It’s Not My Fault

Under the various Judges, after defeating the enemies, the people turned to God and the enemies did not attack again until after the judge died and the people turned away.  Under the judges, every person was directly accountable and dependent on God.  When they replaced that system with a monarchy, the focus changed and people became dependent on the king rather than on God .  From that time on, Israel was under almost constant attack.  Samuel had had forty years of peace, but when Saul took over that ended, as we see in II Samuel 14:46-48.  “Then Saul went up from following the Philistines: and the Philistines went to their own place.  So Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and whithersoever he turned himself, he vexed them.  And he gathered an host, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of them that spoiled them.”   Their victories were not nearly as decisive as they had been under the Judges, as we see in I Samuel 14:52.  “And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul: and when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him.” 

About six hundred years before, some of Esau’s illegitimate descendants, the Amalekites had attacked Israel when they first came out of Egypt, as described in Exodus 17.  As a result of their unprovoked attack, in Exodus 17:14, God said, “…I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.”  They had had six hundred years to repent, but over the years, they had repeatedly attacked Israel instead.  Finally God had had enough, and in I Samuel 15:1-3 he directed Saul to wipe them out.  “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.  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.  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.”

While most of Esau’s descendants had settled in the area to the south and east of the Dead Sea. The Amalekites were a nomadic people warlike people inhabiting the desert areas from Shur, just east of Egypt to Havilah in present day Kuwait.   Saul set out to do What God had commanded, in I Samuel 15:4-8.  “And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.  And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.  And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.  And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.  And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.”

The Kenites were descendants of Moses’ in-laws, and had gone with the Israelites, with most of them settling along the southern border, near Edom.  Remembering the help and encouragement they had given Israel, Saul warned them to separate themselves so they would not be mistaken for Amalekites.  With a two hundred thousand man army, Saul was able to wipe out the various Amalekite bands, and capture their king, as God commanded. 

Unfortunately, they did not follow God’s command completely as we see in I Samuel 15:9.  “But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.”  The Amalekites had some really good breeding stock they could use improve their own herds.  Having the king of a powerful group such as the Amalekites a slave would impress other rulers so they also saved Agag and some of his family.   

As a result of his disobedience, God regretted having made Saul king, according to I Samuel 15:10-11.  “Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.” 

Saul was clearly aware of his disobedience, going out of his way to avoid meeting Samuel on his return, then trying to brazen it out in I I Samuel 15:12-13.  “And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.  And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.”

Samuel was not fooled at al by Saul’s claims to have obeyed God.  Dead cows or sheep would not be mooing and bleating, as he pointed out in I Samuel 15:14.  “And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?”   Knowing he had been caught, Saul blamed the disobedience on the people, using the excuse they wanted to use the best animals for sacrifices, in I Samuel 15:15.  “And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.”  Surely God would be satisfied that they had killed all the others. 

Like a lot of people, Saul was not willing to admit he had sinned.  As the leader, the primary responsibility was saul’s and verse 9 tells us, "But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them…”  When he had commanded the people not to eat in the previous chapter, they obeyed him even though they were about to pass out from low blood sugar’ and if he had told them to kill the livestock they would have done as he said.  Ultimately, it was his decision not to obey God.