撒上十五22~23　　…耶和华喜悦燔祭和平安祭，岂如喜悦人听从祂的话呢？看哪，听从胜于献祭；听命胜于公羊的脂油。悖逆与行邪术的罪相等；顽梗与拜虚神和家神相同。你既厌弃耶和华的话，耶和华也厌弃你作王。

　　亚玛力人起来拦阻神国的建立，扫罗受嘱咐去毁灭他们。在撒上十五章三节耶和华对扫罗说，“现在你要去击打亚玛力人，灭绝他们所有的，不可怜惜他们，将男女、孩童、吃奶的，并牛、羊、骆驼和驴，尽都杀死。”神吩咐扫罗将亚玛力人（预表神唯一的仇敌—肉体）灭绝，乃是智慧的把扫罗摆在一个地方，为要试验他。（撒母耳记生命读经，九一页。）

　　1 Sam. 15:22-23 …Does Jehovah delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed, than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and insubordination is like idolatry and teraphim. Because you have rejected the word of Jehovah, He has also rejected you from being king.

　　The Amalekites rose up to frustrate the establishing of God’s kingdom, and Saul was charged to destroy them. In 1 Samuel 15:3 Jehovah said to him, “Go now and strike the Amalekites; and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, infant and suckling, oxen and sheep, camel and donkey.” In charging Saul to utterly destroy the Amalekites, which typify the flesh as God’s unique enemy, God wisely put Saul on the spot in order to test him. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, pp. 72-73)

　　扫罗灭绝了亚玛力的众民，却“怜惜亚甲，也爱惜上好的羊、牛、肥畜、羊羔，并一切美物，不肯灭绝；凡下贱和无价值的，都灭绝了”。（撒上十五8下~9。）对扫罗而言，这是一次使自己致富的机会；他要在神的国里建立自己的王国。

　　有人告诉撒母耳说，扫罗去了迦密，在那里为自己立了记念碑。（12。）扫罗立这记念碑，不是为着神的国，乃是为着记念他自己的胜利，使他和他的王国致富。这很强的指明，扫罗的目的是要建立自己的王国。

　　当扫罗宣告他已履行耶和华的话时，撒母耳问他：“我耳中听见的这羊叫、牛鸣，是怎么回事呢？”（13~14。）扫罗解释说，这些是从亚玛力人那里带来的；因为百姓爱惜上好的牛羊，要献与耶和华；其余的，都灭绝了。撒母耳叫扫罗住口，他要将耶和华前一夜向他所说的话告诉扫罗。撒母耳接着说，“你虽然以自己为小，岂不是以色列支派的元首么？耶和华膏了你作以色列的王。耶和华差遣你行路，说，你去灭绝那些犯罪的亚玛力人，攻打他们，直到将他们灭尽。你为何没有听从耶和华的话，急忙掳掠财物，行耶和华眼中看为恶的事呢？”（17~19。）扫罗以宣告回应说，他实在听从了耶和华的话；百姓却在所夺得的物中取了牛羊，要献与耶和华。（20~21。）

　　在二十二至二十三节，撒母耳继续对扫罗说了一段很重的话。…撒母耳似乎说，“扫罗，你说你爱惜上好的牛羊，要献与耶和华我的神；但神宁愿你听从祂的话。祂告诉你要灭绝亚玛力人，并一切他们所有的。但你没有听从这话，却为自己保留一些牛羊。今天早晨你为自己立了记念碑。你没有为神立任何东西。看哪，听从胜于献祭，听命—顾到神的说话—胜于公羊的脂油。扫罗，你悖逆了神；悖逆与行邪术、巫术的罪相等。你所作的，与接触邪灵，要行邪灵的意愿而不行神的意愿，是同样的邪恶。你没有顺服神作你的头，反而照着你的方式，凭着你的意愿僭妄行事。现在你君王的职分已经结束。因为你厌弃耶和华的话，祂也厌弃你作王。”这样，扫罗就被暴露是背叛神的人，也是神的仇敌。（撒母耳记生命读经，九二至九四页。）

　　参读：事奉的基本功课，第十七至十八课。

　　Saul utterly destroyed all their people, but he “spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fatlings, and the lambs and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them; but everything that was despised and worthless, this they utterly destroyed” (1 Sam. 15:8b-9). For Saul, this was an opportunity to make himself rich. He was trying to build up his own monarchy within God’s kingdom.

　　It was told Samuel that Saul had gone to Carmel and had set up a monument for himself (v. 12). Saul built this monument not for the kingdom of God but for the remembrance of himself because of the victory that made both him and his monarchy rich. This was a strong indication that Saul’s intention was to build up his monarchy.

　　When Saul declared that he had fulfilled the word of Jehovah, Samuel asked, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears and the lowing of oxen that I hear?” (vv. 13-14). Saul explained that they had been brought from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen to sacrifice to Jehovah and destroyed the rest. Samuel then told Saul to stop and he would tell him what Jehovah had spoken to him the night before. Then he went on to say, “Though you are small in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? And Jehovah has anointed you king over Israel. And Jehovah sent you on a journey and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed. Why then did you not obey the voice of Jehovah, but flew upon the spoil and did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah?” (vv. 17-19). Saul responded by claiming that he did obey the voice of Jehovah but that the people took sheep and oxen of the spoil to sacrifice to Jehovah (vv. 20-21).

　　In verses 22 and 23 Samuel continued by speaking a very strong word to Saul…. Samuel seemed to be saying, “Saul, you say that you spared the best of the sheep and oxen to sacrifice to Jehovah, my God. But God prefers that you obey His word. He told you to utterly destroy the Amalekites and all that they have. Instead of obeying this word, you kept some of the sheep and oxen for yourself. This morning you raised up a monument for yourself. You did not raise up anything for God. Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed, to take care of, God’s speaking is better than the fat of rams. Saul, you have rebelled against God, and rebellion is like the sin of divination, like the sin of witchcraft. What you did was just as evil as contacting an evil spirit for the purpose of carrying out the intention of that spirit, not God’s intention. You did not subordinate yourself to God as your Head but acted presumptuously, according to your ways and by your will. Now your kingship is over. Because you have rejected the word of Jehovah, He has rejected you from being king.” Saul was thus exposed as being a rebel against God and an enemy of God. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, pp. 73-75)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “Basic Lessons on Service,” chs. 17-18