1 Samuel 15

(idea) by ModernAngel (2.7 wk) (print) ? (I like it!) Sat Feb 19 2000 at 0:56:46

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15:1 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.
15:2 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.
15:3 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.
15:4 And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
15:5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.
15:6 And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
15:7 And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.
15:8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
15:9 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.
15:10 Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, 15:11 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.
15:12 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.
15:13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.
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? 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.
15:16 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.
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? 15:18 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.
15:19 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? 15:20 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.
15:21 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.
15:22 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.
15:23 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.
15:24 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.
15:25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.
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.
15:27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.
15:28 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.
15:29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.
15:30 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.
15:31 So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD.
15:32 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.
15:33 And Samuel said, As the sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.
15:34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.
15:35 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.

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Everything King James Bible:1 Samuel

(thing) by katyamatic (6.5 mon) (print) ? (I like it!) Fri Jun 29 2001 at 6:07:11

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
back to: 1 Samuel
Book: 1 Samuel
Chapter: 15

Overview:
Saul sent to destroy Amalek. (1-9) Saul excuses and commends
himself. (10-23) Saul's imperfect humiliation. (24-31) Agag Put
to Death, Samuel and Saul part. (32-35)

1-9 The sentence of condemnation against the Amalekites had
gone forth long before, Ex 17:14; De 25:19, but they had been
spared till they filled up the Measure of their sins. We are
sure that the righteous Lord does No injustice to any. The
remembering the kindness of the ancestors of the Kenites, in
favour to them, at the time God was punishing the injuries done
By the ancestors of the Amalekites, tended to clear the
Righteousness of God in this Dispensation. It is dangerous to be
found in the company of God's enemies, and it is our duty and
interest to come out from among them, lest we share in their
sins and plagues, Re 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.

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, Jas 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.

24-31 There were several signs of hypocrisy in Saul's
Repentance. 1. He besought Samuel only, and seemed most anxious
to stand right in his opinion, and to gain his favour. 2. He
excuses his fault, even when confessing it; that is never the
way of a true penitent. 3. All his care was to save his credit,
and preserve his interest in the people. Men are fickle and
alter their minds, feeble and cannot effect their purposes;
something happens they could not foresee, By which their
measures are broken; but with God it is not So. The Strength of
Israel will not Lie.

32-35 Many think the bitterness of Death is past when it is not
gone By; they Put that evil Day far from them, which is very
near. Samuel calls Agag to account for his own sins. He followed
the Example of his ancestors' cruelty, justly therefore is all
the righteous Blood shed By Amalek required. Saul seems
unconcerned at the token of God's displeasure which he lay
under, yet Samuel mourns Day and night for him. Jerusalem was
carnally secure while Christ wept over it. Do we desire to do
the whole will of God? Turn to him, not in form and appearance,
but with sincerity.

printable version
chaos

1 Samuel 16	1 Samuel 14	Atrocities in the Bible	1 Samuel 18
Donald Sutherland	Kenites	Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible	1 Corinthians 15
Agag	Abigail	Everything King James Bible	slide puzzle
1 Samuel

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