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From: 1 Samuel 15:16-23
Saul Is Again Condemned by Samuel (Continuation)
[17] And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the
head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. [18] And
the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go, utterly destroy the sinners, the
Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ [19] Why then did
you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you swoop on the spoil, and do
what was evil in the sight of the LORD?” [20] And Saul said to Samuel, “I have
obeyed the voice of the LORD, I have gone on the mission on which the LORD
sent me, I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have utterly destroyed
the Amalekites. [21] But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best
of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.”
[22] And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sa-
crifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sa-
crifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. [23] For rebellion is as the sin of di-
vination, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejec-
ted the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king?”
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Commentary:
15:1-35. The battle against the Amalekites is the occasion for Saul to be rejec-
ted by God forever. The episodes dealt with up to this have built up evidence of
Saul’s sins, particularly his lack of trust in God. However, here his disobedience
is clear to see.
This account contains echoes of earlier divine condemnations. The Lord “re-
pents” (an anthropomorphic expression) having made Saul king (v. 11), as he
earlier “was sorry” for having created man (Gen 6:6); Saul’s rejection of God’s
plans (vv. 11, 23, 26) led to his rejection by God. Saul’s access to the throne is
blocked, just as the gates of Paradise were closed on Adam (Gen 3:23-24). As
in the case of Adam, God’s punishment of Saul is severe and there will be no
going back on it, for Saul’s is a very grave sin, that is, a sin of rebellion and of
rejection of God and his word (v. 26).
From this point on, even though he knows that the Lord does not acknowledge
his kingship, Saul will continue to be king in name, because the sentence given
against him was told him by Samuel in secret (vv. 30-31), just as his first anoin-
ting was done in secret (cf. 10:1-16).
15:22-23. Samuel’s oracular pronouncement, given in verse form here, is one of
the oldest of its kind in the Bible. From the literary point of view it is very beauti-
ful; and it also provides a clear definition of obedience, which it identifies with ac-
knowledgment of God: obedience is the most perfect form of divine worship —
more perfect than the offering of sacrifice; disobedience is a form of idolatry. The
sentence against Saul is harsh and unambiguous; it applies the ancient law of
vengeance (an eye for an eye...), “rejection” being referred to in the fault and in
its sentence.
This short canticle in praise of obedience finds an echo in the Northern prophets
(Amos 5:2.1 and Hos 6:6) and it will be updated by Jesus (Mt 9:13) who gives
the fullest definition of the meaning of obedience to God and those who repre-
sent him. “Obedience, and holy obedience alone, gives us a clear view of the
will of God. Superiors may make mistakes, but we can never err in obeying”
(St Maximilian Kolbe, “Letters”, in “The Divine Office”, Office of Readings, 14
August).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.