151 Then Samuel said to Saul , " The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over His people , over Israel ; now therefore, listen to the words of the Lord . 2 "Thus says the Lord of hosts , 'I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel , how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt . 3 'Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman , child and infant , ox and sheep , camel and donkey .' " 4 Then Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim , 200,000 e foot soldiers and 10,000 e men of Judah . 5 Saul came to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the valley . 6 Saul said to the Kenites , "Go , depart , go down from among the Amalekites , so that I do not destroy you with them; for you showed kindness to all the sons of Israel when they came up from Egypt ." So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites . 7 So Saul defeated the Amalekites , from Havilah as you go to Shur , which is east e of Egypt . 8 He captured 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 , the oxen , the fatlings , the lambs , and all that was good , and were not willing to destroy them utterly ; but everything e despised and worthless , that they utterly destroyed .
10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel , saying , 11 " I regret that I have made Saul king , for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands ." And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the Lord all night . 12 Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul ; and it was told Samuel , saying , "Saul came to Carmel , and behold , he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on down to Gilgal ." 13 Samuel came to Saul , and Saul said to him, " Blessed are you of the Lord ! I have carried out the command of the Lord ." 14 But Samuel said , " What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears , and the lowing of the oxen which I hear ?" 15 Saul said , "They have brought them from the Amalekites , for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen , to sacrifice to the Lord your God ; but the rest we have utterly destroyed ." 16 Then Samuel said to Saul , "Wait , and let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night ." And he said to him, "Speak !" 17 Samuel said , "Is it not true, though you were little in your own eyes , you were made the head of the tribes of Israel ? And the Lord anointed you king over Israel , 18 and the Lord sent you on a mission , and said , ' Go and utterly destroy the sinners , the Amalekites , and fight against them until they are exterminated .' 19 "Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord , but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord ?" 20 Then Saul said to Samuel , " I did obey the voice of the Lord , and went on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek , and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites . 21 "But the people took some of the spoil , sheep and oxen , the choicest of the things devoted to destruction , to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal ." 22 Samuel said , " Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the Lord ? Behold , to obey is better than sacrifice , And to heed than the fat of rams . 23 "For rebellion is as the sin of divination , And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry . Because you have rejected the word of the Lord , He has also rejected you from being king ."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Samuel 15:1-23
Commentary on 1 Samuel 15:1-9
(Read 1 Samuel 15:1-9)
The sentence of condemnation against the Amalekites had gone forth long before, Revelation 18:4. As the commandment had been express, and a test of Saul's obedience, his conduct evidently was the effect of a proud, rebellious spirit. He destroyed only the refuse, that was good for little. That which was now destroyed was sacrificed to the justice of God.
Commentary on 1 Samuel 15:10-23
(Read 1 Samuel 15:10-23)
Repentance in God is not a change of mind, as it is in us, but a change of method. The change was in Saul; "He is turned back from following me." Hereby he made God his enemy. Samuel spent a whole night in pleading for Saul. The rejection of sinners is the grief of believers: God delights not in their death, nor should we. Saul boasts to Samuel of his obedience. Thus sinners think, by justifying themselves, to escape being judged of the Lord. The noise the cattle made, like the rust of the silver, James 5:3, witnessed against him. Many boast of obedience to the command of God; but what means then their indulgence of the flesh, their love of the world, their angry and unkind spirit, and their neglect of holy duties, which witness against them? See of what evil covetousness is the root; and see what is the sinfulness of sin, and notice that in it which above any thing else makes it evil in the sight of the Lord; it is disobedience: "Thou didst not obey the voice of the Lord." Carnal, deceitful hearts, like Saul, think to excuse themselves from God's commandments by what pleases themselves. It is hard to convince the children of disobedience. But humble, sincere, and conscientious obedience to the will of God, is more pleasing and acceptable to him than all burnt-offering and sacrifices. God is more glorified and self more denied, by obedience than by sacrifice. It is much easier to bring a bullock or lamb to be burned upon the altar, than to bring every high thought into obedience to God, and to make our will subject to his will. Those are unfit and unworthy to rule over men, who are not willing that God should rule over them.