1 Samuel 15

Samuel reminds Saul –

“…The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel…” (Old Testament 1 Samuel 15:1)

And then speaking as a prophet, Samuel says -

“…now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD.” (Old Testament 1 Samuel 15:1)

The Lord commands Saul to –

“…go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.” (Old Testament 1 Samuel 15:3)

So Saul gathered –

“…two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.” (Old Testament 1 Samuel 15:4)

“And Saul smote the Amalekites…and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.” (Old Testament 1 Samuel 15:7 - 8)

Saul didn’t completely follow the directions given –

“But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.” (Old Testament 1 Samuel 15:9)

Then the word of the Lord comes to Samuel –

“It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments.” (Old Testament 1 Samuel 15:11)

Having called and anointed Saul to be King –

“…it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.” (Old Testament 1 Samuel 15:11)

So Samuel rises early to confront Saul on the matter. Having what seems as a great victory Saul exclaims –
“…Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.” (Old Testament 1 Samuel 15:13)

Samuel knows better and asks –

“…What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?...” (Old Testament 1 Samuel 15:14)

I’m sure this caught Saul off guard. Oh yea! The sheep and oxen. Saul, probably scrambling, responds –

“…They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.” (Old Testament 1 Samuel 15:15)

And then Samuel tells Saul –

“…Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night.” (Old Testament 1 Samuel 15:16)

But before he does, he reminds Saul –

“…When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?” (Old Testament 1 Samuel 15:17)

And now there is no question he is king –

“…the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD?...” (Old Testament 1 Samuel 15:18 - 19)

And then the truth comes out that Saul was more concerned about his constituents than the commandments of the Lord with the excuse –

“…Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed…” (Old Testament 1 Samuel 15:20 - 21)

“…because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.” (Old Testament 1 Samuel 15:24)

And with that, Saul tries to justify himself suggesting the reason they had taken the spoil was -

“…to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God…” (Old Testament 1 Samuel 15:21)

Samuel sees through it all with the profound response –

“…Hath 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 hearken than the fat of rams.” (Old Testament 1 Samuel 15:22)

It is then that Samuel tells Saul the consequences –

“…For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.” (Old Testament 1 Samuel 15:23)

And from there, the Lord commands Samuel to look for a new king.

There are many that assume that if they sacrifice and give of their time and resources it will justify a little sin. But Samuel makes it clear that “to obey is better than sacrifice”. For the Lord has made it perfectly clear –

“…I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance…” (Doctrine and Covenants Section 1:31)