“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:12-13 ESV)
Our Lady of Tinos
Tinos, Greece
Tinos, Greece
I Samuel 15:1-16
Saul Given a Command
=So far Saul’s kingship has been a dismal failure.
=Remember the time when Saul was too impatient to wait for Samuel before the battle so Saul went and made the sacrifices himself? Then there was the vow that he made his men take about not eating until after the battle was complete. This vow almost cost his men the battle.
=Saul was tentative to openly admit his relationship with the Lord while being impatient and rash. Sure he was tall and handsome but he was not comfortable with his relationship with the Lord.
=Samuel commands Saul to go and destroy the nation of Amalek. Then Samuel told Saul to “listen to the words of the Lord.”
=The Lord was basically giving Saul one last chance to take a command and actually obey it. So far this has not been Saul’s strong suit.
=It may seem severe to take an entire nation and completely kill and destroy everything in it but this was a just judgment from Yahweh.
=With a very large army Saul goes into Amalek and destroys ALMOST everything. The king, Agag, and the finest possessions are spared from the judgment by Saul.
=When the Lord says he regrets making Saul king it is to show the normal man that the Lord has expression of sorrow.
=So far Saul’s kingship has been a dismal failure.
=Remember the time when Saul was too impatient to wait for Samuel before the battle so Saul went and made the sacrifices himself? Then there was the vow that he made his men take about not eating until after the battle was complete. This vow almost cost his men the battle.
=Saul was tentative to openly admit his relationship with the Lord while being impatient and rash. Sure he was tall and handsome but he was not comfortable with his relationship with the Lord.
=Samuel commands Saul to go and destroy the nation of Amalek. Then Samuel told Saul to “listen to the words of the Lord.”
=The Lord was basically giving Saul one last chance to take a command and actually obey it. So far this has not been Saul’s strong suit.
=It may seem severe to take an entire nation and completely kill and destroy everything in it but this was a just judgment from Yahweh.
=With a very large army Saul goes into Amalek and destroys ALMOST everything. The king, Agag, and the finest possessions are spared from the judgment by Saul.
=When the Lord says he regrets making Saul king it is to show the normal man that the Lord has expression of sorrow.
I Samuel 15:17-34
Saul Loses it for Good
=Saul is so happy about the victory that he went back to Israel and made a monument to himself. Normally in the Bible we read of heroes doing great things and making altars to Yahweh. There are at least 2 people I can think of that made monuments to themselves though: Joseph Stalin and Saddam Hussein. Not what comes to mind when one thinks of godly duos.
=Saul was also pretty happy to say to Samuel that he had completed the Lord’s command, even though he didn’t.
=Samuel blatantly asks Saul why he did not listen to the entire command and destroy everything in Amalek and Saul tries to say that it was his soldiers who decided to keep the spoils from the battle.
=Although the Israelites were still living under the Old Covenant (sacrificial animals and the Day of Atonement etc) Samuel says something that is very revolutionary: The Lord would like it better if you listened to him than if you sacrificed more animals than were required.
=Saul is so happy about the victory that he went back to Israel and made a monument to himself. Normally in the Bible we read of heroes doing great things and making altars to Yahweh. There are at least 2 people I can think of that made monuments to themselves though: Joseph Stalin and Saddam Hussein. Not what comes to mind when one thinks of godly duos.
=Saul was also pretty happy to say to Samuel that he had completed the Lord’s command, even though he didn’t.
=Samuel blatantly asks Saul why he did not listen to the entire command and destroy everything in Amalek and Saul tries to say that it was his soldiers who decided to keep the spoils from the battle.
=Although the Israelites were still living under the Old Covenant (sacrificial animals and the Day of Atonement etc) Samuel says something that is very revolutionary: The Lord would like it better if you listened to him than if you sacrificed more animals than were required.
Saul Loses it for Good continued
=If the sacrifices do not mean anything to you then they are not really a sacrifice, it’s just a ritual. Yahweh would rather have a man who listened and obeyed most of the time than one who never listened but completed his sacrifices.
=Saul asks for forgiveness but by this point he has established that he cannot obey Yahweh’s commands.
=Saul was more worried about the appearance of losing Samuel’s support than about his continued disobedience. After grabbing Samuel’s robe when Samuel turned away the robe tore. Saul was told that this tearing was like the kingdom being torn from him.
=At this point Samuel calls Yahweh the “Glory of Israel”. This designation is unique to this verse but completely appropriate. Saul had lost all his glory and would not be the chosen king but Yahweh would continue to shine as the glory of Israel.
=When Agag came to Samuel it said he came “cheerfully”. The original Hebrew might not have said “cheerfully” but possibly “in chains”.
=If the sacrifices do not mean anything to you then they are not really a sacrifice, it’s just a ritual. Yahweh would rather have a man who listened and obeyed most of the time than one who never listened but completed his sacrifices.
=Saul asks for forgiveness but by this point he has established that he cannot obey Yahweh’s commands.
=Saul was more worried about the appearance of losing Samuel’s support than about his continued disobedience. After grabbing Samuel’s robe when Samuel turned away the robe tore. Saul was told that this tearing was like the kingdom being torn from him.
=At this point Samuel calls Yahweh the “Glory of Israel”. This designation is unique to this verse but completely appropriate. Saul had lost all his glory and would not be the chosen king but Yahweh would continue to shine as the glory of Israel.
=When Agag came to Samuel it said he came “cheerfully”. The original Hebrew might not have said “cheerfully” but possibly “in chains”.
I Samuel 16
Saul's Replacement
=Samuel is saddened by the failure of Saul as king because remember that Samuel never wanted there to be a king in the first place.
=The Lord commands Samuel to go to Bethlehem but Samuel gets nervous. His fear of Saul was probably justified because Saul was impatient and had recently had the kingdom torn from him so he might have been bitter.
=When the Lord tells Samuel to take a heifer and invite Jesse to the sacrifice he is not trying to get Samuel to be deceptive, he is showing Samuel there is a way around Saul’s wrath.
=The elders of Bethlem are nervous at Samuel’s appearance because he might have bad news.
=When Jesse’s family comes near Samuel gets a look at Eliab and thinks that because he looks nice that he would surely be the next king. The Lord’s answer is a timeless truth:
=Samuel is saddened by the failure of Saul as king because remember that Samuel never wanted there to be a king in the first place.
=The Lord commands Samuel to go to Bethlehem but Samuel gets nervous. His fear of Saul was probably justified because Saul was impatient and had recently had the kingdom torn from him so he might have been bitter.
=When the Lord tells Samuel to take a heifer and invite Jesse to the sacrifice he is not trying to get Samuel to be deceptive, he is showing Samuel there is a way around Saul’s wrath.
=The elders of Bethlem are nervous at Samuel’s appearance because he might have bad news.
=When Jesse’s family comes near Samuel gets a look at Eliab and thinks that because he looks nice that he would surely be the next king. The Lord’s answer is a timeless truth:
Saul's Replacement Continued
=“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
=Saul was chosen because he was taller and more handsome than everyone else and turned out to be a failure. David is chosen because of his heart.
=The Lord removes his spirit from Saul just as David comes into the picture. Coincidence? Nope.
=“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
=Saul was chosen because he was taller and more handsome than everyone else and turned out to be a failure. David is chosen because of his heart.
=The Lord removes his spirit from Saul just as David comes into the picture. Coincidence? Nope.