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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 And Jehovah saith unto Samuel, 'Till when art thou mourning for Saul, and I have rejected him from reigning over Israel fill thy horn with oil, and go, I send thee unto Jesse the Beth-Lehemite, for I have seen among his sons for Myself a king. |
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| 2 And Samuel saith, 'How do I go when Saul hath heard, then he hath slain me.' And Jehovah saith, 'A heifer of the herd thou dost take in thy hand, and hast said, To sacrifice to Jehovah I have come; |
Amalek – A branch of Esau's family related to the Israelites and the Arabs of today. R4207. 2
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| 3 and thou hast called for Jesse in the sacrifice, and I cause thee to know that which thou dost do, and thou hast anointed to Me him of whom I speak unto thee.' |
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 Samuel doth that which Jehovah hath spoken, and cometh in to Beth-Lehem, and the elders of the city tremble to meet him, and [one] saith, 'Is thy coming peace ' |
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 he saith, 'Peace; to sacrifice to Jehovah I have come, sanctify yourselves, and ye have come in with me to the sacrifice;' and he sanctifieth Jesse and his sons, and calleth them to the sacrifice. |
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| 6 And it cometh to pass, in their coming in, that he seeth Eliab, and saith, 'Surely, before Jehovah [is] His anointed.' |
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| 7 And Jehovah saith unto Samuel, 'Look not unto his appearance, and unto the height of his stature, for I have rejected him; for [it is] not as man seeth for man looketh at the eyes, and Jehovah looketh at the heart.' |
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| 8 And Jesse calleth unto Abinadab, and causeth him to pass by before Samuel; and he saith, 'Also on this Jehovah hath not fixed.' |
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| 9 And Jesse causeth Shammah to pass by, and he saith, 'Also on this Jehovah hath not fixed.'
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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 Jesse causeth seven of his sons to pass by before Samuel, and Samuel saith to Jesse, 'Jehovah hath not fixed on these.' |
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| 11 And Samuel saith unto Jesse, 'Are the young men finished ' and he saith, 'Yet hath been left the youngest; and lo, he delighteth himself among the flock;' and Samuel saith unto Jesse, 'Send and take him, for we do not turn round till his coming in hither.' |
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 he sendeth, and bringeth him in, and he [is] ruddy, with beauty of eyes, and of good appearance; and Jehovah saith, 'Rise, anoint him, for this [is] he.' |
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| 13 And Samuel taketh the horn of oil, and anointeth him in the midst of his brethren, and prosper over David doth the Spirit of Jehovah from that day and onwards; and Samuel riseth and goeth to Ramath. |
I have performed – To a considerable extent hypocritical. R3225:1, R5431:2, R5648:1
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| 14 And the Spirit of Jehovah turned aside from Saul, and a spirit of sadness from Jehovah terrified him; |
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 the servants of Saul say unto him, 'Lo, we pray thee, a spirit of sadness [from] God is terrifying thee; |
To sacrifice – Fallen human nature ever seeks to justify itself in its disobedience to God. R5431:3
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| 16 let our lord command, we pray thee, thy servants before thee, they seek a skilful man, playing on a harp, and it hath come to pass, in the spirit of sadness [from] God being upon thee, that he hath played with his hand, and [it is] well with thee.' |
This night – The night preceding, because in Jewish reckoning their day began in the evening. R5648:1
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| 17 And Saul saith unto his servants, 'Provide, I pray you, for me a man playing well then ye have brought [him] in unto me.' |
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 one of the servants answereth and saith, 'Lo, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-Lehemite, skilful in playing, and a mighty virtuous man, and a man of battle, and intelligent in word, and a man of form, and Jehovah [is] with him.' |
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| 19 And Saul sendeth messengers unto Jesse, and saith, 'Send unto me David thy son, who [is] with the flock.' |
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 Jesse taketh an ass, [with] bread, and a bottle of wine, and one kid of the goats, and sendeth by the hand of David his son unto Saul. |
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 And David cometh in unto Saul, and standeth before him, and he loveth him greatly; and he is a bearer of his weapons. |
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 Saul sendeth unto Jesse, saying, 'Let David, I pray thee, stand before me, for he hath found grace in mine eyes.' |
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 And it hath come to pass, in the spirit of [sadness from] God being on Saul, that David hath taken the harp, and played with his hand, and Saul hath refreshment and gladness, and the spirit of sadness hath turned aside from off him. |
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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