1 Samuel 15

1 Samuel 15 (Listen)

The Lord Rejects Saul

15:1 And Samuel said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the LORD. 2 Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. 3 Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction¹ all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”

4 So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah. 5 And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. 6 Then Saul 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 people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7 And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. 8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves² and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.

10 The word of the LORD came to Samuel: 11 “I regret³ that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the LORD all night. 12 And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” 13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the LORD. I have performed the commandment of the LORD.” 14 And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the LORD your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.” 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the LORD said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.”

17 And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. 18 And the LORD sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction 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 pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the LORD?” 20 And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the LORD. I have gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.” 22 And 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 listen than the fat of rams.
23   For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
    and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
  Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
    he has also rejected you from being king.”

24 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 bow before the LORD.” 26 And 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 As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. 28 And Samuel 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 And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” 30 Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the LORD your God.” 31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul bowed before the LORD.

32 Then Samuel said, “Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him cheerfully.⁴ Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 33 And Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.

34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. 35 And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the LORD regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

(ESV)

1 Samuel 15 Commentary

In 1 Samuel 15, Samuel commanded Saul to completely destroy the Amalekites, including all people and animals (1 Samuel 15:1-3). Saul gathered his army, warned the Kenites to leave, and attacked the Amalekites. However, he spared King Agag and the best livestock while destroying everything else (1 Samuel 15:4-9). The Lord told Samuel He regretted making Saul king because he disobeyed, and Samuel cried out to the Lord all night (1 Samuel 15:10-11).

Samuel went to confront Saul but learned he was in Carmel setting up a monument for himself (1 Samuel 15:12). When Samuel found him, Saul claimed he had obeyed but said the troops spared the best animals for sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:13-15). Samuel reminded Saul that God had commanded total destruction and rebuked him for his disobedience, telling him that obedience is better than sacrifice and that rebellion is like divination (1 Samuel 15:16-23). Saul admitted he sinned because he feared the people, and he begged for forgiveness, but Samuel told him the Lord had rejected him as king (1 Samuel 15:24-26).

As Samuel turned to leave, Saul grabbed his robe and tore it. Samuel declared that the Lord had torn the kingship from him and given it to another (1 Samuel 15:27-29). Saul again pleaded for honor before the elders, and Samuel followed him back where Saul worshiped the Lord (1 Samuel 15:30-31). Samuel then had Agag brought to him and executed him before the Lord (1 Samuel 15:32-33). Samuel returned to Ramah and Saul went home to Gibeah. Samuel never saw Saul again. He mourned for Saul while the Lord regretted making him king (1 Samuel 15:34-35).

Torah Prophecy

The Amalekites came under God’s judgment because of their unprovoked attack on the Israelites as they were coming out of Egypt (Exo 17:8). In response, God declared through Moses that He would completely blot out their memory and be at war with them from generation to generation (Exo 17:14-16). Later, Balaam prophesied their eventual destruction (Num 24:20).

In Deuteronomy, God commanded Israel to remember how the Amalekites attacked the weak and weary from behind (during the Exodus) and instructed them to erase Amalek’s memory once they were established in the land (Deuteronomy 25:17-19). It would be King Saul who would receive the command to fulfill this prophecy.

“This kind of warfare, called ḥerem, was practiced only against peoples who had come under the Lord’s severest judgment (e.g., Jericho). It required the destruction of all people and possessions captured in battle. The task was a solemn and holy one since those Israelites who carried it out functioned as the Lord’s agents of judgment. The soldiers were not to profit from their assignment through the acquisition of slaves or booty; like Aaronic priests who offered up burnt offerings (ʿōlāh) to the Lord, they were to receive no compensation for their efforts other than the satisfaction of having fulfilled a divinely mandated mission.”

The New American Commentary

“Serving God”

Saul’s blunder is well documented. The narrator mentions it twice. Instead of obeying God’s command to judge the Amalekites and destroy everything, he decides to spare King Agag. Following their leader, the rest of the army decides to keep the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and choice animals. They were not willing to destroy them, but they did destroy all the worthless and unwanted things. As we find out through the rest of the narrative, God was not pleased with these decisions.

Saul’s actions invite deep reflection on the sincerity of our devotion to God. Saul’s downfall in 1 Samuel 15 wasn’t just about disobedience. That was part of it. What adds insult to injury is that Saul justifies his actions under the guise of worship. He claimed that sparing the best livestock was for sacrifice to God (1 Samuel 15:15, 21). Samuel saw right through it. Saul had prioritized his own ways over God’s clear command. He was serving himself while pretending to serve God.

Today, the same issue persists. Many claim to be doing God’s work but are actually motivated by personal ambition, pride, comfort, or human approval. Some may engage in ministry for status or financial gain, while others compromise on biblical truth to become culturally relevant. Like Saul, they may even convince themselves that their actions are righteous. But, as we see in Samuel’s response, God values obedience over outward religious acts (1 Samuel 15:22-23). True service to God requires surrender, not self-serving justifications.

“Saul’s response was very unsatisfactory. He began by laying the blame on the people, 1Sa 15:21. He pretended that the object of sparing the cattle, etc., was to sacrifice them to God-a very hypocritical excuse, 1Sa 15:22. Without any deep consciousness of sin, he lightly professed sorrow, and hoped to pacify Samuel by asking that they might kneel together in worship, 1Sa 15:25. When the old prophet refused to let him off so easily, the only thing that Saul cared for was that the elders should still honor him, 1Sa 15:30. How hardened Saul had become! This was the beginning of the sin unto death.”

F.B. Meyer

The Lord Was Grieved

God makes an incredible statement about King Saul at the end of 1 Samuel 15. To my knowledge, the only other place you see this in Scripture is in Genesis 6.

“When the LORD saw that human wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time, [6] the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and he was deeply grieved.”

Genesis 6:5-6 CSB

Just as human sin led to the downfall of creation, Saul’s continual disobedience led to the downfall of his kingship. In both situations, however, there was restoration. God used Noah (a man of faith) to repopulate the Earth just as God used David (a man of faith) to replace Saul as king. When God allows humans to inherit positions of authority within His divine plan, He holds them to a high standard. It would benefit us to soberly consider the positions He has granted each one of us and evaluate our commitment level to His ways.