1Sa 15:3-9 | KingComments | STEP | 1 Samuel 15 is in a way the last chapter about Saul. Here the king himself is rejected after the kingdom has previously been taken from him ( ). With 1 Samuel 16 a new phase in God’s people begins, in which David is in the foreground. God does not simply push Saul aside. The kingdom may be taken away from him, but his person gets another chance. God does this by giving him a task that is easy to carry out. He must completely destroy an archenemy of Israel. Anyone who loves God and His people must hate this terrible enemy. Whoever thinks like God should not have the slightest difficulty in exercising this judgment on Amalek. God gives Saul this new, but at the same time last chance. Unfortunately, we will see that Saul fails. The task can be simple, but at the same time it is a serious one. To see the seriousness of it and to realize that the consequences of failure are serious, we need to know who Amalek is. Amalek is mentioned for the first time in Exodus 17 ( ). There he attacks Israel as soon as the people are delivered from Egypt. It is the first enemy the delivered people have to deal with. Amalek attacks God’s people at the place where they are weakest and when they are exhausted. In Amalek we can see a picture of the flesh and of satan who controls the flesh. God has announced that He will destroy Amalek ( ). But God also has patience with Amalek. In the book of Numbers, we find a second clue of the judgment on Amalek ( ). The downfall of Amalek is related there to the arrival of the great King. As a foreshadowing thereof David, and not Saul, will completely defeat Amalek. Thus will the Lord Jesus let throw the devil into the abyss and accept His reign ( ). In his farewell speech Moses recalls the extermination of Amalek ( ). In picture Moses points out that if we are weak the flesh can work easily and we will then be an easy prey for satan. Samuel comes to Saul. He first reminds Saul of his anointing. This anointing was not Samuel’s own initiative. He anointed Saul on the explicit command of the LORD. Anointing is done with a view to a service for the LORD, to which obedience to the words of God is directly linked. Samuel says directly to Saul that he must listen to the words of God. Anointing and obedience to God’s Word belong together. This also applies to us. We are anointed as well, namely with the Holy Spirit. We may be held accountable for what we are. Samuel passes on the words of the LORD Who presents Himself as the LORD of His hosts. He gave Saul command of the Israel’s hosts. He is the true King, both over all that is on earth and over the hosts and a kingdom higher than the earth. He reminds Saul of what Amalek did to Israel and how He judges that ( ). Amalek stood in Israel’s way when the people were delivered from Egypt by Him. God has a lot of patience with His enemies and those of His people, but once comes the reckoning. Now the judgment must be exercised, and that judgment must be total. Nothing but the absolute authority of God justifies this judgment. This fight will not enrich Israel: all people and animals must be killed.

‏ 1 Samuel 15:3-9

Introduction

1 Samuel 15 is in a way the last chapter about Saul. Here the king himself is rejected after the kingdom has previously been taken from him (1Sam 13:14). With 1 Samuel 16 a new phase in God’s people begins, in which David is in the foreground.

God does not simply push Saul aside. The kingdom may be taken away from him, but his person gets another chance. God does this by giving him a task that is easy to carry out. He must completely destroy an archenemy of Israel. Anyone who loves God and His people must hate this terrible enemy. Whoever thinks like God should not have the slightest difficulty in exercising this judgment on Amalek. God gives Saul this new, but at the same time last chance. Unfortunately, we will see that Saul fails.

The task can be simple, but at the same time it is a serious one. To see the seriousness of it and to realize that the consequences of failure are serious, we need to know who Amalek is. Amalek is mentioned for the first time in Exodus 17 (Exo 17:8). There he attacks Israel as soon as the people are delivered from Egypt. It is the first enemy the delivered people have to deal with. Amalek attacks God’s people at the place where they are weakest and when they are exhausted. In Amalek we can see a picture of the flesh and of satan who controls the flesh.

God has announced that He will destroy Amalek (Exo 17:14). But God also has patience with Amalek. In the book of Numbers, we find a second clue of the judgment on Amalek (Num 24:7b). The downfall of Amalek is related there to the arrival of the great King. As a foreshadowing thereof David, and not Saul, will completely defeat Amalek. Thus will the Lord Jesus let throw the devil into the abyss and accept His reign (Rev 20:1-6). In his farewell speech Moses recalls the extermination of Amalek (Deu 25:19). In picture Moses points out that if we are weak the flesh can work easily and we will then be an easy prey for satan.

The Command to Utterly Destroy Amalek

Samuel comes to Saul. He first reminds Saul of his anointing. This anointing was not Samuel’s own initiative. He anointed Saul on the explicit command of the LORD. Anointing is done with a view to a service for the LORD, to which obedience to the words of God is directly linked. Samuel says directly to Saul that he must listen to the words of God.

Anointing and obedience to God’s Word belong together. This also applies to us. We are anointed as well, namely with the Holy Spirit. We may be held accountable for what we are.

Samuel passes on the words of the LORD Who presents Himself as the LORD of His hosts. He gave Saul command of the Israel’s hosts. He is the true King, both over all that is on earth and over the hosts and a kingdom higher than the earth. He reminds Saul of what Amalek did to Israel and how He judges that (Deu 25:17-18). Amalek stood in Israel’s way when the people were delivered from Egypt by Him.

God has a lot of patience with His enemies and those of His people, but once comes the reckoning. Now the judgment must be exercised, and that judgment must be total. Nothing but the absolute authority of God justifies this judgment. This fight will not enrich Israel: all people and animals must be killed.

Saul Defeats the Amalekites

Saul is preparing for battle. It seems that he obeys the LORD. He calls the people and a large army comes up. This is something else than the six hundred men he had with him some time ago in his fight against the Philistines (1Sam 14:2). Jonathan’s victory and its results have given the people courage to go to battle again.

Saul counts them at Telaim, which means ‘lambs’. He counts them as lambs. He is not overconfident either but works with consultation. The setting of an ambush indicates this. Before attacking Amalek, he does a favor to the Kenites.

The Kenites belong to the Midianites. From there also came the father-in-law of Moses (Jdg 1:16; Num 10:29). The Kenites were associated with Israel through Moses and provided a benefit to the people in the person of Jethro. Saul acknowledges the friendliness their ancestors have shown to Israel when they came from Egypt. Jethro and his family have helped and served Israel in their journey through the wilderness (Num 10:29-31).

From this we can learn that those who come after us can benefit from our good works when we are no longer there. God is not unjust to forget even one kindness that has been shown to His people (Heb 6:10). He will reward every good deed, if it is not already on earth, then certainly in the resurrection.

Another lesson is that it is dangerous to be found in the company of God’s enemies. Here the Kenites are warned to leave. This warning is still valid today. It is our duty and our interest to depart from any company that does not put the Lord Jesus in the center, so that we do not have fellowship with the sins of that company and do not receive the plagues that come upon it (Rev 18:4). The Jews have a saying: Woe to the wicked, and woe to his neighbor.

When the Kenites departed from the Amalekites, Saul defeats Amalek. It is more a killing of convicted criminals than a war against fighting enemies. The result cannot be questionable, because the matter is fair, and the call is clear. Saul executes the LORD’s command.

Saul Spares Agag and the Best of the Cattle

Saul’s obedience is not complete. He kills all the people of Amalek, but he spares their king. The people are also disobedient, but Saul is mentioned first in not fully executing God’s command. He confirms the serious truth of Romans 8 (Rom 8:7-8) .

The best is spared. Saul and the people do not want to judge this. It is a question of their will. It is a picture of a man in the flesh who does want to deal with the worst excesses, but spares everything that seems to be good. This is a denial of the corruption of the flesh and it is disobedience to the Word of God.

No one shall condone drunkenness or fornication doctrinally. But when it comes to religious rituals and legal formalism or an unequal yoke with an unbeliever in the work of the Lord, one talks differently. All of that can be spared, on the pretext that it can be devoted to the Lord’s service.

The sin of Saul and of anyone who deals with these things in this way is giving an own interpretation of what God has said. Such interpretations are always given with an eye to one’s own desires and the desires of the people of God, while ignoring God’s explicit command.