1 Samuel 15:20 — Meaning and Application

King James Version

“And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.”

1 Samuel 15:20

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Understanding the surrounding verses prevents misinterpretation:

And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. {they...: Heb. they consume them}

Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?

And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.

And Samuel said, Hath the LORD {as great} delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey {is} better than sacrifice, {and} to hearken than the fat of rams.

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1 Samuel 15:1

"Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee {to be} king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD."

1 Samuel 15:2

"Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember {that} which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid {wait} for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt."

1 Samuel 15:3

"Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass."

1 Samuel 15:4

"And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah."

1 Samuel 15:5

"And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley. {laid...: or, fought}"

1 Samuel 15:6

"And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites."

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