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The Beginning of the End
In solemn words the prophet swept away the cover of lies and
pronounced the irrevocable sentence: “Has the Lord as great delight
in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of
rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is
as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the
Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.”
As the king heard this fearful sentence, he cried out, “I have
sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and
your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.” Ter-
rified, Saul acknowledged his guilt, but he still persisted in blaming
the people.
It was not sorrow for sin, but fear of its penalty that moved the
king of Israel as he begged Samuel, “Please pardon my sin, and
return with me, that I may worship the Lord.” If Saul had had true
repentance, he would have confessed his sin publicly; but his main
concern was to maintain his authority and keep the allegiance of the
people. He wanted the honor of Samuel’s presence to strengthen his
own influence.
“I will not return with you,” was the answer of the prophet: “for
you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected
you from being king over Israel.” As Samuel turned to leave, the
king, in an agony of fear, took hold of his robe to hold him back, but
it tore in his hands. At this, the prophet declared, “The Lord has torn
the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor
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of yours, who is better than you.”
An act of justice, stern and terrible, still needed to be performed.
Samuel commanded that the king of the Amalekites be brought
before him. Agag, guilty and merciless, came at the prophet’s
command, supposing that the danger of death was past. Samuel
declared: “‘As your sword has made women childless, so shall your
mother be childless among women.’ And Samuel hacked Agag in
pieces before the Lord.” With this done, Samuel returned to Ramah.
God Did All Possible to Help Saul
When called to the throne, Saul lacked knowledge and had seri-
ous defects of character, but the Lord granted him the Holy Spirit