Chapter 15: Can You Be Half Obedient?
The Scriptures test us. When we read passages that go against our version of God we are brought to a crisis of belief. This text is one of those challenging and revealing chapters in the Bible.
1. Obey God’s Command (15:1-9)
15 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 destruction 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 calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.
The command of God-
3 Now go and strike Amalek and 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.’ ”
As King, Saul had only really one job…listen to and obey God. Show the people what full obedience looks like. Be an example and lead the people into similar obedience.
If the king does not obey God, then why should anyone else. Saul was a miserable example and a miserable king.
God’s command seems a bit out of place coming from God. However, the Lord has His reasons. Divine justice is a very scary place. This is exactly what was going to happen to Israel’s enemy, the Amalekites.
The most significant account of Amalek’s hostility towards Israel occurs in the Book of Exodus. After the Israelites had left Egypt and began their journey through the wilderness, they came to a place called Rephidim. It is here that Amalek attacked Israel, preying on the weak and vulnerable among them. This surprise attack is particularly poignant; scriptures indicate that Amalek targeted the stragglers at the rear of the procession, demonstrating a ruthless strategy rather than a fair fight. This ambush not only illustrates the Amalekites’ merciless nature but also emphasizes their role as an archetype of evil in biblical literature.
Deuteronomy 25:17–19 (ESV)
17 “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, 18 how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. 19 Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.
Just when Israel was at its weakest and if anything, needed aid the Amalekites attack specifically targeting the most vulnerable, the women and children.
God’s judgement of the people of Amalek is so severe that they are not to even be remembered because their sin was so great.
God had marked them for destruction and king Saul was to carry out God’s divine justice.
The text tells us a couple more important things…
Saul gathers his army and what does he usually do beforehand? Saul wants to count everyone.
4 So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah.
Remember, beloved obedience to God does not include counting or assessing the situation it involves one thing, being obedient.
Here is Saul’s great disobedience…
9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.
The complete Gospel not only includes the deliverance of God’s people but also the judgement of God’s enemies. How else would believers ever be secure unless their enemies are subdued?
This has been the prayer of God’s people throughout the centuries. The prayer of God’s suffering people.
So many of the Psalms are prayers asking God to destroy His enemies. Even the Book of Revelation we read…
Revelation 6:9–10 (ESV)
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
So here is the test for us…ready?
Which is more appalling to you, that God commanded Saul to kill everyone including women and children or that Saul refused to obey?
2. Fear of God or Fear of Man (15:10-23)
10 The word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 “I regret 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.”
God was sorry He had made Samuel King because he did not follow Him and obey His Word. That is God’s assessment of Saul. There was really only one thing Saul was to do as God’s king…obey what God told him to do. In God’s assessment, Saul failed.
Saul was only half obedient. Half obedience is really disobedience. That’s exactly what God says.
“Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.”
This really does show Saul’s heart. He is his god.
Next, we see Samuel’s confrontation of Saul. He does this in the form of three questions…
Question 1- What is this racket?
14 And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?”
Saul, you say you’ve been obedient but I hear livestock.
Question 2-
19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord?
Saul keeps affirming his obedience but it is very evident he did not fully obey God.
Saul tries to cover his tracks by declaring that he was going to sacrifice these animals to God.
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.”
Let’s think through this for a minute. God told Saul to kill everything. However, Saul brings back the choice animals and declares that he did it to sacrifice them to God as a form of worship. So, really what Saul is doing is exchanging obedience to God for formal worship.
Then this brings us to Samuel’s third question…
Question 3-
22 And Samuel said,
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Samuel’s point is that God would much more prefer Saul’s obedience that some ritual formal worship. Formal worship cannot substitute for an obedient life.
Samuel goes further to help us see the inside of what sin really is…
23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
According to Samuel, sin is rebellion, arrogance and idolatry. Saul did not listen to God because he had rejected God and so we see that God has also rejected Saul.
3. Saul’s Superficial Repentance (15:24-35)
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. 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.
In Saul’s good sounding words, there is still rebellion and disobedience.
Saul tells Saul rather than obeying God; he listened to and obeyed the people.
He wants Samuel to pardon his sin and go with him so he can bow down to God.
He asks Samuel to honor him before the people.
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.”
Saul’s superficial repentance is no repentance at all. What he is most concerned about is that he would not be dishonored before the people. He wants to maintain his honor where the people are concerned. Saul has the fear of man and no fear of God. All his worship of God is formal and not from the heart. It’s enough for Saul to bow down to God, to burn sacrifices, to go through religious motions without any heart love for God.
True repentance would have fulfilled God’s Word. What Saul should have done at that point was to confess his sin to the people as well as God. Killed all the livestock and killed the king. However, he didn’t.
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him cheerfully. 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.
Samuel leaves Saul and when God’s prophet walks away so Saul will not have God’s Word any more. The reality is it didn’t honestly matter because Saul didn’t listen anyway.
We are called to repent of sin. We are shown here what false repentance looks like. Usually, it sounds okay at first but then it shows itself for what it truly is, nothing more than I got caught and really would like to save face so I’ll say some good sounding religious words.
Resources Used:
1 Samuel by Dale Ralph Davis
1 Samuel by Tsumura
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