In 1 Samuel 15, Saul, the first king of the Israelites, is commanded to utterly destroy the Amalekites. Rather than utterly destroying everything, Saul spares Agag the king, as well as the best of the livestock, but he destroyed everything that was of no value.
Saul knew God and had a "personal relationship" with Him. Saul also claimed to have obeyed the voice of the Lord (15:20). And saving the livestock was what he and the people thought would be a "good" thing to do for God. In fact, Saul claimed that the livestock had been saved as a sacrifice for the Lord...sacrificing was to be done because of disobedience...if they obeyed the Lord (aka - utterly destroying the Amalekites as commanded) then there would be no need for a sacrifice!
Many today advocate the doctrine that if we simply believe in God, then our works do nothing for us (cannot earn salvation). Therefore, we don't actually have to concern ourselves with obeying the voice of the Lord because His grace will cover us. If this is true, then why do we not see this in the case of King Saul?
In 1 Samuel 15:26, Samuel equates Saul's refusal to destroy the Amalekites (obeying the commandment of the Lord) with rejecting the word of the Lord. The same is true today! If we say that we love God, but do not keep His commandments, we are rejecting His word (John 14:14-16; 1 John).
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