| "Samuel said: Does YHVH desire burnt offerings and peace offerings as much
as the obeying of His voice? Because you rejected the Word of YHVH, He has rejected you from being a king. And
Saul replied: I have sinned, I did transgress YHVH's command - for I feared the people, and
I listened to their voice. Samuel said to Saul: I will not return with you. For you have rejected YHVH's
Word, and YHVH has rejected you from being king over Israel." I Sam 15:22-6
The Books of Samuel record the transition in Israel from the period of the Judges to the era of the united
monarchy. The change in Israel's national life revolved around three central figures.
Samuel - the last of the Judges. He was the first personality since Joshua to be a
national, rather than a local figure. Unlike his predecessors - Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jehpthah, and Samson - his influence
did not just cover a district or region, but the entire Holy Land. (I Sam 3:20) He regularly traveled around the
country to dispense justice in person. (I Sam 7:15-17) Samuel brought positive religious stability to the nation.
From Joshua to Samuel, the Israelites repeatedly followed the local idolatrous cults, but the days of Samuel himself heralded
a period where 'all the House of Israel followed YHVH. (I Sam 7:2) From that time, the Israelites kept on the Torah
path until the division of the kingdom after the death of Solomon.
Saul - the first King of Israel. His initially reluctant rise to power took place because
of the popular demand for a monarchy. Despite his openly being declared king in Mitzpa, his initial support appears
to have been of a more local nature, and opposed to by some 'evil people' (I Sam 10:27-7). Soon afterwards, he defeated
the common enemy - the people of Ammon - with the full participation of soldiers from all twelve tribes. (I Sam 11:7-8) Having
achieved a stunning victory over a common enemy, Saul was accepted as king by all of Israel.
The fact that Saul as king never challenged Samuel as prophet and as a judge stood to his credit. However
he erred on two occasions in not giving sufficient weight to Samuel's words. For Samuel - the prophet - had the most
direct link with YHVH. In not carrying out Samuel's words to the letter he - on his spiritual level - was setting himself
above the Word of YHVH.
Both incidents involved Saul's zeal to perform offerings to YHVH. On the first occasion,
he went ahead before Samuel's late arrival, despite his instructions to the contrary. On that occasion he was told: "You have been foolish! You did not keep the command of YHVH Now your kingdom will not last, for YHVH wanted
a man after his heart." I Sam 13:14 On the second occasion he was told by YHVH through Samuel to wage
war against the Amalekites: to exterminate the people and to destroy all their property. Saul assembled a huge army
and routed the enemy, but he did not wipe them out completely. He spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites, and the best
of their animals: the latter, for an offering to YHVH. Once more he was too zealous in making offerings
- once more Samuel was told by YHVH to say to Saul that He was more interested in his loyalty than in his property: "Does YHVH desire burnt offerings and peace offerings as much as the obeying of His voice? Because
you rejected the Word of YHVH, He has rejected you from being a king." Previously, he was told that his kingdom
would eventually fall. Following this incident he was told that the fall would be swift and immediate: "YHVH
has torn His kingdom from you and given it to someone better than you." (To David) This second act of defiance was
the reason for the fall of Saul's kingdom. On the night that turned out to be the one before his death, Saul wanted
to consult with Samuel who was by then dead. With the aid of the sorceress from Ein-Dor, he raised Samuel's spirit.
Samuel replied that Saul and sons would be killed in battle against the Philistines the very following day: "because
you did not listen to the word of YHVH and did not execute His wrath against Amalek." I Sam 28:18
David is the third key personality of the Books of Samuel - whose early stages in rising
to power are interwoven with the accounts of Samuel and Saul. His initial reign was over what was later the southern
kingdom of Judah - based in Hebron. Seven years later, he became king over all Israel. This lasted for a brief period
only, namely though the reign of King Solomon.
The theme of the Books of Samuel is that faithfulness to YHVH brings both national and individual success,
and disobedience brings disaster. That is openly stated in the opening chapters - in YHVH's message to Eli the
Priest: "Those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me, will be shown contempt."
I Sam 2:30
YHVH's judgment against Saul appears to be harsh. True, he spared Agag, King of the Amalekites, and
he reserved the best cattle for an offering. That meant that he did not totally destroy Amalek, as he was commanded
to do through Samuel the Prophet. Nevertheless, his reaction to Samuel's 'Does YHVH desire burnt offerings and
peace offerings as much as the obeying of His voice? Because you rejected the word of YHVH, He has rejected you from being
a king,' was true regret. His reply was: 'I have sinned I did transgress YHVH's command.' Realizing his mistake
he did not protest, when Samuel put Agag to death.
So why was Saul's sincere repentance not accepted?
The Torah attitude to such repentace is represented by the following words, spoken some six centuries
later, by the Prophet Ezekiel:
"When a wicked person turns from all his previous sins, observes My statutes, and performs
justice and charity, then he shall live, and not die. None of his previous transgressions shall be held against him. Do
I want the death of the wicked? exclaims YHVH. If only he would turn away from his ways, then he will live." Ezk
18:21-23
Unlike the circumstances of King David's marriage to Bathsheba, which are described in the text as 'evil
in the eyes of YHVH' (II Sam 11:27) Saul did nothing that could not be put right. David was not able to correct
his sin by bringing Uriah back to life. But Saul could - and did - take the option of correcting his sin of letting
Samuel kill Agag, and he no doubt disposed of the offending cattle as well.
Why did YHVH reject him? Why, instead, did King Saul have to suffer the further humiliation of
having his coat torn with the words: 'YHVH has torn His kingdom from you and given it to someone better than you?'
Why did YHVH 'regret that He had made Saul king over Israel?' (I Sam 15:38)
The Bible includes details that show basic flaws with Saul's heart and attitude.
Saul admitted that he sinned, but he gave a reason: namely that he 'feared the people, and listened to their voices'. (I Sam
15:24) In other words, he knew that he was doing wrong, but in having to resolve his conflict between public demand
on one side, and following YHVH's instructions on the other, he chose public demand. Thus Samuel rejoined Saul with:
"I will not return with you. For you have rejected YHVH's Word, and YHVH has rejected you from being king over
Israel." I Sam 15:26 His repentance and 'putting matters right' to restore his favor with YHVH did not improve
matters in his favor. He demonstrated that although he could win battles over his enemies, he did not have sufficient
faith in his position to risk losing popular support. Thus his lack of faith in YHVH would have put him amongst 'those who
despise Me, will be shown contempt.' (I Sam 2:30)
That was coupled with the fact that his sparing of Agag and his selecting the best cattle for an offering
were done publicly. These events took place at a time when 'all the House of Israel followed YHVH'. (I Sam 7:2)
A king - especially YHVH's anointed (I Sam 24:6) - who would have been remembered as having followed the popular mood
of the moment rather than the Word of YHVH, would have severely compromised the status of the monarchy and especially its
harmonious working together with the prophets as communicators of the Word of YHVH. For the deed, not the apologies
afterwards, remain engraved in the memories.
Thus the public impact of Saul's offence put his sin in the 'irreversible' category. Unlike David's
sin, it did not happen behind closed doors, but in the open, where it was seen and remembered from first hand experience.
This is a sharp lesson to be borne in mind by people who serve the community as Torah (Bible) teachers.
One gifted young man coming from a family of rabbis (ministers) said he would have liked to follow that calling, but he could
not. On being pressed, he said: "I know my weaknesses. I try hard to obey YHVH, but I do slip up at times.
If I were, for example, to suddenly lose my temper over a difference of opinion with a member of the community, I would not
only be compromising myself, I would also be harming YHVH's reputation and bringing my stand for the Torah into
disrepute."
Related Topic:
Saul And Amalek |
