Saul and the Amalekites

In short

1 Samuel 15. The LORD tells Saul to utterly destroy the nation of Amalek. Saul had a better idea. (It was not a better idea.)

Why it is important

This is the moment when Saul’s future was snuffed out. The LORD was furious at him.

What is in this story

Heads up: it can be tricky to keep track of Samuel (the prophet) and Saul (the king), since their names are so similar.

1. Samuel has a message for Saul from God: Destroy the Amalekites (v. 2)
2. TO BE CLEAR, “devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey” (v. 3) Got it?
3. “And Saul defeated the Amalekites” (v. 7)
4. Except…
5. Saul “took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive” (v. 8)
6. Oh, and also, he saved “the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good” (v. 9)
7. Saul then has the audacity to say to Samuel, “I have performed the commandment of the LORD” (v. 13)
8. And Samuel takes him to task (vs. 14-19)
9. Saul doubles down on his story and says, Oh, but I saved all these animals to sacrifice to the LORD! (v. 21)
10. Samuel deals the final blow to Saul: “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” (v. 28)

Things that are not so well-known

• Samuel still takes these things to heart. Early in the story, “Samuel was angry, and he cried to the LORD all night” (v. 11). And at the end he would not speak to him anymore, and “Samuel grieved over Saul” (v. 35).
• Saul was so unfazed that “he set up a monument for himself” after the victory (v. 12)
• Samuel finished the job. He assassinates the enemy king (v. 33), and the king did NOT see it coming (v. 32)

Theology and doctrine

This story makes a resounding statement about God: if we do almost or even a lot of what He asks, it is still insulting to Him. Having a “good” intent isn’t enough, either.

The statement in verse 15 echoes through the ages: “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice.”