1 Samuel 15:23, commentary and pictures

Samuel spoke these words to reprove Saul for only partly obeying God's command to destroy Amalek, sparing the best cattle and the wicked king while claiming he had fully obeyed. Rebellion is like witchcraft because the rebel yields to an influence opposed to God, coming under Satan's control until trust is weakened and disobedience looks beneficial. Stubborn insistence on one's own will against reproof is like iniquity and idolatry, because pride and self-love are prized above God's favor. To obey and heed God's voice delights Him more than sacrifice, and no partial obedience, religious offering, good intention, or self-justification can cover or excuse disobedience. Because Saul rejected the word of the Lord he was rejected from being king, yet humble repentance and submission would have brought mercy, while persistent self-will leads to blindness, hardness of heart, and ruin.

Saul's Disobedience at Amalek

The command behind the rebuke was to strike Amalek and utterly destroy them and all their possessions as an act of justice. That judgment came after Amalek attacked Israel and after continuing rebellion, idolatry, and unrepented sin, having been delayed for four hundred years while the people did not turn from their sins. Obedience to that command could still have demonstrated fidelity to God and worthiness to rule, but failure to carry out the work of justice kindled God's wrath against Saul.

Saul was told plainly what God required and had received great light, yet he acted contrary to the command and obeyed only in part. He destroyed the inferior cattle but spared the best sheep and oxen, and he spared the wicked king. His stubborn, self-willed spirit in this partial obedience brought proportionate condemnation.

He then met Samuel with self-congratulation that he had performed God's command. He shifted blame to the people and pleaded that the best cattle had been reserved to sacrifice to God, though he had in fact directed their actions. The remaining sheep and oxen exposed his claim as false, leaving unmistakable tokens of disobedience and contradicting professed loyalty by actions that disregarded God's voice.

In this he excused and minimized his sin and persisted in refusing to see it and confess it, to Samuel's deep grief. David, by contrast, when rebuked accepted the rebuke and confessed his guilt without excuse.

Saul's course was to choose his own ideas, methods, course, and reasoning instead of following God's requirements and hearkening to God's voice. Like Cain refusing God's plan, he followed his own way and then tried to excuse and justify disobedience when reproved, claiming the animals were spared for sacrifice and blaming the people.

Meaning of Rebellion

Rebellion is as witchcraft because the one who begins to rebel yields to an influence opposed to God, and Satan then gains increasing control of the rebellious mind until trust in God is weakened and the desire to obey fades, until the person seems unable to stop and loving obedience is lost. It comes through satanic influence and carries a bewitching, deceptive power that misleads the mind, captivates the senses, distorts the understanding, and draws people into disloyalty and transgression by making transgression look beneficial.

Rebellion rejects God's authority and tramples His law, and envy and jealousy can make it appear justified even when there is no excuse for it, for rebellion began with Satan. Stubbornly insisting on one's own will and defending known wrong against reproof is as iniquity and idolatry, because pride and self-love and one's own will are prized above God's favor and a clear conscience. Although Saul opposed witchcraft and condemned witchcraft and idolatry, his deliberate disregard of God's command was rebellion with the character of sorcery, arising from the same opposition to God, his presumption was satanically inspired, and by adding stubbornness to rebellion when reproved he insulted the Spirit of God as surely as if he had openly joined idolaters, leaving him blind to his sin and its consequences.

Such obstinacy in known sin separates a person from God, for rebellion blinds the mind and hardens the heart, and refusal to yield the will to God makes a person unwilling to confess wrongs, while wrongs left without humble confession deepen that blindness and hardness. Israel's persistent defiance of God's appointed leaders even after clear evidence of error shows how rebellion blinds people and is difficult to overcome, and rebellion against God is a failure of self-government that makes a person's life a failure. This stubbornness must be overcome through repentance and submission to God. Satan's deception first makes defiance of reproof and warning seem small and inviting while obscuring its consequences, then in extremity magnifies guilt and makes pardon seem hopeless, driving toward despair and self-destruction.

Obedience Better Than Sacrifice

The word of the Lord stands as the supreme authority in life and is to be obeyed without question, and to obey and hearken to His voice delights Him more than burnt offerings and sacrifice and more than the fat of rams. Departing from His express commandment is rebellion, and sacrifice cannot take the place of obedience. God accepts no partial obedience and no compromise with self. Claiming to have performed His commandment carries no weight while unmistakable tokens of disobedience remain, and good intentions or human judgment do not make such disobedience acceptable.

Disobedience covered by religious offerings is still rebellion, and stubborn persistence is still iniquity and idolatry. Disobedience cannot be quieted or covered by persuading oneself that God will accept sacrifice and overlook disobedience. It cannot be excused by sacrifice, by self-justification, by good intentions, by human judgment, or by blaming others, and offering sacrifice does not make up for disobeying God or preserve a forfeited trust. Saul's plea that the best spared animals were meant for sacrifice did not excuse his use of his own judgment to spare them.

The sacrificial offerings of ancient times were of themselves of no value in God's sight. Those who brought them had to understand their meaning, acknowledge their lost condition as sinners, repent of breaking God's law, and accept by faith the death of Christ for them as the only one who could take away guilt. An offering becomes displeasing to God when it is substituted for true willing glad service, when it is regarded as having virtue or merit in itself, or when the type is exalted above Christ whom it points to. Even the most valuable lawful offering kept in every detail would be rejected if brought in self-sufficiency without true penitence. Saul's offering from the spoil of Amalek which God had placed under curse was utterly abhorrent in the sight of a holy God as open contempt for the authority of his Maker.

Rejected From Being King

Because Saul rejected the word of the Lord about Amalek, the Lord rejected him from being king, for trust in God and obedience to His will were the conditions of his kingship. His disregard of the express command was presumption that disqualified him to rule, and by transgression he forfeited his right to the kingdom. His claim that the captured animals were meant for sacrifice did not excuse disobedience, for obeying God matters more than offering sacrifice, and his self-justification and blaming of the people did not change his guilt. Rejection meant the Lord no longer gave him directions through Samuel and chose David to rule in his place. He had chosen his own ideas and methods instead of following God's requirements and hearkening to God's voice, making him an unsafe leader who could lead Israel away from the Lord, and his rejection and David's choice in his place brought jealousy and hardship for David and sorrow for Saul, Samuel, and David.

After Samuel stopped instructing him, Saul knew the Lord had rejected him. He repeatedly foretold that he would be dethroned and that his descendants would lose the throne and perish because of his sins. By persisting in his own way, putting his own will above God's, and resisting the Spirit of God instead of making obedience his first concern, he brought his kingdom to insecurity. God required him to act with integrity and let heaven's principles govern him, but instead he rejected God's instruction and died in dishonor and despair.

Forsaken by God and left to his own judgment, Saul in peril turned from God and sought guidance from the medium at Endor. Thereby he severed his last tie to his Maker and placed himself under Satan's control, though God had still left him opportunity to repent. Satan, who had tempted him to rebel, personated Samuel and declared his coming ruin. Saul was rejected not by comparing how flagrant his sins appeared beside David's, but because he despised reproof, hardened his heart, and refused to humble himself and confess, whereas David humbled himself.

Resisting Reproof and Repentance

To resist reproof, to hold to one's own errors, and to insist stubbornly on one's own way is to reject the word of God and to turn away from the light and mercy He offers. A person may accept some correction and yet still cling unyieldingly to personal opinions, and that clinging casts away a last offer of light and mercy. Saul refused to admit and forsake his disobedience even while claiming to have obeyed, and his stubbornness in insisting he had done no wrong warns everyone who persists in an unrepentant course and resists correction. By rejecting God's word he was rejected from being king.

Refusal to yield the will to God makes a person unwilling to confess wrongs. Wrongs left without humble confession bring blindness of mind and hardness of heart. That stubbornness must be overcome through repentance and submission to God. Had Saul humbly repented, accepted correction, and sought God's forgiveness and favor above public honor from Samuel, God would have shown him mercy and forgiven him. Instead his pride and self-love led him to prize his own will above God's favor and a clear conscience, to defend known wrong in defiance of reproof, and to seek Samuel's public honor more than God's forgiveness. His false self-justification and stubborn refusal to be corrected separated him from God and led God to reject him as king.

Persisting in self-will and repeating Saul's mistake leads to ruin. Those who stubbornly insist on their own way and refuse God's reproof will lose honor and finally their souls. Such rejection of correction places them with the great rebel rather than among God's humble, obedient people. Rebellion persists unless Christ's transforming grace works daily in the soul and character. Faith in Christ leads to humility and willing obedience, while resisting the light God gives is rebellion and stubbornness, not faithful integrity.

Warnings for Later Readers

Spoken by Samuel the prophet in reproof to Saul the king of Israel, the declaration holds a lesson for the people of God in every age against rejecting His instruction and counsel. Israel's persistent defiance of God's appointed leaders, even after clear evidence of error, shows how rebellion blinds people and is difficult to overcome. Long resistance to God's testimonies can become stubborn rebellion described as a spirit of witchcraft or divination, as seen in the people in Waukon whose history of resisting truth left them unable to discern Satan's work from God's. Those in such a condition need deep humility, continual repentance, and submission to the judgment of faithful people rather than reliance on their own judgment or leading others.

Refusing to accept and act on a message from Heaven is rebellion, and confession must be followed by earnest efforts to undo the harm caused to others. Persistent murmuring, demanding that others confess, and failing to acknowledge one's own faults show departure from the right. The proper response is to confess faults thoroughly, mourn that departure with humility, and let others judge by one's fruits. Saul's pattern is repeated in one who denies wrongdoing until facts are undeniable, yet makes no confession and considers himself mistreated, illustrating rejection of correction and refusal to acknowledge sin.

The verse warns against trusting feelings or a theory of holiness that sets aside the truths of God's word, calling instead for humility and obedience to those truths. Saul's rebellion grew from a spirit not trained to submit to God, showing how early wrong habits can persist and leave a person unprepared for faithful service. Those who learn in youth to respect God's will and perform duties faithfully are prepared for greater service later, while years spent misusing God-given powers do not leave them fresh and ready to take an opposite course.

People, especially those in positions of responsibility, must examine themselves, turn from self-sufficient and selfish plans and human wisdom unguided by the Holy Spirit, and willingly follow His guidance in love. Refusing the Lord's guidance leads to service that dishonors God rather than serving in love, and those who refuse God's counsel may face destruction and appointed rejection as Saul did. Self-examination and seeking God prepare them to withstand the test and to be among the righteous welcomed into the mansions God prepares. Stubbornly promoting one's own way while treating it as zeal for truth follows Saul's spirit of stubborn insistence on carrying out his own ideas as rebellion against God.