The Philistines stayed in their own country, by the sea-coast, after they had been driven away from Michmash, and King Saul went out to fight against other nations who had been troubling the Israelites. God helped him to be victorious in those battles, and his soldiers began to honor him as a brave leader.
All the while King Saul kept: a close watch over the Israelites, and whenever he saw a strong-looking young man who acted bravely in the presence of danger he took that young man and placed him in his regular army. In this manner he kept making his army larger and stronger, and finally he chose Abner, his cousin, to become the captain of it.
But when everything began to go nicely, King Saul seemed to for-get that God had given the kingdom to him and that he could easily take it away again. Instead of always being careful to obey all of God’s commands, Saul allowed a feeling of pride to creep into his heart and to crowd out some of the fear of God. He allowed wrong thoughts to enter his mind and to make him believe that he was wise enough to decide for himself what was the right thing to do.
While these changes Were going on in the King’s heart, one day a message came to him from God. Samuel, the gray-headed old prophet, came to him and said, “God wants you to take your army and go out to battle against the Amalekites. Those are the wicked people who fought against Moses and the Israelites when they came out of Egypt, and God has not forgotten their sin. Because they have continued to do wrong, now God wants you to destroy them all. Not one must you save alive, nor even their oxen and sheep and camels and asses must you keep for yourselves; for God commands that they all be killed.” Saul gathered an army of two hundred and ten thousand men and started for Amalek at once. And he sent messengers to the Kenites who lived among the Amalekites, telling them to leave the country, because God was going to punish their neighbors. The Kenites had been kind to the Israelites when they came from Egypt, and now Saul and his soldiers were kind to them.
When the battle began, Saul’s army fought bravely and destroyed all the Amalekites except the king, Agag, Whom Saul took to a safe place. Then after the battle ended Saul and the soldiers looked about upon the flocks and herds that had belonged to the Amalekites, and they saw many valuable cattle and sheep and playful little lambs. “We will save the best,” they said, “and kill the others.” So they returned again to the land of Israel, bringing Agag, the king of the Amalekites, and the best of the cattle and sheep and lambs.
God told Samuel what Saul had done, that he had dared to disobey the command given, and Samuel knew that Saul had turned away from serving God. Sorrow filled the heart of the old prophet, and he wept and prayed all night. Early the next morning he rose and started out to meet the returning King of Israel.
When Saul saw the prophet coming, he thought), “I will tell him that I have obeyed the Lord’s command, and he need not know that King Agag is yet alive and that we have saved the best of the flocks and herds. We have obeyed nearly all of God’s command, and it would have been too bad to destroy the best things.”
But Samuel could not be fooled so easily. The pleasant words of greeting from the King did not hide the traces of a guilty conscience upon the King’s face. Saul had done wrong, and now he was trying to cover up his sin and to make Samuel believe that he had done all of God’s command. “I have performed the commandment of the Lord,” he said; but the old prophet’s keen eyes looked straight into his. “Then what is the meaning of the noise of bleating sheep and lowing cattle that I hear?”
“Those have been spared to sacrifice to the Lord,” answered the King. “They were the best of the flocks and herds, and my soldiers thought it would be better to keep them alive. So we have brought them, to sacrifice to God.”
Now, Saul was trying to place the blame for the disobedience upon his soldiers; but Samuel understood that Saul himself was the guilty one. Poor Saul! he had forgotten how God spoke often to Samuel, telling of things that would happen. He had forgotten that he could not fool the prophet of Israel.
Samuel told Saul what God had spoken to him that night. Still Saul tried to excuse himself and blame his soldiers for sparing the best things; but Samuel told him plainly that God had turned away from him. “It is better to obey God than to sacrifice to God,” said the old prophet.
“I have sinned,” cried the King at last), “because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.” Not yet was he willing to admit that he sinned by his own choice. He wanted Samuel to forgive him; but Samuel turned to go away. Then Saul caught hold of Samuel’s mantle and tore it, and Samuel said, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel away from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is a better man.’
Because of Saul’s earnest request that he should worship with him at Gilgal, Samuel went this last time With the King whom God had rejected and offered sacrifice upon the altar at Gilgal for the sins of the people. Then he called for Agag to be brought, out before the people, and there he killed the wicked ruler, whose life Saul had wished tio save. After doing this, he returned to his own home at Ramah, and never again visited Saul. He mourned and wept as if Saul had died, because he knew God would not bless Israel while Saul ruled over them.