Saul is rash, he is courageous and a man of war, but not wise in his words or actions and also swayed by the influence of those around him. Saul returns from battle with the Amalekites saying he has done the Lords will but he has king Agag as a prisoner. Samuel must now do what Saul could not in 1 Samuel 15:33 Samuel said, “Just as your sword bereaved women, so will your mother be bereaved among women!” Then Samuel hacked Agag to pieces in the presence of Yahweh at Gilgal”. And now, Saul has lost his position in 1 Samuel 15:23 “Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh, he has rejected you from being king!”. Samuel is sent to Bethlehem, but the elders of the city are afraid, what has Samuel come to do? He has come to sacrifice to the Lord and to anoint the next king, David.
You Will Certainly Die Today
1 Samuel 14:44-52
Saul had decreed that no one eats on their day of battle with the Philistines, but Jonathan his son didn’t hear this command and he ate some honey. As Saul was preparing the army to fight again, they went to inquire of the Lord and in
1 Samuel 14:37 So Saul inquired of God, “Should I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?” But he did not answer him on that day.
Saul took this as the Lord saying there was sin in the camp. Saul cast lots to find the guilty party and the lot fell on Jonathan. “These verses tell us almost all we know about the way the sacred lot operated. Two possible answers, ‘yes’ and ‘no’, could be given by the two counters, which, as verse 37 shows, could also indicate ‘no answer’. The counters were kept in the breastplate of judgment worn by the high priest, which was attached to the ephod (Exod. 28:30), and were named Urim and Thummim1
This oath spoken by Saul was binding on all even those that had not heard because Saul spoke it before the Lord. And Saul continues to hold all accountable before the Lord in
1 Samuel 14:44 Then Saul said, “So may God do to me and more, you will certainly die today, Jonathan!”
but the army protests in
1 Samuel 14:45 “As Yahweh lives, not a hair from his head will fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.”
Saul acted rashly in requiring this oath, then does not consider the value even of his son Jonathan who had initiated the battle they had just won. Reading here, we find a powerful leader in
1 Samuel 14:47 So Saul took the kingship over Israel, and he fought all around against his enemies, against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. He inflicted punishment against all who rebelled.
but though Saul was a man of war, he did not make wise decisions.
Yahweh Sent Me to Anoint You as King
1 Samuel 15:1-9
I Have Kept the Word of Yahweh
To Obey is Better Than Sacrifice
1 Samuel 15:18-26
Samuel reminds Saul that the Lord had given him specific instructions in
1 Samuel 15:18 When Yahweh sent you on your way, he said to you: ‘Go! You must utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and you must fight against them until you have destroyed them.’
These were not the usual rules of engagement, the Lord had said to utterly destroy the Amalekites so now Samuel asks, in
1 Samuel 15:19 Why did you not listen to the voice of Yahweh and fall with shouting on the plunder? You have done evil in the sight of Yahweh!”
Under the normal rules, the armies would take the best of the animals, gold, silver, even people as slaves and Saul is quick to defend himself by first saying “the troops took plunder” and then adding “to sacrifice to Yahweh your God” in 1 Samuel 15:21. But Samuel knows what happened and responds in 1 Samuel 15:22 “To obey is better than sacrifice” and in
1 Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination; arrogance is like iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh, he has rejected you from being king!”
Now it is too late, but now it finally comes out of Saul’s mouth, he feared his men more than he feared God in
1 Samuel 15:24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned because I have transgressed the commandment of Yahweh and your words, for I feared the troops and I listened to their voice.
Yahweh Has Torn the Kingdom of Israel From You Today
Have You Come in Peace
1 Samuel 16:1-7
These have been tense times between Samuel. Saul returns from battle with the Amalekites saying in
1 Samuel 15:20 “I have listened to the voice of Yahweh, and I have gone on the way that Yahweh sent me!”
But Saul was disobedient to the Lord’s command and brought King Agag as a prisoner before Samuel. So, Samuel, by his own hand, killed Agag, King of the Amorites. Now, when the Lord sends Samuel to anoint a new king, the people are afraid in
1 Samuel 16:4 So Samuel did what Yahweh said. He came to Bethlehem, and the elders of the city came trembling to meet him. They said, “Have you come in peace?”
Samuel assures them that he has come in peace and as the Lord instructed in 1 Samuel 16:2, he has not come empty handed but has brought a heifer with him so now he invites the elders, Jesse, and his sons to join the sacrifice in 1 Samuel 16:5. This sacrifice was to commemorate the anointing of David as king but also as a meal for those involved as in Genesis 31:54.
Arise, Anoint Him, For This is He
1 Samuel 16:8-13
Study Verses
- 1 Samuel 14:44-52 You Will Certainly Die Today
- 1 Samuel 15:18-26 To Obey is Better Than Sacrifice
- 1 Samuel 16:1-7 Have You Come in Peace
Today’s Reading
- 1 Samuel 14:44-52
- 1 Samuel 15:1-35
- 1 Samuel 16:1-13
References
- 1. Baldwin, J. G. (1988). 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 8, p. 118). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.