Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

It was not sorrow for sin, but fear of its penalty that moved the
king of Israel as he begged Samuel, "Please pardon my sin, and
return with me, that I may worship the Lord." If Saul had had true
repentance, he would have confessed his sin publicly; but his main
concern was to maintain his authority and keep the allegiance of the
people. He wanted the honor of Samuel's presence to strengthen his
own influence.
"I will not return with you," was the answer of the prophet: "for
you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected
you from being king over Israel." As Samuel turned to leave, the
king, in an agony of fear, took hold of his robe to hold him back, but
it tore in his hands. At this, the prophet declared, "The Lord has torn
the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor
of yours, who is better than you."
An act of justice, stern and terrible, still needed to be
performed. Samuel commanded that the king of the Amalekites be
brought before him. Agag, guilty and merciless, came at the
prophet's command, supposing that the danger of death was past.
Samuel declared: "'As your sword has made women childless, so
shall your mother be childless among women.' And Samuel hacked
Agag in pieces before the Lord." With this done, Samuel returned to
Ramah.
God Did All Possible to Help Saul
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