1 Samuel 15 Footnotes

15:3 Why were the Israelites supposed to kill the Amalekites’ women, children, and infants? This passage is one of a handful in the OT where God explicitly ordered the Israelites to eliminate an entire population (see also Dt 7:2; 13:15; 20:16-17; 25:19). For many people today these passages are the most troubling ones in the Bible. How could a loving God order his people to slaughter women and babies? The answer lies in the nature of God and his plans to rescue humanity. Being a perfectly just God, the Lord cannot let sin go unpunished. Individuals who sin will die for their sins (Ezk 18:4; Rm 6:23), though that death need not come about immediately following a sinful act, and may be averted altogether if the sinner turn from sin in time (Ezk 18:20-21). What is true of individuals is also true of groups that commit sinful acts (Jnh 3:9-10; Jl 2:13-14). The problem with the few groups of individuals whom God ordered to be completely destroyed was that they had incorporated grave sins into the very fabric of their society and continued in their sins over a considerable period of time. The Amalekites, for example, had created a culture that had no qualms about killing frail Israelites and kidnapping children for the sake of material gain (Dt 25:17-18; see also Jdg 6:3-6; 1Sm 14:48; 30:1-3). Likewise, to be a Canaanite entailed being a supporter of a polytheistic religion that practiced child sacrifice, prostitution, bestiality, and homosexuality. These cultures had become spiritually gangrenous and had been that way for hundreds of years (Gn 15:16; Dt 25:17-18). Since they refused to change, the only way to keep their deadly influences from spreading to other societies was through the complete elimination of every object (Ex 23:24; 34:13; Dt 7:5; 12:3; Jdg 2:2) and person (Dt 7:2; 13:15; 20:16-17) associated with them.

15:7-8 If Saul destroyed all of the Amalekites (except Agag), why did Israel have to fight them later on (27:8; 30:1,16-17; 2Sm 1:8,13; 1Ch 4:43)? In the context of Israelite history as a whole, it is clear that Saul killed all the Amalekites he found, not all those that existed. Many Amalekites would have abandoned their homes and become temporary war refugees in surrounding regions. Those who escaped prior to the battle lived to fight another day. David later did the same thing, going into temporary exile (1Sm 21:10) to avoid Saul’s army.

15:11 God chose Saul to be Israel’s king (9:15-16), then according to this verse regretted his action, and afterward chose David in his place (15:28; 16:12). Yet the Prophet Samuel told Saul that God does not change his mind (15:29). While this may appear contradictory, Scripture elsewhere supports Samuel’s statement (Ps 15:4; Mal 3:6; Jms 1:17). God’s will and purpose remain the same, but the free response of people to his commands may lead to a modification of his actions on the human scene (Jr 18:8; Ezk 18:24; Jnh 3:10). At least from the human perspective, his relationships with people are authentic and personal, not pre-programmed.