Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Amalekites

These are descendants of Esau (Amal is Esau’s grandson).

Barbaric, evil people who had been a thorn in Israel’s side for hundreds of years, as well as the other nations around them. They were a nomadic group that were basically marauders, bandits. Think ISIS, the Taliban, or Somali pirates in our day, and you’re getting close to what they were like.

When Israel came out of Egypt, headed to the Promised Land, the Amalekites were the first ones to attack. And the day that happened…

The Lord then said to Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua: I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek under heaven.”

Exodus 17:14

Sounds like a George Strait song…

Write this down, take a little note
To remind you, in case you didn’t know
The Amalekites are evil, and they’re gonna have to go
Write this down

And now, God says, it’s time to make good on this promise.

Samuel told Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over his people Israel. Now, listen to the words of the Lord. This is what the Lord of Armies says: ‘I witnessed what the Amalekites did to the Israelites when they opposed them along the way as they were coming out of Egypt. Now go and attack the Amalekites and completely destroy everything they have. Do not spare them. Kill men and women, infants and nursing babies, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

1 Samuel 15:1–3

Let’s be honest, that’s tough to hear, isn’t it? Sounds an awful lot like genocide, like Islamic jihad. How do we make sense of this?

Grace or Genocide?

From creation to new creation, the Bible reveals a God who is holy, just, and good. And as God, He’s the One who defines what those terms mean. So we try to understand these things from a place of humility, not accusation.

Justice, Not Conquest

The judgment of the Amalekites is not Saul’s idea, not Israel’s, not Samuel’s. It’s God’s idea. But rather than just striking them dead, God uses his chosen people, Israel, as the tool in his hand to administer divine justice.

God, who is sovereign over all, sees all, knows all, including the suffering, death, and destruction these people have been having in the world. And he’s been gracious, given them a few centuries to repent, until eventually he says “Enough. Time’s up.”

Scripture is clear, He will judge every nation one day. This was their day.

Now, generally speaking, nations go to war to enrich themselves, right? That’s not always the only reason, but whether it’s spoken or not, the motivation is there somewhere in the background.

Which is why it’s important to pay attention to the specifics of what God’s telling Israel: “Destroy everything. Don’t take anything away from this. This is not you’re battle, it’s mine. You’re not to profit a single penny from this.”

What about innocent people?

Western vs Eastern idea of justice, individual vs communally.

Both are represented in Scripture as aspects of God’s justice:

Eastern, Communal

• We’re never just lone individuals. What we do affects others in our community, and what they do affects us, good or bad.

• You see it clearly in families. Children born with fetal alcohol syndrome didn’t do anything different than babies born into a healthy family. The child suffers do to the sin of the parents.

• It’s very possible—likely even—that my children may have to deal with God’s judgment on the USA during their lifetimes. Even though they didn’t do anything to cause it, they will live through the repercussions of it. Or maybe, as much as I hate to say it, maybe they WON’T live through the repercussions of it. God deals with nations.

Western, Individual

The Western, individual view of justice is also true and Biblical—ultimate justice is based on the individual.

• My kids may very well suffer through God’s judgment on the collective group of people known as Americans, but when they stand before God, it will be based on their own lives; not mine, not America’s.

• The same was true for the Amalekite children. In fact, from that perspective, they was mercy for them in God’s judgment. Had they grown up, not doubt they would’ve followed in their parents’ sadistic footsteps.

• We’re only seeing one side of justice here; don’t be duped into believing that this life is all there is.

God is not a topic to be mastered, but a Lord who commands obedience. His ways are never contradictory, but they’re ever mysterious.

J.D. Greear

Doesn’t mean we can use this logical to take out people we don’t like today. You are not God, prophecy isn’t working today the same as it did in the OT, and our King has already come.

So Saul does what the Lord commanded… sort of.

Saul and the troops spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and choice animals, as well as the young rams and the best of everything else. They were not willing to destroy them, but they did destroy all the worthless and unwanted things.

1 Samuel 15:8–9

Verse 3: “Do not spare them.”
Verse 9: “Saul and the troops spared… the best of everything else.”

“They were not willing”—too much good stuff to let it go to waste!

Now look at God’s response, verse 10:

Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, “I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned away from following me and has not carried out my instructions.” So Samuel became angry and cried out to the Lord all night.

1 Samuel 15:10–11

You may be wondering “How does God regret something?” And it’s a good question. We don’t have time to dive into the deep end on that, but I’ll just leave this as a general principle, and we can talk about it later if you have more questions:

Always let Scripture interpret Scripture. Further down in this passage, we read this:

Furthermore, the Eternal One of Israel does not lie
or change his mind, for he is not man who changes his mind.”

1 Samuel 15:29

So if both things are true (and they are!), then God’s regret is different than our regret.

Don’t forget that we are reading a story, a story that involves God, not just as an outside figure with an unchanging will, but a Person inside the story with feelings and emotions.

What’s happening here is exactly what God said would happen if the Israelites and their king did not listen to “the sound of God’s voice.” Which makes what Samuel’s about to say to Saul all the more powerful.

When Samuel came to him, Saul said, “May the Lord bless you. I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.”

Samuel replied, “Then what is this sound of sheep, goats, and cattle I hear?” [caught red handed]

Saul answered, “The troops brought them from the Amalekites and spared the best sheep, goats, and cattle in order to offer a sacrifice to the Lord your God, but the rest we destroyed.”

“Stop!” exclaimed Samuel. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”

“Tell me,” he replied.

Samuel continued, “Although you once considered yourself unimportant, haven’t you become the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel and then sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinful Amalekites. Fight against them until you have annihilated them.’ So why didn’t you obey the Lord? Why did you rush on the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?”

“But I did obey the Lord!” Saul answered. “I went on the mission the Lord gave me: I brought back King Agag of Amalek, and I completely destroyed the Amalekites. The troops took sheep, goats, and cattle from the plunder—the best of what was set apart for destruction—to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”

Then Samuel said:

Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
Look: to obey is better than sacrifice,
to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and defiance is like wickedness and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.

1 Samuel 15:13–23

Incomplete obedience is complete disobedience.

By taking the best of what the Amalekites had, not only did Saul corrupt God’s justice against them, he became just like them. King Agag was the leader of violent mauraders who pillaged other people with unprovoked attacks… and now by his disobedience, that’s exactly what Saul has done.

The people asked for “a king like the nations”… and they got exactly what they asked for.

Defiance is like divination.

Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
Look: to obey is better than sacrifice,
to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and defiance is like wickedness and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.

1 Samuel 15:22–23

Divination seeks to know what to do in a way that ignores the word and counsel of God. And that’s exactly what disobedience is based on. God says one thing, and we say, “I think I’ll consult another source of knowledge—myself! … The little wizard of my own wisdom.

John Piper

Halloween

Self-defense is self-deception.

My view of myself is about as accurate as a fun house mirror.

Paul Tripp

Self-deception is not knowing something because you don’t want to know something. Ever been there?

Conclusion

What are your sheep, your Agag? God wants you to hack them to pieces, right here, right now.

Samuel said to Saul…

“The Lord has torn the kingship of Israel away from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.

1 Samuel 15:28

We’ll meet that neighbor, that shepherd boy next week. And as we’ll see, he’s far from perfect.

King David will do some things that are, by almost anyone’s estimation, worse than anything Saul has done in this chapter. And yet God rejects Saul’s repentance and accepts David’s. Why? What’s the difference?

Have mercy on me, O God,
because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion,
blot out the stain of my sins.
Wash me clean from my guilt.
Purify me from my sin.
For I recognize my rebellion;
it haunts me day and night.
Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.
You will be proved right in what you say,
and your judgment against me is just.

Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you.

Psalms 51:1–4,10,12, NLT