Jacob Chanikuzhy

Abhorrent accounts of genocides in the Holy Bible are hard to digest, even for many Christians. Critics of the Bible present these accounts to refute the claims of divine origin and divine inspiration in the Bible. The command of God to King Saul to annihilate the Amalekites, for example, is shocking to modern sensibilities. The text reads, “Now go and kill Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have… Kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep…” (1 Samuel 15,3).
There were several attempts to understand and interpret these texts. Some think that the Amalekites deserved this divine punishment because they attacked God’s people of Israel. But, what is the logic behind taking revenge centuries after the offense? Maybe the existence of Amalekites was considered a continued threat to the very survival of Israel.
Some scholars question the historicity of the account altogether. Others help us understand the incident by explaining that at that time it was the practice of all Semitic people to try to annihilate the entire groups and nations that opposed them. Such atrocities had political motives behind them, as the land was not sufficient for all the different groups that tried to inhabit it. A religious colouring was given to such offenses to garner support from one’s own nation. Israel was no exception. They also advise us not to judge past events by our present-day morality.
Most scholars believe that the annihilation did not take place as narrated in 1 Samuel 15. They cite I Samuel 30, 1 as the proof text. In 1 Samuel 30, 1 we see a group of Amalekites raid the town of Ziklag. The fact that there was such a strong group of Amalekites indicates that King Saul did not kill all the Amalekites. Many Jewish and Christian scholars argue that the killing of the Amalekites is to be understood as a symbolic story. In their view, Amalekites stand for evil. We should never compromise with evil. Unless evil is totally uprooted and annihilated, it will always remain a menace to a virtuous life.
I Samuel 15 contains a maxim often quoted by spiritual masters: “To obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15,22). God ordered King Saul to kill all human beings and animals. However, Saul and the Israelites did not kill the best of the sheep and cattle. Besides, Saul spared the life of Agag, the King of Amalekites, either for ransom, out of respect for kingship, or out of pity. One will not fail to notice that here Saul spared the life of King Agag against the expressed command of God, whereas he was determined to kill his own son Jonathan when Jonathan unknowingly violated the king’s order. That means King Saul considered his own order more binding and inviolable than the order of God himself. Saul was making himself a god.
When Prophet Samuel questioned King Saul about the cattle and sheep that were spared, Saul replied that they were brought to be sacrificed at the altar of Yahweh. At this moment, Prophet Samuel rebukes King Saul, saying that “to obey is better than sacrifice.” In fact, under the pretext of organizing a solemn sacrifice, Saul was serving his own ends. He wanted to enrich himself by possessing the best of the cattle and sheep, and valuables like gold and silver, which were a considerable part of the wealth of ancient kings. Saul misused sacrifice as a smokescreen to hide his monetary motives. Besides, he allowed/ordered the people to take away these animals as booty so that he could appease and reward his own soldiers.
But, God could not be fooled by the pseudo religiosity of the avaricious king. Prophet Samuel made it plain before the king that there are matters that are more important than offering sacrifices. Obeying the expressed will of God is paramount among them. Jesus clarifies what God wills more than sacrifice: “I desire not sacrifice but mercy” (Matthew 9,13). The king who sabotages the will of God under the pretext of sacrifice or who fails to show mercy is no longer worthy to rule over the people. So Samuel promptly announces God’s rejection of Saul from kingship.