Samuels Encounter with Saul, Biblical extract
1. SAMVEL: CHAP. 15. VER. 13, &c.
13. AND Samuel came to Saul, and Saul ſaid vntounto him, Bleſſed be thou of the LORD: I hauehave performed the commandement of the LORD.
14. And Samuel ſaide, what meaneth then this bleating of the ſheep in mine eares, and the lowing of the Oxen which I heare?
15. And Saul ſaid, they hauehave brought them from the Amalekites: for the people ſpared the beſt of the ſheepe, and of the oxen, to ſacrifice vntounto the LORD thy God, and the reſt wee hauehave vtterly deſtroyed.
16. Then Samuel ſaid vntounto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath ſaid to me this night. And hee ſaid vntounto him, Say on.
17. And Samuel ſaide. When thou waſt little in thine owne ſight, waſt thou not made the Head of the Tribes of Iſrael, and the LORD anointed thee king ouer Iſrael?
18. And the LORD ſent thee on a iourney, and ſaid, Goe, and vtterly deſtroy the ſinners the Amalekites, and fight againſt them, vntill they be conſumed.
19. Wherefore then didſt thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didſt flie vponupon the ſpoyle, and didſt euill in the ſight of the LORD?
20. And Saul ſaide vntounto Samuel; Yea, I hauehave obeyed the voice of the LORD, and hauehave gone the way which the LORD ſent mee, and hauehave brought Agag the King of Amaleck, and hauehave vtterly deſtroyed the Amalekites.
21. But the people tooke of the ſpoyle, ſheepe and oxen, the chiefe of the things which ſhould hauehave beene vtterly deſtroyed, to ſacrifice vntounto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.
22. And Samuel ſaid, hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and ſacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better then ſacrifice: and to hearken, then the fat of Rammes.
23. For rebellion is as the ſinne of witchcraft, and ſtubborneneſse is as iniquity and idolatry: becauſe thou haſt reiected the stord of the LORD, he hath alſo reiected thee from being King.
24. ¶And Saul ſaid vntounto Samuel, I hauehave ſinned: for I hauehave tranſgreſſed the comman dement of the LORD, and thy words; becauſe I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
25 Now therefore I pray thee, pardon my ſinne, and turne againe with mee that I may worſhip the LORD.
26 And Samuel ſaid vntounto Saul, I will not returne with thee: for thou haſt reiected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath reiected thee from being King ouer Iſrael.
27 And as Samuel turned about to goe away, he layd hold vponupon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.
28. And Samuel ſaid vntounto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdome of Iſrael from thee this day, and hath giuen it vntounto a neighbour of thine, that is better then thou.
29. And alſo the ſtrength of Iſrael will not lie, nor repent: for he is not a man that he ſhould repent.
SAMVELS Encounter with SAVL.
THE occaſion of theſe words was this. The Lord commanded King Saul by Samuel the Prophet, that hee ſhould goe and deſtroy the Amalekites, all, both man and beaſt, and leaue none of them aliue. Touching the cauſe (ſeeing it were too long to ſet downe) I referre the Reader to Deut. 25. 18. Saul went about this worke of the Lord very ſpeedily at the firſt, as appeareth in verſes 3. 4. 5. but (as it is commonly ſeene, that men are not ſo forward and feruent in good attempts vntounto the end of them, as they are hot in the beginning) ſo it was with him: for afterwards, when he had taken the King, hee ſhewed kindneſſe and clemency towards him, contrary to the expreſſe charge and commandement of the Lord, and ſpared the beſt of the Cattell, and deſtroyed them not. For the which the Lord was ſore diſpleaſed, ſeeing he had ſerued him by halfes, and done his buſines negligently.Ieremy 48. 10. God declared to Samuel how greatly Saul had offended him: Samuel was exceedingly grieued for him, and cryed to the Lord all night to pacifie him. In the morning he roſe early to ſeeke Saul, that he might by pittying his eſtate, moue him to pitty himſelfe, and whiles the offence was yet but newly wrought, hee might bewaile it, and intreate the the Lord againſt it and repent, not hardning his heart. This was the occaſion of theſe words.
The Text followes from the 13. verſe. Firſt Samuel found Saul glorying in his Triumph ouer the Amalekites,The meaning of the whole cō text, from Verſ. 13. to Verſ 30. and farre from any thought that hee had done any euill that hee ought to repent of, inſomuch that at his meeting of Samuel hee preuented him, and beganne to iuſtifie himſelfe, as though he had done well, before Samuel could tell him how greatly his offence diſpleaſed the Lord. Samuel hearing him thus to ſpeake, was holden and hindred, from telling him what God ſaid to him of Saul, for the which end hee came to him; and therefore is cauſed firſt to conuince him, that hee had broken Gods commaundement, becauſe hee heard the bleating of the ſheepe, and the lowing of the Oxen, which hee had ſaued aliue, and brought from the Amalakites. Saul firſt excuſeth the matter by ſhifting, and not ſaying any thing directly. Then Samuel bad him hearken what God had ſaid of him the night before. And he, nothing fearing (though it is manifeſt that hee had cauſe) boldly bad Samuel ſay his minde, as though all had beene well on his ſide. Then hee told him, ſpeaking from the Lord, that hee brought him from a low eſtate to be a King, yet when hee ſent him to deſtroy his enemies, the Amalekites, hee obeyed him not, but did what he thought good. But Saul bluſhed not a whit for al this, but waſhed his words away, freeing himſelfe from blame, and the fault that was, he laid on the people, that they indeede ſaued ſome of the cattle aliue, but the matter was ſmall (hee ſaid) for they did it to offer them to the Lord in ſacrifice. This anſwere Samuel ſhewed to be weake: for what (ſaid he) did God account of thy ſacrifice, in compariſon of obeying him? But as ſmall a fault as thou holdſt it, I can tell thee, it will coſt thee thy kingdome. At that word, when he heard of loſing his kingdome, he was much moued. For we ſee for all his iuſtifying of himſelfe, and bold deſending of his innocency, yet this wrung from him a confeſſion of his fault, inſomuch that he ſaid the cleane contrary, that he had ſinned and ſought pardon; and deſired Samuel to returne with him to worſhip God, but he would not, but confirmed to him, that God had taken his kingdome from him: yet afterward Samuell conſidering that Agag was yet aliue, he followed Saul, who worſhipped God, but Samuell did not accompany him therein, but called for Agag, and ſlue him: and after that, Saul and he, parted each to his owne houſe, and Samuell went no more to Saul, to the day of his death: (it is like that he ſaw there was no end thereof, neither any good like to come thereby) but much lamented his eſtate, being deſperate. And this for a view and ſhort ſumme of the text in hand.
I proceed now to the deuiſion of the words: whereof there are three parts.
The firſt containeth the cōmunication betwixt Saul and Samuell, before the meſſage was deliuered, in the firſt three verſes.
The ſecond is a part of the meſſage, and Sauls anſwere before hee confeſſed any fault, to verſe 24.
The third part conteines the other part of the meſſage after Sauls confeſſion, vntounto verſe 19. and ſuch other things as follow towardes the end of the Chapter.
EueryEvery part I will handle thus. Firſt in ſome generall manner I will ſhew the meaning thereof, and afterwards ſpeake more particularly of the matter, by ſetting downe the doctrine and the vſe. For the firſt.The particular opening of the firſt part. When Samuell had found Saule, and was readie to tell him what the Lord had ſaid to him that verie night before, Saul preuents him (as I ſaid) and tels him how hee had executed the charge which he had receiued of the Lord, concerning the deſtroying of the Amalakites, when it was nothing ſo, but manifeſt and cleare, that he had very negligently and ſlightly diſcharged it. Then Samuell was ſtayed, from telling him what the Lord had ſaid to him, and was driuen to anſwere him to his ſo groſſe iuſtifying and commending of himſelfe, and to conuince him of vntruth as he did, ſaying, if thou haſt faithfully executed the Lords Commaundement, then thou haſt deſtroyed and killed all that perteined to Amaleck, but that thou haſt not done, for I heare the bleating of the ſheepe, and the lowing of the Oxen, which thou haſt brought from thence, ſpared and ſaued aliue, therefore thou haſt not fulfilled the Commaundement of the Lord.
Saul then being thus conuicted by Samuell, when he muſt either hauehave confeſſed himſelfe guiltie, and hauehave craued pardon (a man would thinke) or elſe defend and proue his ſpeech to be true, did neither of both, but ſhifted and waſhed off the Prophets conuiction, ſaying, that he for his part, as the Lord had commanded, had ſlaine the Amalekites, and the meaneſt of the Cattell: indeed the people had ſaued ſome of the beſt of them, but yet euen that (he ſaid) was for the worſhip of the Lord, to offer in ſacrifice to him, which he thought was not to be found fault with. Thus he ſalueth vp the ſore (though the plaiſter was too narrow) attributing that which was well done, (as the killing of the worſt of the Cattell) to himſelfe, the other (if it were a fault to ſaue ſome aliue, which he did not thinke) he ſaid was the peoples fault, and none of his. And this be ſpoken, for laying out the meaning of theſe three verſes, which conteine the firſt cōmunication betwixt Saul and Samuell, after God was offended with Saul for his halfe ſeruing of him, when he ſhould hauehave done the whole, as he was commaunded.