Village Schools of the Bible

A Devotional Study of 1 Samuel 15 & 16
by Max Frazier, Jr.

Chapter 15 describes the rejection of Saul as being king because of his disobedience in not destroying the Amalekites as God had instructed. Chapter 16 focuses upon the anointing of David as king and the ministry of David before Saul.

I. The command to destroy the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:1-3)

II. The battle won but disobedience occurred (vs. 4-9)

III. Samuel confronts Saul (vs. 10-31)

A. God's word to Samuel (vs. 10-11)

B. Samuel's accusation - Saul's response (vs. 12-21)

C. The power of obedience (vs. 22-23)

D. Saul rejected as king (vs. 24-31)

IV. Death of Agag, king of Amalek (vs. 32-33)

V. Samuel and Saul part company (vs. 34-35)

Incomplete obedience is just disobedience. Partial obedience is really rebellion against God. Saul was almost right. He accomplished almost everything that God had asked of him. The roadsides were covered with the bodies of the slain Amalekites, both young and old. The smoke from their burning cities rose toward the heavens. The countryside was littered with the remnants of Amalekite culture. All that remained of this great nation was its king and some livestock. We would probably applaud Saul and his men for a job well done. But not God! God had commanded everything to be destroyed. There was to be no remnant left of anything Amalekite. None. When confronted with his error, Saul makes excuses, and it is only after God has pronounced judgment against him that Saul admits his mistake. What God wants is our unquestioned, complete obedience. In order for this to occur, I must completely surrender my plans and desires to God. It is the surrendering of my pride before God. When I do that I can more easily act with complete obedience to the desires of God.

There can be no questioning as to the clarity of God's command to Saul concerning the Amalekites: do not spare them, totally destroy everything. How can those be misunderstood? Yet Saul failed to obey God completely. Yes, he killed all the Amalekites, except for its king Agag. Yes, he killed the livestock, except for those which were very good. Why this disobedience? I believe it was failed leadership. Saul was probably persuaded by his soldiers that the best of the livestock should be kept under the pretense of offering them as a sacrifice to God. You might remember that Saul had problems with his men before. He felt he needed to appease them in order to retain his popularity before them. This is also alluded to in verse 30. Leadership often tramples upon popularity. The shepherd cannot always respond favorably to the desires of the sheep. The king often must decide against the popular opinion of his people. It was this decision that showed God that Saul would never decide to obey Him fully. And so, God rejected Saul. Lord, as a leader, give me courage to follow Your will without regard to how popular that will is with others.

I. Samuel travels to Bethlehem to anoint a new king (1 Samuel 16:1-5)

II. David anointed king (vs. 6-13)

III. Saul tormented by an evil spirit (vs. 14)

IV. David plays for Saul (vs. 15-23)

When God looks at a man He sees things man does not see. How many times have we been fooled by what I call "the Eliab complex." Someone enters into our fellowship and we are impressed by their persuasive speaking skills, or their stately appearance, or their generous checkbook. So, what do we do? We immediately view them in terms of a leadership role. The trouble is they, like Eliab, may not have the heart of a king. We cannot judge leadership potential on the basis of external appearances. We need to seek God's counsel and then begin to know that person's heart. Then we can begin to see a man from God's perspective. How important it is for us to remember God's admonitions found in verse 7.

Seldom do we read in the Bible where God rebuked His servant Samuel. Yet such a rebuke occurs in verse 1. God had told Samuel that Saul had been rejected as king. Now I think Samuel had a good relationship with Saul for this verse tells us Samuel mourned for him. God rebuked Samuel and told him to get going once again. This is one of those "closed-door" accounts in the Bible. When God closes a door we can respond in one of three ways. We can do like Samuel did, sit there and mourn, almost feeling sorry for ourselves, hoping that God might change His mind. Or, we can move onward reluctantly looking backward at what might have been. Or, we can move forward enthusiastically through that door God allows to remain open, much like Paul did in Acts 16. God was saying to Samuel, "The door is closed on Saul. It is time to move forward with David." Instead of mourning when God closes a door, we need to move onward with God rejoicing that He allows doors to be closed and doors to be opened.

1Samuel 13-14 Return to the Table of Contents 1Samuel 17-19