SAMUEL CAME NO MORE. 1st Samuel 15 The command was clear, without any room for discussion or uncertainty. Amalek must be dealt with once and for all time. The narrative in chapter fifteen is the account of Saul’s act of failure and his rejection as king. The rest of First Samuel opens up the story of David, “The man after God’s heart,” in contrast to Saul, “The man according to the flesh.” At this time in Saul’s reign, he kept the best of what God hated the most, and “The Lord hath also rejected thee from being king.” Everything of the Amalekites belonged to the Lord, man, and beast, and Israel was God’s chosen instrument to execute judgment on that which opposed God in every way. The only exceptions were the Kenites who lived in the same area and were warned to leave. These people were associated with the Israelites in a way because Moses’ father-in-law was a Kenite.
Sometimes, a person passes the point of no return in rejecting God and His word. There is hope while there is life if a person is awakened to their sin and need of God, and if they return to Him in repentance, He is ready and willing to forgive the repentant sinner. But the deliberate rejection of God and His truth and the spurning of His grace will leave a person outside of the blessings of salvation. "Repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ" is still how sinners come to Christ. Saul is an example of a person who willfully refuses to admit his guilt and face the consequences of his sin. Despite his undeniable refusal to do the will of God, he still wanted to be exalted himself.
Sin must be dealt with personally or in an assembly when it raises its ugly head. The guilt has to be removed when it is known there is no question as to what it is. To refuse to do what is right is not acceptable, but restoration is the objective of discipline and the correction of life and behavior expected. There are those who will not accept responsibility for their own sin and will never change. The flesh is an implacable enemy that does not want to change. The Amalekites were like that.
The Amalekites were terrorists who lived by attacking other nations or small groups of people like wolves, following weak prey and taking everything they could, whether it was goods or people. As long as they existed, Israel could never have peace. Their corrupt idolatry threatened the relationship Israel had with God. The only way Israel could survive was if the Amalekites were destroyed along with all their possessions and idols. Through Samuel, the Lord had charged Saul to carry out this work. Saul's first action was to number his own people to see if he thought he had enough men to do this task. He didn't rely on God but still acted in the energy of the flesh and with only the insight the flesh gives.
In essence, Saul's reign was already finished, but the rest of the narrative clearly exposes the reasons, such as the dangers of acting in the flesh. This whole incident in the life of Israel teaches us the seriousness of acting independently of God. When we act without divine guidance, the outcome of a matter is only as strong as the weakest part of our fleshly nature. Saul is a type of religious flesh positionally, seeming to be near God and serving God. But with all the religious garb and upscale religious forms that are so impressive, it is still the flesh - religious flesh.
The Amalekites were a different type of flesh. The "flesh" opposes God and God's people and wants nothing to do with God. Their background began with Esau and was still contrary to the people of God after hundreds of years. Today, the aggressive flesh of the world system strongly opposes those who are born of God and live holy and righteous lives. The popular opinion of most today is that we should change our opinions and convictions to accommodate what the "majority" says is socially acceptable. The Lord opposed Amalek "from one generation to another" because then, as now, that which is done in the energy of the flesh gets increasingly worse with each passing generation, and "in the flesh dwelleth no good thing."
The command Saul received was to finish with Amalek once and for all so there could be a lasting peace and the evil of that system would not permeate the cultures and people around them. In this situation, there was the testing of the religious flesh in Saul when confronted with the outright evil flesh on the part of the Amalekites. We may not realize that God often allows testing times to bring out what is real in His people and cause them to stand up and be counted in front of a watching world. The price to be paid in such times can be social, religious, and personal testing to see whether what we profess is real.
However, Saul and his soldiers disobeyed the command of God and kept the best of what God hated the most. To break the hold of idolatry, nothing was to remain, not even the animals that were raised for idolatrous purposes. Instead, they kept the best of that, which was from idolatry and bestiality, to use to "sacrifice to the Lord." This would have been the height of abomination against the Lord. Saul obeyed God as far as it pleased him. Saul later died at the hands of an Amalekite, and in Israel's history, Haman tried to destroy the whole nation of Israel - and he was an Agagite - a relative of the Amalekite king.
To show disrespect and disregard for God and His commands is often done today when religious men try to sanctify what God hates and has cursed. Such disregard for God's truth, even though people may think it is "selective obedience," is just plain disobedience, as shown in another way. That is what we do when we choose to do our own will and ignore or disregard God's will. To do this, or even have the attitude associated with it, is rebellion. Not fulfilling a God-given command completely is the same as not doing it. Our flesh must be put to death lest we start judging our own flesh as to what we think is good and what is bad. It is common to hear one say, "I don't think that is wrong. Look at what others do; it makes people feel good about themselves." God has already condemned the flesh as "no good thing." All of it, religious or otherwise!!
If we gloss over sin to protect our reputation or for selfish gain, the flesh will poison our spiritual life to the extent that some believers will deliberately walk away from that which they know is right. The flesh has invaded churches, families, and nations to the place where laws are changed to cater to the flesh. Some churches have resorted to "world-like" entertainment to get people to attend church services. They hope that if they can "get them to come in," they will return to our regular church services. Such reasoning is not by the guidance of the Holy Spirit but by committees or those who think the church is more important than the will and word of the Lord.
Samuel was very concerned about Saul and how he was failing in his leadership and prayed in the night for him to the Lord as an intercessor on behalf of the nation. A soft heart touched by the Lord and one who has a genuine concern for others are of great value in intercessory prayer. Saul, in his arrogance and self-centeredness, did not weep for his sin but gloried in that which was to his shame. He never admitted to doing wrong, so God's attitude toward Saul changed. God did not change His mind about what He allowed.
In pride, Saul set up a monument to himself to show others what he considered he had achieved himself. He followed that with a triumphal march in his own honor from Carmel to Gilgal and planned a celebration there, mixing religious practices with feasting as a tribute to himself. He may have thought his lie would not be exposed, or he may even have thought that what he did was not wrong. But that did not excuse him for failing to carry out the word of the Lord.
The flesh has the tendency to deceive itself. Dishonest people believe their lies and cannot tell the difference between truth and lies. Facts give credence to words of truth and expose dishonesty. When we allow ourselves to believe our own lies, we are disconnected from God and will find ourselves cut off from meaningful relationships with people who count. Excuses we make only condemn us further. Honesty will ultimately come out into the open and be the victor. Exposure to guilt is the step that leads to repentance in a sincere person.
With sanctimonious words, Saul greets Samuel, who had followed him like a faithful shepherd would follow a wandering sheep. Samuel saw through Saul's boasting because other sounds he heard told a different story. The sheep's bleating and the oxen's lowing exposed Saul's lie. Saul followed the path most liars follow. They try to shift the blame to others when they are found out. Samuel wept through the night for all that was lost through Saul's failed leadership. He had heard God's voice first at night when he was a young boy. Now, he still hears the voice of God at night as an old man.
There is a time to listen to what people say, and there is a time to stop foolish talk and say, "That is enough of this. Be quiet while I tell you the consequences of your actions." Samuel reminded Saul of his past insignificance and of what he owed God. We do well to remember "the hole of the pit from which we have been digged and the rock from which we have been hewn." Samuel reminded Saul of the mandate he had been given and exposed his lies and deceit, of which he was guilty. Samuel challenged Saul's disobedience and sought to make him aware of the seriousness of that sin.
When one doesn't fear nor tremble at the word of the Lord, he sets himself up for righteous vengeance to come. He might escape the glancing blow, but the fatal blow will surely come. No sacrifice a person can make will take away the consequences of disobedience. Submission to God's will is far more important than the costliest gifts we might give. Self-will and stubbornness are really self-exaltation and, in some cases, self-worship. It indicates what I want is more important than what God wants. Sacrifice is important but has no value if our relationship with God is broken or has never existed. The ritual of sacrifice without obedience is meaningless.
Religion as a practice is of no value when devotion to God and obedience to Him are not there. Rebelliousness and arrogance go beyond being independent and strong-willed. The power of darkness seen in witchcraft and idolatry is defiance against God. Unless there is a new birth in an unbeliever or a 180-degree turn in a wandering believer, forgiveness and restoration to God will not happen. Saul was rejected as king and would never get the kingdom back. God has entrusted us with work for Him, for which we must account. There is no excuse for us to not act responsibly in this work.
We are constantly being exhorted to do more and more in our service, but we need to consider if it is being done for the church or if it is for the Lord. If it is for religious appearances to look good before the people, it has no real value. When the time for repentance is past and that for which we have been entrusted has not been done in obedience to God we may be stunned to realize rejection has happened and there is no return to what we had before.
Even at the time when Saul was awakened, he wanted things his own way and made the people the object of blame. God, through Samuel, allowed Saul to continue as king, but he had only the power of his own will from then on. He wanted things his own way, and he was left on his own. From that day on, Saul ceased to be God's king. It is an awful thing to be left on our own to try and accomplish that which can only be done by the strength of the Lord. Saul was told that "a neighbor of thine" would be the one who would take the kingship - "a man after God's own heart." "The Strength of Israel," the hope that would continue in confidence, truth, victory, and glory, is not a mere man but the unchanging God.