When Samuel had come to the camp of Israel, Saul said to him: “I have fulfilled the word of the Lord.” Samuel answered: “What meaneth, then, the bleating of the flocks, and the lowing of the herds which I hear?” Saul tried to excuse himself, saying that the people had spared the best flocks and herds, to sacrifice [1] them to the Lord. Samuel, being angry, spoke to him in the name of the Lord: “Doth the Lord desire holocausts and victims, and not rather that the voice of the Lord should be obeyed? For obedience is better than sacrifices; and to hearken better than to offer the fat of rams. For as much, therefore, as thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord hath also rejected thee[2] from being king over Israel. The Lord hath rent the kingdom from thee this day, and has given it to one who is better.” Then Samuel departed, and beheld Saul no more till the day of his death.
COMMENTARY.
God’s Providence directed that the asses should be lo6t and that Saul, while seeking them, should meet Samuel. By God’s command Samuel anointed Saul king, and presented him as such to the people. God commands and directs everything as He wills.
God's Goodness to the Israelites is shown by His granting their request to have a king. It was Saul, however, whom he especially loaded with proofs of His love. Saul acknowledged his unworthiness in the words which he used to Samuel: “I am of the least tribe of Israel, and my kindred the least among all the families of the tribe of Benjamin l” And yet God chose him to be king over His people, turned the hearts of the Israelites towards him, and gave him the victory over all his enemies. — What more could God have done to ensure Saul’s unbounded gratitude and willing obedience?
The Justice of God. Saul was ungrateful and disobedient to God, and therefore the punishment of divine justice fell on him. He was rejected by God; God’s blessing left him; and his throne passed, not to his son, but to David.
Pride. Saul’s misfortunes sprang from pride. He became proud on account of his high dignity, and on account of the victories which
- ↑ To sacrifice. He thus told an untruth and aggravated it by feigning a pious motive.
- ↑ Rejected thee. God’s rejection of Saul consisted in this: firstly, that the kingdom would not remain in Saul’s family; and, secondly, that the crown was snatched from Saul himself by a premature death, and given to David, who, even in Saul's lifetime, was anointed to be his successor.
