A Complete History and Mystery of the Old and New Testament, Biblical tract · Volume 2 · Commentary on 1 Samuel · Chapter 15
1 Sam. CHAP. XV.
CHapter the 15th is a farther and fuller Demonſtration of Saul's Hypocriſie and Prophaneneſs. In his War with Amalek as the principal cauſe of his Rejection.
The Remarks are, (1.) The Material Cauſe of Saul's Diſobedience to God's Command was concerning Amalek, that licking People, as the Hebr. name ſignifies, who had not only aſſaulted Iſrael with open Hoſtility, to hinder their March to Canaan, Exod. 17.8, &c. Numb. 24.20. but alſo had laid lurking Ambuſhments to lick up and cut off the feebleſt of them, Deut. 25.17, 18. Tho' this double Injury was now Four hundred years old, yet the Lord remembred it ſtill, v. 12.
N. B. 'Tis ill angring the Antient of Days; his forbearance is no forgiveneſs; therefore doth he now ſend Samuel to Saul (the firſt King Iſrael had to Revenge their old Injuries) with a charge to cut them all off univerſally, both Man and Beaſt, that, as Balaam had propheſied of them, they might periſh for ever, Numb. 24.20. Yea, and as the Lord himſelf had ſworn, that it ſhould be done ſo; Exod. 17.16. Samuel therefore lays God's Charge home upon Saul, that at length, after all his ſo heinous Miſcarriages heretofore, and after God's ſo heavy Menaces thereupon, chap. 13.8, 9. ſaying, Yet the Lord, that made thee King, and whom thou oughteſt to obey, is minded to try thee once more; ſee thou make amends for thy former Errours, and redeem God's Favour,] ver. 1, 2, 3.
The ſecond Remark is, The Formal Cauſe of Saul's ſin, which conſiſted in the partiality of his obeving God's Command, ver. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Thus far Saul obeyed God. (1.) In Muſtering up his Men to a potent Army, ver. 4. (2.) In Undertaking the Expedition, ver. 5. N. B. (3.) In ſhewing kindneſs to the Kenites, who had ſhewed kindneſs to Iſrael in Jethro their Father, Exod. 18.9, 10, 19. Numb. 10.29.31. God remembred this old Kindneſs of that Kenite, as Moſes Father-in-law is called, Judg. 1.16. to preſerve his Poſterity from Ruine here, v. 6. as he remembred the old Unkindneſs of Amalek, ſo as that their Poſterity were under a Divine Doom for Utter Deſtruction. (4.) In ſlaying the common People of Amalek, ſo many as he could meet with, ver. 7, 8.
N. B. But now begins Saul's Sin▪ the duſt of Courtſhip and of Covetouſneſs did ſo blind his Eyes, that he ſpared Agag out of Courtſhip, that his fellow-King might admire his Royal Candour and Clemency.
N. B. It was Saul's Ambition to have this Character put upon him, that a Crowned Head-Conquerour knows how to ſhew Compaſſion upon a Crowned Head Conquered. And (2.) He likewiſe out of Covetouſneſs ſpared the beſt and fatteſt of the Flocks, ver. 9. tho' this was pretended for Sacrifices to God, ver. 15. whereas indeed it was to enrich himſelf and his followers, therefore is he charged with [Flying upon the Spoil] ver. 19. that is, thy not ſo much ſeeking Sacrifices for God as thou didſt Booties for thy ſelf, falling on the Fatlings, as the hungry Hawk upon his Prey, and as Achan did upon the Wedge of Gold and Babyloniſh Garment, to appropriate them to his own uſe, Joſh. 7. Beſide, God, having Anathematized, and Devoted all thoſe fat Cattel unto Utter Deſtruction, he would have eſteemed it a more Acceptable Sacrifice, if they had all been deſtroyed together as Accurſed of God, and ſo offered up to him according to his Command; as it was in the caſe of Jericho, Joſh. 6.17. Such Deſtructions made by a Divine Command, the Lord calleth his Sacrifices, Iſa. 34.6. and Jer. 46.10.
N. B. Suppoſe Saul had indeed Sacrificed unto the Lord any of thoſe accurſed Cattel, as he pretended, it would aſſuredly have been abominable Will-Worſhip, it being expreſly contrary to God's abſolute Command; Therefore Samuel tells Saul from the Lord, that to obey is better than Sacrifice, ver. 22. and Rebellion is as the ſin of Witchcraft, ver. 23. 'Tis better to Sacrifice our Wills to God's Will and Command, than the fleſh of the fatteſt Cattel to him.
The third Remark is, Samuel's Accuſing Saul for his ſin of Diſobedience, wherein ſundry Circumſtances are conſiderable. As, (1.) God's Complaint of Saul to Samuel for his ſin, ſaying, [It repenteth me, &c.] ver. 10, 11. which is ſpoke after the manner of Men, but muſt be underſtood according to the Nature of God, who is Ʋnchangeable and cannot Repent, ver. 29.
N. B. Repentance with Man is the changing of his Will, but with God 'tis only a changing of his Work; 'tis the willing of a change, without any change of his Will but of his Work only; 'tis mutatio Rei, non Dei, effectus, non affectus, 'tis an unchungeable Series or Courſe of things changeable, which God had ſo decreed, that they ſhould be changed, Numb. 23.19. God only changes his Adminiſtration, and not his Immutable Decree, which was that Saul ſhould be rejected for his foreſeen Sin; and David (of the Tribe of Judah) received in his Room according to Gods purpoſe, Gen. 49.10. (2.) Samuel was grieved when God told him, Saul he had rejected, ſo wreſtleth with God in Prayer all the night, that Saul might not be rejected, but that God would give him Repentance unto Life, and Pardoning Mercy, &c.
N. B. Here was no envy in Samuel againſt Saul his new Succeſſor, who had turned him out of his Judgſhip (without juſt cauſe) before his Death: How many ſelf-ſeeking perſons would rather have rejoiced at this Calamity, than have ſhewed ſuch fervent Compaſſion, as Samuel ſhewed for Saul here? And therefore he diligently ſought out Saul from Carmel to Gilgal, v. 12. that he might reduce him to a ſeaſonable Repentance. (3.) The place of their Meeting was Gilgal, v. 13. where Saul would gladly have Rolled away (as the word Gilgal ſignifies) his Reproach of Rebellion in a large conference [pro and con] betwixt him and Samuel.
The Fourth Remark is, Saul's Apology and Excuſe to Samuel's Accuſations interchangeably recorded from v. 13. to 24. wherein ſeveral Circumſtances are obſervable alſo: As, 1. Saul was ſo confident of the goodneſs of his Conſcience, that he ſets up a Trophy. a Monument of his Triumph over Amalek, v. 12. which was a Vain-glorious Vaunt in Saul to ſeek his own Honour in the firſt place, by fixing a famous Hand of ſtone at Carmel, as if by his own hand he had Atchieved the Victory over Amalek, before he ſought Gods Honour by Sacrificing to God at Gilgal, as he pretended: This was one Aggravation of his Sin. (2.) This Bold and Boaſting Hypocrite meets Samuel (coming to him at Gilgal) and with Glozeing Speeches thinks to ſtop Samuel's mouth, ſaying, [Bleſſed be thou of the Lord, I have performed the Lords Precepts,] v. 13. wherein he uſeth Religious Words, bleſſing Samuel for ſending him upon ſuch an honourable employ, and boaſteth of his Obedience to him from whom he might well fear a juſt reproof. Samuel Anſwers this Boaſter, that the Bleating of the Sheep and Lowing of the Oxen, v. 14. was an evidence of his Guilt, which could not conſiſt with his Innocency and boaſted Obedience.
N. B. Saul Replies, [They are reſerved by the People for Sacrifice;] v. 15. where he lays all the blame upon the People, as if he had no hand in it, contrary to v. 9. ſaying, [Saul and the People ſpared, &c.] The one propoſed to do ſo, and the other conſented to have it done; ſo both were guilty: The People could not do thus without his conſent, who ought to have over-ruled them, by his Regal Authority for Gods ſake as he had done before for his own ſake, Chap. 11, 12, 13.
N. B. Behold how fawningly he flatters Samuel, ſaying, [They are to be Sacrificed to the Lord [thy] not [my] God;] not doubting, but Saul's reſpect to Samuel's God, would be very pleaſing to him; thus Piety is pretended oft-times for Worldly Ends, Phil. 3.18, 19. and ſometimes for wicked Ends, 1 Kings 21.9. 2 Sam. 15.8. Matth. 2.8. and 23.14. Hyppocriſie is a ſin in it ſelf, but when 'tis gilded over with pretences of Piety, this makes it a double Iniquity; and we cannot find a clearer Character of it than in Saul's Carriage to Samuel in this matter of Amalek, &c.
N. B. Samuel's Rejoynder to Saul in v. 16, 17, 18, 19 is an Aggravation of his Ingratitude to the great God, who had rais'd him up from a contemptible Aſs-keeper to be King and Ruler over his peculiar Inheritance, telling him, how he was once humble, and very ſubmiſſive, as 1 Sam. 9.21. and 10.22. but now was grown proud and ſtubborn; yea, impudent alſo, both to commit ſin, and to juſtifie it when committed; if any other Man had contemned the Command of God, it could not be well born, How much leſs in him, whom God had lifted up from the Dunghil, and ſet him among Princes: The evil thou haſt done (ſaith Samuel) was in the ſight of the Lord, v. 19. whom thy pretences of Piety cannot deceive; he ſaw thou ſought more Booties for thy Self, than Sacrifices for God.
All this puts not Saul to ſilence, but will obſtinately ſtill ſay ſomething, though he had nothing of moment to ſay, but what he had ſaid before, thinking to out-face the Old Prophet, and put him to his Proofs, he gives him the Lye, and [Tantamount] calls Samuel a falſe Accuſer, while he juſtifies all that he had done, v. 20, 21. and Saul's ſhuffling Sophiſtry to Samuel, is very obſervable, for thus he pleads in his own Vindication.
N. B. 'Tis true, the Lord commanded that all ſhould be deſtroyed by us, yet the ſame God hath given us a Command that we ſhould Sacrifice to him, and therefore we have done well in ſaving all theſe Cattel for God's Sacrifices: This ſubtle fallacy of Saul the Sophiſter, Samuel anſwers, that God's Law about Sacrificing was indeed a former and more General Law, but that was no part of Saul's Commiſſion from God, to go and fetch Sacrifices from Amalek for Iſrael; his particular Errand was to deſtroy all the Cattel, v. 3. and this latter Law, which was given in ſpecial charge to him, ought chiefly to be obſerved at this time, before that Law which was not his concern now; and thus the Old Doctor Samuel doth not only with a Divine Acuteneſs unfold, but alſo with a Spiritual Argument confounds the fallacy of ſubtle Saul's Paralogiſm, and this he doth with an Argument à comparatis, v. 22, 23.
N. B. His firſt Compariſon is of Obedience with Sacrifices, v. 22. arguing thus, That Obedience to God is a Moral Duty, conſtantly and indiſpenſably neceſſary; but Sacrifice is only a Ceremonial Inſtitution, ſometimes unneceſſary, as in the Wilderneſs, and ſometimes ſinful; when it is offered by a polluted Hand, and a prophane Heart, then is it Abominable to God, Iſa. 1.13, 14, 15. Prov. 21.27. or if Offered by Irregular means, matter or manner, Levit. 10.1, 2. Iſa. 61.8. 1 Chron. 15.13, &c. Therefore, ſaith Samuel, the beſt and fatteſt of thy Sacrifices cannot compenſate thy groſs Diſobedience to God's expreſs Command; 'tis an Iniquity not to be purged away by Sacrifice for ever, chap. 3.14. much leſs by thy ſtolen ſtuff, Accurſed Cattel, devoted to deſtruction in their own Land; God hates Robbery for a Burnt-Offering, Iſa. 61.8.
N. B. Samuel's ſecond Compariſon is, his comparing Saul's Diſobedience with the worſt of wickedneſs, v. 23. telling him, That his Obſtinacy in juſtifying his ſinful Fact, and ſo Contumaciouſly pleading for it, was as deſtructive and damnable as Witchcraft it ſelf; for as Witchcraft Dethroneth God, and Inthroneth Satan, ſo thy Rebellion pulls down God, and ſets up thy own wicked Self-will in the Throne for thy God to be Adored, and ſo becomes the worſt ſort of Idolatry, wherein thou bleſſes thy ſelf, Deut. 29.19, 20, 21. in Adoring thy own Will contrary to God's Will.
The Fifth Remark is, The feigned Confeſſion and frigid acknowledgment that falſe-hearted Saul at long laſt made of his Sin to Samuel, who (as it were) ſqueez'd it out of him by the force of this large continued Conference and Dialogue betwixt them: Tandem aliquando frigidè clamat [peccavi.]
N. B. When he could deny it no longer, at length he comes to a forced, feigned and faint Confeſſion, [I have ſinned,] like that of Pharaoh, Exod. 9.27. dragg'd to it, and drawn from him, more from fear of diſgrace, and danger of damage by loſing his Kingdom, than from any true and ſerious Repentance: The Indications of Saul's Hypocriſie herein, are theſe.
N. B. Firſt, That he made no Confeſſion till he heard his Kingdom would be tranſlated from him to another, that dreadful Sentence denounced againſt him, he deſired to be diſannulled.
Secondly, His Confeſſion was extorted from him, only that he might be honoured among his People to retain his Regal Power over Iſrael, v. 30. not at all was Saul ſolicitous for the favour of God, ſo he might but hold in with the favour of Men.
Thirdly, He ſhifts off his ſin from himſelf again to the People, ſaying, [I feared the People, and obeyed their Voice,] v. 24. this was to excuſe one ſin with another; for had he feared God more, he had feared the People leſs; what miſchief their Mutinies might have made him, as a better Man than he, his Succeſſor ſaid, Pſal. 27.1, 3. and 46.1, 2. beſide, this was no better than a loud Lye; for how little he feared the People, may be ſeen by 1 Sam. 11.7.13. and 14.24. So that [non cauſa pro causâ] was Saul's Fallacy here, naming a falſe Cauſe, [the fear of the People,] and hiding the true Cauſe, his own Covetouſneſs, and his want of the fear of God.
Fourthly, Hypocrites are always Changelings, blowing ſometimes hot and ſometimes cold: Oh how hot was Saul in his falſe Zeal againſt the Philiſtines, (a People whom God had not ſo Curſed, as he had done Amalek) when he furiouſly reſolved [not to leave a Man of them alive,] chap. 14 36. and how hot was he alſo againſt his Innocent Son Jonathan, ſaying, [He ſhall not be ſpared, but ſhall ſurely die,] ver. 39.44. Yet how cold can this unſound Saul be in the caſe of the People of God's Curſe? Amalek, whom God had expreſly commanded him to cut off Univerſally both Man and Beaſt, notwithſtanding he ſpareth Agag and the beſt of the Cattel; and though the People might plead a little for Saul's ſparing the Cattel, hoping to have ſome benefit thereby to themſelves, yet could they not plead for ſparing Agag, which would be no advantage to them.
Fifthly, Though Saul uſed the ſame words [I have ſinned] that David did after 2 Sam. 12.13. yet with a great deal of difference: For, (1.) It was wrung from Saul after many Shuffles and Shiftings, but it flowed freely from David. (2.) Saul ſought his own [Honour before the People;] but David ſought God's Favour and Glory. (3.) David took the whole guilt to himſelf, like a true Penitent, but Saul, like a falſe Hypocrite, when convinced would not bear the whole burthen of the Blame alone, but lays it chiefly upon the People, intimating, had he been left to his own choice, he ſhould not have done ſo. (4.) Saul confeſſes his ſin to Samuel only, and not to God; but David crys to God, [Againſt thee, thee only have I ſinned, &c.] Pſal. 51.1, 2, 3, &c.
Sixthly, Saul ſtigmatizes himſelf an Hypocrite, in ſaying, [I obeyed the Voice of the People,] v. 24, when he knew he had diſobeyed the Voice of the Lord; in expreſs Commands, &c.
The Sixth Remark is, Samuel's puniſhing Saul in Excommunicating him out of his Company, and not countenancing him in his Sacrificing the Accurſed Cattel, ver. 26, 27, 28, 29, 30. Saul had come out of Gilgal to meet Samuel, when all this Diſcourſe paſſed between them; Samuel will not go to Gilgal with Saul to Sacrifice there, but turns from him in great Indignation; loth was Saul to loſe Samuel at ſuch a juncture to his diſgrace; he therefore holds him violently by his Mantle, and it rent in his Hand, which Samuel told him, was a ſign of God's rending the Kingdom from him, and giving it to one, who ſhould tear off the Skirt of his Garment, which when Saul ſaw came to paſs, he ſaid, [Now I know thou ſhalt ſurely be King, chap. 24 4.20.
The Seventh Remark is, Samuel ſlays Agag, and at the Importunity of Saul, Samuel yields to go to Gilgal, to own him as his Soveraign as yet, being only Rejected, but not Depoſed, but chiefly to Execute Agag, v. 31, 32, 33. who had been as cruel to Iſrael as his Anceſtors; and having eſcaped the Sword of Luſty Saul, did not dream of Death by the Sword of Old Samuel.
N. B. Whom yet God enabled to hew him in pieces, as Phinehas ſtab'd Zimri, and Elijah ſlew the Baalites, all extraordinary Caſes: We are to walk by the ordinary Rule, and not by extraordinary Examples, which are no Preſidents for us. After this Samuel went no more to viſit Saul now Excommunicated, yet mourns for him, v. 34, 35. for the hardneſs of his Heart, and hazard of his Soul, which was more than Saul did for himſelf.