1 Samuel 15
God told king Saul to wage war on the Amalekites for the harm and hostility they showed Israel in the past , and they don't appear to have accepted the land of Israel even after these generations.
Saul is told to completely wipe out every Amalekite and destroy everything in the land.
Saul and his army advise the friendly Kenites to move out of the way before they attacked.
The army captured the city and destroyed everything as God had commanded - they took as plunder all the finest cattle, sheep and animals and took captive the king.
The word of God came to Samuel - "I regret making Saul king, he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions"
Early next morning Samuel set out to confront Saul and he was not in a good mood. He is told that Saul has moved on to Carmel and erected a monument to himself.
When Samuel caught up with Saul, Saul greeted him like a friend- "I have carried out my mission"
"What is the sound of bleating on about then?"
Saul had allowed the army to take as plunder the best of the animals which he claims were to be sacrificed to God - though having been caught out perhaps he may have been telling the truth?
Samuel reminded Saul that a short time ago he was humble in his own eyes yet God appointed him to rule over the nation.
Saul again says that the sheep and cattle taken as plunder were destined to be ritually sacrificed to God.
Samuel then says something that is actually echoed in the words of Jesus Christ
"Does God delight in burned offerings and sacrifice as much as obeying him?"
No - to obey God is better than sacrifices
I'm not in a position to judge God for the command to destroy the Amelekites. from a modern perspective it sounds a lot like genocide and the sort of thing that winds up with war crimes trials, but I'll have to give God the benefit of the doubt.
Another thing I'm doing this year is reading the Bible in a year, and today I got to a passage in Matthews Gospel which accused the self righteous elite of offering God a tithe of their herb gardens but neglecting compassion, justice and respect.
Anyway - God has rejected Saul as king - Saul tried to stop Samuel leaving and tears Samuel's cloak. Samuel uses this as an illustration that God will tear the kingdom from Saul.
The last thing Samuel did was to bring out Agag, king of the Amalekites, who thought the worst was over having been captured, but Samuel killed him "You made women childless, so will your mother become childless"
Samuel and Saul never met again after this meeting, though Samuel mourned for the decline of Saul.
One other thing that makes me ponder reading the Bible is how often God regrets something he has done, for example making Saul king, making mankind just before Noah, bringing Israel through the wilderness to name but a few
No doubt somebody more learned in the scriptures than I can supply some kind of explanation - for me I only hope that god never regrets calling me!
God told king Saul to wage war on the Amalekites for the harm and hostility they showed Israel in the past , and they don't appear to have accepted the land of Israel even after these generations.
Saul is told to completely wipe out every Amalekite and destroy everything in the land.
Saul and his army advise the friendly Kenites to move out of the way before they attacked.
The army captured the city and destroyed everything as God had commanded - they took as plunder all the finest cattle, sheep and animals and took captive the king.
The word of God came to Samuel - "I regret making Saul king, he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions"
Early next morning Samuel set out to confront Saul and he was not in a good mood. He is told that Saul has moved on to Carmel and erected a monument to himself.
When Samuel caught up with Saul, Saul greeted him like a friend- "I have carried out my mission"
"What is the sound of bleating on about then?"
Saul had allowed the army to take as plunder the best of the animals which he claims were to be sacrificed to God - though having been caught out perhaps he may have been telling the truth?
Samuel reminded Saul that a short time ago he was humble in his own eyes yet God appointed him to rule over the nation.
Saul again says that the sheep and cattle taken as plunder were destined to be ritually sacrificed to God.
Samuel then says something that is actually echoed in the words of Jesus Christ
"Does God delight in burned offerings and sacrifice as much as obeying him?"
No - to obey God is better than sacrifices
I'm not in a position to judge God for the command to destroy the Amelekites. from a modern perspective it sounds a lot like genocide and the sort of thing that winds up with war crimes trials, but I'll have to give God the benefit of the doubt.
Another thing I'm doing this year is reading the Bible in a year, and today I got to a passage in Matthews Gospel which accused the self righteous elite of offering God a tithe of their herb gardens but neglecting compassion, justice and respect.
Anyway - God has rejected Saul as king - Saul tried to stop Samuel leaving and tears Samuel's cloak. Samuel uses this as an illustration that God will tear the kingdom from Saul.
The last thing Samuel did was to bring out Agag, king of the Amalekites, who thought the worst was over having been captured, but Samuel killed him "You made women childless, so will your mother become childless"
Samuel and Saul never met again after this meeting, though Samuel mourned for the decline of Saul.
One other thing that makes me ponder reading the Bible is how often God regrets something he has done, for example making Saul king, making mankind just before Noah, bringing Israel through the wilderness to name but a few
No doubt somebody more learned in the scriptures than I can supply some kind of explanation - for me I only hope that god never regrets calling me!
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