1 Samuel 15:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, "Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord."

NIV: When Samuel reached him, Saul said, "The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions."

NASB: So Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, 'Blessed are you of the Lord! I have carried out the command of the Lord.'

CSB: When Samuel came to him, Saul said, "May the Lord bless you. I have carried out the Lord’s instructions."

NLT: When Samuel finally found him, Saul greeted him cheerfully. 'May the Lord bless you,' he said. 'I have carried out the Lord’s command!'

KJV: And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord.

NKJV: Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the Lord! I have performed the commandment of the Lord.”

The prophet Samuel has been looking for Saul to confront him. Saul has disobeyed God's command to utterly wipe out all the people and animals of the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:3, 9). Now Samuel catches up to Saul at Gilgal. This seems appropriate since it is where Saul was finally and openly declared the king (1 Samuel 11:14–15) and where the rejection of his kingdom was announced following his previous disobedience of the Lord (1 Samuel 13:7–15).

Saul greets Samuel and immediately begins to lie to the prophet or, perhaps, to reveal that he has been lying to himself. Saul's greeting is the standard among the Israelites: "Blessed be you to the LORD." Then Saul adds that he has performed the commandment of the Lord.

Since the Lord's command was for Saul to kill every living thing among the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:3) and since he obviously did not do so (1 Samuel 15:9), Saul's blunt claim that he obeyed God seems all the more foolish.

First Samuel 15:10–23 records God's response to Saul's partial obedience regarding the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:3, 9). The Lord tells Samuel that Saul's acts—which amount to rejecting God's commands—will result in the end of Saul's rule. When Samuel confronts Saul, the king makes excuses and claims he intended to sacrifice the condemned animals to the Lord. Samuel responds with a poetic statement about how God wants obedience, not arrogant attempts to improve on His commands.

Samuel gives Saul a mission from the Lord: fulfill God's judgment on the Amalekites by killing all the people and all the animals. Saul and his army defeat Amalek, but they spare the king and the best animals. Samuel confronts Saul and reveals that because of his disobedience, the Lord has rejected Saul as king over Israel. Samuel worships the Lord with Saul one last time and then executes the Amalekite king Saul failed to kill.

First Samuel 14 ended with a summary of Saul's reign; chapter 15 describes God's rejection of Saul as king. First Samuel 13 had already indicated that Saul's household would not retain the kingdom due to Saul's disobedience (1 Samuel 13:8–14); here Saul himself is rejected. The Lord commands Saul to fulfill His longstanding judgment against the Amalekites. Saul and his army defeat Amalek, but Saul disobeys God by sparing the king and the best animals. Saul eventually admits that he has sinned, but Samuel says God will not change His mind about rejecting Saul as king. From a heavenly perspective, Saul is rejected; but from an earthly perspective, he would continue his rule for another fifteen to twenty years.

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.

Accessed 11/21/2024 7:31:28 AM