1 Samuel 15:21 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal."

NIV: The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal."

NASB: But the people took some of the spoils, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things designated for destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.'

CSB: The troops took sheep, goats, and cattle from the plunder—the best of what was set apart for destruction—to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal."

NLT: Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.'

KJV: But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.

NKJV: But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

King Saul has been confronted with sin and is making excuses. In the previous verse (1 Samuel 15:20), all his statements about what he did right, according to him, began with the pronoun "I." He said, in essence, "I have obeyed. I have almost the Amalekites to destruction."

Now, Saul shifts the focus to the wrong choices of the people. "They" took the spoil, the best sheep and oxen, instead of devoting them to destruction as the Lord commanded. "They" had the idea to bring them back here to Gilgal to sacrifice to the Lord instead of killing them all on the spot. The good things, Saul claims, while the disobedient things he blames on the soldiers.

Yet Saul is king (1 Samuel 15:17). The narrative has already implicated Saul in this decision to retain the spoil (1 Samuel 15:9). But even if the choice was the soldiers' idea, Saul knew about it and failed to act. He abdicated his role and responsibility as leader by knowingly permitting his troops to disobey a direct command from the Lord.

Perhaps attempting to justify himself or stand up for his followers, Saul says they reserved the best of the plunder "to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal." He seems to be trying to convince Samuel that the reservation of the spoils was done with good intent (1 Samuel 15:15). It's interesting that Saul refers to Samuel's God, not his or even the people's. In short, Saul first blames his followers and then says they didn't do anything wrong to begin with.

All these responses miss the point: Saul was given authority and a directive from God (1 Samuel 15:3), and he chose not to complete the mission (1 Samuel 15:9). Denial, deflection, and blame-shifting are the common tools of politics and misbehaving children, but they come easily to all people (Romans 3:23). The Lord cannot be fooled into accepting what is not true, no matter how sincere our objections are.

As Samuel will explain, God doesn't want His people to choose when to obey, thinking we can do better that His commands. He wants trusting obedience—anything else is self-worship and sin (1 Samuel 15:22–23).

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.