The Lord informed Samuel the prophet of Saul's disobedience in the passage we studied yesterday. Today Samuel confronts him over his sin. "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 honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.'" (1 Samuel 15:12) The monument was likely a pillar or an arch to commemorate the victory of Saul and his army over the Amalekites. I don't think he set up an image of himself or an altar to himself. Saul was a prideful man without a true heart for God but I don't believe he was directing worship toward himself in the manner of many pagan kings. Still, all the glory should have gone to God. If Saul wanted to set up some type of stone of remembrance it should have been to honor the Lord's work on behalf of Israel.
Saul is completely unrepentant about not fully carrying out the Lord's instructions and will brag to Samuel that he has done all that the Lord commanded. As we've said many times, partial obedience is still disobedience. Saul did attack the Amalekites as the Lord commanded, but he did not make an end of all of them and he did not thoroughly destroy everything that belonged to him. He has King Agag in his custody and, as we were told yesterday, he and his men spared "the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs---everything that was good". They were covetous of these items and wanted to keep them as the spoils of war.
"When Samuel reached him, Saul said, 'The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord's instructions.' But Samuel said, 'What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?' 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.'" (1 Samuel 15:13-15) There is so much wrong with what Saul says! First of all, he makes a false statement when he claims to have carried out the Lord's instructions. Then he denies responsibility for having brought the livestock from the Amalekites, saying "the soldiers" brought them and that "they" spared them. Yesterday's text plainly told us that the soldiers and Saul made this decision, but even if the decision had been made solely by the soldiers, Saul is responsible for what his soldiers do. He should have refused to let them take the animals. Upon being asked about his possession of the animals, he claims that the livestock was taken for a noble purpose: to sacrifice it to the Lord. Even if this were true, it would still be a sin against the Lord because this is not what the Lord told Saul to do. The Lord didn't ask for sacrifices. He made it quite clear that nothing that had belonged to the Amalekites was to be taken into the possession of the Israelites. Finally, Saul refers to the Lord as "the Lord your God" and not as "the Lord my God" because he doesn't have a personal relationship with the Lord.
Samuel doesn't want to hear any more excuses or lies. "'Enough!' Samuel said to Saul. 'Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.' 'Tell me,' Saul replied. '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. 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.' Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?'" (1 Samuel 15:16-19)
Saul still insists he has done no wrong. "'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. 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.'" (1 Samuel 15:20-21) Saul wasn't supposed to bring back King Agag. He wasn't supposed to take any of the livestock. It's not even true that Saul "completely destroyed" the Amalekites. He and his men did wipe out the main settlement of them but later in the Bible we will learn that there are still Amalekites in existence. David will have to deal with the Amalekites. An Amalekite will stab King Saul. A descendant of King Agag of the Amalekites will almost succeed in carrying out a plot to kill all the Jewish people in the book of Esther. It appears that Saul was content with destroying a large majority of the Amalekites and that he and his men did not pursue those who fled from them, likely because they were busy rounding up the best of the livestock before the animals could also flee from them.
In tomorrow's study we'll find Samuel telling Saul that obedience is better than sacrifice. The Lord told Saul what He wanted him to do but Saul did not fully obey Him. Instead he claims he intended to sacrifice the choice livestock to Him, which is something the Lord didn't ask for. We could compare Saul's behavior to someone who has broken several of the Lord's laws and commandments during the week but who thinks putting money in the offering plate on Sunday morning will cause the Lord to turn a blind eye to sin. The Lord wants Saul's heart to be right with Him. He wants Saul to repent and let Him mend his ways. But Saul will persist in pride, stubbornness, and rebellion. As a result, he and Samuel will part ways and won't speak any further to each other.
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