1 Samuel 15
McGeeCHAPTER 15THEME: Saul’s rebellion concerning Agag; Samuel rebukes Saul
1 Samuel 15:1
SAUL’S REBELLION CONCERNING AGAGSaul’s rebellion against the command of God is revealed in this chapter. Also we see his facade in wanting Samuel’s help in covering up his sin before the people. Saul is rejected now as king, with no hope of recovery. We see Samuel’s love for Saul as he mourns for him. Why the extreme surgery in slaying the Amalekites and Agag? The answer is found in the Book of Esther. Haman, who almost succeeded in destroying the entire Jewish race, was an Amalekite. God knew the true character of this people, which was first revealed in their unprovoked and malicious attack upon Israel in the wilderness (Exo_17:8-16). As we continue our study in the life of Saul, we find that he is indeed Satan’s man. I trust we have not done him an injustice by identifying him as such. Personally I do not believe that he was ever saved, and I believe there was something of the hypocrite in the manhe pretended to be God’s man, but he never was. Also he tried to cover up his rebellion and disobedience regarding Agag. These instructions may seem extreme to you if you are not familiar with the history of Amalek. Moses, who was there when it happened, rehearsed the episode for the younger generation in Deu_25:17-19: “Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God. 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.” If these people had been permitted to live, they would probably have caused more trouble in the future than is imaginable. Apparently Saul spared some of these people, and when we come to the Book of Esther, we will get acquainted with one of them, Haman. He tried to exterminate the Hebrew nation and would have succeeded had not God intervened. When we get God’s perspective we understand His immediate action. Very candidly, since you and I are not God and are not obligated to make God’s decisions, we cannot pass judgment upon Him.
1 Samuel 15:4
We find here that Saul gathered the people together and numbered them. Then he came to a city of Amalek and warned the Kenites to leave the Amalekites before they were destroyed. The Kenites, you recall, were descendants of Moses’ father-in-law. We saw references to them in Jdg_1:16 and Jdg_4:11-17. This was an act of mercy that no pagan nation would have practiced in that day.
1 Samuel 15:7
Now up to this point Saul is being obedient.
1 Samuel 15:8
He thought, what a shame to destroy everything! So he saved Agag, who was the ruler of the Amalekites. Saul had no right to spare him any more than he had the right to spare the humblest peasant among these people. This nation was wholly given to evil, and the king, above all others, should have been destroyed and judged at this time. Neither had Saul the right to save from destruction the best of the cattle. It would appear that he made his attack for the purpose of obtaining booty and spoil, and God had forbidden that. The Israelites were bringing judgment upon the Amalekites for almighty God in this particular case.
1 Samuel 15:10
Not only did the people choose Saul, Samuel chose him also. Samuel loved Saul. He wanted him to make good as king. I think he wanted Saul, even more than David, to be successful. Now, however, God has rejected Saul, and Samuel, who is obedient to God, must execute God’s orders. Saul has not been obedient and judgment is coming.
1 Samuel 15:12
SAMUEL REBUKES SAULSaul says that he had been obedient, but notice Samuel’s retort to this.
1 Samuel 15:14
Listen to Saul as he begins to use double-talk and subterfuge in an attempt to camouflage his conduct. He had a very pious reason for sparing some of the animals. He wanted to have excellent animals to sacrifice to the Lord! This was, of course, an attempt to cover up his disobedience with pious pretense. You can find that same kind of hypocrisy in our contemporary culture. I become rather amused when it is reported that the liquor interests donate money for beautiful gardens and scenic spots for people to visit and enjoy. They always like to make it knownand the media is apparently delighted to reporthow much the liquor interests pay in taxes each year. Of course, anyone knows that the alcoholics are costing our government more than any taxes the liquor interests pay. There is the tendency to cover our evil businesses with good works. Many of God’s people try to turn their disobedience into some pious project. I am not sure but what we are all guilty of that sort of thing. When I came out of seminary and entered the ministry, I drove an old, beat-up jalopy, an old Chevrolet. As a young preacher I was satisfied with it. I was not married, and I enjoyed driving it around, although my congregation was embarrassed by it. In fact, they felt it was sort of a joke. Then I met a young lady, and I began to pray that the Lord would give me a new car. I told Him I needed a new car so that I could be more efficient in my visitation. To be honest, “more efficient visitation” did not enter into it at all. I wanted a nice car to impress this young lady! It is so easy for human beings, believers and nonbelievers, to rationalize. When Saul’s disobedience was discovered, you will notice, he tried to blame the people for what happened. He said, “The people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen.” However, the record states that it was “Saul and the people.” He was the king and the one who was responsible.
1 Samuel 15:20
Saul says that he obeyed the voice of the Lord. Notice he does not say, “My God,” or “our God,” but “thy God.” He does not take any responsibility at all for sparing the animals, yet he is the one to blame.
1 Samuel 15:22
This is one of those remarkable passages of Scripture. This is God’s rejection of Saul as king on the basis of his rebellion and disobedience to God. This is an important message for all of us who claim to be children of God. There is a great deal of this informal and friendly approach to the Lord Jesus Christ today. There are so many little songs that go something like this: “Jesus is a friend of mine.” We need to be careful how we use an approach like this to Him. When you say that Jesus is a friend of yours, what do you mean? Actually, you are trying to bring Him down to your level. If I would say that the president of the United States is a friend of mine, I would be bringing him down to my level. But suppose that the president announced that Vernon McGee is his friend.
That would bring me up to his level. When we begin to talk about Jesus as “a friend of mine,” we are not being Scriptural. The Lord said, “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you” (Joh_15:14). Are you obedient unto Him? How dare any of us call Him friend if we are not obeying Him? To disobey Him is worse than witchcraft.
It is rebellion against God. When you meet a person who is totally disobedient to the Lord, you almost have to conclude that he does not belong to the Lord at all. Now I am not saying that works enter into salvation. I am saying that if you are a child of God, if you come to the place where you know Him, you will obey Him. He also said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (Joh_14:15). I am of the opinion that if you would say to the Lord, “I don’t love you,” He would say, “Forget about My commandments.” The important thing is to be rightly related to the Lord Jesus Christ.
To be a child of God is to know Him personally. That is what makes Christianity different from any religion in the world. You can be a Buddhist without knowing Buddha. You can be a follower of Confucius without knowing him. You can be a member of any other religion without knowing the founder, but you cannot be a Christian, friend, without knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. And to know Him is life eternal.
1 Samuel 15:24
Notice the low motivation of this man. He said he was afraid of the people and so he obeyed their wishes. He wanted to please everyone. Many folks are like Saul. Lots of preachers try to please everybody. I heard about a prominent minister lately who has begun to compromise, and he says he is doing it because he wants to get along with everyone. That was Saul’s approach. It is true that he confesses that he has transgressed, but his penitence is not genuine.
1 Samuel 15:25
God made Saul king, and now He is taking the kingdom away from him because of his sin. It looks as if God has changed His mind when in reality He has not at all. It is not God who has changed, but Saul. Saul has sinned and so God must deal with him accordingly.
1 Samuel 15:30
I do not believe Saul’s repentance is genuine. Look how he is covering up his sin. He says to Samuel, “Let us go through the forms of worship together and not let the people know that I have been rejected.” He wanted to repent, but not have to pay the penalty for his disobedience. He was a hypocrite right to the end.
1 Samuel 15:32
Agag came “delicately” unto Samuel because he knew he was in trouble. And Samuel killed Agag. Now that may be strong medicine for some folk today, but my friend, our God is a God of judgment and He is going to judge wrong and evil. I am glad that God is going to judge. I don’t know about you, but I thank God that no one is getting away with evil today. There may be those, even in high places, who think they are getting away with their sin, and dishonesty, and murder, and adultery, but they are not. God is going to judge them. No one is going to get away with sin, and we need to make that very clear today. So Samuel executed the judgment of God upon this vile, wicked ruler, Agag.
1 Samuel 15:34
When the Bible says that God repented, it means that His actions look as though He changed His mind. He has not. God said all along that if Saul did not make good, He would remove him. Saul sinned, and so God removed him from his position as king. God still hates sin and will judge it. Saul was the choice of the people, and he failed. Yet Samuel mourned for him. I think Samuel loved Saul a great deal more than he loved David. He hated to see this man fail and turn aside. That is why his words to Saul were so strong and harsh; they came from a person who loved him. The words of Samuel were also coming from the heart of God. My friend, God’s love will not deter Him from judging sinners. He can love them and still execute judgment. Our God is holy and righteous and just, as well as loving.