Whedon's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 15:1-9
SAUL’S WAR WITH AMALEK, 1 Samuel 15:1-9. Jehovah deigns to give Saul’s obedience one more test. He has already warned him that, because of disobedience, his kingdom shall not be established in his posterity, (1 Samuel 13:14;) but ere he utters the final oracle of rejection he affords him one more trial. Occasion for this is found in the war with the Amalekites, those ancient enemies whose wanton hostility to the chosen people had, even in the days of Moses, drawn down upon them the curse of... read more
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 15:1
1. The Lord sent me to anoint thee The same Divine authority that made him king now commissions him to destroy the fierce, wicked Amalekites. 1 Samuel 14:48, suggests that this war on Amalek was not without fresh provocation. Those spoilers had probably made a predatory incursion into the southern borders, like that mentioned 1 Samuel 30:1. read more