How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for now has there been no great slaughter among the Philistines.
Saul was not entirely insensitive to Yahweh and His will. We can see this in his concern to observe the ritual dietary law (1 Samuel 14:33) and his desire to honor God for the victory (1 Samuel 14:35; cf. Exodus 17:14-16). However, Saul may have built this altar simply to make amends for his legal infringement, not to express gratitude for the day’s victory. [Note: Gordon, p. 140.] There are many examples of spiritually sensitive Israelites building altars to God (e.g., 1 Samuel 7:17; Genesis 12:8; Judges 6:24; 2 Samuel 24:25; 1 Chronicles 21:18). The writer’s note that this was the first altar that Saul built reflects the king’s general lack of commitment to Yahweh.