3 Now go and ſmite Amalek, and utterly deſtroy all that they have e, and ſpare them not f ; bur ſlay both man and woman, infant and ſuckling g, ox and beep, camel and aſs þ. | |
e Both Perſons and Goods, kill all thatlive, and conſume all things withour life, for I will have no Name nor Remnant of that People whom long ſince I have Curſed and Devoted to utter Deſtruftion. f Shew no Compaſſion or Favour to any of them. The fame thing repeated to prevent miſtake, and oblige Sau! to the exa& perfor- mance hereof ; or to leave him without excuſe, in caſe of neglect. g For their Parents Crime and Puniſhment: which was not unjuſt. becauſe God is rhe Supreme Lord and Giver of Life, and can require his own when he pleaſeth ; Infants alſo are born in fin, Pſal. 51. 5. and therefore liable to God's Wrath, Eph. 2. 3. and to Death, Roz. 5.12, 14. Their Death alſo was rather a Mercy than a Curſe ro them, as being the occation of preventing the vaſt increaſe of their Sin and Puniſhment. þ Which being all made for Man's Benefit, ir is not ſtrange nor unjuſt, if they ſuffer with him, and for him, and for the inſtruttien of Mankind. _.
4 And Saul called che people together, and num- bred them in Telaim, twe hundred chouſand foortmen, and ten thouſand men of ſudah &. |
k Whoare particularly Noted here, as alſo Chat, 11. 8. either as Sele& Perſons of extraordinary Strength and Courage : or to com- mend that Tribe, which though the Kingdom had ben promiſed to their own Tribe, yet were forward in ſerving and obeying aKing of another, and that a far meaner Tribe. : . ;
5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek 7, and || Iaidyg, g,...
__ zz in the valley.
|
ir Ki 1 ble from where their King was, a5 is proba ' by 10me pre- | Jing to draw them forth cf their Ciry by AY Nike at of Foſbus, Foſh 7- and bn L - grow. ef to an | io their City : which hapily they d1d, rnuug ET anted, it +0 not worth whale to mention all the minute
--cunttances of ſuch marters. 4. > And Saul ſaid unto the Kenites #, Go, depart,
7 ft I de- 2t ye down from among the Amalckires, Ic Tp you with them : for ye ſhewed kindneſs p to all the children of Iſrael , when they came up - a Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Ama-
lekites. n A people deſcending from, or nearly related unto Jethro, why anciently dwelt in Rocks near the Amalekites, Numb: 24% 21» an afterwards ſome of them dwelt in Judah, Juages 1: 16. mar Fo is probable they removed, ( which dwelling in Tents they wa _ fily do) and retired to their old habiratio:;, becauſe of the Wars anc Troubles wherewith Judah was annoyed. p Some of your as. 1” tors did ſo, Exod: 18: 12. Numb: 10: 3I- and for their ſakes all - you ſhal fare the better. T7 were not Guilty of that fin for whic alk is now to be deſtroyed. : ; 'S And Saul ſmote the Amalekites from Havilah «nz#
Chap. RV.
i Their chief City,
F311 MM Oo
f| God only was concerned. g
|;
_
FL, of the ſheep, ard of the oxen, to ſacrifice unto the LORD g thy God h, and the reſt we have utterly de. {ſtroyed. f 1. e- The People. Thus, af-er the manner of all Hypocritec he excuſeth himſelf, and lays the blame upon the P. Na, they could not do it without his privity and conſent ; and he ſhou!d have uſed his Power and Authority to over-rule them for Gog's {:ke
as he had done formerly for his own ſake. But the truth is, he was zealous for his own Honour and Intereſt, but 1: ke. warm where It is not likely that this was his «ng the peoples Deſign;bur this henow pretends,and aſcribes tha to hig piety, which was indeed the effe& of his Impiety and Avzrice; h wW hom thou loveſt and ſervefſt. and therefore muſt needs be pleaied with our pious reſpe&s to him and his ſervice.
16 Then Samuelfſaid unto Saul, Stay, and I will tel} thee what the LORD hath ſaid unto me this night And he ſaid unto him, Say on.
17 And Samuel ſaid, When thou waft little in thine own ſight 7, waſff thou not made the head of the tribes of — and the LORD anointed thee king over If- raclt
z 1. e, Modeſt, humble, and ſubmiſſive, as r Sam: 9: 21. and 10:
thou comeſt to * Shur q, that « over againſt Egypt: :. e. From one end of their Countrey to the other ; he ſmote all he met with : but a great number of th:m fled away upon the noiſe of his coming, as is uſual 1n ſuch caſes, and ſecured themſelves in other places, until the Storm was over, when they returned a= gain: of whom we read beforey Chap: 133 6s and 14:2% _ 8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites a- » Se: Chap: live r, and * utterly deſtroyed all the people / with the edge of the ſword. Þ: :
» Whom Sau! ſpared, either out of fooliſh pity for the goodlineſs of his perſon, which Joſephus Notes: ory for his reſpe& to his Roy- al Majeſty, in the preſervation of which he thought himſelf concer- ned : or, for the Glory of his Triumph : Compare v. 12. To wit, the Body of the People, but not every individual Perſon, as hath been ſhewed. Univerſzl Particles are commonly thus under- ſtood, as is confeſſed.
9 "But Saul and the people # ſpared Agag,and the beſt of the ſheep, and of the oxen, and || of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that 2y8s good #, and would not ut- terly deſtroy them : but every thing :hat was vile, and refuſe, that they deſtroyed utterly x,
+ The one propoſed to do fo, and the other conſented to it, and ſo both were guilty. s Which. it is more than probable they re. ſerved for their own uſe, rather than for Sacrifice ; becauſe they knew God would not accept a Sacrifice contrary to his own com- mand. x Thus they obeyed God only ſo faras they could withour inconvenience to themſelves ; they deſtroyed only whar was nor worth keeping, nor fit for their uſe.
10 © Thencame the word of the LORD unto Samu- el, ſaying,
11 It © repenteth me y that I have ſet up Saul 7o be king : for he is turned back from following me, and harh not + performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel, and he cried unto the LORD all
night 2.
* Gen: IG; 7. q that
39- I»
[| Or,of 752 ſecond ſort.
F 2 Sam: 24: 16, Tt Heb: confirmed.