The Rejection of Saul: Obedience Over Sacrifice (1 Samuel 15)

“Have you ever told yourself, ‘God knows my heart,’ while deliberately doing something He’s already told you not to?”

We often give ourselves credit for partial obedience—as if God should be pleased with most of our compliance. But that raises deeper questions:

What’s the difference between obedience and legalism?

If salvation is by grace through faith, why does obedience matter at all?

Is God more interested in our actions… or our intentions?

Here’s the tension we must face tonight: Legalism obeys to earn God’s approval. True obedience obeys because because we know we already have God’s approval.

The Rejection of Saul: Obedience Over Sacrifice (1 Samuel 15)

There’s an story told about a boy who was repeatedly told by his teacher to sit down. He resisted. Again and again, he stood back up—until finally, after multiple warnings, he begrudgingly sat.

But then he crossed his arms, looked up with defiance in his eyes, and said: “I may be sitting down on the outside… but I’m standing up on the inside.” Everyone chuckled. But isn’t that a picture of many of our hearts before God? We comply with just enough to feel safe, seen, or spiritual… But deep down—we’re still standing in defiance.

Obedience, real obedience, isn’t about outward performance—it’s about inward surrender. And when we substitute religious motion for heartfelt submission, we’ve missed the point. And that’s why 1 Samuel 15 is so piercing. Saul obeyed… mostly. But that “mostly” revealed his heart: he feared people more than God, valued performance over surrender, and tried to justify rebellion as worship.

This chapter doesn’t just expose Saul—it holds up a mirror to our own compromises.

1 Samuel 15:22 ESV

22 “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice”

I. The Clear Command (vv. 1–3)

1 Samuel 15:1–3 ESV

1 And Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord. 2 Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. 3 Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”

I. The Clear Command (vv. 1–3)

1. The Amalekites were the first to attack Israel after the Exodus.

In Exodus 17:8–16, shortly after Israel’s miraculous deliverance from Egypt, the Amalekites launched a sneak attack on the weary, traveling Hebrews—specifically targeting the stragglers and vulnerable from behind (Deut. 25:17–19). It was a cowardly and unprovoked assault. This wasn’t just a military ambush; it was an assault on God’s redemptive plan, a symbolic attempt to crush the seed of promise in its infancy.

I. The Clear Command (vv. 1–3)

2. Amalek represents generational enmity against God’s people.

The Amalekites weren’t just a rival tribe—they were a persistent, generational enemy of God’s covenant nation. They reappear repeatedly throughout Israel’s history (Judges 3:13; 6:3–5; 1 Sam. 14:48). Their hatred was deep, systemic, and demonic in character—a representation of rebellion, pride, and cruelty.

Spiritual Insight: Amalek becomes a biblical type of the flesh and the enemies of God—an ongoing picture of carnal opposition to God’s purposes (cf. Galatians 5:17). Just as Saul was commanded to destroy Amalek, believers are called to put to death the deeds of the flesh (Romans 8:13).

I. The Clear Command (vv. 1–3)

3. God had long foretold Amalek’s judgment.

In Exodus 17:14, after Israel’s victory (with Moses’ hands lifted), God said: “I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”

This promise wasn’t fulfilled in Joshua’s day or during the judges. Saul’s assignment in 1 Samuel 15 is the fulfillment of that prophetic judgment. Saul wasn’t executing personal vengeance—he was acting as God’s appointed instrument of justice.

I. The Clear Command (vv. 1–3)

4. Amalek’s destruction foreshadows final judgment.

This moment anticipates the Day of the Lord, when Jesus, the greater King, will finally defeat every unrepentant enemy of God. Just as Amalek refused mercy, hardened their hearts, and opposed God to the end, they stand as a picture of those who will one day face righteous judgment (Revelation 19:11–16).

II. The Selective Obedience (vv. 4–9)

1 Samuel 15:4–9 ESV

4 So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah. 5 And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. 6 Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7 And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. 8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.

II. The Selective Obedience (vv. 4–9)

Saul executes most of the mission—but spares King Agag and the best livestock. Saul obeyed where it was convenient and compromised where it was costly.

III. God’s Grief and Samuel’s Confrontation (vv. 10–23)

1 Samuel 15:10–23 ESV

10 The word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night. 12 And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” 13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” 14 And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.” 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.” 17 And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18 And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?” 20 And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” 22 And Samuel said, “Has 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 listen than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.”

III. God’s Grief and Samuel’s Confrontation (vv. 10–23)

God regrets making Saul king. What Does “God Regretted” Really Mean?

1. It’s an anthropopathism. This is a term used in theology for human emotions attributed to God to help us understand His divine actions. Just as anthropomorphism gives God human features (like “the hand of God”), anthropopathism assigns Him human emotions (like “grief” or “regret”).

God knew Saul’s heart (1 Samuel 9:16), but Saul still made real choices that grieved the Lord. The word “regret” (נִחַם – nacham) is used to express divine sorrow over sin’s consequences, not divine surprise. God is expressing real sorrow over Saul’s choices—not because God made a mistake, but because Saul failed to walk in obedience.

“To obey is better than sacrifice.” (v. 22)

“Rebellion is as the sin of divination.” (v. 23)

Sacrifice without obedience is religious performance. God doesn’t want our rituals—He wants our surrender.

IV. Saul’s Excuses and Samuel’s Verdict (vv. 24–31)

1 Samuel 15:24–31 ESV

24 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. 25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the Lord.” 26 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.” 27 As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. 28 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. 29 And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” 30 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.” 31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul bowed before the Lord.

IV. Saul’s Excuses and Samuel’s Verdict (vv. 24–31)

Saul admits he sinned—but only after being caught. His apology is surface-level: “I have sinned… but honor me now before the people.” (v. 30)

This is a confession that still wants to keep the crown. Saul grieved the loss of power—not the loss of intimacy with God. Samuel isn’t fooled. God is not mocked.

Do you grieve sin—or just the consequences?

2 Corinthians 7:10 ESV

10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

Godly grief says, “Lord, I broke Your heart. Change me.”

Worldly grief says, “I got caught. Fix my consequences.”

We all get caught in this trap. We say we’re sorry when the fallout hurts—but do we grieve how it wounded the heart of God?

Are we weeping at the altar for a cleansed heart—or just hoping for a cleaner reputation?

True repentance goes deeper than regret. It isn’t just about changing what happened—it’s about changing what’s happening inside us.

V. Finality and Fallout (vv. 32–35)

1 Samuel 15:32–35 ESV

32 Then Samuel said, “Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him cheerfully. Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 33 And Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord in Gilgal. 34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. 35 And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

V. Finality and Fallout (vv. 32–35)

Samuel finishes the job Saul wouldn’t: he executes Agag. Then he and Saul part ways—a symbol of God’s departure from Saul’s leadership.

Saul spared King Agag (1 Samuel 15:8–9) Even though God had commanded total destruction, Saul let Agag, the Amalekite king, live—along with the best of the livestock. Samuel eventually executed Agag himself (1 Sam. 15:32–33), but it’s possible that Agag had already fathered children or that some Amalekites escaped the sword—because the Amalekites reappear later in the Bible.

V. Finality and Fallout (vv. 32–35)

In Esther 3:1, we read: “After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him.” The term Agagite most likely ties Haman genealogically to Agag, the spared Amalekite king. Jewish tradition (and many conservative scholars) affirm this connection. That makes Haman—a man who plotted genocide against the Jews—the spiritual and possibly biological descendant of the very king Saul disobeyed God by sparing.

Haman’s plot to annihilate the Jews (Esther 3:6) was not just political—it was spiritually rooted in the ancient enmity between Amalek and Israel. What Saul failed to finish in obedience nearly cost the Jews their survival during the exile.

When Saul spared Agag, he didn’t just disobey—he unintentionally preserved a seed of destruction. It would take a Jewish girl named Esther and the hidden hand of God to prevent the second Holocaust attempt by the house of Amalek.

A Theology of Obedience

1. Obedience is relational.

But obedience flows from love, trust, and a desire to please God.

John 14:15 ESV

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

2. Obedience is not negotiable.

Saul thought partial obedience was close enough.

Deuteronomy 5:32 ESV

32 You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

3. Obedience costs something

It might mean laying down personal ambition, reputation, comfort, or control. But the reward is God’s presence and approval.

Luke 14:27 ESV

27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

4. Obedience honors God’s voice above our own.

Saul listened to the people (1 Sam. 15:24), but Samuel listened to the Lord. The question for us: Whose voice carries the most weight in our decisions?

John 10:27 ESV

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

5. Obedience is worship.

True worship isn’t just about singing—it’s about surrender.

Romans 12:1 ESV

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

James 1:22 ESV

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.