1Samuel:15-16

---

Seeker Overlay ON

* Samuel also said to Saul , "The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people , over Israel . Now therefore , heed the voice of the words of the LORD . * Thus says the LORD of hosts : "I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel , how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt . * Now go and attack Amalek , and utterly destroy all that they have , and do not spare them . But kill both man and woman , infant and nursing child , ox and sheep , camel and donkey ."' * So Saul gathered the people together and numbered them in Telaim , two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah . * And Saul came to a city of Amalek , and lay in wait in the valley . * Then Saul said to the Kenites , "Go , depart , get down from among the Amalekites , lest I destroy you with them . For you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt ." So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites . * And Saul attacked the Amalekites , from Havilah all the way to Shur , which is east of Egypt . * He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive , and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword . * But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep , the oxen , the fatlings , the lambs , and all that was good , and were unwilling to utterly destroy them . But everything despised and worthless , that they utterly destroyed . * Now the word of the LORD came to Samuel , saying , * "I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king , for he has turned back from following Me , and has not performed My commandments ." And it grieved Samuel , and he cried out to the LORD all night . * So when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul , it was told Samuel , saying , "Saul went to Carmel , and indeed , he set up a monument for himself ; and he has gone on around , passed by , and gone down to Gilgal ." * Then Samuel went to Saul , and Saul said to him , "Blessed are you of the LORD ! I have performed the commandment of the LORD ." * But Samuel said , "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears , and the lowing of the oxen which I hear ?" * And Saul said , "They have brought them from the Amalekites ; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen , to sacrifice to the LORD your God ; and the rest we have utterly destroyed ." * Then Samuel said to Saul , "Be quiet ! And I will tell you what the LORD said to me last night ." And he said to him , "Speak on ." * So Samuel said , "When you were little in your own eyes , were you not head of the tribes of Israel ? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel ? * Now the LORD sent you on a mission , and said , "Go , and utterly destroy the sinners , the Amalekites , and fight against them until they are consumed .' * Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD ? Why did you swoop down on the spoil , and do evil in the sight of the LORD ?" * And Saul said to Samuel , "But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD , and gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me , and brought back Agag king of Amalek ; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites . * But the people took of the plunder , sheep and oxen , the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed , to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal ." * So Samuel said : "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices , As in obeying the voice of the LORD ? Behold , to obey is better than sacrifice , And to heed than the fat of rams . * For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft , And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry . Because you have rejected the word of the LORD , He also has rejected you from being king ." * Then Saul said to Samuel , "I have sinned , for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words , because I feared the people and obeyed their voice . * Now therefore , please pardon my sin , and return with me , that I may worship the LORD ." * But Samuel said to Saul , "I will not return with you , for you have rejected the word of the LORD , and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel ." * And as Samuel turned around to go away , Saul seized the edge of his robe , and it tore . * So Samuel said to him , "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today , and has given it to a neighbor of yours , who is better than you . * And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent . For He is not a man , that He should relent ." * Then he said , "I have sinned ; yet honor me now , please , before the elders of my people and before Israel , and return with me , that I may worship the LORD your God ." * So Samuel turned back after Saul , and Saul worshiped the LORD . * Then Samuel said , "Bring Agag king of the Amalekites here to me ." So Agag came to him cautiously . And Agag said , "Surely the bitterness of death is past ." * But Samuel said , "As your sword has made women childless , so shall your mother be childless among women ." And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal . * Then Samuel went to Ramah , and Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul . * And Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death . Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul , and the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel . * Now the LORD said to Samuel , "How long will you mourn for Saul , seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel ? Fill your horn with oil , and go ; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite . For I have provided Myself a king among his sons ." * And Samuel said , "How can I go ? If Saul hears it , he will kill me ." But the LORD said , "Take a heifer with you , and say , "I have come to sacrifice to the LORD .' * Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice , and I will show you what you shall do ; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you ." * So Samuel did what the LORD said , and went to Bethlehem . And the elders of the town trembled at his coming , and said , "Do you come peaceably ?" * And he said , "Peaceably ; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD . Sanctify yourselves , and come with me to the sacrifice ." Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons , and invited them to the sacrifice . * So it was , when they came , that he looked at Eliab and said , "Surely the LORD 's anointed is before Him !" * But the LORD said to Samuel , "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature , because I have refused him . For the LORD does not see as man sees ; for man looks at the outward appearance , but the LORD looks at the heart ." * So Jesse called Abinadab , and made him pass before Samuel . And he said , "Neither has the LORD chosen this one ." * Then Jesse made Shammah pass by . And he said , "Neither has the LORD chosen this one ." * Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel . And Samuel said to Jesse , "The LORD has not chosen these ." * And Samuel said to Jesse , "Are all the young men here ?" Then he said , "There remains yet the youngest , and there he is , keeping the sheep ." And Samuel said to Jesse , "Send and bring him . For we will not sit down till he comes here ." * So he sent and brought him in . Now he was ruddy , with bright eyes , and good-looking . And the LORD said , "Arise , anoint him ; for this is the one !" * Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers ; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward . So Samuel arose and went to Ramah . * But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul , and a distressing spirit from the LORD troubled him . * And Saul 's servants said to him , "Surely , a distressing spirit from God is troubling you . * Let our master now command your servants , who are before you , to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp . And it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing spirit from God is upon you , and you shall be well ." * So Saul said to his servants , "Provide me now a man who can play well , and bring him to me ." * Then one of the servants answered and said , "Look , I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite , who is skillful in playing , a mighty man of valor , a man of war , prudent in speech , and a handsome person ; and the LORD is with him ." * Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse , and said , "Send me your son David , who is with the sheep ." * And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread , a skin of wine , and a young goat , and sent them by his son David to Saul . * So David came to Saul and stood before him . And he loved him greatly , and he became his armorbearer . * Then Saul sent to Jesse , saying , "Please let David stand before me , for he has found favor in my sight ." * And so it was , whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul , that David would take a harp and play it with his hand . Then Saul would become refreshed and well , and the distressing spirit would depart from him . * Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle , and were gathered at Sochoh , which belongs to Judah ; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah , in Ephes Dammim .

---