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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 1 Samuel 15:24 - 15:35
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Saul's Humiliation
v. 24. And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned, this confession was extorted from him by fear, but was not an expression of true penitence; for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and thy words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice, he had loved the honor and favor of men more than the favor and good will of God.
v. 25. Now, therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me that I may worship the Lord. He did not really acknowledge his guilt, but wanted the good will of Samuel again, lest he be publicly rejected and ousted from his position of king, a disgrace which he felt would be all the harder to bear since he had already been told that the position of king would not be hereditary in his family, 1Sa_13:14.
v. 26. And Samuel, who knew that even the repentance of Saul was feigned and insincere, said unto Saul, I will not return with thee; for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel, in the sight of God he no longer occupied that position.
v. 27. And as Samuel turned about to go away, he, Saul, laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, evidently with the intention of holding him back by force, and it rent.
v. 28. And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day and hath given it to a neighbor of thine that is better than thou. This much was even now decided in the counsel of the Lord, although even Samuel did not yet know who Saul's successor would be.
v. 29. And also the Strength of Israel, the Lord, who is the Refuge, the Confidence of Israel, will not lie nor repent, He would not change this judicial sentence with the penalty of rejection; for He is not a man that He should repent, Num_23:19.
v. 30. Then he said, I have sinned, a hollow sound without true sorrow of heart; yet honor me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and turn again with me that I may worship the Lord, thy God. Saul was concerned chiefly about his own honor, for he had only one fear, namely, that his authority and influence would be lost in case the people would find out about the open breach between him and Samuel.
v. 31. So Samuel turned again after Saul, not only for the purpose of maintaining outward order in the nation and of preventing anarchy, but also to carry out the sentence of death upon Agag; and Saul worshiped the Lord, he observed this outward formality.
v. 32. Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag, the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately, in a cheerful mood. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past, which may have been an attempt at heroism in the face of death, or a hope that Samuel would spare him.
v. 33. And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women; he was but receiving his just reward for his cruelties. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal, he carried out Jehovah's sentence of destruction upon him.
v. 34. Then Samuel went to Ramah, to his home; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.
v. 35. And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death, all intercourse with the rejected king on his side ceased from now on; nevertheless, Samuel mourned for Saul; and the Lord repented that He had made Saul king over Israel. Although Samuel had loved Saul, yet, since the latter had now been rejected as king, he could do nothing to effect a change of heart in him. A feigned repentance is the climax of hypocrisy and only tends to confirm the Lord's sentence of rejection.