Saul Is Rejected: 15:1–3 Verse 1 recalls Samuel’s previous influence in Saul’s life. Whether there is discord between them or in spite of any criticism he may have made since, Samuel reminds Saul that he had been appointed to anoint Saul as king. Now Samuel has a further task from God for Saul to carry out. He is to be entrusted with the punitive destruction of the Amalekites in a holy war. The reason given for this severe treatment is the Amalekites’ attacks on the vulnerable Israelites coming out of Egypt (Exod. 17:8; Num. 14:43; Deut. 25:17–18).

In this instance nothing, whether human, animal, or property, is to be spared. The herem, dedication to God of an enemy, is hard for modern readers to understand but would have made sense to the cultures of Saul’s time. The instruction is clear a…