Worthy.Bible » STRONG » 1 Samuel » Chapter 15 » Verse 8-20

1 Samuel 15:8-20 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

8 And he took H8610 Agag H90 the king H4428 of the Amalekites H6002 alive, H2416 and utterly destroyed H2763 all the people H5971 with the edge H6310 of the sword. H2719

9 But Saul H7586 and the people H5971 spared H2550 Agag, H90 and the best H4315 of the sheep, H6629 and of the oxen, H1241 and of the fatlings, H4932 and the lambs, H3733 and all that was good, H2896 and would H14 not utterly destroy H2763 them: but every thing H4399 that was vile H5240 and refuse, H4549 that they destroyed utterly. H2763

10 Then came the word H1697 of the LORD H3068 unto Samuel, H8050 saying, H559

11 It repenteth H5162 me that I have set up H4427 Saul H7586 to be king: H4428 for he is turned back H7725 from following H310 me, and hath not performed H6965 my commandments. H1697 And it grieved H2734 Samuel; H8050 and he cried H2199 unto the LORD H3068 all night. H3915

12 And when Samuel H8050 rose early H7925 to meet H7125 Saul H7586 in the morning, H1242 it was told H5046 Samuel, H8050 saying, H559 Saul H7586 came H935 to Carmel, H3760 and, behold, he set him up H5324 a place, H3027 and is gone about, H5437 and passed on, H5674 and gone down H3381 to Gilgal. H1537

13 And Samuel H8050 came H935 to Saul: H7586 and Saul H7586 said H559 unto him, Blessed H1288 be thou of the LORD: H3068 I have performed H6965 the commandment H1697 of the LORD. H3068

14 And Samuel H8050 said, H559 What meaneth then this bleating H6963 of the sheep H6629 in mine ears, H241 and the lowing H6963 of the oxen H1241 which I hear? H8085

15 And Saul H7586 said, H559 They have brought H935 them from the Amalekites: H6003 for the people H5971 spared H2550 the best H4315 of the sheep H6629 and of the oxen, H1241 to sacrifice H2076 unto the LORD H3068 thy God; H430 and the rest H3498 we have utterly destroyed. H2763

16 Then Samuel H8050 said H559 unto Saul, H7586 Stay, H7503 and I will tell H5046 thee what the LORD H3068 hath said H1696 to me this night. H3915 And he said H559 unto him, Say on. H1696

17 And Samuel H8050 said, H559 When thou wast little H6996 in thine own sight, H5869 wast thou not made the head H7218 of the tribes H7626 of Israel, H3478 and the LORD H3068 anointed H4886 thee king H4428 over Israel? H3478

18 And the LORD H3068 sent H7971 thee on a journey, H1870 and said, H559 Go H3212 and utterly destroy H2763 the sinners H2400 the Amalekites, H6002 and fight H3898 against them until they be consumed. H3615

19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey H8085 the voice H6963 of the LORD, H3068 but didst fly H5860 upon the spoil, H7998 and didst H6213 evil H7451 in the sight H5869 of the LORD? H3068

20 And Saul H7586 said H559 unto Samuel, H8050 Yea, I have obeyed H8085 the voice H6963 of the LORD, H3068 and have gone H3212 the way H1870 which the LORD H3068 sent H7971 me, and have brought H935 Agag H90 the king H4428 of Amalek, H6002 and have utterly destroyed H2763 the Amalekites. H6002

Commentary on 1 Samuel 15 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible


CHAPTER 15

1Sa 15:1-6. Saul Sent to Destroy Amalek.

1. Samuel also said unto Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee …: now therefore hearken thou unto … the Lord—Several years had been passed in successful military operations against troublesome neighbors. During these Saul had been left to act in a great measure at his own discretion as an independent prince. Now a second test is proposed of his possessing the character of a theocratic monarch in Israel; and in announcing the duty required of him, Samuel brought before him his official station as the Lord's vicegerent, and the peculiar obligation under which he was laid to act in that capacity. He had formerly done wrong, for which a severe rebuke and threatening were administered to him (1Sa 13:13, 14). Now an opportunity was afforded him of retrieving that error by an exact obedience to the divine command.

2, 3. Amalek—the powerful tribe which inhabited the country immediately to the eastward of the northern Cushites. Their territory extended over the whole of the eastern portion of the desert of Sinai to Rephidim—the earliest opponent (De 25:18; Ex 17:8-16)—the hereditary and restless enemy of Israel (Nu 14:45; Jud 3:13; 6:3), and who had not repented (1Sa 14:48) of their bitter and sleepless hatred during the five hundred years that had elapsed since their doom was pronounced. Being a people of nomadic habits, they were as plundering and dangerous as the Bedouin Arabs, particularly to the southern tribes. The national interest required, and God, as King of Israel, decreed that this public enemy should be removed. Their destruction was to be without reservation or exception.

I remember—I am reminded of what Amalek did—perhaps by the still remaining trophy or memorial erected by Moses (Ex 17:15, 16).

4. Saul gathered the people together—The alacrity with which he entered on the necessary preparations for the expedition gave a fair, but delusive promise of faithfulness in its execution.

Telaim—or Telem, among the uttermost cities of the tribe of Judah towards the coast of Edom (Jos 15:21, 24).

5. Saul came to a city of Amalek—probably their capital.

laid wait in the valley—following the strategic policy of Joshua at Ai (Jos 8:4).

6. Kenites—(See on Jud 1:16). In consequence, probably, of the unsettled state of Judah, they seem to have returned to their old desert tracts. Though now intermingled with the Amalekites, they were not implicated in the offenses of that wicked race; but for the sake of their ancestors, between whom and those of Israel there had been a league of amity, a timely warning was afforded them to remove from the scene of danger.

1Sa 15:7-9. He Spares Agag and the Best of the Spoil.

7-9. Saul smote the Amalekites—His own view of the proper and expedient course to follow was his rule, not the command of God.

8, 9. he took Agag … alive—This was the common title of the Amalekite kings. He had no scruple about the apparent cruelty of it, for he made fierce and indiscriminate havoc of the people. But he spared Agag, probably to enjoy the glory of displaying so distinguished a captive, and, in like manner, the most valuable portions of the booty, as the cattle. By this wilful and partial obedience to a positive command [1Sa 15:3], complying with it in some parts and violating it in others, as suited his own taste and humor, Saul showed his selfish, arbitrary temper, and his love of despotic power, and his utter unfitness to perform the duties of a delegated king in Israel.

1Sa 15:10, 11. God Rejects His for Disobedience.

10, 11. Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying, It repenteth me that I have set up Saul—Repentance is attributed in Scripture to Him when bad men give Him cause to alter His course and method of procedure, and to treat them as if He did "repent" of kindness shown. To the heart of a man like Samuel, who was above all envious considerations, and really attached to the king, so painful an announcement moved all his pity and led him to pass a sleepless night of earnest intercession.

12. Saul came to Carmel—in the south of Judah (Jos 15:55; 1Sa 25:2).

he set him up a place—that is, a pillar (2Sa 18:18); literally, a hand, indicating that whatever was the form of the monument, it was surmounted, according to the ancient fashion, by the figure of a hand, the symbol of power and energy. The erection of this vainglorious trophy was an additional act of disobedience. His pride had overborne his sense of duty in first raising this monument to his own honor, and then going to Gilgal to offer sacrifice to God.

13-23. Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord—Saul was either blinded by a partial and delusive self-love, or he was, in his declaration to Samuel, acting the part of a bold and artful hypocrite. He professed to have fulfilled the divine command, and that the blame of any defects in the execution lay with the people. Samuel saw the real state of the case, and in discharge of the commission he had received before setting out, proceeded to denounce his conduct as characterized by pride, rebellion, and obstinate disobedience. When Saul persisted in declaring that he had obeyed, alleging that the animals, whose bleating was heard, had been reserved for a liberal sacrifice of thanksgiving to God, his shuffling, prevaricating answer called forth a stern rebuke from the prophet. It well deserved it—for the destination of the spoil to the altar was a flimsy pretext—a gross deception, an attempt to conceal the selfishness of the original motive under the cloak of religious zeal and gratitude.

24-26. I have sinned … turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord—The erring, but proud and obstinate monarch was now humbled. He was conscience-smitten for the moment, but his confession proceeded not from sincere repentance, but from a sense of danger and desire of averting the sentence denounced against him. For the sake of public appearance, he besought Samuel not to allow their serious differences to transpire, but to join with him in a public act of worship. Under the influence of his painfully agitated feelings, he designed to offer sacrifice, partly to express his gratitude for the recent victory, and partly to implore mercy and a reversal of his doom. It was, from another angle, a politic scheme, that Samuel might be betrayed into a countenancing of his design in reserving the cattle for sacrificing. Samuel declined to accompany him.

I feared the people, and obeyed their voice—This was a different reason from the former he had assigned. It was the language of a man driven to extremities, and even had it been true, the principles expounded by Samuel showed that it could have been no extenuation of the offense. The prophet then pronounced the irreversible sentence of the rejection of Saul and his family. He was judicially cut off for his disobedience.

27, 28. he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle—the moil, upper tunic, official robe. In an agony of mental excitement, he took hold of the prophet's dress to detain him; the rending of the mantle [1Sa 15:27] was adroitly pointed to as a significant and mystical representation of his severance from the throne.

29. the Strength of Israel will not lie—Hebrew, "He that gives a victory to Israel," a further rebuke of his pride in rearing the Carmel trophy, and an intimation that no loss would be sustained in Israel by his rejection.

31. Samuel turned again after Saul—not to worship along with him; but first, that the people might have no ground, on pretense of Saul's rejection, to withdraw their allegiance from him; and secondly, to compensate for Saul's error, by executing God's judgment upon Agag.

32. Agag came unto him delicately—or cheerfully, since he had gained the favor and protection of the king.

33. Samuel hewed Agag—This cruel tyrant met the retribution of a righteous Providence. Never has it been unusual for great or official personages in the East to perform executions with their own hands. Samuel did it "before the Lord" in Gilgal, appointing that same mode of punishment (hitherto unknown in Israel) to be used towards him, which he had formerly used towards others.