag and the best sheep and cows, the fattened animals, the lambs, and all the best ⌞property⌟. The army refused to claim them for God by destroying them. But everything that was worthless and weak the army did claim for God and destroy.
The LORD Rejects Saul
10Then the Lord spoke to Samuel: 11“I regret that I made Saul king. He turned away from me and did not carry out my instructions.” Samuel was angry, and he prayed to the Lord all night. 12Early in the morning he got up to meet Saul. Samuel was told, “Saul went to Carmel to set up a monument in his honor. Then he left there and went to Gilgal.”
13Samuel came to Saul, who said, “The Lord bless you. I carried out the Lord’s instructions.”
14However, Samuel asked,
“But what is this sound of sheep in my ears
and this sound of cows that I hear?”
15Saul answered, “The army brought them from the Amalekites. They spared the best sheep and cows to sacrifice to the Lord your God. But the rest they claimed for God and destroyed.”
16“Be quiet,” Samuel told Saul, “and let me tell you what the Lord told me last night.”
“Speak,” Saul replied.
17Samuel said, “Even though you don’t consider yourself great, you were the head of Israel’s tribes. The Lord anointed you king of Israel. 18And the Lord sent you on a mission. He said, ‘Claim those sinners, the Amalekites, for me by destroying them. Wage war against them until they’re wiped out.’ 19Why didn’t you obey the Lord? Why have you taken their belongings and done what the Lord considers evil?”
20“But I did obey the Lord,” Saul told Samuel. “I went where the Lord sent me, brought ⌞back⌟ King Agag of Amalek, and claimed the Amalekites for God. 21The army took some of their belongings—the best sheep and cows were claimed for God—in order to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
22Then Samuel said,
“Is the Lord as delighted with burnt offerings and sacrifices
as he would be with your obedience?
To follow instructions is better than to sacrifice.
To obey is better than sacrificing the fat of rams.
23The sin of black magic is rebellion.
Wickedness and idolatry are arrogance.
Because you rejected the Lord’s word,
he rejects you as king.”
24Then Saul told Samuel, “I have sinned by not following the Lord’s command or your instructions. I was afraid of the people and listened to them. 25Now please forgive my sin and come back with me so that I may worship the Lord.”
26Samuel told Saul, “I will not go back with you because you rejected what the Lord told you. So the Lord rejects you as king of Israel.” 27When Samuel turned to leave, Saul grabbed the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28Samuel told him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today. He has given it to your neighbor who is better than you. 29In addition, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind, because he is not a mortal who changes his mind.”
30Saul replied, “I have sinned! Now please honor me in front of the leaders of my people and in front of Israel. Come back with me, and let me worship the Lord your God.” 31Then Samuel turned and followed Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
32“Bring me King Agag of Amalek,” Samuel said.
Agag came to him trembling.#15:32 Or “Agag came to him in shackles.” “Surely, the bitterness of death is past,” Agag said.
33But Samuel said, “As your sword made women childless, so your mother will be made childless among women.” And Samuel cut Agag in pieces in the presence of the Lord at Gilgal.
34Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went to his home at Gibeah. 35Samuel didn’t see Saul again before he died, though Samuel mourned over Saul. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king of Israel.
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