1 Samuel 15:10 - Meaning and Application

Saul is now called to account by Samuel for how he carried out God’s command against the Amalekites. This account shows both the strictness of God’s justice and the deceit in the human heart.

First, we are told what passed between God and Samuel in private about this matter, in 1 Samuel 15:10-11. God settled Saul’s rejection and made Samuel aware of it: “It grieves me that I have made Saul king.” When Scripture speaks this way of God’s grief, it does not mean that God changes his mind the way people do. It means that God changes his way of dealing with someone, while his purpose itself remains fixed. The change was in Saul, who had turned back from following the Lord. God judged Saul’s partial obedience and greed as turning away from him, and by that Saul made God his enemy.

God grieved over having given Saul the kingdom, with its honor and power. But he never regrets giving wisdom, grace, fear of God, and love to anyone. These gifts and callings from God are never taken back.

Samuel felt deep sorrow over Saul’s loss of God’s favor, and over God’s decision to reject him. He cried out to the Lord all night, pleading that this judgment would not go out against Saul. While others slept, Samuel spent the night on his knees, praying and wrestling with God. He was not upset because Saul had replaced him as king, nor was he glad to see Saul removed. He prayed earnestly for Saul’s standing, and that shows how far he was from wanting this painful outcome. The ruin of sinners is sorrowful to godly people. God does not delight in the death of the wicked, and neither should we.

Next, we see what passed between Samuel and Saul in public. Samuel came to Saul in great distress, like Ezekiel going in bitterness of soul. This may have been at an appointment made when Saul set out on the campaign, since Saul had come to Gilgal, the place where he had first been made king (1 Samuel 11:15), and where he might have been confirmed if he had obeyed well. But Samuel also learned that Saul had set up a monument for himself at Carmel, a city in the hill country of Judah. He was seeking his own honor more than God’s honor. He had more reason to repent and make peace with God than to boast of victory. Saul then came to Gilgal with much display and pomp.

At Gilgal, Saul greeted Samuel by boasting of his obedience, since that was the matter now in view. He said, “Blessed be you by the Lord. I have carried out the Lord’s command” (1 Samuel 15:13). If his conscience had been sharply accusing him, he probably would not have spoken so quickly. By making such a claim, he hoped to avoid Samuel’s correction. Sinners often try to excuse themselves in order to escape God’s judgment, but the only safe way is to judge ourselves honestly. Those who boast most about religion are often the ones who should be examined most carefully for deceit.

Samuel then exposed Saul’s disobedience with plain evidence. “If you have carried out the Lord’s command,” he asked, “what is the sound of sheep in my ears, and the lowing of oxen?” (1 Samuel 15:14). Saul wanted God to seem greatly indebted to him for good service, but Samuel showed that God had a case against him. The bleating sheep and lowing cattle were enough to prove the truth. Saul may have expected those animals to parade behind his victory, but instead they testified against him. He did not need much more proof than that.

This is still true: proud claims of obedience are often exposed by clear facts. Many people say they obey God, but their indulgence of the flesh, love of the world, anger, lack of love, and neglect of holy duties speak against them.

Saul then tried to defend himself, though he could not deny the facts. The sheep and oxen had indeed been brought from the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:15). First, he blamed the people, saying they spared the best animals. This is the usual shelter of an unrepentant heart. Such a heart is quick to pass blame to others rather than admit its own guilt. Sin is like a burden no one wants laid at his own door.

Second, Saul claimed a good purpose: the animals were being saved “to sacrifice to the Lord your God.” But this was false, because Saul and the people were really seeking their own gain. Even if it had been true, the excuse would still have been weak. God hates robbery for sacrifice. He had already appointed what should be offered to him, and he will not thank anyone for bringing stolen goods to his altar. He must be worshiped in the way he has commanded. A good intention cannot make a bad action right.

Samuel set Saul’s excuse aside and, in God’s name, gave judgment against him. He first made clear that he spoke with God’s authority. What he was about to say was the Lord’s own word (1 Samuel 15:16). Anyone who complains that ministers are too strict should remember that, when they keep to God’s word, they are only messengers. They must say what they are commanded to say. Saul himself was here willing to hear more, and others should be willing too.

Samuel then reminded Saul of the honor God had already given him by making him king (1 Samuel 15:17). Saul had once thought of himself as small and insignificant. God had looked on that low position and raised him up. People who are lifted to honor and wealth should often remember where they started. That memory helps keep pride down and should move them to do great things for the God who advanced them.

He then presses home how plain the command had been. The Lord had sent Saul on a mission, so clear and so sure to succeed that it was more like a journey than a war (1 Samuel 15:18). The task itself was honorable, because it meant destroying the sworn enemies of God and Israel. If Saul had denied himself and put aside his own gain, he would not have lost anything in the end, and he would not have had to pay for the campaign out of his own pocket. God would have made up for what he gave up, so he would not have needed the spoil.

Samuel then shows how guilty Saul was for trying to profit from the expedition and enrich himself by it (1 Samuel 15:19). Why had he rushed on the spoil and taken for himself what should have been destroyed for God’s honor? This shows how dangerous the love of money is, because it often leads people into sin. But it also shows the deeper evil of sin itself, and what makes it hateful in God’s sight. Saul’s sin was disobedience, plain and simple. He had not obeyed the voice of the Lord.

Saul repeats his defense, and he seems determined to stand by it even after being corrected (1 Samuel 15:20, 1 Samuel 15:21). He denies the charge and says, in effect, that he has obeyed and done everything he was supposed to do. He had done what he thought was enough, which showed how much wiser he thought himself to be than God. God had told him to destroy everything, yet Saul counts it as obedience that he brought Agag, the Amalekite king, back alive, as if that were close enough. That is how deceitful hearts try to excuse themselves with half-measures and made-up substitutes.

Saul also insists that he destroyed the Amalekites themselves, which was the main point. But as for the spoil, he admits it should have been destroyed, so he was not confused about the command. He thought it would have been wasteful to destroy the cattle. The Israelites had taken cattle as plunder in Moses’ day from the Midianites (Numbers 31:32, etc.), so why not now from the Amalekites? He reasoned that it would be better for Israel to have the cattle than for birds and wild animals to eat them, so he let the people take them. But he shifts the blame to them and says it was their doing, not his. He also says the animals were meant for sacrifice to the Lord at Gilgal, where they were bringing them. It is hard to convince people who disobey to see their sin and give up their excuses.

Samuel answers Saul fully because Saul still insists on defending himself (1 Samuel 15:22, 1 Samuel 15:23). He appeals to Saul’s own conscience: does the Lord take as much delight in sacrifices as in obedience? Even if Saul knew little about religion, he still should have known this. Nothing pleases God more than obedience, not sacrifice and offerings, not even the fat of rams. What we should seek in all religious duties is God’s approval, that he may delight in what we do. If God is pleased with us and with our service, then we are truly happy. If he is not, then what is the point, as Isaiah says? (Isaiah 1:11)

The lesson is clear: humble, sincere, and careful obedience to God is more pleasing to him than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. Keeping God’s moral commands matters more than any ceremonial act (Micah 6:6-8; Hosea 6:6). Obedience belongs to the eternal law of nature, but sacrifice came later through a special command. Obedience was the rule in innocence, before sin entered the world. Sacrifice came in because sin was already here, and it only points to the need to remove sin, something obedience would have prevented in the first place. God is more honored, and self is more denied, by obedience than by sacrifice. It is easier to bring an animal to the altar than to bring every proud thought under God’s rule and make our wills submit to his. Obedience is the glory of angels (Psalm 103:20), and it will be ours too.

Samuel also says that nothing provokes God more than disobedience, when we set our own will against his. He calls this rebellion and stubbornness, and says it is as bad as witchcraft and idolatry (1 Samuel 15:23). It is as serious to live against God’s command as it is to set up false gods. Those who follow their own sinful desires, instead of God’s command, are really turning to idols and false guidance. It was disobedience that made us all sinners (Romans 5:19). That is the ugliness of sin, because it breaks God’s law and makes a person hostile to God (Romans 8:7). Saul was a king, but his rank could not protect him if he disobeyed God. This is not about subjects rebelling against a ruler, but about a ruler rebelling against God.

Finally, Samuel pronounces Saul’s judgment. In short, because Saul rejected the word of the Lord, despised it, treated it as nothing, and threw off its rule, the Lord has rejected him as king. The one who made Saul king has determined to remove him again. Those who are unwilling for God to rule over them are not fit to rule over others.