This is another of the Bible’s hard stories. God sent Saul and the army of Israel to destroy the Amalekites: “kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey” (I Samuel 15:3). Saul and his men went to execute this command: they killed all the people of Amalek except for Agag their king, and slaughtering all the sheep and cattle except for the very best (15:7-9).

Samuel scolded Saul for his disobedience to Yahweh’s command, while Saul argued that he had done just what he had been told, killing everyone but the king, and bringing home the best animals to be sacrificed to the Lord (15:13-21). Possibly it was an afterthought that the animals were for sacrifice; at first, it appears, they kept back the best animals because they did not want to destroy them (15:9). In any case, “obedience is better than sacrifice” (15:22).

In this story it is notable that in his conversation with Samuel, Saul repeatedly spoke of “the Lord your God” (15:15, 21, 30) – not “the Lord my God” or “the Lord our God.” This gives us at least a hint that Saul recognized that Samuel had a connection or relationship to God in a way that Saul himself did not have. Saul could recognize that he had sinned, but his repentance seems shallow, mostly about maintaining his own pride before the people (15:30). Samuel, in contrast, poured out his heart, crying out to the Lord all night long (15:11).

We should notice as well how the story shows us a contrast within the character of God. “The Glory of Israel will not recant or change his mind; for he is not mortal, that he should change his mind” (15:29); and yet “the Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel” (15:35; also 15:11). This tells us that there is something about God which never changes, and also something that does. God will not “go back on his word,” and yet “because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king” (15:23).

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Obedience is better than sacrifice, O Lord, but we are not good at obedience. Our repentance is shallow, and our relationship with you is weak. We trust that you will not go back on your word, yet we recognize that there is a lot for you to regret about decisions we have made. Help us, Lord: for if you do not save us and sustain us, we are truly lost.

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