1 Samuel 15:17

17 And Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, have you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel

1 Samuel 15:17 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 15:17

And Samuel said, when thou [wast] little in thine own sight,
&c.] Humble and lowly, and had a mean opinion of himself, his family and tribe, and judged himself unworthy of the kingdom; see ( 1 Samuel 9:21 ) suggesting, that now he was proud and haughty, and would have his own will and way:

wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel;
not of his own tribe only, which was the least, but of all the tribes, and so they were all subject to him, and at his command:

and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel;
all which is observed, partly to point out unto him the high honour he was raised unto, from a low estate, which laid him under obligation to serve the Lord, and obey him; and partly as an answer to him, excusing himself, and laying the blame upon the people; whereas seeing he was made king over them, his business was to rule and govern them, guide and direct them in the right way, and restrain them from that which was evil; and since he was anointed by the Lord, and not by the people, he ought to have obeyed him, and not regarded the pleasure of them.

1 Samuel 15:17 In-Context

15 Saul answered, “The troops brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but the rest we devoted to destruction.”

16 “Stop!” exclaimed Samuel. “Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night.” “Tell me,” Saul replied.

17 And Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, have you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel

18 and sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and devote to destruction the sinful Amalekites. Fight against them until you have wiped them out.’

19 So why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you rush upon the plunder and do evil in the sight of the LORD?”