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| 1 And Samuel said to Saul, Jehovah sent *me* to anoint thee king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken to the voice of the words of Jehovah. |
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| 2 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: I have considered what Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. |
Amalek – A branch of Esau's family related to the Israelites and the Arabs of today. R4207. 2
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| 3 Now go and smite Amalek, and destroy utterly all that they have, and spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. |
Go and smite Amalek – Typical of wilful sinners of the next age. F174
The people of the land of Canaan had allowed their cup of iniquity to come to the full. R5663:5
These Amalekites, Sodomites and others were set forth as examples of God's just indignation and his ultimate destruction of evil-doers. OV227:5; A112
The Lord used Israel as his sword to enforce his judgment. R4207:3
No injustice, as the Amalekites were already under the death sentence. F174
And utterly destroy – Did not mean they went to eternal torture. R3224:6
Under divine arrangement, when iniquities have reached their full, punishment is to be expected. R5647:6, R3225:1
As examples of God's just indignation and determination to destroy evil-doers; examples which will be of service not only to others, but also to themselves when their day of judgment or trial comes. HG345:6
And spare them not – The death by the sword was with much less pain than if it had been by pestilence. R3224:6
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| 4 And Saul summoned the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. |
200,000 footmen – Little more than one-third of the number that left Egypt. (Num. 1:45, 46) HG362:3
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| 5 And Saul came to the city of the Amalekites, and set an ambush in the valley. |
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| 6 And Saul said to the Kenites, Go, depart, and go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt. And the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. |
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| 7 And Saul smote Amalek from Havilah as thou comest to Shur, which is opposite to Egypt. |
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| 8 And he took Agag the king of Amalek alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. |
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| 9 And Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep and oxen, and beasts of the second bearing, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not devote them to destruction; but everything that was mean and weak, that they destroyed utterly. |
People spared Agag – Many are disposed to destroy the foolish things connected with sin, but to save alive the king sin. R3225:3
Not utterly destroy – Showing too slack an appreciation of the Lord's word. R4208:1
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| 10 And the word of Jehovah came to Samuel, saying, |
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| 11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king; for he is turned away from following me, and hath not fulfilled my words. And Samuel was much grieved; and he cried to Jehovah all night. |
Is turned back – Saul had not misunderstood, but had with considerable deliberation violated instructions. R3225:1, R5431:2, R5647:6
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| 12 And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set him up a monument, and has turned about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. |
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| 13 And Samuel came to Saul; and Saul said to him, Blessed art thou of Jehovah: I have fulfilled the word of Jehovah. |
I have performed – To a considerable extent hypocritical. R3225:1, R5431:2, R5648:1
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| 14 And Samuel said, What means then this bleating of sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of oxen which I hear? |
Bleating of the sheep – Israel was not to destroy their enemies for their own advantage and enrichment but to act as the agent of the Lord in executing his decree. R3225:2, R5648:1
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| 15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites, because the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice to Jehovah thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. |
To sacrifice – Fallen human nature ever seeks to justify itself in its disobedience to God. R5431:3
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| 16 And Samuel said to Saul, Stay, that I may tell thee what Jehovah has said to me this night. And he said to him, Say on. |
This night – The night preceding, because in Jewish reckoning their day began in the evening. R5648:1
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| 17 And Samuel said, Was it not when thou wast little in thine eyes that thou becamest the head of the tribes of Israel, and Jehovah anointed thee king over Israel? |
When thou wast little – It is only the humble that God can exalt and use. R1888:4, R4197:4
Christians must likewise be taller than their fellows in respect to character, but still humble. R4197:4
Anointed thee king – The exaltation of Saul proved too great a temptation. R1888:4
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| 18 And Jehovah sent thee on a way and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. |
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| 19 Why then didst thou not hearken to the voice of Jehovah, but didst fall upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of Jehovah? |
Fly upon the spoil – A selfish desire for things which the Lord has condemned. R4208:1
Imitating the robber nations about them. R3225:2
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| 20 And Saul said to Samuel, I have indeed hearkened to the voice of Jehovah, and have gone the way which Jehovah sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. |
I have obeyed – Saul had grown more self confident and less reliant upon the Lord, less attentive to the Lord's commands. R5648:2
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| 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the devoted things, to sacrifice to Jehovah thy God in Gilgal. |
But the people – A man-fearing spirit, fearing the reproaches of the people. R4208:1
To sacrifice – See comments on 1 Sam. 15:15 from R5431:3.
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| 22 And Samuel said, Has Jehovah delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, As in hearkening to the voice of Jehovah? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, Attention than the fat of rams. |
To obey – Obedience to God demands that we strive to be just in deed and word and thought. R5430:6
A man must be just before he is generous. R5430:6
To obey God is a duty of the very highest type. R5431:3
Better than sacrifice – No sacrifice will be acceptable unless we first obey his word. R5431:2, R5647:3
Israel often mistakenly felt that their injustices could be righted by sacrifice. R5430:2
Before we can make much development in the cultivation of sacrificial love we must learn to have a love of justice. R5430:5
How careful it should make us to inquire what the will of the Lord is. SM438:3
How many of those who have heard the call to "Come out of" Babylon need to heed the instructions of this lesson. R3224:3, R5431:1, R5647:3
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| 23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination, And selfwill is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, He hath also rejected thee from being king. |
Sin of witchcraft – Human wilfulness trusts to erring human judgment in preference to the infallible divine judgment. R1888:1
Idolatry – Human wilfulness adores and seeks to please self rather than God. R1888:1
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| 24 And Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of Jehovah, and thy words; for I feared the people, and hearkened to their voice. |
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| 25 And now, I pray thee, forgive my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship Jehovah. |
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| 26 And Samuel said to Saul, I will not turn again with thee; for thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, and Jehovah has rejected thee from being king over Israel. |
I will not return – Hence absurd to suppose that Samuel would hold any conference with Saul arranged by the witch of Endor. HG726:5
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| 27 And as Samuel turned to go away, Saul laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. |
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| 28 Then Samuel said to him, Jehovah has rent the kingdom of Israel from thee to-day, and has given it to thy neighbour, who is better than thou. |
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| 29 And also the Hope of Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent. |
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| 30 And he said, I have sinned; honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship Jehovah thy God. |
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| 31 So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped Jehovah. |
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| 32 And Samuel said, Bring ye near to me Agag the king of Amalek. And Agag came to him gaily. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. |
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| 33 And Samuel said, As thy sword has made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless above women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before Jehovah in Gilgal. |
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| 34 And Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul. |
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| 35 And Samuel saw Saul no more until the day of his death; for Samuel mourned over Saul; and Jehovah repented that he had made Saul king over Israel. |
No more to see Saul – Had no further dealings with him in any way, showing that the manifestations to the witch of Endor were the work of the fallen angels. R2172:3
It was no longer Samuel's province to go to Saul respecting the interests of the kingdom. R4209:1
Samuel mourned – As a father over a wayward son. R1888:2
Having a feeling of compassion for those who were out of the way. R5648:5
So we feel a deep interest in matters and persons of our intimate association. R4209:1
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