So at this point, many years have gone by, and Saul seems to have finally caught on to the kingship game...
1Sa 14:47 When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned he routed them.
1Sa 14:48 And he did valiantly and struck the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.
1Sa 14:52 There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he attached him to himself.
So a lot of what happens in the final rejection of Saul by God seems counter-intuitive. God had decided to eliminate Amalek once and for all, by destroying the kingdom of Agag, or more precisely, the Agag of Amalek. Samuel gave God's precise, no-deviations-allowed, instructions for the task:
1Sa 15:1 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.
1Sa 15:2 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.
1Sa 15:3 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.'"
Cruel, maybe, but God had His reasons- not the least of which was their past treachery and current barbarity. And Just like God had shown Saul His provision, mercy, and supernatural strength, He was willing to guide Saul in those steps again:
Provision:1Sa 15:4 So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah.
Mercy and comfort: 1Sa 15:6 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.
Power: 1Sa 15:7 And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt.
1Sa 15:8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword.
There is one little word in that last passage that should catch your attention: "alive". Why was this? Well, Saul was KING, and he should be able to humiliate his enemies after his victory, right? WRONG. It was God's enemy, God's victory, and in disobeying God's command, He was spitting on all three. And Agag wasn't all:
1Sa 15:9 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.
So now Saul had saved out his OWN provision, granted his OWN mercy (to Agag), and was basking in his OWN power. And with that, God had had enough.
1Sa 15:10 The word of the LORD came to Samuel:
1Sa 15:11 "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.
Samuel was clearly attached yet to Saul, perhaps considered him a protege, and by this time Saul should have learned the lessons of Godly kingship- but had not. Just as the people had turned from God by demanding a king, Saul turned from God by being a king- rather than being GOD'S king.
But here's the thing about their relationship: Saul still wanted to please Samuel. To him, Samuel was God-made-flesh, he was the connection between himself and God, between God and the people, and without him, Saul feared for his legitimacy- as well he might. So he tried various ways to excuse himself before Samuel...
First, the straight out, obvious lie...
1Sa 15:13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, "Blessed be you to the LORD. I have performed the commandment of the LORD."
1Sa 15:14 And Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?"
Excuse #1, "I did it for God"...
1Sa 15:15 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."
Excuse #2, "It was the people, not me"...
1Sa 15:21 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."
Excuse #3, "I screwed up, but it wasn't a big thing"...
1Sa 15:24 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.
1Sa 15:25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may worship the LORD."
But even if Samuel was going to be persuaded by words, something had occurred before he got there that had given Saul's game away...
1Sa 15:12 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."
He had glorified himself first, and THEN went down to Gilgal to sacrifice "to God". And Samuel had one reaction to all the lying and excusing...
1Sa 15:16 "Be quiet!" Samuel said. "I'll tell you what the LORD told me last night." Saul told him, "Speak."
At this point, not only was God going to reject Saul, but so was Samuel...
1Sa 15:26 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."
1Sa 15:27 As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore.
1Sa 15:28 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.
1Sa 15:29 And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret."
At this point, Saul asked him for a 'show of unity' for appearance's sake, and Samuel went with him, but only to humiliate Saul as Saul had done to God's command- he borrowed a sword and "hacked Agag to pieces", taking from Saul the self-glorifying "parade your enemy down main street" he obviously had planned.
So from this we draw the excuses we use not to do what we know God wants, and the repercussions thereof. Like Saul, who remained king for a good many years, the results may take a while, but they will be devastating- particularly if you're trying to look like you are "following the command of the Lord". Next time, we'll begin to see how miserable those repercussions will be.
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