1 Samuel 15
I HAVE told you how God made Saul the king of Israel. Saul sat upon a throne, and wore a crown, and went to battle in a chariot. He was a brave man, and could fight well against wicked soldiers who tried to hurt the Israelites.
Samuel used often to come and see him, and advise him to serve God. Samuel wished Saul to be good,—and he often prayed for him.
At last God chose to see whether Saul would do all He desired him to do. You remember how God once tried Abraham: and how Abraham did what God desired him, because he loved God. What was it that Saul was to do?
There were some wicked people who lived near the land of Canaan, called the Am-al-ek-ites. God was very angry with them, and He chose that they should all be killed.
One day Samuel came to Saul and said to him, 'God wants you to go and fight against the Amalekites and kill them all,—men, women, and children, and oxen, and sheep, and camels, and asses.'
Saul got a great army of Israelites, and went to the Amalekites, and he conquered them. Then Saul desired his soldiers to kill them with their swords, as God had told him. But he thought he should like to take the king of the Amalekites back to Canaan with him; so he would not let him be killed. I think Saul liked to bring the king home with him, because he thought it was a grand and fine thing to have a king shut up near him in Canaan. Neither did Saul kill the fat and strong oxen and sheep; he only killed those that were thin and weak. Saul wished to be rich, and to have many cattle.
Did Saul obey God? No; Saul did not love God; so Saul did not wish to obey Him. My dear children, if you love God you will like to obey Him. That night God spoke to Samuel and told him that He was very angry with Saul. Samuel was grieved to hear this, and he prayed to God all night. The next morning Samuel went to look for Saul, for God had told him many things that he must say to him. Saul did not know that Samuel knew of his wickedness; so he tried to make Samuel think that he had done all that God had told him.
When Saul saw Samuel, he pretended to be glad to see him, and said, 'I have done the commandment of the Lord.' Then Samuel said, 'What is this bleating of sheep and lowing of oxen that I hear?'
Now Saul saw that Samuel knew what he had done. He saw it would be of no use to say that he had not saved the sheep and oxen, so he began to make excuses for himself.
Saul said, 'It was the people who would not kill the fat sheep and oxen. They kept them for sacrifices to God.'
Was it the people who had saved the sheep and oxen? Had not Saul saved them too? and why did Saul let the people do wickedly? Was he not the king? Should he not have made them to do what was right?
Would God like those sheep and oxen to be offered in sacrifice to him? No; God would rather that Saul should obey him than that he should offer sacrifices.
Then Samuel told Saul that God was very angry with him, and did not mean to let him be king much longer.
Saul was very much frightened when he heard that God would punish him, and he said to Samuel, 'Do stay and pray to God with me.' But Saul was not really sorry; he was only afraid of being punished. Samuel knew that he was not sorry for having disobeyed God, Who had been so good to him, and Samuel would not stay with Saul. Then Saul took hold of Samuel's cloak, to hinder him from going away, and he tore the cloak.
Samuel stopped and said to Saul, 'God has torn the land of Canaan from you, and He has given it to a man that is better than you are. God has done it already, and He will not change His mind.'
Saul begged Samuel very much to stay with him, and to pray to God with him, that the people might not know that God was angry with him. You see that Saul cared more about what people thought of him, than about God being pleased with him.
At last Samuel said that he would worship God with him.
Then Samuel asked to see the king of the Amalekites, whom Saul had saved alive.
This king was a very wicked, cruel man, and God chose that he should be killed. He had hoped, that, as Saul had not killed him, he should not die: but Samuel took a sword and killed him.
Then Samuel left Saul, and he never came to see him anymore; but he still was very sorry to think that he was so wicked.
I hope, my dear children, that when you disobey God you will feel sorry. If you love God, you will not like to grieve Him. Saul did not love God: he only cared about being punished.
Do you know whom God intended to be king instead of Saul? I will soon tell you his name. He will be a better man than Saul.
Why was it so wicked of Saul not to kill the king of the Amalekites, and the fat cattle? Because God had told him to kill them. We ought to do what God tells us to do. Has He told you to kill wicked people? No; but He has told you to pray to Him, and to be kind, and to speak truth, and a great many things besides.
O turn once more, and pray with me,
King Saul exclaimed most earnestly.
O why does he this sorrow show?
Why fear to see the prophet go?
Alas! he has such evil done,
That God will chase him from his throne
Nor will the Lord in mercy spare,
Nor listen to the prophet's prayer.
Saul does not of his sin repent,
But merely dreads the punishment:
And could he still retain his throne,
He would not heed God's holy frown.
Child
Oh, have I grieved because I've sinned
Against a God so good and kind?
Or just the punishment I fear,
And do not care thy words to hear?
Questions on Lesson 6
How did God try Saul, to see whether he loved Him?
How did Saul disobey God?
How was it Samuel knew what Saul had done?
What excuses did Saul make for himself ?
What punishment did Samuel tell Saul that God would give him?
Why did Saul wish Samuel to pray with him?
Why was not Saul sorry for having offended God?
Has God told you to kill wicked people?
What has He told you to do?