Lessons From
1 Samuel 15
Learning from the past helps us in the
future.
Romans 15:4
• “For whatever was written in earlier times
was written for our instruction, that
through perseverance and the
encouragement of the scriptures we might
have hope”.
• Since all scripture was written in earlier
times, it was all written for our instruction.
• 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that the scripture
inspired of God is profitable for instruction
in righteousness.
Verse 1
• “Then Samuel said to Saul, “the LORD sent
me to anoint you as king over His people,
over Israel; now therefore, listen to the
words of the LORD.”
• Saul was made king over GOD’S people,
not his.
• Saul is the Lord’s servant, not the other
way around as so many try to make God a
servant today.
Verse 1
• The message from God is important.
• No matter who brings the message.
• The words of the LORD are authoritative.
• As we will see the words of the LORD will
not be misunderstood by Saul, and…
• We should not misunderstand the words
of the LORD.
• The message was clear.
Verse 2
• “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I will punish
Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he
set himself against him on the way while
he was coming up from Egypt’.”
• God says there is a reason for the
instruction to Saul.
• We may not always understand why God
had people killed, but in this case, we
know why.
Verse 3
• “Now go and strike Amalek and utterly
destroy all that he has, and do not spare
him; but put to death both man and
woman, child and infant, ox and sheep,
camel and donkey.’”
• Sounds pretty clear to me.
• You might wonder how anyone could
misunderstand this message.
Verse 7
• “So Saul defeated the Amalekites, from
Havilah as you go to Shur, which is east of
Egypt.
• Saul had set up an ambush with 210,000
men.
• He spared the Kenites.
• But that is not all that he spared.
Verse 8
• “And he captured Agag the king of the
Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all
the people with the edge of the sword.”
• The keyword here is “alive”
• Right away, we see Saul failing to keep the
clear instruction of the Lord.
• But Saul did keep “most” of the
commandment of the LORD.
• Is that good enough to please God?
Verse 9
• “But Saul and the people spared Agag and
the best of the sheep, the oxen, the
fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good,
and were not willing to destroy them
utterly; but everything despised and
worthless, that they utterly destroyed.”
• Greed was at work here, and greed is evil.
• They were not willing to follow God’s
command.
Verse 12
• ”And Samuel rose early in the morning to
meet Saul; and it was told Samuel, saying,
“Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set
up a monument for himself, then turned
and proceeded on down to Gilgal”.”
• A little bit of pride on the part of Saul.
• Taking credit for the victory that belonged
to God.
Verse 13
• “And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said
to him, “blessed are you of the LORD! I
have carried out the command of the
LORD”.”
• Really?
• Compare verse 2 with verse 9
Verse 14
• “But Samuel said, “what then is this
bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the
lowing of the oxen which I hear?”
• Samuel already knew how Saul had
disobeyed the voice of the LORD.
• Samuel is making a point to Saul, that he
knows differently from what Saul told him.
• Just imagine Saul saying “uh oh”.
Verse 15
• “And Saul said, “they have brought them
from the Amalekites, for the people
spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to
sacrifice to the LORD your God; but the
rest we have utterly destroyed”.
• Shifting blame, but who was in charge?
• Maybe if we say there were good
intentions, everything will be alright.
Verse 15
• Sacrifices were supposed to come from
your own flock, not someone else.
• These people showed a total disregard for
God in this.
• People today show the same disregard
when they ignore God’s instructions to do
what they want to do.
• They think everything alright if we do it for
God.
Verse 19
• “Why then did you not obey the voice of
the LORD, but rushed upon the spoil and
did what was evil in the sight of the
LORD?”
• Anything not in compliance with God’s
instructions is considered “evil” by God.
• Not obeying is “evil” of itself.
Verse 20-21
• “ Then Saul said to Samuel, “I did obey the
voice of the LORD, and went on the
mission on which the LORD sent me, and
have brought back Agag the king of
Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the
Amalekites, (21) But the people took some
of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest
of the things devoted to destruction, to
sacrifice to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”
Verse 20-21
• Saul argues that he did what he was
commanded, but….
• Even in his explanation he admits not
doing what God commanded, by sparing
the king of Amalek.
• Back then, capturing a king was a trophy
to be paraded around, and glory cast upon
the conquering king.
Verse 20-21
• Once again Saul blames the people for
sparing some things, but they had a noble
purpose for doing so.
• So that was supposed to make everything
alright?
• A lot of people do things differently from
what God commands with a noble
purpose.
• They are still wrong to do so.
Verse 22
• “And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as much
delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as
in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold
to obey is better than sacrifice, and to
heed than the fat of rams.”
• Many people make a pretense to worship
God, and think they are okay with Him.
• Truth is that obedience is more important
than all emotions and think-so’s of
mankind.
Conclusion
• God’s commands are clear and
understandable.
• Any reasoning around not doing those
commands are useless.
• We will be rejected by God if we fail to
heed His commands.
• Obedience is essential for salvation.