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The Beginning of the End
complete wickedness and ruin. In order to save some, He must cut
off those who have become hardened in sin.
But while giving judgment, God remembered mercy. The
Amalekites were to be destroyed, but the Kenites, who lived among
them, were spared. These people were not completely free from
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idolatry, but they were worshipers of God and friendly to Israel.
King Saul Gets Another Chance
On receiving the orders against the Amalekites, Saul at once
declared war. At the call to battle the men of Israel flocked to his
banner. The Israelites were not to receive either the honor of the
conquest or the spoils of their enemies—they were to engage in the
war only as an act of obedience to God. God intended that all nations
should see the doom of these people who had defied His rulership.
“Saul attacked the Amalekites. ... He also took Agag the king.
... But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep,
the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were
unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and
worthless, that they utterly destroyed.”
This victory rekindled the pride that was Saul’s greatest danger.
Eager to heighten the honor of his triumphal return, Saul dared to
imitate the customs of the nations around him, and spared Agag.
The people reserved for themselves the finest of the flocks, herds,
and beasts of burden, excusing their sin on the ground that the cattle
were to be offered as sacrifice to the Lord. They intended, however,
to sacrifice these in place of their own cattle.
Saul’s arrogance in ignoring the will of God proved that he could
not be trusted with royal power as the Lord’s special representative.
While Saul and his army were marching home enjoying the thrill of
victory, there was anguish in the home of Samuel. He had received
a message from the Lord: “I greatly regret that I have set up Saul
as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not
performed My commandments.” The prophet wept and prayed all
night that the terrible sentence might be changed.
God’s regret is not like human regret. Human regret implies a
change of mind. God’s regret implies a change of circumstances and
relationships. People may change their relationship to God by com-