1 Samuel 13:1-23 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 13:1-23. As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
1 Samuel 13:1-15 (NIV)
1 Saul was [thirty] years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel [forty-] two years.
2 Saul chose three thousand men from Israel; two thousand were with him at Micmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. The rest of the men he sent back to their homes.
3 Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul had the trumpet blown throughout the land and said, “Let the Hebrews hear!”
4 So all Israel heard the news: “Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel has become a stench to the Philistines.” And the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.
5 The Philistines assembled to fight Israel, with three thousand chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven.
6 When the men of Israel saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns.
7 Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear.
8 He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter.
9 So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered up the burnt offering.
10 Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.
11 “What have you done?” asked Samuel. Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash,
12 I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
13 “You acted foolishly,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.
14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command.”
15 Then Samuel left Gilgal and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin, and Saul counted the men who were with him. They numbered about six hundred.
On verses 1-15: In these 15 verses, we see how one bad decision altered Saul’s destiny. The sequence of events is fairly straightforward:
1. Saul’s first born son Jonathan leads a successful attack against the Philistines (v3-4).
2. In response, the Philistines come roaring back with a massive force, assembling at Micmash, ready to fight Israel (v5).
3. Meanwhile, Saul remains in Gilgal with his army, waiting for Samuel. Samuel had told Saul to wait seven days for him in Gilgal so that Samuel could offer burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on his behalf (see 1 Samuel 10:8).
4. By the 7th day, with his troops beginning to scatter (v8) and the Philistines assembling nearby (v11), Saul gets antsy, decides not to wait anymore for Samuel and offers the sacrifices himself (v9), something only a priest like Samuel was authorized to do.
5. Just as Saul finishes making the burnt offering, Samuel arrives (v10). Samuel rebukes Saul for not waiting for Samuel to offer the sacrifices (v13). The impact of Saul’s decision was huge: if Saul had waited for Samuel and let Samuel offer the sacrifices, God would have established Saul’s kingdom for all time (v13). But because Saul disobeyed God by offering the sacrifices himself, Saul’s kingdom would not endure and someone else — “a man after God’s own heart” (v14) — would eventually take Saul’s place on the throne.
What do you think of this passage? Especially if you’re a stickler for punctuality like I am, you may be thinking, “But Samuel was late! Saul waited the appointed time of seven days but Samuel didn’t show! It’s not all Saul’s fault!” It’s true that Saul did wait seven days as set by Samuel, but consider this: according to Numbers 28:1-6, the burnt offering was to be offered twice a day — once in the early morning and another at twilight. So, presumably, Samuel could arrive at any time on the seventh day to offer the sacrifice, as long as it was twilight or just before twilight. The fact that Samuel didn’t arrive within exactly 168 hours (7 days) was not the main point. As long as Samuel arrived in time to make the evening sacrifice, that is really all that mattered. The fact that Samuel arrived just as Saul had finished making the first sacrifice shows that Samuel arrived at about the time when the sacrifice for that evening should be made. So there’s a good argument to say that Samuel was not really late for all intents and purposes.
Second, even if Samuel was late, Saul still had no right to offer the sacrifices himself. He was not a priest. It was an unprecedented violation of God’s Word for a non-priest to offer sacrifices that only a priest was allowed to make.
What can we learn from this? It’s true that sometimes God will make us wait until the last moment to come, almost like a super hero who saves his helpless lover just in the neck of time. Why does He do that? Is He playing games with us? Is it so He can write a more exciting, dramatic story? I believe God does it to test our faith and to reveal what is truly in our hearts. James 1 says to consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance. James goes on to say that “Perseverance must finish its work so that you can be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
In other words, sometimes God will let us struggle a little longer and cry out a little louder than we would like, not because He is cruel, but to train us and to test our character.
God wanted to see what was truly in Saul’s heart. It’s as if God was wondering, “Is this a man I can trust to obey My Word even when he is under pressure? If so, I will establish his kingdom for all time. If not, the throne will have to go to someone else”. In the same way, sometimes God makes us wait because in the waiting, our true character is revealed.
Finally, notice in verse 9 Saul tries to offer both the burnt offering and the peace offering in place of Samuel. Yet after Saul has offered the burnt offering and right before Saul is about to offer the peace offering, Samuel arrives. Saul never gets to the peace offering. It goes to show that when we try to play God instead of trusting in God, we only get burned and there is no peace.
1 Samuel 13:16-23 (NLT2)
16 Saul and Jonathan and the troops with them were staying at Geba in the land of Benjamin. The Philistines set up their camp at Micmash.
17 Three raiding parties soon left the camp of the Philistines. One went north toward Ophrah in the land of Shual,
18 another went west to Beth-horon, and the third moved toward the border above the valley of Zeboim near the wilderness.
19 There were no blacksmiths in the land of Israel in those days. The Philistines wouldn’t allow them for fear they would make swords and spears for the Hebrews.
20 So whenever the Israelites needed to sharpen their plowshares, picks, axes, or sickles, they had to take them to a Philistine blacksmith.
21 (The charges were as follows: a quarter of an ounce of silver for sharpening a plowshare or a pick, and an eighth of an ounce for sharpening an ax, a sickle, or an ox goad.)
22 So on the day of the battle none of the people of Israel had a sword or spear, except for Saul and Jonathan.
23 The pass at Micmash had meanwhile been secured by a contingent of the Philistine army.
On verses 16-23: The Philistines strategically raided the Israelite camps so that the Israelites were left without the ability to make swords, spears and other traditional weaponry (v16-19). Without swords and spears, the Israelites were left to fight with farming tools (v20-21).
What can we learn from this? One of Satan’s attack strategies is to take away your sword. In spiritual terms, your sword is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17). If Satan can make you lose your sword — that is, take the Word of God from you — then you’ll be easy pickings for him. That’s why it’s important to keep the Word of God near you. Hide God’s promises in your heart, recall God’s Word often, read your Bible every day. If you do so, you make it that much harder for the enemy to steal your sword from you again.
Father, thank You that Your timing is always perfect. May I be patient enough to wait for Your perfect timing. May I always be on guard to keep the Word of God near me so that I can defend against every evil attack. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
