1 Samuel 15:20

1Sa 15:20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

Ver. 20. Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord.] He thinketh to overcome the prophet, and to make his penny good silver. He putteth God to his proofs, as those did in Jer 2:25. Et pudet non esse impudentem, as Augustine speaks.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Sa_15:20

Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me.

Sauls obedience

We invite your attention to some features of Sauls character, as drawn out by the way in which he obeyed the Divine command.

1. First, let us notice the zeal and alacrity with which Saul proceeded to carry out the Divine will. Unlike Moses, who complained of his want of eloquence when bidden to go to Pharaoh in Jehovahs name, and plead for the deliverance of his oppressed countrymen--unlike Jonah, who positively refused to bear the dread message with which he was charged to the inhabitants of the great city of Nineveh, and fled to Tarshish, to escape an unwelcome tax--Saul displayed a commendable zeal in executing the command that was laid upon him. It is obvious that he undertook the work willingly, and executed it zealously. No victory could be more complete. The King was a prisoner. The people were slain. In the Kings estimation the Divine command was fully carried out. Saul does not seem to have had the slightest misgiving as to the correctness of his own interpretation of the Divine command. He felt that be bad done a great work, and that on this occasion no one could breathe a word against him. Poor deluded, self-conceited King of Israel! We are often told that history repeats itself, and it is certain that the history of Saul, King of Israel, has been often reproduced in the history of the Church of Christ. Jehu did a work for God, and he did it with alacrity. He destroyed the worshippers of Baal--nay, more than this, for it is said that he destroyed Baal out of Israel. And yet the future of that man was a sad one. We read that he took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart; for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin (2Ki_10:1-36). The Pharisees in the time of our Lord had a zeal for God. They reverenced the law of Moses, and paid to it a certain obedience (Mat_23:1-39). And yet upon no body of men did our Divine Master so pour forth the torrent of His indignation as upon those arrogant, self-righteous, self-satisfied Pharisees. And is there not a voice of warning for us in these instances of antiquity Men of wealth may dedicate that wealth to God. They may build a church, or a hospital, or a school. And yet that building so externally lovely may be hideous--hideous, I say, to that God that seeth in secret. Self, and self alone, may have been its foundation stone It may be but a monument of human selfishness and ambition. Another man may take an interest in the missionary cause and devote his wealth to the spreading abroad of the knowledge of God. This indeed is a good object, and worthy of our best energies But, oh! if men engage in the work from any but the highest motive--the desire of saving precious souls for whom Christ has died--if being men of narrow views they seize it as an opportunity for advancing their own religions party; if above all they allow their so-called religious zeal to deaden their instincts of common justice and even humanity; if they would fain silence all but those as narrow-minded as themselves--surely they have not caught fully the spirit of our Divine Master.

2. We have seen that Sauls obedience was marred by a spirit of boastful self-confidence. And his history is instructive, because the spirit of Saul still lives in the religious professor of the present day. Tell the respectable man as he leaves the church porch that he is a sinner, that there is iniquity in his holy things--sin in his prayers, sin in his praises--tell him, in the touching language of the good Bishop Beveridge, that his very repentance needs to be repented of, and that his tears need washing in the blood of Christ, and he indignantly repudiates the charge, and says, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me. Self-confidence is the mark of the natural man. Self-distrust is the mark of the genuine disciple of Christ. (C. B. Brigstocke.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Sa 15:20-21. Have brought Agag the king — To be dealt with as God pleaseth. Strange stupidity! to imagine such a partial obedience could be pleasing unto God. But the people took of the spoil — It was a mean thing to throw all the blame on the people, whom he ought to have governed better; and it was worst of all to pretend religion for his disobedience. The things which should have been utterly destroyed — Here he shows that he was conscious he had not done as he was commanded.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He standeth most impudently in his own defense both against God and his own conscience.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(20) Yea, I have obeyed . . .—These and the words which follow are simply a repetition of the king’s former excuse for his act: but they show us what was the state of Saul’s mind: he evidently disbelieved in the power of the Eternal as a heart reader. If he could justify himself before Samuel, that was all he cared for. He asserted his own integrity of purpose and his great zeal for the public sacrifice to God, knowing all the while that low earthly reasons had been the springs of his conduct. He reiterated the plea that what he had done was in accordance with the voice of the people, conscious all the while that the plea was false.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20. Yea, I have obeyed] Saul still persists in justifying his conduct. (a) He had fulfilled his mission and destroyed the Amalekites, and brought Agag with him in proof thereof. (b) The people had brought home the spoil for sacrifice, not for themselves.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Saul said to Samuel, yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord,.... Here Saul breaks in upon Samuel before he had declared all that the Lord had said unto him; for having expostulated with him for not obeying the voice of the Lord, he could not forbear interrupting him, but with the utmost assurance affirms he had obeyed the voice of the Lord; but then it was very imperfectly, and poor proof does he give of it:

and have gone the way which the Lord sent me; it is very true he went into the country of Amalek, but he did not do there all the Lord commanded him:

and have brought Agag the king of Amalek; took him alive, and brought him captive; whereas he ought to have destroyed him at once, and not have reserved him for triumph; a sad proof this of his obeying the voice of the Lord:

and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites; all that came in his way, in which he did right; but then he had not destroyed the principal of them, their king.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Lord. Septuagint, "of the people."

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

He addeth obstinacy and impenitency to his crime, and justifies his fact, though he hath nothing of any moment to say but what he said before. So he gives Samuel the lie, and reflects upon him as one that had falsely accused him.

Have brought Agag to be dealt with as God pleaseth, and as thou thinkest fit.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

20. Yea, I have obeyed — Still the guilty spirit seeks to justify itself. Strange stupidity! Sullen perversity! How prone are sinners to throw their guilt on others, or else to plead for it a religious motive! Saul did both.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 20, 21. Saul"s justifcation of himself is remarkable, as he seems entirely unconscious of having done anything wrong. His education had no doubt been defective, (1Sa_10:12) and his knowledge of the law was probably very small; but he must have listened to Samuel"s injunctions in a very off hand way, and have troubled himself about very little more than that he was to make war upon the Amalekites. There may even have been the wish in his mind to let Samuel know that he was now king, and would carry on affairs after his own fashion. The very form of his answer requires notice; for the word rendered yea is literally in that, or because, and may be paraphrased as follows: Do you reproach me thus because I have obeyed you? See, there is Agag in proof of our victory; and if the people have spared the cattle, it was with the best of intentions. The next clause, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, reads in the A.V like an ironical parenthesis. It is not so, but an important part of Saul"s defence. These sheep and oxen were "the best of the devoted things," selected as the first fruits for sacrifice. Saul may not have known that such a sacrifice was forbidden. (Deu_13:15-17) The words, to sacrifice unto Jehovah thy God, imply that Samuel ought to be pleased at the victorious army doing this public homage to the Deity whose prophet he was. It was virtually a compliment to himself, and is very much in accordance with the notions of the generality of people now, who consider that attendance at a place of worship, or sending their children to school, is a favour to the clergyman.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The king - To be dealt with as God pleaseth.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

"Yea, I have hearkened to the voice of Jehovah (אשׁר serving, like כּי ekil , to introduce the reply: here it is used in the sense of asseveration, utique, yea), and have brought Agag the king of the Amalekites, and banned Amalek." Bringing Agag he mentioned probably as a practical proof that he had carried out the war of extermination against the Amalekites.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

I have indeed obeyed the voice of Yahweh

This is an emphatic statement. It is unclear if Saul thought this was true, or if he was simply making excuses for his sin.

the voice of Yahweh

Here "voice" refers to the commands that Yahweh spoke. AT: "the things that Yahweh commanded" (See: Metonymy)

Agag

This is the name of the king of the Amalekites. (See: How to Translate Names)

But the people took

This appears to be shifting the blame to the people.

things devoted to destruction

"animals that Yahweh commanded them to destroy"

Gilgal

This is the name of a place. (See: How to Translate Names)

translationWords

Amalek

ewe

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.