1Sa 15:9-11 | KingComments | STEP | 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 ( ) . 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.

‏ 1 Samuel 15:9-11

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.

The Regret of the LORD

Then comes the word of the LORD to Samuel. The LORD tells Samuel of Saul’s disobedience and what is the consequence thereof. He decides to reject Saul and announces this to Samuel. The LORD says that He regrets that He has made Saul king.

If God regrets anything, it is not because He must come back to a wrong decision made by Him. Regret in God is not what it is in us. In us it is a change of meaning and will, but with Him it is a change in His method. He does not change His will, but He wants a change. His regret is not the result of an act of Himself, but of man’s actions. God’s regret shows that He is deeply sad about what man has done with what He has given him, not about what He Himself has done. He never needs to revoke anything (1Sam 15:29). Although God knows everything in advance, including the evil that will happen, He is full of sadness when that evil happens.

Samuel’s reaction to what the LORD tells him shows that he is a true man of God. He gets angry with Saul and at the same time he calls to God all night for this one man. Anger and grief can go together, as we read of the Lord Jesus (Mk 3:5a). There is anger about sin and grief about the sinner. Samuel is the great praying man, who has said that he will not cease to pray for the people (1Sam 12:23). His calling to God indicates a deep inner involvement and a great movement of mind.