Last fall I took a Samuel and Kings class at CBC. Our weekly assignment involved reading 50 pages of commentary and one journal article on a specified chapter selection. In our class sessions we worked through the books, sharing insights and research that we had gleaned from our reading. These are a few of the points brought up in our class pertaining to 1 Samuel 15.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->This passage is noted as one of the most controversial chapters in the Bible about God because 1) it says that God can not repent and then he does 2) God tells Israel to innocent kill people
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->The history: while Moses and the Israelites were crossing the red sea, they were attacked by Amalakites (1440-1250 BC); Saul’s time was 1050-1010 BC therefore we can deduce that the Amalakites were killed for sins committed by their ancestors 400 years earlier
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->God says to kill all animals - the Hebrew word used is herem, which refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the LORD, often by totally destroying them. In the OT things were given/offered to God by being burnt because smoke rises and therefore can rise up to God. Thus it makes sense that the animals, people and cities (Jericho, Ai and Hatzor) were burned.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->In the OT, the worst possible desecration was to be denied a proper burial and in this chapter the bodies of the Amalakites were left in the open to be consumed by vultures.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->The issue of obedience arises when Saul kills bad cattle but keeps the good for himself. Verse 22 makes clear that obedience to God is more important than gifts.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->Although sins are punished to third generation, love is shown to 1000 generations: God’s loyalty shows greater and longer that punishment. The implication of this text is that generations can change.
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