Post by alon on Feb 17, 2016 3:08:44 GMT -8
Haftata for Par’shah Tetzave, 1 Sam 15:1-34
This haftarah concerns Saul’s second great failure as king; and the second time Hashem rejected him. The first was in chapter 13 when he went to war with the Philistines. Instead of waiting for the prophet Samuel to arrive as he was told, Saul full of pride and self-will but having little trust in God entered the priests office at Gilgal and offered the sacrifice. Only a Levite could do this, and Saul was a Benjamite.
1 Samuel 13:11-14 (ESV) Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”
And so here we see the character of Saul revealed. He disobeys, caring more what the people think than what Hashem said. He makes excuses for his sins, deflecting responsibility. However God, through his prophet holds Saul accountable. Judgement is passed on Saul’s dynasty. 1 Samuel 31 tells of the death of Saul and his sons. Interestingly, though Saul fell on his own sword, an Amalekite acting in the same spirit of deception and self-aggrandizement claimed to have killed Saul. And that is the theme of our haftarah today- Saul, at war with the Amalekites once again disobeys God to please his men. And in an act of self-importance and self-will spares the life of the Amalekite king.
The Amelekites were a vicious nomadic people and arch-enemies of the Jews. They were distant relatives of Israel, which made their actions all the more abhorrent. They were the first to come in contact with the Israelites on their exodus from Egypt, opposing their march at Rephidim (Ex. 27:8)
Deuteronomy 25:17-18 (ESV) “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God.
Amelek was under a curse.
Exodus 17:14-16 (ESV) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, saying, “A hand upon the throne [or banner] of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
The continued existence of the Amalekites was a serious threat to all around them, especially Israel. In Esther 3:1 Haman is called the Agagite; Agag being the name of the Amelekite king in this narrative. So the existence of even one Amalekite was a threat to the very existence of God’s people.
1 Samuel 15:1 (ESV) And Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord."
The prophet, without greeting here reminds Saul who he is and tells him to ‘listen up!’
1 Samuel 15:3 (ESV) Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction [proscription] all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”
Proscription was a Near-Eastern practice of total annihilation, thus consecrating a victory to a deity. Elohim Tzeva’ot was telling Saul “This is to be My victory.” It was also just punishment for their crimes. The orders relayed from God through His prophet to Shaul were clear. He was to kill every living thing in the city of the Amalekites. However Shaul’s motives were not pure.
1 Samuel 15:7-8 (ESV) And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword.
Taking the king as a prize was in violation of Saul’s instructions. It was an act of self-importance and self-aggrandizement instead of obedience to God. Furthermore he allowed his men to take as spoils the best of the livestock. Yet when confronted by the prophet he lies, saying the booty was taken for noble purposes. However the prophet will not hear it, and commands Saul to stop.
1 Samuel 15:15-16a (ESV) Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.” Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me this night.”
Saul was attempting to shift blame from himself to his men. However as king he is responsible for their actions regardless. He allowed them to do as they did.
1 Samuel 15:17 (ESV) And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel.
Saul, instead of faithfully seeing himself as God’s anointed possibly still saw himself as small and relatively insignificant.
1 Samuel 9:21 (ESV) Saul answered, “Am I not a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel? And is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”
None of us are insignificant in God’s plan. We each have a calling and at times will be presented with tasks by God. Will we make excuses, or will we march boldly into battle with the enemy and do as we are told. However those who uphold temporal matters over Godly instruction cannot please Him.
Romans 8:8 (ESV) Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
1 Samuel 15:12 (ESV) And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.”
To make matters worse, Saul had erected a monument to himself, thus declaring this was his victory! This was a clear act of rebellion on Saul’s part. Note the prophetic response:
1 Samuel 15:23 (ESV)
For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has also rejected you from being king.”
“For rebellion is as the sin of divination.” Later, in 1 Samuel 28 Saul did indeed go to the Witch of Endor who practiced divination by consulting “familiar spirits.” Because of his sins at this time God rejects him personally. Rebellion is war against constituted authority, in this case Hashem and His prophet.It is the ultimate end of pride. A proud, stubborn person worships himself, thus setting himself up in authority over El Elyon. Such rebellion opens the door to demonic influence and control. The poetic nature of verse 23 emphasizes its' importance and the rebuke.
1 Samuel 15:24-25 (ESV) Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the Lord.
Saul now admits his guilt, as well as the fact he was afraid of the will of his people. However this admission still attempts to shift some of the blame to the people. His plea for forgiveness had no hint of repentance though. In fact, he condemned himself twice over as he admitted to the sin of disobedience, using as an excuse a second sin of fearing his subjects more than he did Elohim BaShamayhim (God in Heaven). In actuality he was pleading for the prophet to return with him so he would not be shamed before the people! When he finally does acknowledge his guilt, still he tried to salvage his own reputation instead of Hashems.
1 Samuel 15:30 (ESV) Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the Lord your God.”
Samuel does accompany Saul, not to forgive him or prop up his reputation, but to reclaim the victory for El Elohe Yisra’el. The superficial nature of Saul’s repentance therefore only brought about his rejection as king and a dramatic show of who was indeed in charge and to whom the victory belonged.
1 Samuel 15:32-33 (ESV) Then Samuel said, “Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him cheerfully. Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” And Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.
Interestingly, while most Christian translations follow the same line of interpretation as the ESV above, the JPS TNK interprets verse 32b as “Agag approached him with faltering steps; and Agag said “Ah, bitter death is at hand.” The notes in this Bible say that the Hebrew may be translated either way, as meanings in Hebrew are contained as much in the context as in their construction. Agag may have thought he was to be spared, however my own thoughts are that he probably read his fate in the expression of the prophet’s face; which could only have been dark, possibly even thunderous. The Stones Version of the TNK says "Agag went to him in chains" and agrees, he knew his fate.
It needs to be noted here that the killing of Agag was NOT a human sacrifice! This was the carrying out of the sentence of death that Adonai Himself had placed on Agag from the first.
This haftarah contains one of the places Christianity likes to quote when they dismiss obedience to 
:
1 Samuel 15:22 (ESV) And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.
Many interpret this as saying God did not want sacrifices, which are clearly commanded in . However many other Christian commentators take the correct view that this was a matter of heart condition. Sacrifice and even obedience are worthless unless done out of the right heart motivation.
Psalm 51:16-17 (ESV) For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
This is a particularly incisive topic for us as Meshiachim. What is our motivation in keeping ? Why are we truly obedient? Is it for show? To “play Jew” as we are so often accused? Are we rebelling against what we were taught in church, or do we truly know and understand the errors we see there?
Isaiah 1:9b-11, 13-14 (ESV) we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah. Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. … Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.
Our keeping the feasts and observing the New Moons must be done in the right spirit, or we are wasting our time. Even as I am writing this, if done with a proud heart, it will avail me nothing. I admit to you now as I have before, I get these things from many different sources. Even most of the things which come to my mind probably originate from hearing the word preached in church by my father and others. Some things I do think are revealed to my mind by, or at least I am led to them by the Ruach. Does that mean I am just "oh so holy" doing this? Well, I will also admit that at times this seems like a chore. But usually when I get into it I, well, get in to it. My point is, it isn’t me at all. Every commentator I draw from would tell you the same; ‘To God be the glory!” I take pride in my work, but it is pride that I am enabled by God to do what I have been asked. However from time to time I think he allows me to make mistakes just so my pride doesn't get the better of me.
Jude 25 (NKJV) To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.
Or as Pastor d Cole puts it, “Grab the gold, but leave the glory!”
We were told in school that when the teacher/professor repeated himself, we should take note. Elohe Chaseddi, the God of Mercy and Love repeated Himself on this theme many times throughout scripture.
Hosea 6:6 (ESV) For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Micah 6:7-8 (ESV) Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Dan C
Sources: JPS Study TNK, W Wiersby, FB Meyer, MF Unger, my father and others
