For some reason, though we hear about violence almost every day in the news, we think it is strange when we read about it in the Bible. There are wars in several countries right now, the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and the recent war in Gaza has been in the news almost daily. People are dying. People are being maimed. Families are devastated with loss. Wouldn’t it be weird if a book that covers thousands of years of human history didn’t have any violence? Ever since we have been east of Eden, we have been experiencing violence, death and loss. In our text for Sunday, you might be troubled when you learn that God Himself ordered the annihilation of a whole people group. It might seem inconsistent for the One who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. But what if they don’t want to be saved or come to the knowledge of the truth? What if generation after generation of a people group was characterized by perversity, violence, abuse and blasphemy? Wouldn’t the One who made them, sustained them and gave them life also have the right to say, “enough!” What if He gave them 400 years to repent and they were only getting worse? Would God be a God of His Word if He didn’t keep His promises and bring justice to this earth? Instead of asking how a God of love could order such a thing, maybe we should ask how long a God of love could permit people to live that way without bringing it to an end. These are hard questions, and King Saul was placed in the middle of the mess. What would he do? What did his response reveal?