1 Samuel 15:19

19 Why didn't you obey the LORD? You did evil in the LORD's eyes when you tore into the plunder!"

1 Samuel 15:19 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 15:19

Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord
Who had made him king, and sent him on this errand, and gave him such plain directions, and such strong orders to make an entire consumption of Amalek:

but didst fly upon the spoil;
like a bird of prey, such as an eagle or vulture, not to devote it to the Lord, by an entire destruction of it, but to seize it for his own use, as being greedily desirous and covetous of it:

and didst evil in the sight of the Lord?
by disobeying his commands, from whose sight nothing can be hid.

1 Samuel 15:19 In-Context

17 Samuel said, "Even if you think you are insignificant, aren't you the leader of Israel's tribes? The LORD anointed you king over Israel.

18 The LORD sent you on a mission, instructing you, ‘Go, and put the sinful Amalekites under the ban. Fight against them until you've wiped them out.'

19 Why didn't you obey the LORD? You did evil in the LORD's eyes when you tore into the plunder!"

20 "But I did obey the LORD!" Saul protested to Samuel. "I went on the mission the LORD sent me on. I captured Agag the Amalekite king, and I put the Amalekites under the ban.

21 Yes, the troops took sheep and cattle from the plunder—the very best items placed under the ban—but in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal."