05 Saul’s Presumptuous Act

 

Let’s start by jumping straight into our story for today.

1 Samuel 13:1-2
1 Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, 2 Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.

  • Saul retained only a small portion of his army. Just three thousand men. Two thousand with him and one thousand with his son.
  • What had just happened before this?
  • The men of Jabeshgilead had called for help because the Ammonites had come out against them. When Saul heard this, he made a call out to all the children of Israel and had managed to rally 330,000 men.
  • 1 Samuel 11:8
    And when he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.
  • So they went out and fought against the Ammonites and God they them the victory.
  • 1 Samuel 11:11
    And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch, and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they which remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together.
  • Had Saul gone on and kept fighting, God would have given him an even greater victory over His enemies since they were full of hope and courage after this first battle.
  • But after he was officially crowned king, he decided to disband that vast army and just keep that small portion with him and not keep moving forward. Saul had gotten comfortable already.

However, Saul’s son, Jonathan, was still pushing forward.

  • 1 Samuel 13:3-4
    3 And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear. 4 And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal.
  • Jonathan went ahead to fight against the Philistine and God gave him the victory.
  • But look at how Saul responds. He takes credit for the victory that God gave to his son. The news goes far and wide throughout Israel that word ultimately gets back to the Philistines.

How do the Philistines respond?

  • 1 Samuel 13:5
    And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Bethaven.
  • They come to fight against Israel with an immense army. 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen and the soldiers on foot could not even be numbered. They were like the sand of the sea.

When the Israelites saw this vast host, what did they do?

  • 1 Samuel 13:6-7
    6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits. 7 And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
  • They were afraid! Some went and hid away in caves or in some crack of the rock or in a pit in the ground. Others crossed over Jordan and ran from the Philistines as far as they could go.
  • And those that remained, the Bible says that they were trembling. Even Saul must have been trembling as well. He certainly was not inspiring faith into his soldiers, otherwise they would not have left or been so afraid of this vast host coming out against them.

How did Saul respond though?

  • 1 Samuel 13:8
    And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.
  • Saul waited seven days for Samuel the prophet to appear. What was the reason that Saul waited? Why was it so important to wait for Samuel?
  • 1 Samuel 10:8
    And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do.
  • When Saul was first anointed as king, he was given the instruction from Samuel to go to Gilgal and to wait there for seven days, and then after that he would come and show him what he should do.
  • So Saul was waiting. And seven days must have felt like a really long time with a vast army at your doorstep.
  • But nonetheless, he was there at Gilgal waiting. He was waiting for seven days but there was no sign of Samuel appearing. And meanwhile the situation was getting worse. The people were getting more afraid and more were leaving.
  • This was a testing time for Saul. His faith was being tested. His position and fitness as the king of Israel was being tested. Could he be trusted in this position.

So what does Saul decide to do?

  • 1 Samuel 13:9
    And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering.
  • He decides to go ahead and offer the sacrifice of the burnt offering.
  • However, only the priests were allowed to offer the sacrifices to God. It wasn’t open for everyone to perform. It was the Levites that had been set aside to do such a work.
  • Samuel, although he was a prophet, he was also from the tribe of Levi. And it seems to indicate that from a young age he was already working in the temple helping Eli.
    • 1 Samuel 2:18
      But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.
  • Moreover, after Eli the high priest passed away, it would be Samuel that would stand up in his place and lead the nation of Israel.
  • So we can conclude that Samuel was more than just a prophet, he was also a priest as well.
  • So it was lawful for Samuel to offer the burnt offering, but not Saul.
  • But Saul now clad in his garments of war, impatient at the delay of Samuel coming to him, decides to go ahead and offer this burnt offering against the express command of Samuel the prophet and against the commandment of God.

And just as he is done offering the burnt offering, Samuel turns up.

  • 1 Samuel 13:10-12
    10 And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. 11 And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; 12 Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.
  • When Samuel questions Saul on why he offered the burnt offering, what was his reply?
  • First, he says that the people were scattered and that Samuel did not come in the days appointed. So he blamed Samuel for not coming in time. Almost as if to say, “If you had been on time, I wouldn’t have to offer the sacrifice.” He doesn’t want to take responsibility for his rebellious act but would rather place the blame on someone else.
  • Secondly, he said the Philistines were coming upon him and he had not made supplication to God, so he forced himself to offer the burnt offering as if he really didn’t want to do it but pushed himself to do it.
    • If the Philistines were really upon him, why did he wait seven days? He should have offered the burnt offering on the first day instead of waiting seven days.
    • And if he had really held the worship and supplication to God in such high regard and wanted the blessing of God on him, he would have performed it in the right way by waiting for Samuel. He makes it sound like he was really so pious in wanting God to bless him and be with him, yet he was not willing to comply with the conditions upon which the blessing would come.

Upon hearing Saul’s response, how does Samuel respond?

  • 1 Samuel 13:13-15
    13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. 14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee. 15 And Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men.
  • Samuel reprimands him saying that he has done foolishly. He saw through his excuses. They were not valid reasons for him to disobey the express command of God.
  • If Saul had been careful to follow God’s command in this time of trial, God would have established his kingdom forever.
  • However, because of this it was clear that he was unfit to be in the position as king. Instead of leading people to a greater faithfulness to God, he would set up his own standard of righteousness and lead people astray.
  • And before Samuel left, he told him that God would choose someone else to be captain over His people. You see, even though the nation of Israel now had a king, God was still the One in charge. He was still guiding the affairs of the kingdom and He would choose a man after His own heart to lead them.

In the choice to choose Saul as king, God was choosing someone that the people wanted. Someone who had the noble bearing of a king. Someone who stood tall and someone who had the manly attributes to go out and fight the battles of the nation.

  • Saul from the outward perspective resembled every bit the king that the Israelites wanted that were comparable to other nations around them. However, he lacked the inward piety that would essential to lead the people of God. He was not faithful to God and chose to cut corners just to please himself and to try and gain the blessing of God.

We need to be so careful in not trying to make excuses for our wrongdoing, for our disobedience. And we must be so careful to follow every commandment of God. There is no safety except in strict obedience to God’s word.

  • No matter the circumstance, we need to learn to be faithful to God.
  • Sure, the circumstance was urgent. The Philistines were right there ready to attack, right at his doorstep. And Samuel was nowhere in sight. But that was not good enough reason to disobey.
  • And there is no circumstance on this earth that we can think of that we can tell God that that is the reason why we decided to be unfaithful to Him.
  • Think of a husband and wife. Can you think of any circumstance which the husband could say to his wife that that was the reason he was unfaithful to her? Of course not! No reason on this earth would pass.
  • Had Saul been faithful and waited for Samuel to arrive, God would have kept the Philistines at bay. He would have protected His people and not allowed the Philistines to attack. He had already been protected from them for seven days. If only he had waited just at little while longer.
  • And if he had been faithful, God would have worked a mighty miracle in the defeat of the Philistine army even though the size of the enemy was like the sand on the seashore. Faith and obedience are the conditions on which He can pour out His blessings and work amazing miracles on our behalf.

What do we need that Saul was missing whilst waiting for Samuel to come?

  • He needed a trust in God to endure the trial and especially patience through the waiting period.
  • Revelation 14:12
    Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
  • God’s people, His saints, are described at the end of time with possessing patience. Of all the characteristics that could have been written about them, why patience? Why is patience so important?
  • Mark 13:13
    And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
  • There is coming a day when the whole world will hate God’s people. What will they do?
  • Matthew 24:9
    Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
  • Unless we endure, we will come short of the heavenly home. Yes, we need to endure persecution and the hatred that people will have for us simply because we are being faithful to God. We are warned about this in Matthew in Jesus’ sermon on the mount in the beatitudes.
  • Matthew 5:10-11
    10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
  • How will you react when you are rewarded evil for the good that you do?
  • 1 Peter 2:20
    For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.
  • It’s one thing to have to be patient because you did something wrong and you suffer the results. Like if you are caught stealing and you are put in prison. Of course you have to suffer patiently. You won’t go up to the police and start complaining or making a big noise. You have to sit there quietly in the prison cell while they figure out what to do with you right?
  • But how about when you suffer but it’s because you did something good or right? Will you still be patient?

Why do you need patience today?

  • Are you having to wait for something or someone and you’re getting anxious? Waiting for results from your exam? Waiting for money to come through from overseas to pay bills and school fees? What it is that is testing your patience today?
  • What do you do when you are anxious? Do you lose sleep? Do you start pacing back and forth and your heartbeat gets a step higher?
  • Some people need to take medication because they get panic attacks. They get nervous and can’t think of anything else.
  • We need the patience of the saints. We need faith to trust in God that He will work out the whole situation for us in His time. We need to claim this promise that will strengthen us through every trial.

 Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Do you believe that all things will work out together for good? If you do, then you can stop worrying. Because whatever happens, God knows what is for our best good and He will fight for us and help us and turn the situation out for good. And even when it seems like it doesn’t come out for good, whatever bad circumstance is allowed to come on us, it will be for our good at the very end.

Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Let’s learn to trust Him through every circumstance today.

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