Bible Strands
1 Samuel 15:23
For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Samuel confronts King Saul after Saul disobeys God’s command to destroy the Amalekites, declaring that God has withdrawn Saul’s kingship due to his disobedience.
The words — מֶ֔רִי (Me.ri) translates as rebellion, and הַפְצַ֑ר (haf.Tzar) translates as presumption or arrogance.
The thread — The verse links rebellion to divination and arrogance to idolatry, echoing the warning in Leviticus 20:6 against turning to mediums, while paralleling 1 Samuel 13:14 and Jeremiah 28:16 in showing how rejecting God’s word triggers divine rejection.
Why it lands — The text demands that direct obedience to God’s command takes absolute priority over ritual or popular approval, and it warns that rejecting divine instruction results in the loss of divine favor and authority.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 28:16 Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. You will die this year because you have preached rebellion against the LORD.’”
- 1 Samuel 13:14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept the command of the LORD.”
- Leviticus 20:6 Whoever turns to mediums or spiritists to prostitute himself with them, I will also set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.
- Galatians 5:20 idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions,
- Deuteronomy 18:10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery,
- Jeremiah 29:32 this is what the LORD says: ‘I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. He will have no one left among this people, nor will he see the good that I will bring to My people, declares the LORD, for he has preached rebellion against the LORD.’”
- 2 Corinthians 6:16 What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.”
- Exodus 22:18 You must not allow a sorceress to live.
- Joshua 22:16 “This is what the whole congregation of the LORD says: ‘What is this breach of faith you have committed today against the God of Israel by turning away from the LORD and building for yourselves an altar, that you might rebel against the LORD this day?
- Ezekiel 2:5 And whether they listen or refuse to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them.