1 Kingdoms (1 Samuel) 15:35Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Upon appointing Saul as king, he was met with continual sorrows, one after another. When Saul disobeyed God's command by offering a sacrifice not sanctioned by Him, and when he defeated the Amalekites yet spared their king against divine instruction, Samuel's soul was deeply troubled. He never again saw Saul, and from that moment until his last day, he mourned and wept for him, despite being criticized for his profound sadness. The Lord spoke to him, asking, 'How long do you weep for Saul? For I have rejected him' (1 Sam. 16:1). If Samuel grieved over these occurrences, how much more sorrow must he have felt when Saul killed many innocent priests? Or when he sought to harm his benefactor, who had done him no wrong? When he witnessed Saul prophesying in a state of disarray?

The Holy Scriptures frequently attribute expressions to God that may resemble our own, such as: The Lord expressed great anger (Num. 22:2), and God showed remorse for the disaster (Jon. 3:10), and felt regret when He appointed Saul as king. Furthermore, it describes God as sitting, standing, moving, and engaging in various other actions, which are not inherently applicable to His nature but serve a purpose in guiding the faithful. The depiction of divine wrath serves to instill fear in wayward individuals; Scripture indicates that the Lord expresses regret for calamity concerning those who require the healing of repentance. Through Saul’s repentance, it illustrates that those who abandon order in times of success will not retain that success, even if it appears to come from God.

Lot and his daughters were determined to rescue his wife, who stubbornly refused to leave Sodom and Gomorrah, already engulfed in flames and partially consumed by fire. In his efforts to save her, he sought to pull her away from the grip of her past transgressions (See Genesis 19:15-26). Yet, consumed by despair, she lost her resolve, looked back, and became a testament to an unbelieving heart. In a remarkable contrast, Lot's fervent faith resulted in the salvation of an entire city, Sihor. Indeed, after departing from the shadowy plains where Sodom was situated, he ascended into the mountains, and the sun illuminated his path as he entered Sihor, a small city named for Lot's modest faith, which, while inadequate to rescue the larger cities, was enough to save the lesser ones.