And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
God does not change His mind as we do; He wills an alteration in His method when the creature turns away. Saul turned back from following Him through covetousness and partial obedience, and made himself God's enemy. Samuel spent the whole night wrestling with God in prayer for Saul's restoration, grieving not for himself but that any sinner should forfeit God's favor.
AI summary
Commenting on 1 Samuel 15:10-23
And Samuel said, what meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears,.... For the orders were to destroy all living creatures belonging to the Amalekites, Sa1 15:3 if therefore Saul had performed the commandment of the Lord, as he said he had, from whence were these sheep Samuel heard bleating? and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? where do they come from?
1Sa 15:14-15 But the prophet stripped his hypocrisy at once with the question, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears, and a lowing of oxen that I hear?” Saul replied (1Sa 15:15), “They have brought them from the Amalekites, because the people spared the best sheep and oxen, to sacrifice them to the Lord thy God; and the rest we have banned.”...
Commenting on 1 Samuel 15:14-15