1 SAMUEL 13

Pressure has a way of making fools out of people. When people feel pressure they are capable of doing strange things and succumbing to sin. You may be in a pressure cooker situation right now. I don’t know your particular pressure, but we all experience pressure. Yet, the Scriptures are clear that God wants us to obey His Word even when we’re in an intense crucible. We will see very clearly tonight that pressure is no excuse for disobedience.

1 Samuel 13 begins a new section that carries through chapter 15. The purpose of these chapters is to document the deterioration of Saul’s reign and Yahweh’s rejection of him as Israel’s king. Saul’s real character is going to be revealed in these next 3 chapters. He is going to appear to be a king and godly on the outside, but as we will see, he is a rebel and hypocrite on the inside.

Francis Bacon once said, A bad man is a worse man when he pretends to be a saint. Do you remember how Saul entered into the kingship? Hiding and lowly. Here he is high and lifted up. He places himself above the law of God.

1 ¶ Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel,

• Verse 1 is a passage of Scripture that has been poorly preserved, and is very difficult to translate. Some translations read that Saul was 30 years old when he began to reign. The Amplified reads that he was 40 years old. The narrative that follows is in tact, thus, the ambiquity of the first verse really doesn’t change the story as it is recorded here.
• We know from Acts 13:21 states that Saul ruled Israel for a total of 40 years.

2 Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash (7 miles NE of Jerusalem) and in mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin (3 miles N of Jerusalem): and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.

• This is the first mention of Saul’s son Jonathan. The name Jonathan means, God has given.
• “This is the first place in which this brave and excellent man appears; a man who bears one of the most amiable characters in the Bible.” (Clarke)

3 And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it.

• This attack merely wakened the Philistines. Israel had enjoyed the “peace” of subjected people: everything was fine as long as they lived in submission to Philistine rule. Through this attack, Jonathan proclaimed, enough is enough.
• Would to God that He would give to each and every one of us tonight this same enough is enough determination in fighting against the flesh and the wiles of the enemy that seek to hold us and keep us in bondage.

And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear.

• Some commentators read Saul blowing the trumpet as meaning that he took credit for the victory in battle. Thus, Jonathan smote the Philistines, but Saul blew the trumpet. Others say that Saul blew the trumpet as king to summon additional troops for battle.
• In light of what we read in the next verse, I would lean towards the interpretation that Saul blew the trumpet to take credit for the victory. However, as a king of Israel, he would have been expected to blow the trumpet to summons more troops.
• It has been said that the limb that bear the most fruit always hangs the lowest. If a person or a ministry is truly faithful to The Lord and fruitful, there will be no lifting up of ones self, but a bowing low in humility and meekness.

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.

• As long as the Israelites stayed in their weak, defeated “place,” the Philistines thought they were great guys. But as soon as the Israelites show some boldness in the LORD, and are willing to battle against them as the enemies of The LORD, the Philistines consider the Israelites an abomination!
• The Heb for abomination means to stink; were as loathsome to them as any carrion.
• Beloved, whenever you display boldness in the LORD, or take a stand against sin or what the bible calls evil or ungodly in this fallen world, you will most certainly be considered by those whom you speak out against an abomination! If peace with sin or compromise with biblical principles is more important to you than holiness and the glory of God, you will be living a defeated and subjected Christian life.
• It would appear that Saul chose to go to Gilgal because of Samuel’s word in 10:8.

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 (Josephus saith they were three hundred thousand footmen): and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Bethaven.

• The Philistine response to the destruction of their garrison was an all-out invasion of the Israelite territories. They boasted a thoroughly modern army against the under-equipped and untrained Israelite militia. The Philistines had ten times as many chariots as Israel had men and twice as many horsemen!
• We learned from Gideon that being outmanned and overpowered means nothing if God is The One leading you in the battle. Beloved, if God be for you, who can be against you?

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.

• In great fear (the people were distressed) they hide anywhere they can (in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in holes, and in pits) or they flee across the Jordan River (to the land of Gad and Gilead).

• Gilgal you recall was the place where the Israelites had first crossed the Jordan to enter the Promised Land under Joshua. The memorial stones of the power of God still stood there. But in the face of the pressure of this overwhelming enemy, the people were looking at the might of the opposition instead of the memorials of The Lord’s past victories.
• Precious people, if you are facing an overwhelming enemy tonight….remember the past victories that God has given you. Yes, look back, but  more importantly, look up!

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.

• This is a direct reference to Samuel’s word in 10:8. Saul was commanded to wait 7 days to meet Samuel in Gilgal. Samuel had told Saul to wait for him at Gilgal. Then Samuel would preside over sacrifices, and would give Israel instructions or direction from God on how to proceed in the battle.
• The people were scattered from Saul- Saul’s men were deserting him because of anxiety and fear over the coming battle.

9 And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering.

• Saul’s sin was not specifically that he made a sacrifice, because both David (2 Sam. 24:25) and Solomon (1 Kin. 8:62–64), did the same thing. His sin was that he did not wait for priestly assistance from Samuel that we read in 1 Sam 10.8.
• Perhaps you’re wondering: Why did Saul feel such a compulsion to offer a burnt offering? Before the armies of Israel went out to war, several preparations were necessary. The priest would come forward and address the army (Deut 20:2). A sacrifice would be offered to God (1 Sam 7:9), and His guidance would be sought (1 Sam 14:36; 2 Sam 5:23–24). The warriors who marched into battle had to be pure and consecrated to God (Josh 3:5). Saul was apparently trying to do the “right” thing, but he did the right thing in the wrong way at the wrong time.
• I can just imagine what is going through Saul’s mind: “Where in the world is Samuel, and what is he doing? Doesn’t he know how much danger we’re in? Doesn’t he grasp the urgency of the situation and the need to act quickly? I’m going to give him thirty more minutes, and then I’m going to have to go on without him.”
• Before you judge Saul too harshly, ask yourself if you’re any different. What do you do when God doesn’t appear on schedule when you are facing a crisis? Have you ever stepped in to “fix” or “solve” the situation in your own time and with your own wisdom?
• In hindsight, you and I would say tonight, Oh if Saul only waited a little longer. Had he only realized that he was being tested & that Samuel was actually coming, just in the nick of time!
• A. B. Simpson said, “Beloved, have you ever thought that someday you will not have anything to try you, or anyone to vex you again? There will be no opportunity in heaven to learn or to show the spirit of patience, forbearance, and longsuffering. If you are to practice these things, it must be now.” Each day affords countless opportunities to learn patience. Let’s not waste them!
• We must learn and develop that fruit of patience so that when our faith is challenged we’ll believe that God willcome to our help in time. In the midst of your pressure, will you make a decision to wait upon the Lord? Remember beloved, the “delays” of The Lord are not meant to tease us, but to test us.
• It has been said that the last moments of waiting are usually the most difficult, and tempt us most to take matters into our own hands.

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 David sinned, he came with confessions; when Saul sinned, he had only excuses. Notice the excuses that Saul makes: It was “the people”; it was “your fault”; it was “the Philistines”! Or,“If the soldiers didn’t desert me...if you hadn’t come late...if the Philistines weren’t getting so close!”
• Do you see what it missing in Saul’s reasoning? There is a complete lack of REPENTANCE. He is remorseful for the results of his sin, but he does not admit his guilt and accept the consequences. This blame game goes all the way back to the garden of Eden.
• Billy Sunday defines excuses as, “the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie.” Benjamin Franklin said, “I never knew a man who was good at making excuses who was good at anything else.”
• Are you skilled at minimizing your own sins & emphasizing the faults of others like Saul was?

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.

• You have done foolishly- Anytime you deliberately, willfully disobey the commandment of God, you are doing foolishly. God's ways are best. God's ways are right, and for me to presume that I can do, or improve on God's ways is sheer folly. If I think I can improve my position by disobeying God, that's sheer folly. Chuck Smith
• He (God) would have established thy kingdom- In other words, He would have made it the dynasty of Saul.

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.

• Why is Saul’s punishment so severe? Why did God remove Saul for such a seemingly minor sin? It is critical to recognize that Saul’s sin isn’t the mere fact that he offers a sacrifice but that he disobeys God’s Word through the prophet Samuel. Disobedience to God’s Word was the overall pattern of Saul’s life. He disregarded God’s commandments.
• The Lord has sought a man after His own heart. The implication is that David is a man whose heart matches God’s heart. God’s choice of David is according to His own will and purpose.

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.

• Saul’s army has been diminished from two thousand men to six hundred.

16 And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, abode in Gibeah of Benjamin: but the Philistines encamped in Michmash.

17 And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned unto the way that leadeth to Ophrah, unto the land of Shual:

18 And another company turned the way to Bethhoron: and another company turned to the way of the border that looketh to the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.

• The spoilers came. That is, bands sent out to ravage the country immediately concerned in the insurrection.

19 Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears:

20 But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock.

21 Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads.

• The Philistines had a monopoly on iron and metal-working craftsmen until the time of David (1 Chron. 22:3), accounting in large measure for their superior military power.—Ryrie Study Notes
• At this point in time, the Jews had not yet developed any forging kind of processes, of iron implements. The Philistines and all the people of the land around them had entered into the Iron Age. So, when they wanted to sharpen their picks, or their hoes or their farm implements, they had to go down to the Philistines to have them sharpened because they really didn't have any blacksmiths in Israel at this particular time. By the time of Solomon they began to really develop in these skills. In fact, they were highly developed by the time of Solomon.
• Would you take note of the fact that the enemies of Israel would allow them to sharpen their farming tools, but not their sword? The world system will get along famously with you and me as long as we talk with them philosophically or academically, but the moment you take out the sword of the Spirit and use it, they get defensive and turn nasty…..Would you note that Story of the

22 So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.

23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the passage of Michmash…..read chapter 14 for next Wednesday night.