Amalek has lifted its head again, and this is the message of what we are to do to them, as is written in 1 Samuel 15, in accordance with Devarim 25. Let this be a warning - and a directive - to our leaders, who have failed us for far too long:
Samuel told Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over His people, Israel. Now listen to the words of the Lord. This is what the Lord of hosts says: ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, when he set himself against Israel on the way, as they were going up from Egypt. Now, go and attack Amalek. Completely destroy all that they have. Do not spare them, but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, both ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”
So Saul summoned the people and counted them at Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men from Judah. Saul came to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the valley. Saul told the Kenites, “Withdraw from the Amalekites so that I don’t destroy you with them, for you showed kindness to all the Israelis when they departed from Egypt.” So the Kenites withdrew from the Amalekites. Saul attacked the Amalekites from Havilah to Shur, which is by Egypt. He captured alive Agag king of Amalek, but decimated all the people by sword. Saul and the people took pity on Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle—the fattened animals and lambs—along with all that was good. They were not willing to destroy them, but they did destroy everything that was worthless and inferior.
The Word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying: “I regret that I made Saul king, because he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out my commands.” Samuel was aggrieved, and he cried out to the Lord all night.
Samuel got up early in the morning to meet Saul, but Samuel was told, “Saul went up to Carmel to set up a monument for himself. Then he turned around and traveled on to Gilgal.”
Samuel approached Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you to the Lord, I have carried out the Lord’s command.”
Samuel said, “Then what is this sound of the sheep in my ears and the sound of cattle that I hear?”
Saul replied, “They brought them from the Amalekites. The people spared the best of the sheep and cattle to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God, and the rest they destroyed.”
Samuel said to Saul, “Desist, and I will tell you what the Lord told me last night.”
And he said, “Speak.”
So Samuel replied, “Is it not true that though you were small in your own eyes, you became head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed you king over Israel? The Lord sent you on a mission: ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are destroyed.’ Why did you not obey the Lord, but grabbed the spoils and did evil in the Eyes of the Lord?”
Saul told Samuel, “I did obey the Lord. I went on the mission on which the Lord sent me, I brought Agag king of Amalek, and I destroyed the Amalekites. The people took some of the spoils—sheep, cattle, and the best of what was to be destroyed—to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”
Samuel said,
“Does the Lord delight as much in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as in obeying the Lord?
Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice,
to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.
Indeed, rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the Word of the Lord,
He has rejected you from being king.”
“I have sinned,” Saul replied to Samuel. “I have broken the Lord’s command and your word, because I was afraid of the people and listened to them. Now, please forgive my sin and return with me so I may worship the Lord.”
Samuel told Saul, “I will not return with you because you have rejected the Word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”
As Samuel turned to go Saul seized him by the corner of his robe, and it tore. Samuel told him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel away from you today, and he has given it to your fellow who is better than you. Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie nor change His mind, for He is not a man that He should change His mind.”
