When Saul had disobeyed and Samuel by sacrificing to God instead of waiting for Samuel to come, the pronouncement to him was not that he has been rejected as king, but that his kingdom would not continue (his reign as king would not be passed down to his son).

• 1 Samuel 13:14
  But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.

There was still hope for Saul as king. And so Samuel comes to Saul again with a directive from God.

• 1 Samuel 15:1-3
  1 Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD. 2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. 3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
• God wants him to attack the Amalekites and basically wipe them out from existence. The Amalekites had been the first to war against them when they first came out from Egypt. We read about this in Exodus 17. This was the time when Moses stood on a hill and held up the rod of God. When he held it up, they would win, but if he let it down they would lose.
• This was also instruction from Moses before he passed away.
• Deuteronomy 25:19
  Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.
• Their time of probation had come to an end. God had given them enough chances to change and to repent, and He saw that any more passage of time would not help them to turn from their wicked ways.
• Since Moses spoke those words in Deuteronomy up to the time that Samuel gives this command to Saul to carry out, it had been four hundred years already.
• We must trust God in His wisdom and judgment of those whom He chooses to close probation on. Just know that God gives everyone more than enough chances to repent.

God does not delight in afflicting and punishing people.

• Isaiah 28:21
  For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.
  • It is a strange act for God to take life rather than give life.
• Ezekiel 33:11
  Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
  • God wishes for all of us to repent and turn from our wicked ways.
• Yet God is a just God. Though He does not delight in vengeance, He will, and He must, judge the wicked and those that are hardened in sin and refuse to turn from their wicked ways.
• Exodus 34:6-7
  6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
  • God is a merciful and forgiving God, yet He is also just. He does not clear the guilty unless they show the fruits of their repentance.

So now Saul goes ahead with the instruction from Samuel.

• 1 Samuel 15:7-9
  7 And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. 8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed 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 fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
• He destroyed everyone but he came short in two areas. What was it?
  • He left the king alive – king Agag.
  • And he took the best of the sheep, oxen and all the other animals.
• Remember, the direction was to destroy everything. All the people and all the animals.

While Saul was celebrating the victory and marching towards home, God was communicating with Samuel who was not in Saul’s presence at this time.

• 1 Samuel 15:10-11
  10 Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, 11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.
• God repented that he had made Saul king. And soon He was going to do something about it.
• However, look also at what God said to Samuel. He said that Saul had not performed His commandments.
• Any directive that comes from God is a commandment. This is not merely referring to the 10 commandments, but any instruction from God. He cares that we obey Him even in the little things. Little things such as destroying every person and animal and not leaving anything alive. And any transgression of His instruction shows where are hearts are and our loyalty and faithfulness to Him.
• James 4:17
  Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
• Sin is not just simply a breaking of the 10 commandments, but a disregard for anything good that we know and don’t do.
• So in the case of Saul, he had just committed sin against God.
• Samuel truly loved Saul. He cried for him the whole night. He was probably interceding for him. But his prayers would not change God’s judgment and decision against him.

1 Samuel 15:12-13
12 And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. 13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.

• So the next morning Samuel went to Saul. And when Saul met Samuel, what did he say?
• He said that he had performed the commandment of the Lord. Can you believe it?! He was so caught up in his own self-deception that he truly believed that he had done exactly as what the Lord had requested.

Immediately, Samuel answers.

• 1 Samuel 15:14
  And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
• Obviously the army had not gone to war and brought their own sheep and cows. This was clearly the animals that had been saved from the Amalekites.
• But Saul is quick to reply. What does he say?
• 1 Samuel 15:15
  And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
• Two things to take note of in Saul’s reply to Samuel.
• First, he blamed the people and charged them with the sin of disobedience. He said that it was the people that decided to spare the best sheep and oxen. We all know that if the king had told the people to destroy all the animals, no one would have dared disregard his order. Saul tried to put the blame on someone else instead of take responsibility himself for the decision. What a gutless king. Especially since it would have been under his direction that all these animals had been saved.
• Secondly, he said that they had saved the best to sacrifice to God. Though it sounded good and pious, it was not at all what the Lord had instructed. They were all meant to be destroyed. God never asked for sacrifice. And if there was to be any sacrifice to celebrate the victory, it should have come from their own flocks. So what the people were doing was not trying to glorify God with the best of their spoils, but they were selfishly trying to save their own cattle from having to be used as sacrifice.

Having heard Saul’s reply, how does Samuel respond?

• 1 Samuel 15:16-19
  16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. 17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? 18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. 19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?
• Samuel comes out and reiterates the command to destroy the Amalekites until they were consumed and then asks a strong question. Why did he not obey the voice of God?
• Look at Saul’s reply.
• 1 Samuel 15:20-21
  20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.
• Saul, obstinate in his course of action, replied stubbornly saying that he had obeyed the voice of God. But his own words condemned him. He had saved king Agag alive, which was not at all the Lord’s instruction.
• And again he tries to blame the people. They were the ones, he says, that wanted to save the animals alive and sacrifice them to God.
• Saul was so blind to his actions, that even when Samuel confronted him he was still not willing to admit his fault. But nonetheless, God’s repentance had already fostered a decision and judgment.

1 Samuel 15:22-23
22 And Samuel said, Hath 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 hearken than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

• First, Samuel reminds Saul that obedience is better than sacrifice. God wanted Saul to obey His instruction – destroy everything, both humans and animals. God didn’t care that they were reserving the very best of the animals to sacrifice to Him. They might have been the most perfect animals on earth, it didn’t matter to God. He wanted obedience first.
• So it was with Cain and Abel as well. Both of them worshipped at the same altar. Both sacrificed to God. But Cain brought fruit while Abel brought a blood sacrifice. God rejected Cain’s because it wasn’t according to His specification. Maybe Cain brought the sweetest fruit, the first fruits, the best of all his crop, but it didn’t matter. God had requested a blood sacrifice. To obey is better than any sacrifice!
• God doesn’t care that we might weep and cry and pray all night for our sins. If we were obedient, we wouldn’t have to confess our sins. We wouldn’t have to seek for repentance and forgiveness. God always treasures obedience over sacrifice.
• Saul thought that saving the best of the animals would outweigh his disobedience to God’s instruction. He acted as though he knew better than God.
• So Samuel sternly uttered God’s judgment. Saul had proven that he was not worthy of the position that God had placed him in and that he had been rejected from being king.

Upon hearing this denunciation, how did Saul react?

• 1 Samuel 15:24-25
  24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.
• Hard hearted and stubborn all this time. But finally when he hears that he would no longer be king, his eyes are opened. He is now willing to humble himself. But it is too late.
• Was Saul really repentant of his sin?
• He finally admits that he has transgressed the commandment of God. But yet in his words we can still sense there a lack of humility. He says that he feared the people and obeyed their voice – still trying to find an excuse for his disobedience. He made it sound like he was pressured into saving all the animals.
• He cries to Samuel to pray for his sin to be pardoned. But he is not truly repentant. How do we know? He has a shallow repentance because he realizes what he has lost – his kingship.
• If Saul would have truly repented he would have made a public confession of his sin in front of his whole army. But instead he wanted Samuel to worship the Lord with him so that he could appear before the people that God was with him since Samuel was worshipping with them. He cared more for his own kingship than for the actual wrong that he had done.

How does Samuel respond?

• 1 Samuel 15:26
  And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.
• Samuel gives God’s judgment to Saul. God has rejected Saul from being king over Israel.
• And upon hearing this, how does Saul react?
• 1 Samuel 15:27-29
  27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. 28 And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. 29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.
• Saul tried to restrain Samuel from leaving, but in doing so, part of his garment was ripped away from him. Samuel used it as an example as to how the kingdom of Israel would be ripped away from Saul. And just to confirm his words he said that the Strength of Israel (referring to God) would not lie or repent.
• God had made up His mind. Saul would no longer be king and the kingdom would not remain in the family. God would not repent. He would not change His mind about this matter at all!

Even in the midst of this judgment, look at what Saul is thinking. Look at how he reacts.

• 1 Samuel 15:30-31
  30 Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God. 31 So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD.
• He just wanted honour from Samuel. He wanted Samuel to approve his actions and congratulate him for what he had done. Somehow, Saul knew that Samuel’s influence reached much further than his alone. That the people still looked up to Samuel much more than they did to him as their king. They ahd much more confidence in Samuel as a leader than king Saul. So Saul was seeking for honour from the prophet so that people would still follow him.
• So Samuel yielded to the kings request. And worshipped the Lord with King Saul.

However, Samuel had one last thing to do.

• 1 Samuel 15:32-33
  32 Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. 33 And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.
• Samuel had to finish the work of God that Saul had left undone. He brought judgment on king Agag of the Amalekites.
• But there was another purpose for Samuel to do this. Even though he had stayed back at the request of Saul to worship God with him and it seemed like he was standing with Saul, this act also showed Samuel’s and God’s disapproval of leaving king Agag alive. It served as a public rebuke to king Saul for disobeying the command of God.

1 Samuel 15:34-35
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul. 35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.

• Samuel would never see Saul again. But Samuel will still mourn over Saul because of the Lord’s decision to reject him as king.

Why was Saul rejected?

• Because of his disobedience. Because he thought he knew better than God. Because he thought that he was wiser than God.
• That why Samuel said this to Saul earlier.
• 1 Samuel 15:17
  And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?
• When Saul first started as king, he was humble. He was small in his own sight. He relied heavily on God.
• But as God gave him the victories and strengthened his kingdom, Saul got proud. He began to let go his hold on God. He thought he was wiser than God.
• That’s what pride does. It makes us puffed up and gives a high estimation of ourselves and a low estimation of others. And in this case, it gave a low estimation of God and His commands.
• Saul got to the point where he thought he was wiser than God Himself.

So today we must be reminded to continually have a humble estimation of ourselves. To not allow pride to get to our heads just because God has given us a certain level of success. We must never let riches or gains or rewards change us, to make us unfaithful to God Who is the giver of all the blessings.

To obey is always better than sacrifice. Let us be careful to follow God in every little situation and every little command. Even if we think it is better. Even if the research of the world seems to contradict God’s word. Let us be true and faithful and to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.