1 Samuel 15: God's Regret

Does God ever regret what he has done? Verse 11 suggests that the Lord was unhappy with his own anointing of Saul as King of Israel.

This language is best understood as a statement made in accommodation to our outlook upon our actions as human beings. We cannot understand the eternal ways of God—as he plainly tells us in Scripture (Is. 40:13-14). But we can understand a displeasure with our own action that makes us wish we had never done something. Saul refused to obey the express command of the Lord to utterly destroy the Amalekites and their possessions. He failed to do so. He thought he would develop his own way of worshiping God, even when it conflicted with God’s express command.

This is a reminder to us to worship God as he instructs us and not as we imagine. Even within the “Christian” world all kinds of bizarre modes of worship are tolerated contrary to God’s command. Some churches baptize the living for the salvation of dead ancestors. Some churches teach that Christ is killed anew each time that communion is celebrated. Others use visual worship “aids” that are perilously close to, if not being, outright idolatry. These practices cannot be pleasing to God because they defy his truth as revealed to us. We too should guard our practices to ensure that we are not inventing things as we go along but rather following the clear dictates of Scripture about proper worship for him. Obedience is our first calling. Creativity to the glory of God within obedience is a blessing to both worshiper and the One who is worshiped. The Lord has commanded us to sing new songs to Him (Ps. 33:3)!

Saul’s attempt to repent of his own sin appeared genuine—to a degree. He implored Samuel not to depart from him (v. 27), and he finally killed Agag (v. 33). But the kingdom had been irrevocably taken from his house, and even Samuel himself would no longer carry the word of God to him (v. 35). How startling then was Saul’s action in seeking to raise Samuel from the dead for advice (I Sam. 28:14)! And how additionally amazing was Samuel’s post-mortem repetition of the judgment upon Saul for his great wrongdoing—all of which arose from Saul’s sincere, but disobedient attempt to honor the God of Israel (I. Sam. 28:18)! In his rebuke to Saul, Samuel reminds Saul of his humble origins (v. 17). Since God had raised him up to be a great king, how could he not have exercised the power that God had put into his hands to utterly destroy the heathen Amalekites (v. 19). Obedience is better than sacrifice (v. 22). Let these words of the Prophet be a continual reminder to us of our first priority as Christians.

Posted by Aaron Martin