1 Samuel 15 – Study

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: 1 Sam 15:1-11

1 Samuel said to Saul, ‘I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. 2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. 3 Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.”’

4 So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim – two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand from Judah. 5 Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine. 6 Then he said to the Kenites, ‘Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.’ So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.

7 Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt. 8 He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. 9 But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs – everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.

10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 ‘I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.’ Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the Lord all that night.

A. Find Out:

1. Why was Saul to attack the Amalekites? v.2,3
2. How far was that attack to go? v.3
3. Who and what did Saul spare? v.8,9
4. Why was the Lord grieved? v.11
5. What did Samuel feel? v.11
6. What did he do? v.11

B. Think:

1. Look back to Samuel’s words in 12:14,15. How do they apply here?
2. What sort of example does Saul set us?
3. What sort of example does Samuel set us?

C. Comment:

       The Lord sets Saul a simple and straight forward task: he is to act as God’s hand of judgement against the Amalekites, and when God judges, He judges completely! Therefore everything of the Amalekites is to be completely destroyed. The instructions are clear! So Saul and his army attack the Amalekites and destroy all the people – except the king!  And except the best of the sheep and cattle!  Why?  Perhaps Saul thought about Agag that one ought to respect and preserve “one’s equals”.  He was wrong.  Why the cattle and sheep? They were just plain greedy and saw an opportunity to benefit.

      Behind it all though, must have been the thought, “Well the Lord won’t mind” and they disdained the Lord and His commands. When the Lord tells Samuel about this (AV and RSV “repented” means “grieved and changed my mind because of his actions”), Samuel also is upset and spends the night praying, interceding for Israel, that God will have mercy (what else would he have prayed!).  Saul is a chilling warning to us of people who treat the Lord and His commands casually and think they can “adjust” them to suit themselves. They can’t!!

D. Application?

1. God’s commands are usually simple and straight forward and require simple and straight forward obedience!
2. When another fails do we say, “Serve them right!” or do we intercede for them? (see Galatians 6:1)

Passage: 1 Sam 15:12-23

12 Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, ‘Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honour and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.’

13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, ‘The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.’

14 But Samuel said, ‘What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?’

15 Saul answered, ‘The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.’

16 ‘Enough!’ Samuel said to Saul. ‘Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.’

‘Tell me,’ Saul replied.

17 Samuel said, ‘Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18 And he sent you on a mission, saying, “Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.” 19 Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?’

20 ‘But I did obey the Lord,’ Saul said. ‘I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.’

22 But Samuel replied:

‘Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
    as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
    and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
    and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
    he has rejected you as king.’

A. Find Out:

1. What had Saul done to glorify himself? v.12
2. What did Saul say he had done? v.13
3. What could Samuel hear that denied that? v.14
4. What reason did Saul give for their presence? v.15
5. How did Samuel describe Saul’s activities? v.19
6. What did Samuel say God had done? v.23

B. Think:

1. How many times did Saul profess his obedience?
2. How would you summarise his excuses?
3. What had Samuel said God really wanted?

C. Comment:

     As Samuel goes in search of Saul he first comes across a monument that Saul has set up in honour of himself. This young king is thinking too much of himself already! As soon as Samuel meets Saul, Saul comes out with the most spiritual sounding noises you could look for. Disobedient Christians so often make “spiritual noises” to justify their disobedience! Then when Samuel queries why he can hear the sound of sheep and cattle Saul justifies it by more “spirituality”! But notice it is to “sacrifice to the Lord YOUR God”, as if he’s saying, “Well I’m doing it for you as well Samuel, to please you”.

     Samuel however, is not impressed, for the man of God is not swayed by spiritual sounding words. Deep in his spirit God has spoken and he knows the truth. This is all spiritual junk and, the fact of the matter is that you, Saul, have been disobedient! Yet again Saul professes his obedience, but all that does is make Samuel come out even more strongly against what he has done.  Your disobedience is as bad as divination or idolatry because they all reject the Lord.  It’s obedience that the Lord is looking for and as He can’t have it in you, He rejects you, Saul!

D. Application?

1. Do we kid ourselves with our spiritual sounding phrases that we are doing God’s will when in fact we are being disobedient to His word?
2. Obedience is better than sacrifice!

Passage: 1 Sam 15:24-35

24 Then Saul said to Samuel, ‘I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them. 25 Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord.’

26 But Samuel said to him, ‘I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!’

27 As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28 Samuel said to him, ‘The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbours – to one better than you. 29 He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.’

30 Saul replied, ‘I have sinned. But please honour me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.’ 31 So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshipped the Lord.

32 Then Samuel said, ‘Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.’

Agag came to him in chains. And he thought, ‘Surely the bitterness of death is past.’

33 But Samuel said,

‘As your sword has made women childless,
    so will your mother be childless among women.’

And Samuel put Agag to death before the Lord at Gilgal.

34 Then Samuel left for Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. 35 Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

A. Find Out:

1. How does Saul explain his sin? v.24
2. What does he beg of Samuel? v.25
3. But what is Samuel’s reply? v.26
4. What does he further declare? v.28
5. What doesn’t God do? v.29
6. After Agag’s death what happened? v.34,35 

B. Think:

1. Why was there no point in Samuel continuing on with Saul?
2. How would you describe Samuel’s last act before leaving Saul?
3. Why do you think he mourned for Saul?

C. Comment:

    After having been challenged again and again by Samuel, Saul eventually acknowledges his sin of disobedience, but actually blames the people. Leaders have to realise that the buck stops with them and they can blame no one else! Samuel refuses Saul’s plea to return with him, for the Lord has rejected Saul and that is all there is to it. Samuel senses no desire to intercede for Saul, it is obviously a closed book with the Lord.

      Saul grabs for Samuel and as he tears his robe, Samuel prophesies accordingly: God has now torn the kingdom from you and given it to another. Then he makes a strong statement and “repent” in AV and RSV simply means “change his mind” (as in the NIV). What he means is that God doesn’t just change His mind for no good reason; He only changes it when there is repentance and clear change of heart.    

Finally, Samuel returns with Saul to worship God and then destroys Agag, to come in line with God’s will.  When he leaves it is the last time he will see Saul; it is the end of a sad and disappointing chapter.   Saul had every chance to make good, but failed! 

D. Application?

1. The buck stops with leaders. Let’s not blame others but take our failures to the Cross.
2. God’s will is clear and fixed. No repentance = no mercy.