I. The situation.
a. The account begins with Samuel reminding Saul who had made him king (1 Sam. 15:1).
i. Saul’s authority came from God.
ii. This means he had no authority to alter or revise God’s commands.
b. God gave the command to completely destroy Amalek (1 Sam. 15:3).
i. All people and livestock were to be destroyed.
ii. This was not an ordinary military campaign where the Saul and the people could keep the spoils of war they might desire.
c. We might ask why God is giving such a harsh command to Saul.
i. We need to understand the history behind it.
ii. Amalek had attacked Israel while on the journey to the promised land (Ex. 17:8).
iii. Because of this, Joshua led the people against Amalek and then Moses stood with his arms held up until victory had taken place.
iv. Notice what God said, recorded later in the chapter (Ex. 17:14-16).
v. Deut. 25:17-19 supplies some additional details – Amalek had attacked the back of the line of people, where the weak, elderly, and sick were.
vi. This passage also says that Amalek did not fear God.
vii. This was an attack on the most vulnerable of the people and God told Israel not to forget it.
d. 1 Samuel 15 gives us Saul’s commission by God to carry out the previously announced judgment.
e. Something we see here is that God’s patience did not cancel His word.
i. A long time separated between Amalek’s attack from Saul’s commission – God had not forgotten.
ii. We can’t confuse delayed judgment with divine approval.
f. 2 Peter 3:9 – God’s patience provides opportunity for repentance, but does not mean His warnings are empty.
g. Saul needed to understand that this assignment belonged to God and he could not use it as an opportunity for his own personal honor or material gain.
h. When we come to a command of God, we need to remember whose command it is.
i. God’s authority does not depend on our finding His instructions convenient.
II. The sin.
a. What we see in this account is that Saul obeyed but selectively.
b. 1 Sam. 15:7-9 describes what Saul did do but also what he refused to do.
i. He defeated Amalek.
ii. He did not kill the king or the best of the flocks and herds.
iii. What appeared worthless was destroyed but the rest was spared.
c. The distinction is very revealing – Saul and the people were willing to destroy what they did not want, but unwilling to surrender what they valued.
d. This is where selective obedience often begins.
i. We surrender sins that no longer appeal to us while protecting those we still enjoy.
ii. We accept commands that fit into our lifestyles but resist those that require change.
e. Saul claimed obedience but the evidence contradicted him.
i. Remember Samuel’s question (1 Sam. 15:14).
ii. Saul’s claim could not silence the evidence.
iii. We can claim to be faithful but our conduct has to be examined in the light of Scripture.
f. Saul then pointed toward the people and offered a religious explanation (1 Sam. 15:15).
i. But God had demanded their destruction.
ii. An intended sacrifice could not authorize what God had forbidden them to keep.
g. Samuel did not let that slide (1 Sam. 15:22).
i. God had commanded sacrifice elsewhere.
ii. Samuel was not dismissing worship.
iii. He was rejecting Saul’s attempt to use an act of worship as compensation for disobedience.
h. We can’t bargain with God by offering something He desires while deliberately withholding something else He requires.
i. Samuel showed Saul the truth of his actions (1 Sam. 15:23).
j. The first way he showed Saul the truth is by describing his action as rebellion.
i. The word for rebellion describes resistance to God’s declared authority in this context.
ii. Saul’s conduct was more serious than an unfortunate adjustment of the plan – he had refused the word of God.
iii. Samuel compared that act of rebellion with the sin of witchcraft or divination.
iv. Divination seeks guidance through a forbidden source rather than submitting to God.
v. Samuel is saying Saul used divination but is saying Saul sought guidance from another source than God – his own will.
k. The second way he showed Saul the truth is by describing his action as stubbornness.
i. This word in the original means to press or urge.
ii. In this context, it is an arrogant insistence – pushing one’s own way against God’s instructions.
iii. Saul had an unwillingness to yield to God’s will.
iv. Samuel compared it with idolatry because one who insists on his own way is giving his will the place that belongs to God.
v. Saul may claim religious intentions but his conduct says: I decide what will be kept, not God.
l. The truth is, we can repeat Saul’s sin today.
m. We can accept part of God’s teaching about salvation while refusing another part.
i. Faith is essential.
ii. Repentance is essential.
iii. Confession is essential.
iv. Those responses don’t give us permission to refuse baptism.
v. Acts 2:38 commands repentance and baptism for the remission of sins.
vi. Acts 22:16 connects baptism to the washing away of sins.
vii. Romans 6:3-4 describe baptism into Christ and into His death.
viii. Baptism doesn’t purchase salvation or make Christ’s sacrifice unnecessary.
ix. It is the obedient response of faith to the Savior who provides salvation.
n. We can attend worship without giving God our hearts.
i. Our presence matters as Hebrews 10:25 points out, but physical attendance alone doesn’t fulfill our responsibility to worship.
ii. Jesus talked about people who honor God with their lips whose hearts are far from Him (Matt. 15:8-9).
iii. Jesus taught that worship must be in spirit and truth (John 4:24).
iv. Are we listening, praying, singing, giving, and remembering the Lord with sincere devotion – or merely occupying a seat?
o. We can claim to love God while refusing to love others.
i. 1 John 4:20-21 refuses to separate love for God from love for brethren.
ii. We can’t compensate for bitterness, ugliness, or indifference towards others by speaking lovingly about God.
iii. Love must affect how we speak, forgive, serve, and respond to another person’s needs.
p. We can claim to love the Lord but fail to share His gospel.
i. Jesus commanded we make disciples (Matt. 28:19-20).
ii. This command is for all Christians, not just a special class of Christians, or elders, or preachers.
iii. We all have different abilities and it may be that we don’t feel comfortable teaching but we can still make connections with those who will.
iv. If we believe people need the Lord, that conviction should move us to act.
q. We can defend correct doctrine while refusing to live godly lives.
i. Truth definitely matters.
ii. So does honesty, purity, generosity, and self-control.
iii. James 1:22.
iv. We can explain a passage accurately while refusing to apply it personally.
r. It is great that we are keeping some commands but we have to ask “Is there a command I am knowingly resisting?”
III. The sentence.
a. God did not make Saul wait to find out what his fate was going to be.
b. 1 Sam. 15:23.
i. The sentence corresponded to the crime.
ii. Saul had rejected God’s word so God rejected Saul as king.
c. We do know that Saul did not immediately cease from being king.
i. He continued to reign for a few more years.
ii. But God said his kingdom would be given to another (1 Sam. 15:28).
iii. His continued possession of the throne did not mean God approved of him.
d. The bad thing about this is that Saul’s reign had begun so well.
i. When Samuel first spoke to Saul about becoming king, he expressed his sense of person insignificance (1 Sam. 9:21).
ii. When he was announced as king, he was found hiding in the baggage (1 Sam. 10:22).
e. There were great signs in his early leadership.
i. When Israel was delivered from the Ammonites, Saul gave the credit to God (1 Sam. 11:12-13).
ii. He knew the victory depended on God.
f. Samuel reminded Saul of this (1 Sam. 15:17).
i. Verse 12 records that Saul had set up a monument for himself.
ii. The man who once questioned his own significance had established a monument to celebrate himself and defend his own disobedience.
g. If we are Christians, we’ve been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son (Col. 1:13).
i. This privilege of being in the kingdom of God’s Son calls for continued faithfulness.
ii. Jesus warned… (Matt. 7:21).
iii. Did you hear what those people were saying?
iv. They were calling Jesus Lord, recognizing His authority, but they failed to do the will of the Father.
v. Luke 6:46 is similar.
h. We can’t claim Jesus as King while holding onto the right to disregard His commands.