Summary: Samuel commands Saul to completely destroy the Amalekites due to their past hostility towards Israel during their exodus from Egypt (Ex. 17:14-16; Deut. 25:17-19). God explicitly instructs Saul to eradicate the entire Amalekite society. The Kenites, who showed kindness to Israel during their journey from Egypt, are spared (v.6). However, when Saul engages the Amalekites in battle, he spares King Agag and the valuable plunder (vv.7-9). This disobedience disappoints God, leading Him to regret making Saul king.
Saul believes he has fulfilled God’s command (v.13), justifying his actions by claiming that the plunder was intended for God (v.15). He argues with Samuel, insisting he followed God’s instructions (vv.20-21). Samuel emphasizes that obedience is the higher command, more significant than sacrifices (v.22). Saul’s failure marks a turning point in his kingship. Eventually, he admits his sin (v.24), influenced by a desire to please people (v.25). When Saul hesitates, Samuel executes King Agag (v.33).
This passage underscores the authority of prophets over kings in Israel. Unlike other cultures where kings are supreme, in Israel, the king is subordinate to God’s will (“Lex Rex versus Rex Lex”).
(15:1) Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the LORD sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the LORD.”
Samuel reminds Saul of where he received his kingship from: God. Now, he urges him to listen to God’s words.
(15:2) “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt.”
The Amalekites had been brutal to the Israelites as they escaped from Egypt (Ex. 17:8-16; Num. 24:20; Deut. 25:17-19).
(15:3) “Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”
Samuel uses the term “totally destroy” (ḥāram) throughout this text. This is divine judgment on the Amalekites for what they did to Israel (Ex. 17:8-16; Num. 24:20; Deut. 25:17-19).
(15:4-5) So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim—two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand from Judah. 5 Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine.
Saul starts off well, summoning his army and ambushing the Amalekites. The large number of soldiers could be mentioned in order to show that Saul had no excuse for failing to fulfill the command.[]
(15:6) Then he said to the Kenites, “Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.
This corporate capital punishment was discriminating based on what these people did. The Amalekites were judged for their cruelty, but the Kenites were spared for their “kindness.”
(15:7-9) Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt. 8 He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. 9 But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.
“Havilah to Shur.” This was all Ishmaelite territory, stretching from Arabia to Egypt.[]
Youngblood understands this language (“totally destroyed all…”) to be hyperbolic: “The description of the total destruction of ‘all’ the people (v.8) is hyperbolic, since the Amalekites as a whole survived to fight again (cf. 30:1).”[] For more on this subject, see our earlier article “What about the Canaanite Genocide?”
“Saul and the army spared… the best of the sheep and cattle.” Samuel killed the people and spared the livestock for his own personal advantage. Baldwin comments, “The Amalekite people were dispensable, but it was a pity to destroy excellent stock!”[]
Saul was unwilling to execute Agag, the king, and he wanted to profit off of this war by taking the good sheep and cattle. God wanted the Amalekites to be judged, but they decided to pick and choose what they believed to be valuable.
(15:10-11) Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel: “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the LORD all that night.
(1 Sam. 15:11) Does God have regrets? (cf. Gen. 6:6) In this same chapter, we read that God “will not lie or change his mind” (v.29). Instead, the word “regret” (nāḥam) can be translated as “consoling himself” (Gen. 27:42). The root word reflects the idea of “breathing or sighing, deeply,” and it “suggests a physical display of one’s feelings—sorrow, compassion or comfort.”[] This word is used for God in a number of instances (Ex. 32:14; 1 Sam. 15:11; Jer. 26:3). This passage is not addressing the intellectual knowledge of God; it is describing his “emotional pain.”[]
“He has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Turning away from God’s word is to turn away from God himself.
Why was Samuel crying out to God all night long? Surely, Samuel cried out to God for many reasons. Baldwin[] thinks that Samuel’s “theology being put in question.” Samuel knew God doesn’t change his mind (v.29), and yet, God was removing Saul from leadership. Perhaps, this is why Samuel talked to God all night long. In addition, Samuel was worried about the state of the nation of Israel. With Saul removed from leadership, Samuel knew that the nation would fall. Finally, Samuel was personally saddened by the whole situation, and this was an emotional cry of the heart. The final verse of this chapter gives us insight: “Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him” (v.35).
(15:12) Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.”
“He has set up a monument in his own honor.” Saul didn’t set up an altar to God—but to himself!
(15:13) When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.”
Saul knew that he had sinned (v.20, 24). He must be keeping up appearances by speaking to Samuel with such sweet words, trying to appear as if everything is just fine.
Saul also refers to the “command” (singular, NASB) of the Lord, which might be a subtle way of him trying to cover himself. He carried out part of God’s “commands” (plural), but not all of them.[]
(15:14) But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”
This is a pretty funny way of challenging Saul’s claim to be faithful. If Saul had really carried out the commands of the Lord, then why is Samuel hearing all of the animals?
(15:15) Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”
“They spared [them] to sacrifice to the LORD.” This is another lie: They weren’t sparing them for the Lord, but for themselves. Later, we learn that Saul gave into the pressure of the people (v.24).
“The Lord your God.” This is a subtle shift. Saul is realizing that he is on the wrong side of the theological fence. Baldwin writes, “The little word ‘your’ speaks volumes about Saul, who does not speak of ‘our God.’”[]
(15:16) “Enough!” Samuel said to Saul. “Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night.”
“Tell me,” Saul replied.
“Enough” is literally translated “stop” or “be still.”[] Samuel is done hearing Saul’s excuses. In a sense, Samuel is saying, “Quiet! It’s my turn to talk.” To be more accurate, as a prophet, Samuel tells Saul that it’s God’s turn to talk.
(15:17-19) Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. 18 And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.’ 19 Why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the LORD?”
“Did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel?” Saul blames the people for what happened, but Samuel blames Saul. After all, wasn’t Saul the king?[]
Samuel reminds Saul that he was a nobody until God anointed him. But now, Saul thought he could call the shots, disobeying God’s will.
(15:20-21) “But I did obey the LORD,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the LORD assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”
Saul is living in denial and trying to blame shift what happened. He’s still sticking with the story that he had good religious motives (i.e. having more sacrifices for the Lord). But Saul gives himself away again: “In order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God.” Bergen comments, “Saul’s sin was the sin of Achan, who had also spared the choicest of ḥerem plunder from destruction (cf. Josh 7:21). Achan and his family died for his sin; Saul’s sin would bring him misery and death and would cause his family’s loss of kingship.”[]
(15:22) But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”
Rebelling against God cannot be covered up by religious rituals.
See comments on “Common Jewish Objections to Jesus” under “Are blood sacrifices important for atonement and forgiveness?”
(15:23) For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.”
Rebellion to authority is on par with occult worship (cf. Deut. 18:10). Youngblood makes an interesting observation: “For the sake of clarity in English, the NIV has transformed the metaphors of v.23a into similes. In neither line is ‘like’ represented in the Hebrew text, which is thus all the more blunt.”[] Samuel is making a direct connect—not a simile.
At the end of Saul’s life, he quite literally falls into the “sin of divination” by visiting the witch at Endor (1 Sam. 28). This is how sin operates in our lives. When we disagree with God in one area, the same logic leads us to disobey in areas we never imagined.
(15:24) Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the LORD’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them.”
Saul’s repentance is not dissimilar to Pharaoh’s “repentance” in the Exodus (Ex. 10:16-17). Saul was “afraid of the men.” We should fear God—not people. Solomon writes, “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe” (Prov. 29:25).
(15:25-26) “Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD.”
26 But Samuel said to him, “I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you as king over Israel!”
Like Hophni and Phineas, God’s judgment was irreversible.
(15:27-28) As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28 Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you.”
When Saul later falls into the sin of divination, Samuel repeats this judgment, telling him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David” (1 Sam. 28:17).
(15:29) “He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.”
God won’t change his judgment toward Saul. Later, in the Psalms, God won’t revoke his blessing toward David: “But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him, nor deal falsely in My faithfulness… Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David” (Ps. 89:33, 35 NASB).
(15:30-31) Saul replied, “I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD your God.” 31 So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the LORD.
“Please honor me before the elders.” The nation was falling apart, and all Saul could think about was looking good in front of the elders and the nation. Saul was “unwilling to lose face and wants Samuel’s presence in order to make it appear as if nothing has happened.”[] Samuel agrees to follow him home—whereas, earlier, Samuel refused to do so (v.26). As we read the rest of the text (vv.32-35), Samuel and Saul actually split ways.
Again, Saul refers to the Lord as “your God.” This is the third time that Saul notes that God was no longer with him.
(15:32-33) Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.” Agag came to him in chains. And he thought, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 33 But Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so will your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel put Agag to death before the LORD at Gilgal.
Agag must have thought that his life would be spared. After all, if the Israelites were going to kill him, they would’ve done it by now. He was dead wrong! The language (šāsap) “seems to suggest that Agag was cut to pieces.”[]
As far as we know, Samuel never killed anyone. But he was willing to fulfill the orders that he himself gave to Saul (v.3).
(15:34) Then Samuel left for Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul.
Samuel and Saul split ways. Ramah and Gibeah were only 10 miles away, but Saul and Samuel never saw each other again.
(15:35) Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the LORD regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.
The term “mourned” (ʾbl) is the term for mourning over a dead person.[] In Samuel’s mind, Saul was “as good as dead.” Even though Samuel loved Saul, he loved God’s word more. God announced the destruction of Saul’s kingdom, and the rest of the book describes how God would bring this to fruition.
Samuel followed through with God’s word—even though it deeply troubled and grieved him. Sometimes, God will call on us to speak a hard word—even if it grieves us to do so (2 Cor. 7:8-9). Samuel persisted in confronting Saul until the truth came out.
Saul did not follow through with God’s word. He lied, shifted the blame, and did everything that he could to appear righteous. Sometimes people are so blind to the truth that they think that they’re following it. Other times, they know that they are in the wrong, but they will stop at nothing to justify themselves. God takes rebellion to his word very seriously.
Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 168-169.
Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 169.
Ronald F. Youngblood, “1, 2 Samuel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 674.
Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 8, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 122.
Walter Kaiser, More Hard Sayings of the Old Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1992), 40.
Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 170.
Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 8, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 123.
Ronald F. Youngblood, “1, 2 Samuel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 676.
Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 8, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 123.
Ronald F. Youngblood, “1, 2 Samuel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 676.
Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 8, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 123-124.
Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 172.
Ronald F. Youngblood, “1, 2 Samuel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 677.
Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 8, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 124-125.
Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 175.
Ronald F. Youngblood, “1, 2 Samuel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 679.
James is an elder at Dwell Community Church, where he teaches classes in theology, apologetics, and weekly Bible studies.
