What was the ultimate cause of Saul’s failure as king of Israel? Was his obedience to God partial and inconsistent? Did he desire to glorify himself or God? Let’s look in 1 Samuel 15.
Was Saul expected to destroy everything that the Amalekites owned?
Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’” (1 Samuel 15:1-3 NIV)
Did Saul warn the Kenites because they were once kind to Israel?
So Saul gathered the people together and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah. And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and lay in wait in the valley. Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart, get down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. (1 Samuel 15:4-6 NKJV)
Did Saul fail to destroy the Amalekite livestock as God had ordered?
Then Saul slaughtered the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, east of Egypt. He captured Agag, the Amalekite king, but completely destroyed everyone else. Saul and his men spared Agag’s life and kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality. (1 Samuel 15:7-9 NLT)
Did God grieve over Saul’s disobedience and the self-exalting monument he set up?
Then Yahweh’s word came to Samuel, saying, “It grieves me that I have set up Saul to be king, for he has turned back from following me, and has not performed my commandments.” Samuel was angry; and he cried to Yahweh all night. Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning; and Samuel was told, saying, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, turned, passed on, and went down to Gilgal.” (1 Samuel 15:10-12 WEB)
Did Saul claim to have obeyed God? Did Samuel point out Saul’s disobedience?
When Samuel reached Saul, Saul greeted him, “The Lord bless you! I have done what the Lord said.” “Then what,” Samuel asked, “is this bleating of sheep in my ears and mooing of cattle I hear?” “They were taken from the Amalekites,” Saul said, “because the troops spared the best sheep and cattle in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God. The rest was placed under the ban.” Samuel then said to Saul, “Enough! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” “Tell me,” Saul replied. Samuel said, “Even if you think you are insignificant, aren’t you the leader of Israel’s tribes? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. The Lord sent you on a mission, instructing you, ‘Go, and put the sinful Amalekites under the ban. Fight against them until you’ve wiped them out.’ Why didn’t you obey the Lord? You did evil in the Lord’s eyes when you tore into the plunder!” (1 Samuel 15:13-19 CEB)
Did Saul try to justify himself? Did Samuel give him God’s judgement?
“But I did listen to the Lord!” Saul answered. “He sent me on a mission, and I went. I captured King Agag and destroyed his nation. All the animals were going to be destroyed anyway. That's why the army brought the best sheep and cattle to Gilgal as sacrifices to the Lord your God.” “Tell me,” Samuel said. “Does the Lord really want sacrifices and offerings? No! He doesn't want your sacrifices. He wants you to obey him. Rebelling against God or disobeying him because you are proud is just as bad as worshiping idols or asking them for advice. You refused to do what God told you, so God has decided that you can no longer be king.” (1 Samuel 15:20-23 CEV)
Did Saul finally acknowledge his sin, but was it too little too late?
Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the Lord.” And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the Lord your God.” So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul bowed before the Lord. (1 Samuel 15:24-31 ESV)
Did Samuel mourn for Saul? Did God regret having made Saul king?
Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of Amalek.” Agag came to him trembling, for he thought, “Certainly the bitterness of death has come.” Samuel declared: As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women. Then he hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal. Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. Even to the day of his death, Samuel never again visited Saul. Samuel mourned for Saul, and the Lord regretted He had made Saul king over Israel. (1 Samuel 15:32-35 HCSB)
Why did God choose David as a better king than Saul?
When they demanded a king, God gave them Kish’s son Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin, for 40 years. Then God removed Saul and made David their king, about whom he testified, ‘I have found that David, the son of Jesse, is a man after my own heart, who will carry out all my wishes.’ (Acts 13:21-22 ISV)
What was the ultimate cause of Saul’s failure as king of Israel? Was his obedience to God partial and inconsistent? Did he desire to glorify himself or God? You decide!
