I vomited for the second time. Even in my wildest dreams, I would never have expected to witness what had just happened, and the utter shock of it had turned my stomach inside out.
I’d walked a short distance away from the scene, but I had to look back to make sure that these things had truly unfolded. And yes – they had! Our king still stood there, looking down at the dismembered body. The bloodied sword, however, wasn’t in the hands of the king or any of his soldiers. Rather, it was held by perhaps the greatest prophet since Moses himself.
Samuel’s clothing was splattered with blood after he had hacked mercilessly into Agag, the king of the Amalekites. It wasn’t just a quick death blow, but a continued, dare I say – frenzied – attack. There were literally pieces of the man lying all around them.
And now, every eye was on Samuel as he dropped the sword and walked away from the scene. No words were spoken. Enough had already been said.
This story has got to be one of the most pivotal in the history of Israel’s kingdom. It’s recorded for us in 1 Samuel 15, and details the final day that King Saul and the prophet Samuel would see each other in the land of the living. I say this was a pivotal event because this was the first king of Israel, and the actions of Saul would flow down through the line of kings and end, ultimately, in destruction. In chapter 15, Samuel goes to Saul with a direct word from YHWH. Saul is asked to totally destroy the Amalekites – men, women, children and livestock. It’s worth noting that Saul had delivered Israel out of the hands of the Amalekites (14:48), so they had already been freed from their oppression. But now, Samuel’s word came to King Saul to bring YHWH’s direct judgement upon this nation. There’s plenty of discussion we could have about the command itself, and the annihilation of the Amalekites, but I’m going to focus more on why Samuel reacted the way he did. There are some important lessons for us, I’m sure.
When we read through this story, it’s quite clear that King Saul disobeyed the command of YHWH – in fact, YHWH directly tells Samuel this (v11). And, when Samuel arrives on the scene at Gilgal the next day, he sees the evidence for himself, so he reminds Saul of the command that was given and then asks him why he didn’t obey the voice of YHWH (v19). Amazingly, we see Saul repeatedly state that he actually has obeyed! The first words Saul speaks to Samuel are: “Blessed be thou of YHWH. I have performed the commandment of YHWH” (v13). Yet they could hear the sound of the sheep and the cattle all around them. They weren’t meant to be alive!
Saul had excuses for keeping the livestock. He actually says it was the people that kept them alive, but tells Samuel that it was for the specific purpose of making a sacrifice to YHWH. He reiterates that he has been obedient (v20), and then drops the extra information that he has also kept Agag, the king of Amalek, alive. Even so, he still says that he has utterly destroyed the Amalekites! How do we make sense of the thoughts behind Saul’s attitudes and words?
I truly believe that Saul was genuine in his belief that he had been obedient to the instructions given to him. But, he was believing a lie! We can call him stupid or say that he was living in some sort of a dream land, but is he the only one who has fallen into this position? Perhaps it’s happened with others. Perhaps it could even happen today?! In fact, we know that the very next King of Israel fell into a similar trap. David committed adultery and then had the husband killed, yet still didn’t seem to realise his sin until it was pointed out clearly and directly. Saul certainly hasn’t been the only one!
Once we realise that it’s not just Saul that’s walked in disobedience while believing the opposite, things can become a little scary. Perhaps we are vulnerable also. Perhaps we’re living this out right now! At the very least, I think it’s worth examining our own lives, hearts and attitudes. Samuel called Saul’s sin rebellion, and equated it to witchcraft! He also said his actions came out of stubbornness, saying that was the same as idolatry (v23). Heavy and dangerous words, indeed!
I’m sure there’s a myriad of ways that this can all play out in our own lives today, and we often need the Spirit to open our eyes to the truth, but let’s consider a few general examples. In our modern times, I think divorce is a huge one. I see and hear of many professing believers convincing themselves that it is God’s will for them to end their marriage when, in reality, the root cause of their issues are stubbornness and selfishness. Divorce may have become common in our day, but obviously that doesn’t make a sin not a sin. I understand that there are legitimate cases for a divorce, but with those couples in the faith, surely these situations are rare and unavoidable to a large degree. Yet, I hear stories of “prophecies” guiding people to leave their spouse for someone else! I wonder how Samuel would have reacted to that?!
Unfortunately, Christianity has fallen for this in a number of areas. There is a genuine belief that “the LORD” is being followed according to His Word, yet the seventh day Sabbath is ignored, unclean animals are eaten and pagan festivals are used as holy days. These things, and many others, are expressly forbidden in the very Scriptures they say they are obeying. To me, this sounds spookily similar to Saul! Believers nowadays may not fully understand the position they’re in, but many years ago, this should have been so obvious to the ones making these changes.
As we consider Saul’s actions, it’s amazing to realise that he had probably completed literally 99.99% of what he was commanded (particularly concerning the Amalekite people). But YHWH still saw this as disobedience! That’s another scary thought right there! You see, nothing – absolutely nothing – should ever keep us from full obedience.
As we look at Agag in particular, what was it that kept Saul from having him killed? There’s always a reason, and I think Saul’s led specifically to his downfall. I believe the King actually confessed to the real reason for his disobedience in verse 24. At this point he tells Samuel that he has, indeed, sinned and transgressed the commandment he was given. Why? Because he feared the people and obeyed their voice! These are Saul’s own words. After this confession, he asks Samuel to pardon his sin and join him to worship YHWH (v25). It’s here that things get interesting.
Perhaps Samuel realised that Saul’s confession was not true repentance – remember, YHWH had directly spoken to him the night before, saying that Saul had turned from following Him (v11). So, when Saul asked Samuel to go with him before the people, Samuel flatly refused! He said, “I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of YHWH, and YHWH has rejected you from being king over Israel” (v26). Samuel then turns to leave. Yes – he was leaving! Think about this – we already know the end of the story, but at this point, Samuel was leaving with Agag still alive! Unless we carefully look at what happens next, perhaps we miss one of the most important aspects of this story!
As Samuel turns to leave the (likely) small group of men, Saul grabs hold of him and, in the process, rips his cloak. Samuel gives a prophecy in relation to this act, before Saul again confesses his sin. But what Saul adds next, highlights the probability that his confessions were not true repentance. He says to Samuel (perhaps even pleads with him), “honour me now … before the elders of my people, and before Israel”. He asks Samuel for the second time to go with him to publicly worship YHWH. Samuel agrees this time, and Saul worships. But was it true worship? Or was it all just a big show?
We learn so much from this small part of the story. It seems that Samuel would have quietly departed from Gilgal and left Saul to sort out the mess. But, once Saul had involved Samuel before the people, Samuel was forced to publicly show his disapproval. Remember, Samuel is YHWH’s representative here, and the people needed to know the truth. If Samuel had quietly left after Saul’s public worship, the people had every right to believe that Samuel had approved all that had happened that day. And Samuel’s approval would have portrayed YHWH’s approval also. There was no way that a righteous prophet could allow this to happen.
And this is where Agag comes into the story. Saul had kept him alive – most likely to show him off before the people and increase his own glory. It’s possible that the people didn’t even know Agag was still alive, and Saul was about to make the big reveal right at this point. He was getting excited and could already begin to taste the adulation that was about to be directed towards him. He’d performed his duty in worshipping YHWH, and now it was his turn! But … Saul never got to call for Agag – Samuel did it first!!
Agag came before Israel’s leaders nervously, but he said “surely the bitterness of death is past”. Here’s another warning for us. Agag knew human nature, and so he knew that if an issue is not dealt with at the appropriate time, it has the tendency to remain. That is so true! I’ve certainly experienced it, and I assume you have too. In our lives, it can often happen when the Spirit convicts us of something that we need to change in our lives. If we don’t act upon that conviction then and there, time and [false] reasoning tend to remove the desire to actually make the change at all. The same can happen with someone coming to repentance for the first time in their lives. They may come close to that commitment, but then procrastinate. (Remember, though, we can’t force that decision from anyone – it must be from their own heart!)
Agag may have come before the Israelite leadership with the hope of being spared, but Samuel did not hesitate. After a brief word to Agag, he put the man to death. But remember, it wasn’t just an execution that Samuel carried out. He hacked the man in pieces!! Don’t think that this was some form of barbaric torture, though. There is nothing to indicate this, and Samuel’s exemplary life simply wouldn’t fit with inflicting pain and suffering for no good reason. YHWH’s command was to kill – not to torture – so I believe Agag was given a quick death. But, there is no denying that hacking Agag into pieces would have been a gruesome display for all those who witnessed it. Why did Samuel do this, when death is all that was required?
It’s important to note that we are told “Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before YHWH” (v33). I think this adds weight to the view that Samuel acted in this way because he was publicly representing YHWH. He did this in YHWH’s presence, with YHWH watching or, it could even be said, that he did this “because of” YHWH. The many Israelites watching that day would have received the message loud and clear – full obedience truly matters! There was absolutely no way that body was going to reassemble itself and come back to life. It was well and truly beyond that point now. I’m also sure Samuel’s righteous anger in that act would have highlighted the disapproval of Saul’s actions and his subsequent attitude. What was important to YHWH wasn’t truly King Saul’s priority.
Are YHWH’s desires important to you? I mean, are we truly striving to live a life of obedience for His glory, and to be that witness that shines His light before those around us!? This is very difficult to judge in others lives, but it’s our own hearts that we’ve got to examine. It’s so easy to forget that we have willingly placed ourselves under the Kingship of our Creator. We wouldn’t want it any other way, and yet our flesh still rises up at times to try to turn us from wholehearted devotion. This story tells us that it’s not worth trying to please those around us while living in disobedience.
So, what’s the answer for us when we realise there’s something in our lives that has not been 100% obeyed? Hack it to pieces … leave no resemblance of what was left undone, and give it no chance of returning again!! It seems that Saul couldn’t truly repent, but that’s exactly what was needed then – and what’s needed in our lives today.
