Big Idea: The Lord gives greater priority to obedience than to religious formalism.

Understanding the Text

In this account the narrator’s pro-David/anti-Saul agenda continues to gain momentum. In chapter 13 Samuel announced that Saul would have no royal dynasty, placing the king on thin ice. Chapter 14 did nothing to ease our concerns about Saul, as he exhibited a preoccupation with his own honor and an obsession with religious formalism, particularly oaths. He was ready to execute his own son, and he deprived Israel of total victory as he placed his army under an unrealistic restriction and retarded the action with his delays. In chapter 15 Saul’s situation now becomes even more precarious. He exhibits pride and disobeys the Lord’s clear command; this brings serious repercussions (see v…