God ordered Saul to kill everyone
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| Samuel_reproving_Saul (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Did Samuel make a mistake? Was Samuel human like everyone else? (1 Samuel 9–11; 13; 15-17).
Do you feel for Saul. He started well but finished badly. According to 1 Samuel 9:2, he was “An impressive young man without equal.”
After Saul has been briefly introduced, we immediately start into the story of how Saul and Samuel meet. In verse 9, we are given some parenthetical background information. “Before time in Israel,” it tells us, “when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was before time called a Seer.” The picture we have in 1 Samuel 9–10 is of a good and modest man (compare verse 1 of chapter 9 with verse 21 in the same chapter) who has the wisdom to keep his mouth shut (1 Samuel 10:14–16) and the good sense to at least try avoiding the limelight (1 Samuel 10:21–22). But whether he likes it or not, he’s going to be king, and he’ll have to deal with everything else that goes along with that.
And apparently the first thing that goes with being king is going to war. He is not crowned until after his first attempt at war, which happens t
o be against Nahash the Ammonite. In 1 Samuel 11:2, Nahash the Ammonite tells the men of Jabash-Gilead that the only way he will agree to any kind of a covenant of peace with them is if “I may thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel.” Considering that they had offered to surrender and serve him, these men sensibly tell Nahash to let them think about that for a little while and then promptly sent messengers to Saul instead.
Of course, Saul wins. In verse 12, the people offer him vengeance against those who hadn’t supported him, he nobly declines in verse 13, and in verse 15 he is officially crowned king. Fast-forward to chapter 13, when Saul has been king for a couple of years. This is the chapter when things start to go wrong for Saul and is mentioned in our sermon for Sunday July 29th "Fearless".
In 1 Samuel 13:1–2, we learn that Saul has 3,000 men and Jonathan his son has 1,000 men. In verse 5, the Philistines gather to fight against Saul and his army, and we learn that the odds are not good: the Philisti
nes have 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and a seemingly infinite infantry. Some of the Israelites hide; some run away; and the remainder “followed [Saul] trembling” (verse 7). It seems like a good time for a sacrifice, but Samuel doesn’t arrive when he is supposed to, and Saul goes ahead without him. Samuel arrives just after Saul finishes. Samuel says, “What have you done?” and Saul explains. In verse 12, he says, “The Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lords favour, so I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
Samuel disagrees. In verses 13 and 14, he says, “You acted foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord I gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time”
After this story, we are back to a description of the war against the Philistines. However, let's have a quick look at chapters 15–17.
1 Samuel 15:22: “But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD ? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
What, precisely, was Saul’s act of disobedience?
To find out, you have to go back to 1 Samuel 15:3, where God instructs Samuel to give Saul the following instructions: “Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.' "
In verse 9 we read, “But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everythi
ng that was despised and weak they totally destroyed”
You may recall the Amalekites in the Old Testament. Queen Esther and her fight against Haman the Amalekite, who almost succeeds in getting the Persians to wipe out the Jews for him.
So, Saul’s disobedience had grave consequences for the Jews later. Saul was a war king, and that going to war and killing people was part of his job description. But many people don’t understand why Saul was ordered to kill everybody, including women, babies, and toddlers. In fact, upon reading this portion of scripture, some people would be prepared to reject God entirely.
Samuel finds out about Saul’s disobedience from the Lord, and he is so upset that in verse 11 we learn that “he cried unto the Lord all night.” In verses 13 through 16, Samuel and Saul talk to each other. “
1 Samuel 15:13-16 “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. Stop! Samuel said to Saul. "Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night. “Tell me," Saul replied.
Verses 17–19 contains Samuel’s stinging rebuke for Saul.
“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; make war on 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 ?"
What happens next is very dramatic.
1 Samuel 15:26-35
But Samuel said to him, "I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you as king over Israel!" As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. Samuel said to him, "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbours—to one better than you. He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind."Saul replied, "I have sinned. (But don't lket people know, please) But please honour me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD your God. (Let's make an appearance of spirituality)" So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the LORD. Then Samuel said, "Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites." Agag came to him confidently, [a] thinking, "Surely the bitterness of death is past."
DID SAMUEL MAKE A MISTAKE HERE? But Samuel said, "As your sword has made women childless, so will your mother be childless among women." And Samuel put Agag to death before the LORD at Gilgal. Then Samuel left for Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul.
Do you feel for Saul. He started well but finished badly. According to 1 Samuel 9:2, he was “An impressive young man without equal.”
After Saul has been briefly introduced, we immediately start into the story of how Saul and Samuel meet. In verse 9, we are given some parenthetical background information. “Before time in Israel,” it tells us, “when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was before time called a Seer.” The picture we have in 1 Samuel 9–10 is of a good and modest man (compare verse 1 of chapter 9 with verse 21 in the same chapter) who has the wisdom to keep his mouth shut (1 Samuel 10:14–16) and the good sense to at least try avoiding the limelight (1 Samuel 10:21–22). But whether he likes it or not, he’s going to be king, and he’ll have to deal with everything else that goes along with that.
And apparently the first thing that goes with being king is going to war. He is not crowned until after his first attempt at war, which happens t
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| David and Saul (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Of course, Saul wins. In verse 12, the people offer him vengeance against those who hadn’t supported him, he nobly declines in verse 13, and in verse 15 he is officially crowned king. Fast-forward to chapter 13, when Saul has been king for a couple of years. This is the chapter when things start to go wrong for Saul and is mentioned in our sermon for Sunday July 29th "Fearless".
In 1 Samuel 13:1–2, we learn that Saul has 3,000 men and Jonathan his son has 1,000 men. In verse 5, the Philistines gather to fight against Saul and his army, and we learn that the odds are not good: the Philisti
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| Apparition of the spirit of Samuel to Saul, by Salvator Rosa, 1668. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Samuel disagrees. In verses 13 and 14, he says, “You acted foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord I gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time”
After this story, we are back to a description of the war against the Philistines. However, let's have a quick look at chapters 15–17.
1 Samuel 15:22: “But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD ? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
What, precisely, was Saul’s act of disobedience?
To find out, you have to go back to 1 Samuel 15:3, where God instructs Samuel to give Saul the following instructions: “Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.' "
In verse 9 we read, “But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everythi
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| The Shade of Samuel Invoked by Saul (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
You may recall the Amalekites in the Old Testament. Queen Esther and her fight against Haman the Amalekite, who almost succeeds in getting the Persians to wipe out the Jews for him.
So, Saul’s disobedience had grave consequences for the Jews later. Saul was a war king, and that going to war and killing people was part of his job description. But many people don’t understand why Saul was ordered to kill everybody, including women, babies, and toddlers. In fact, upon reading this portion of scripture, some people would be prepared to reject God entirely.
Samuel finds out about Saul’s disobedience from the Lord, and he is so upset that in verse 11 we learn that “he cried unto the Lord all night.” In verses 13 through 16, Samuel and Saul talk to each other. “
1 Samuel 15:13-16 “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. Stop! Samuel said to Saul. "Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night. “Tell me," Saul replied.
Verses 17–19 contains Samuel’s stinging rebuke for Saul.
“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; make war on 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 ?"
What happens next is very dramatic.
1 Samuel 15:26-35
But Samuel said to him, "I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you as king over Israel!" As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. Samuel said to him, "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbours—to one better than you. He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind."Saul replied, "I have sinned. (But don't lket people know, please) But please honour me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD your God. (Let's make an appearance of spirituality)" So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the LORD. Then Samuel said, "Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites." Agag came to him confidently, [a] thinking, "Surely the bitterness of death is past."
DID SAMUEL MAKE A MISTAKE HERE? But Samuel said, "As your sword has made women childless, so will your mother be childless among women." And Samuel put Agag to death before the LORD at Gilgal. Then Samuel left for Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul.
So what can we LEARN from this story? Saul excused his rebellion with spirituality. Saul is more interested in his image than obedience. Saul lives with a sense of "there's never enough", so he had to look after himself. As compared to Jonathon.
What else can we LEARN from this story? It certainly gives us an opportunity to think about the nature of the God we believe in. We have several possibilities to consider:"
(1) God commanded Saul to kill people, some of whom were women, infants and babies. Many people are extremely uncomfortable with this. How does commanding the murder of women and children fit into God’s nature? Many people have rejected this kind of God, because they feel that such a God is cruel and perhaps evil? Yet we know from the Bible, that God is holy and can never be accused of being evil. To answer this, we must ask the question: "Does God have the right to judge?" From Genesis we learn, that "If a person sins, they die". but as we read further capital punishment for sin is reduced greatly. What is happening? Is grace emerging, where God provides second chances?
(2) God commands Saul to kill other people, but there might be more to the story than what we have in the scriptures, and if we understood what the reasoning was, we would understand why this was necessary. That’s better than the first option, but it’s still terribly weak because it is extremely unsatisfying. However, it at least offers us the option of saying that we don’t know it all. And the truth is, we don’t.
(3) Samuel may have been mistaken as to the source of the inspiration. Just as Saul’s evil spirit was not from God, it is also possible that Samuel was mistaken about the source of his revelation on this subject. Samuel could have been influenced by the adversary, but he also could have been influenced by his own feelings and simply been mistaken. This was a cruel and brutal age, after all. (Remember Nahash the Ammonite in 1 Samuel 11:2 and his rejection of any peace that doesn’t involve mutilating the men of Israel by half blinding them?)
God does not have the morals of a thug, and so many Christians would reject (1). Others would hold a position between (2) and (3), because we have to concede that we don’t know everything (not even close!) and that we are far from having the full story.
What about (3)? Did Samuel made a mistake, and that the Israelites were as human and prone to making mistakes as we are?
WHY SUCH A RADICAL COMMAND?
Samuel also said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”
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| English: The Shade of Samuel Invoked by Saul Русский: Аэндорская волшебница вызывает тень пророка Самуила (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Samuel also said to Saul: This was a message from the spiritual leader of Israel to the political and military leader of Israel. The message was clear: punish what Amalek did to Israel . . . go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. The judgment Israel was to bring against Amalek was frighteningly complete: Kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. God clearly told Samuel to tell Saul to bring a total judgment against the Amalekites.
Utterly destroy: This Hebrew verb (heherim) is used seven times in this account. The idea of total, complete judgment is certainly stressed.
Why? What did the Amalekites do that was so bad?
Samuel explained that to Saul also: how he laid wait for him on the way when he came up from Egypt. Centuries before this, the Amalekites were the first peoples to attack Israel after their escape from Egypt (Exodus 17).
Hundreds of years before, the Lord said He would bring this kind of judgment against Amalek: Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner; for he said, “Because the Lord has sworn: the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” (Exodus 17:14-16)
Deuteronomy 25:17-19 repeats the point: Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God. Therefore, it shall be, when the Lord your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget.
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| English: DAVID PLAYING THE HARP BEFORE KING SAUL.—1 Samuel xvi. 23. Русский: Давид играет на арфе перед Саулом (1Цар. 16:23) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Why did God hold it against the Amalekites? This shows us an important principle: time does not erase sin before God. Before man, time should erase sin. The years should make us forgiving to one another.
But before God, time cannot atone for sin. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can erase sin, not time. In fact, the time was time that the Amalekites were mercifully given opportunity to repent.
And they did not repent! The hundreds of years of hardened unrepentant hearts made them more guilty, not less guilty! “Though it be four hundred years since, and I may seem to have forgotten it. It is ill angering the Ancient of Days; his forbearance is no quittance.” (Trapp)
“Nothing could justify such an exterminating decree but the absolute authority of God. This was given: all the reasons of it we do not know; but this we know well, The Judge of all the earth doth right. This war was not for plunder, for God commanded that all the property as well as the people should be destroyed.” (Clarke)
If God wanted to judge the Amalekites, why didn’t He just do it Himself?
He complete destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah without any help from man. Why not just do the same here? But God had a special purpose in this for His special nation, Israel. He wanted it to be a test of obedience for Saul, and all of Israel. Plus, since Amalek’s sin against Israel was a military attack, God wanted to make the judgment fit the sin.
Would God call His people today to fight such a war of judgment?
Many today are afraid that this is the real agenda of the “religious right.” But God has a completely different call for Christians under the New Covenant than He did for Israel under the Old Covenant.
Jesus made it clear that He was establishing a spiritual kingdom, not a political or a military kingdom. Jesus said in John 18:36: My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.
Paul made it clear that the enemies of the church were not material, but spiritual: For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)
Through the centuries, whenever the church has tried to rule the world politically or militarily, it has run into enormous trouble. We want to win the world for Jesus Christ, but we want to do it through the influence of individual lives, transformed one at a time by the spiritual power of Jesus Christ.
Though God no longer calls His people to take up arms as instruments of His judgment, it does not mean that God has stopped judging the nations. “But we cannot suppose, for a single moment, that the judgment of the nations is to be altogether relegated to that final day. Throughout the history of the world the nations have been standing before Christ’s bar. Nineveh stood there, Babylon stood there, Greece and Rome stood there, Spain and France stood there, and Great Britain is standing there to-day. One after another has had the solemn word - depart, and they have passed into a destruction which has been absolute and terrible.” (Meyer)
“Nothing could justify such an exterminating decree but the absolute authority of God. This was given: all the reasons of it we do not know; but this we know well, The Judge of all the earth doth right. This war was not for plunder, for God commanded that all the property as well as the people should be destroyed.” (Clarke)
If God wanted to judge the Amalekites, why didn’t He just do it Himself?
He complete destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah without any help from man. Why not just do the same here? But God had a special purpose in this for His special nation, Israel. He wanted it to be a test of obedience for Saul, and all of Israel. Plus, since Amalek’s sin against Israel was a military attack, God wanted to make the judgment fit the sin.
Would God call His people today to fight such a war of judgment?
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| English: Statuary Samuel greeting Saul in Ceremoniall Hall in Hradisko Monastery in Olomouc (Czech Republic) created by Josef A. Winterhalder in 1734. Česky: Sousoší Samuel vítá Saula ve slavnostním sále v klášteře Hradisko v Olomouci je z roku 1734 a vytvořil jej Josef A. Winterhalder. Deutsch: Statuengruppe Samuel grüßt Saul im Festsaal im Kloster Hradisko im Olomouc vom 1734. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Jesus made it clear that He was establishing a spiritual kingdom, not a political or a military kingdom. Jesus said in John 18:36: My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.
Paul made it clear that the enemies of the church were not material, but spiritual: For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)
Through the centuries, whenever the church has tried to rule the world politically or militarily, it has run into enormous trouble. We want to win the world for Jesus Christ, but we want to do it through the influence of individual lives, transformed one at a time by the spiritual power of Jesus Christ.
Though God no longer calls His people to take up arms as instruments of His judgment, it does not mean that God has stopped judging the nations. “But we cannot suppose, for a single moment, that the judgment of the nations is to be altogether relegated to that final day. Throughout the history of the world the nations have been standing before Christ’s bar. Nineveh stood there, Babylon stood there, Greece and Rome stood there, Spain and France stood there, and Great Britain is standing there to-day. One after another has had the solemn word - depart, and they have passed into a destruction which has been absolute and terrible.” (Meyer)
