Why then didn’t you obey Yahweh’s voice, but took the plunder, and did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight?”
Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed Yahweh’s voice, and have gone the way which Yahweh sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the plunder, sheep and cattle, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice to Yahweh your God in Gilgal.”
Samuel said, “Has Yahweh as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying Yahweh’s voice? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because you have rejected Yahweh’s word, he has also rejected you from being king.”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv20, 22, 23 He standeth most impudently in his own defense both…
He standeth most impudently in his own defense both against God and his own conscience.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv19–23 1Sa 15:19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the…
1Sa 15:19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?
Ver. 19. Wherefore then didst thou … fly upon the spoil?] As a hungry hawk upon his prey. See on 1Sa 15:9.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv19–23 Who cannot be deceived by thy fair professions of…
Who cannot be deceived by thy fair professions of religion, but knows very well that thou didst not seek sacrifices for God, but prey for thyself.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv19–23 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of…
Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord,.... Who had made him king, and sent him on this errand, and gave him such plain directions, and such strong orders to make an entire consumption of Amalek:
but didst fly upon the spoil; like a bird of prey, such as an eagle or vulture, not to devote it to the Lord, by an entire destruction of it, but to seize it for his own use, as being greedily desirous and covetous of it:
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and didst evil in the sight of the Lord? by disobeying his commands, from whose sight nothing can be hid.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv20–23 The king - To be dealt with as God…
The king - To be dealt with as God pleaseth.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv21–23 Verse 21. To sacrifice unto the Lord] Thus he…
Verse 21. To sacrifice unto the Lord] Thus he endeavours to excuse the people. They did not take the spoil in order to enrich themselves by it, but to sacrifice unto the Lord; and did not this motive justify their conduct?
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv20, 22, 23 1Sa 15:20-21. Have brought Agag the king — To…
1Sa 15:20-21. Have brought Agag the king — To be dealt with as God pleaseth. Strange stupidity! to imagine such a partial obedience could be pleasing unto God. But the people took of the spoil — It was a mean thing to throw all the blame on the people, whom he ought to have governed better; and it was worst of all to pretend religion for his disobedience. The things which should have been utterly destroyed — Here he shows that he was conscious he had not done as he was commanded.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv21–23 The Lord thy God - There is an implied…
The Lord thy God - There is an implied censure of Samuel in this phrase. Saul says that Samuel blames him for what was done in honor of Samuel’s God; as if be had more zeal for the glory of God than was felt by Samuel.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv20–23 Lord. Septuagint, "of the people."
Lord. Septuagint, "of the people."
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv20, 22, 23 20. Yea, I have obeyed — Still the guilty…
20. Yea, I have obeyed — Still the guilty spirit seeks to justify itself. Strange stupidity! Sullen perversity! How prone are sinners to throw their guilt on others, or else to plead for it a religious motive! Saul did both.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv20–23 20. Yea, I have obeyed] Saul still persists in…
20. Yea, I have obeyed] Saul still persists in justifying his conduct. (a) He had fulfilled his mission and destroyed the Amalekites, and brought Agag with him in proof thereof. (b) The people had brought home the spoil for sacrifice, not for themselves.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv19, 20, 22, 23 (19) Didst fly upon the spoil.—The expression used evidently…
(19) Didst fly upon the spoil.—The expression used evidently includes the idea of greedy eagerness, as though Samuel detected a spirit of grasping covetousness at the bottom of this disobedient act of Saul’s.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv20, 22 Vers. 20, 21. Saul"s justifcation of himself is remarkable,…
Vers. 20, 21. Saul"s justifcation of himself is remarkable, as he seems entirely unconscious of having done anything wrong. His education had no doubt been defective, (1Sa_10:12) and his knowledge of the law was probably very small; but he must have listened to Samuel"s injunctions in a very off hand way, and have troubled himself about very little more than that he was to make war upon the Amalekites. There may even have been the wish in his mind to let Samuel know that he was now king, and would carry on affairs after his own fashion. The very form of his answer requires notice; for the word rendered yea is literally in that, or because, and may be paraphrased as follows: Do you reproach me thus because I have obeyed you? See, there is Agag in proof of our victory; and if the people have spared the cattle, it was with the best of intentions. The next clause, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, reads in the A.V like an ironical parenthesis. It is not so, but an important part of Saul"s defence. These sheep and oxen were "the best of the devoted things," selected as the first fruits for sacrifice. Saul may not have known that such a sacrifice was forbidden. (Deu_13:15-17) The words, to sacrifice unto Jehovah thy God, imply that Samuel ought to be pleased at the victorious army doing this public homage to the Deity whose prophet he was. It was virtually a compliment to himself, and is very much in accordance with the notions of the generality of people now, who consider that attendance at a place of worship, or sending their children to school, is a favour to the clergyman.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv20, 22, 23 Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord,…
1Sa_15:20
Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me.
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Sauls obedience
We invite your attention to some features of Sauls character, as drawn out by the way in which he obeyed the Divine command.
1. First, let us notice the zeal and alacrity with which Saul proceeded to carry out the Divine will. Unlike Moses, who complained of his want of eloquence when bidden to go to Pharaoh in Jehovahs name, and plead for the deliverance of his oppressed countrymen--unlike Jonah, who positively refused to bear the dread message with which he was charged to the inhabitants of the great city of Nineveh, and fled to Tarshish, to escape an unwelcome tax--Saul displayed a commendable zeal in executing the command that was laid upon him. It is obvious that he undertook the work willingly, and executed it zealously. No victory could be more complete. The King was a prisoner. The people were slain. In the Kings estimation the Divine command was fully carried out. Saul does not seem to have had the slightest misgiving as to the correctness of his own interpretation of the Divine command. He felt that be bad done a great work, and that on this occasion no one could breathe a word against him. Poor deluded, self-conceited King of Israel! We are often told that history repeats itself, and it is certain that the history of Saul, King of Israel, has been often reproduced in the history of the Church of Christ. Jehu did a work for God, and he did it with alacrity. He destroyed the worshippers of Baal--nay, more than this, for it is said that he destroyed Baal out of Israel. And yet the future of that man was a sad one. We read that he took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart; for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin (2Ki_10:1-36). The Pharisees in the time of our Lord had a zeal for God. They reverenced the law of Moses, and paid to it a certain obedience (Mat_23:1-39). And yet upon no body of men did our Divine Master so pour forth the torrent of His indignation as upon those arrogant, self-righteous, self-satisfied Pharisees. And is there not a voice of warning for us in these instances of antiquity Men of wealth may dedicate that wealth to God. They may build a church, or a hospital, or a school. And yet that building so externally lovely may be hideous--hideous, I say, to that God that seeth in secret. Self, and self alone, may have been its foundation stone It may be but a monument of human selfishness and ambition. Another man may take an interest in the missionary cause and devote his wealth to the spreading abroad of the knowledge of God. This indeed is a good object, and worthy of our best energies But, oh! if men engage in the work from any but the highest motive--the desire of saving precious souls for whom Christ has died--if being men of narrow views they seize it as an opportunity for advancing their own religions party; if above all they allow their so-called religious zeal to deaden their instincts of common justice and even humanity; if they would fain silence all but those as narrow-minded as themselves--surely they have not caught fully the spirit of our Divine Master.
2. We have seen that Sauls obedience was marred by a spirit of boastful self-confidence. And his history is instructive, because the spirit of Saul still lives in the religious professor of the present day. Tell the respectable man as he leaves the church porch that he is a sinner, that there is iniquity in his holy things--sin in his prayers, sin in his praises--tell him, in the touching language of the good Bishop Beveridge, that his very repentance needs to be repented of, and that his tears need washing in the blood of Christ, and he indignantly repudiates the charge, and says, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me. Self-confidence is the mark of the natural man. Self-distrust is the mark of the genuine disciple of Christ. (C. B. Brigstocke.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv20, 22 I have indeed obeyed the voice of Yahweh
I have indeed obeyed the voice of Yahweh
This is an emphatic statement. It is unclear if Saul thought this was true, or if he was simply making excuses for his sin.
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the voice of Yahweh
Here "voice" refers to the commands that Yahweh spoke. AT: "the things that Yahweh commanded" (See: Metonymy)
Agag
This is the name of the king of the Amalekites. (See: How to Translate Names)
But the people took
This appears to be shifting the blame to the people.
things devoted to destruction
"animals that Yahweh commanded them to destroy"
Gilgal
This is the name of a place. (See: How to Translate Names)
translationWords
Amalek
ewe
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv21–23 15:21 my troops: Saul persisted in blaming others (see…
15:21 my troops: Saul persisted in blaming others (see 15:15). • Gilgal was a religious center. Saul tried to use religion to justify disobedience to God.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.