The Regret of the Lord
1 Samuel 15:10–11 (ESV) The word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night.
Does God regret as we understand it? This is the great question of 1Samuel 15. Saul was commanded to utterly destroy Amalek and its king from under heaven. But he took God’s command only as far as he preferred. For this the Lord describes his feeling to Samuel as “regret.”
Now scores of theologians have studied this chapter to reconcile what seems like God’s unexpected disappointment with Saul here and God’s knowledge of the end from the beginning. Many theories have resulted and even some resolve around “open deism” in which God discovers the end along with us and through our choices. This of course rejects countless texts on the sovereign knowledge of God.
So how are we to take this? Simply. The Lord is responding to what He knew was going to happen in the way we respond when we know someone we put our faith is will let us down. And the text has no other way to describe the Lord’s response to this event other than what we as humans feel when sin destroys lives and damages legacies.
1 Samuel 15:12-15 (ESV) And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” 13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” 14 And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.”
Saul’s disobedience stems from the fact that he cannot lead because he is obsessed about the opinions of people. First the text tells us he went to Carmel to build a monument to himself. Carmel is in Judah, the tribe that sent only a fraction of troops to Saul when he called the nation’s army together (see 1 Samuel 15:4). Secondly, the text implies the people led Saul to spare the best of the sheep and flocks.
Note the pronouns of verses 20-21:
1 Samuel 15:20–21 (ESV) And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
Saul protests that he has followed through on the Lord’s commandment while it was the PEOPLE who spared the best of the things devoted to destruction. True to character, Saul feigns religious piety here suggesting the reason for their disobedience was to WORSHIP the Lord! And his motive for sparing the king would have lined up with ancient warfare practices of capturing foreign adversaries as a symbol of his dominance in the land. Saul needs people to think he’s powerful when his divine assignment was to make the Lord’s power known to His people.
To that Samuel will utter the most famous words, “to obey is better than sacrifice.” (1 Samuel 15:22). The Lord wants NOT our religious performance but our steady obedience. Why? Because it will bring Him glory and us blessing. But also, it teaches us to break free from the opinions of our culture. Here’s why you want that to happen for you. Because every culture has blind spots about their morals, values and virtues. If you aren’t careful, you will find yourself adapting to the culture that leads into long term pain, hurt and even death in ways you may not currently understand. Consider how each generation takes some measure of pride in exposing the misconceptions of previous cultures about right and wrong. Like when we speak about doctors in the 1950’s prescribing cigarettes for sore throats. That sounds crazy to us but then we are forced to consider what harmful things might our current culture prescribe that will bring long term pain.
God wants us to obey not only so we trust Him but so that we learn to lead ourselves and those we care about. This brings healing and strength to His people and is a testimony to the nations that His way is right and good. Only when we break free from the hold peopel’s approval has on our hearts can we lead our lives in the good life God has in store.
Does God regret as we understand it? This is the great question of 1Samuel 15. Saul was commanded to utterly destroy Amalek and its king from under heaven. But he took God’s command only as far as he preferred. For this the Lord describes his feeling to Samuel as “regret.”
Now scores of theologians have studied this chapter to reconcile what seems like God’s unexpected disappointment with Saul here and God’s knowledge of the end from the beginning. Many theories have resulted and even some resolve around “open deism” in which God discovers the end along with us and through our choices. This of course rejects countless texts on the sovereign knowledge of God.
So how are we to take this? Simply. The Lord is responding to what He knew was going to happen in the way we respond when we know someone we put our faith is will let us down. And the text has no other way to describe the Lord’s response to this event other than what we as humans feel when sin destroys lives and damages legacies.
1 Samuel 15:12-15 (ESV) And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” 13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” 14 And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.”
Saul’s disobedience stems from the fact that he cannot lead because he is obsessed about the opinions of people. First the text tells us he went to Carmel to build a monument to himself. Carmel is in Judah, the tribe that sent only a fraction of troops to Saul when he called the nation’s army together (see 1 Samuel 15:4). Secondly, the text implies the people led Saul to spare the best of the sheep and flocks.
Note the pronouns of verses 20-21:
1 Samuel 15:20–21 (ESV) And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
Saul protests that he has followed through on the Lord’s commandment while it was the PEOPLE who spared the best of the things devoted to destruction. True to character, Saul feigns religious piety here suggesting the reason for their disobedience was to WORSHIP the Lord! And his motive for sparing the king would have lined up with ancient warfare practices of capturing foreign adversaries as a symbol of his dominance in the land. Saul needs people to think he’s powerful when his divine assignment was to make the Lord’s power known to His people.
To that Samuel will utter the most famous words, “to obey is better than sacrifice.” (1 Samuel 15:22). The Lord wants NOT our religious performance but our steady obedience. Why? Because it will bring Him glory and us blessing. But also, it teaches us to break free from the opinions of our culture. Here’s why you want that to happen for you. Because every culture has blind spots about their morals, values and virtues. If you aren’t careful, you will find yourself adapting to the culture that leads into long term pain, hurt and even death in ways you may not currently understand. Consider how each generation takes some measure of pride in exposing the misconceptions of previous cultures about right and wrong. Like when we speak about doctors in the 1950’s prescribing cigarettes for sore throats. That sounds crazy to us but then we are forced to consider what harmful things might our current culture prescribe that will bring long term pain.
God wants us to obey not only so we trust Him but so that we learn to lead ourselves and those we care about. This brings healing and strength to His people and is a testimony to the nations that His way is right and good. Only when we break free from the hold peopel’s approval has on our hearts can we lead our lives in the good life God has in store.
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