God told Saul, through Samuel, that he was to attack the Amalekites as punishment for their ill treatment of Israel years earlier, and that he should annihilate them by killing every man, woman, child, infant, cattle, sheep, camels and donkeys! So Saul set forth with an army 210,000 strong and attacked and destroyed the enemy east of Egypt. He captured their king Agag, killed the rest except the best of the cattle and the sheep.
God was most upset by Saul's disobedience and grieved that he had made him king. He told Samuel to sort Saul out and when he went after him he had gone to set up a monument in his own honour at Carmel. When they eventually met up Saul said he had done with the Amalekites what God had requested, but Samuel questioned this as he could hear sheep bleating and cattle lowing! Saul's excuse was that the best animals had been kept to sacrifice to the Lord, to which Samuel retorted that obedience was better than sacrifice! He sternly rebuked Saul in the name of the Lord telling him that because he had rejected the word of the Lord God was rejecting him as king.
Saul asked forgiveness but Samuel said that God would not change his mind. However Samuel and Saul did eventually worship the Lord together prior to Samuel executing King Agag. From that day onwards Samuel and Saul parted ways and never met again.
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