SAMUEL REBUKES SAUL

1 Samuel 13:1-22

Key Verse: 13:13-14

"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. 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."

In the previous passage Samuel transferred his power to Saul. Now Saul became the first king in Israel. Israel people had a new king and they expected that the new king would bring victory to them. The new king would deliver them from their enemies. But the things got from worse to the worst. To king Saul the test of his faith and obedience came upon him early. He disobeyed God without patience and he failed to trust in God in crisis, and for this he was rejected. His foolish actions caused his kingdom to fall and God began to search out a man after his own heart. The victory does not depend on the size of the army but depends on our faith in God as we see later. I pray that we may learn to depend on God in our spiritual crisis so that we may experience the power of God in our personal lives and bring glory to God. May God bless us to repent when God rebukes us in our sins!

PART I SAUL ATTACKED THE PHILISTINE OUTPOST (1-7A)

Look at verse 1. “Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-two years.” There seems to be a textual transmission error in verse1. Saul’s kingdom is just two years old from the context and Jonathan is a military leader. So we can assume that Saul was more than 30 years old due to Jonathan’s age and he did not reign over Israel forty-two years yet. Verse 1 reads as follows: “Saul was forty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel two years.” (KJV, NAB) What was his first major task as the new king? Look at verse 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.” Saul’s first job was to create Israel’s first standing army. It was to counter for the threat of the Philistine army. Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the mountains of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent away, every man to his tent. Previously, Israel only had a militia that assembled in times of national threat. Now, for the first time, Israel has a professional army. According to 11:8, Saul mustered 330000 men to defeat the Ammonites. He only chose 3000 men out of 330000. Was he confident of 3000 chosen men or did he have faith in God? He needed more soldiers to defeat the Philistine army. Why did he send them back to their homes? Maybe he did not want to provoke the Philistines because Israel was subjugated to the Philistines at that time. He wanted to maintain the status quo to secure peaceful coexistence under the Philistine kingdom. One thousand were with Jonathan. Jonathan appears for the first time in the book of Samuel. Jonathan’s faith will be prominent along with his excellent characters in this book of 1 Samuel. Who initiates the fighting? Look at verses 3-4. “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! 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.” Jonathan initiates conflict with the Philistines. It was unbearable for Jonathan to be subjected to the uncircumcised people.(14:6) Up until now Israel had enjoyed the temporary peace of subjected people without provoking the Philistine army. Through this attack, Jonathan proclaimed, “We cannot tolerate their rule any longer. We will stand up in the name of God Almighty.” Now things were changed. Jonathan woke up the Philistines and King Saul had no choice to declare the war with the Philistines. King Saul gathers the nation together at Gilgal to prepare for battle against the Philistines. The Israel people heard the news with the headline, “Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost.” How did the Philistines react to this provocation? Look at verse 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.” The Philistines mobilized massive army with 3000 chariots and 6000 charioteers. The number of soldiers was as numerous as the sand on the seashore. It was a mismatch in size. Also they came up near Saul’s main camp in Micmash. That means they invaded deep in Israel’s territory. Jonathan had been bold enough to launch the initial attack against the Philistines. But the men of Israel are not bold enough to stand strong against their enemy. Panic spread among the Israeli army. In great fear they hide anywhere they can or they flee across the Jordan River. This is a low point for Israel! When they rejected God as their king and demanded a human king, many people had thought, “What we really need is a king. A king would solve our problems.” Now they have a king and the problems are still there. They began to learn that human king cannot replace God. They were better under God’s direct rule than under human king. God was telling the people that they would fail if they put confidence in men. They were better off when they had no king. They began to miss the old days under Samuel’s judgeship.

As we know, fear is the enemy of faith. In the critical time Saul did not provide faith to God’s chosen people. Rather, he planted fear among them. The result was disastrous. People either were hiding or fleeing without any attempt to fight against their enemies. Fear comes when we do not depend on God in crisis. In Mark 4:35-41, Jesus calms the storm. While Jesus was sleeping during the storm, the disciples were in panic and cried out, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” (Mark 4:38b) But Jesus rebuked the wind first and the wind died down. Then he rebuked his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” When the disciples did not have faith in Jesus, they feared for their life and thought that they would drown and became fish food in the Sea of Galilee. When they did not trust Jesus in the storms of life, they were in panic and fear paralyzed their hearts. In Matthew 6:30 Jesus said, “If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” When Jesus knew that his disciples worried about their future provision, he rebuked for their lack of faith. He encouraged them to have faith in God in verses 31-33. Look at Matt. 6:31-22. “So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his Righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Fear comes from little faith. We need faith in God to see the glory of God. In his early mission life M. Elijah was fired as a cashier because he did not understand what the customer asked him to bring. But when he put priority in God, God provided all his need. In all situations, we should trust God so that we can experience his power and see his glory.

PART II SAUL’S DISOBEDIENCE (7B-22)

Look at verse 7b. “Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear.” Saul had a good memory about Gigal. It was the birth place of his kingship. Saul’s position as king had been confirmed at Gilgal accoding to 1 Sam. 11:15. So he remained in Gilgal. The people still honored Saul as king, but they are quaking with fear. Then Saul waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. What did Saul do in this critical time? Look at verse 9. “So Saul said, ‘Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.’ And he offered the burnt offering.” He knew the Philistines were assembling a huge army against him, and that once they were organized they would be much harder to beat. Saul probably felt that a quick response gave them the best chance to win the battle. Samuel had told Saul to wait for him at Gilgal. Then Samuel would preside over sacrifices, and Israel would be spiritually prepared for battle. The problem was that Samuel did not come to Gilgal and the people were scattered from him. This added to Saul’s anxiety. First, the waiting for Samuel was stressful, because he felt time was his enemy. The days dragged on, and Samuel hadn’t come yet. The troops were losing confidence in Saul as a leader, and beginning to scatter. Saul felt he was in a lot of trouble! He became impatient and offered the burnt offering. Saul plainly disobeyed Samuel. Saul was a king, not a priest, and only priests were to offer sacrifices according to Leviticus 6:8-13. Saul had no business doing what only a priest should do. For example, in 2 Chronicles 26, king Uzziah tried to do the work of priest and God struck him with leprosy.

Clearly, out of fear, out of panic, out of not knowing what else to do, Saul disobeyed God. Intention was good to seek God’s favor but he violated the command of God. He disobeyed God due to his impatience. Samuel arrives and Saul tries to explain what he has done. Look at verses 11-12. “"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, 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." Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul decided to perform the sacrifice not more than an hour before Samuel arrived! If he would have trusted God and waited one more hour, how different things could have been! The last moments of waiting are usually the most difficult, and tempt us most to take matters into our own hands. Samuel knew Saul had done something wrong. He could probably smell the sacrifice in the air! But Samuel was not looking for reasons or excuses. There were no valid reasons or excuses. All Samuel wanted to hear was confession and repentance. Saul’s response is a classic example of excuse making and failure to trust God. If Saul would have obeyed and trusted God, God would have seen him to victory over the Philistines with or without the people. He blamed for Samuel’s late arrival. If you would have come earlier, I wouldn’t have needed to do this. We often try to blame our sin on someone else. But if Saul would have obeyed and trusted God, the Lord would take care of the Philistines. He could have cried out the Lord for the whole nation with a humble heart, but instead he did the one thing he must not do: offer a sacrifice. Even though Saul felt compelled, he was not supposed to be ruled by his feelings. He didn’t have to sin, though he felt like it. The whole manner of Saul’s explanation makes it clear that this was no misunderstanding. He didn’t say to Samuel, “Did I do something wrong?”

What was Samuel’s response to Saul’s lengthy excuses? Look at verses 13-14. “"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. 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." Samuel proclaims God’s judgment upon Saul’s household. Samuel said, “You are a fool.” Samuel is not impressed as his direct and stern words show. Saul’s actions were foolish -- because they were willful disobedience to Samuel’s instructions. In addition to these more general instructions to Saul as Israel’s king, there are the very specific instructions of 1 Samuel 10:8 which says, "Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do." Saul has no excuse; his sacrifice is a willful act of disobedience, for which he loses his kingdom. Saul must certainly have thought that waiting for Samuel was foolish because of emergency situation.

Emergencies are not excuses for disobedience to God’s commands, but a test of our faith and obedience. God often tests us by taking us to the limit. Jesus tested his disciples in the remote place. When the disciples recommended Jesus to send the crowds away, Jesus challenged them by saying, “You give them something to eat.” (Mark 6:37a) Jesus trained them to overcome their human limit and trust God for victory. M. Joshua was asked to leave the country by his boss because of visa problem. It was an emergency situation. M. Joshua brought this problem to God with earnest prayer. God solved his visa problem and he did not have to go back to Korea. He learned faith in the extreme situation. Twins Jacob and James Park are baseball players at the High Point High School. God trains them to be the best players by putting them to the tough teams. Mother eagle trains young eaglet by dropping it from the high sky and snatched it at the last moment. In this way the eagle became a king of the birds. God tests us by taking us to the limit as well, by taking us to the breaking point. When we reach our human limit, we must trust God more. God takes Saul “to the limit” by delaying Samuel’s arrival to the last moments, but Saul cannot wait. It was the test of his faith and obedience. To Saul, it was a golden opportunity to unite his army and demonstrate his faith in God Almighty. Our God is El-Shaddai- God Almighty. God tested Moses in front of the Red Sea. There was a huge sea in front and a mighty Egyptian army behind. At this emergency, Moses trusted God by obeying God’s command and he stretched his hand over the sea. (Exod. 14:21-22) The waters were divided and all Israelite crossed the Red Sea as on dry land. God tested Job by taking away everything from him. But Job passed test of faith by not cursing God. God made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.” (Job 42:10) When we are pressed to our limit -- our faith and obedience are tested by whether or not we keep God’s commands, whether or not we obey Him. When I came to USA, there was no job and so I worked in 7-11. One day two robbers came and I was at the gun point. God saved my life when I trusted my life in his hand. God trained to trust him in all situations through this event.

Saul missed this golden opportunity to pass the test of faith and instead he took everything into his own hand. Had Saul but obeyed the command of God, his kingdom would have endured forever. Now, his kingdom will die with him. God has already sought out and chosen a man whose heart is in tune with His to be Saul’s replacement. All of this is the direct result of Saul’s disobedience. Despite all the excuses, all the reasons, all the blaming of someone else, the bottom line is still the bottom line. Yet there is forgiveness with God, but it is given to the humble heart. It has yet to be seen if Saul will humble himself before God and seek forgiveness and restoration. Because the actual judgment for this sin was so far off, we should regard Samuel’s pronouncement of judgment as an invitation to repentance. Many times, when God announces judgment, He will relent if His people repent. Though God has rejected Saul, He has not rejected Israel. Because God loves Israel, he will raise up a king, a man after his own heart. God will now give Israel a man after his own heart, and raise that man up to be king. It would be easy to say that the kingdom was taken from Saul because of his sin. And on one level, that was certainly the case. But it was more than that. God did not expect us to be perfect. He was looking for a man who understands his heart and is willing to repent. After all, didn’t David sin also? Yet God never took the kingdom from David and his descendants. For Saul, God would help him achieve his goals. For David, God Himself was the goal. When Saul was confronted with his sin, he offered excuses. When David was confronted with his sin, he simply said I have sinned against the Lord (2 Samuel 12:13). God was looking for this kind of man, and God found this man in an unlikely place. In fact, at this time, he was a just a shepherd boy! God is using men and women of heart with faith and confession even today. Beautiful Feet team was formed last November. Nothing is common in them. One thing common was that they all crossed the Pacific Ocean to come to the USA. They also had faith in God. God is blessing them when they became men and women of heart.

Samuel had just announced God’s judgment to Saul, because Saul’s heart was not after God’s heart. Samuel left, probably knowing that the announcement of judgment was an invitation to repentance, and probably knowing that Saul would not repent. Earlier, Saul had about 3,000 in his regular army (1 Samuel 13:2). Now, he is down to six hundred, because many of the people scattered while Saul waited for Samuel (1 Samuel 13:8). The loss of so many men was probably the reason why Saul offered the sacrifice without Samuel, and it displayed a heart of distrust and disobedience to God. To king Saul, it was difficult to see that his army shrank to one-fifth of its previous size from 3,000 to 600. Why would God allow this? God was testing Saul’s faith in this critical situation. Would Saul trust in God to deliver his people from so many with so few? Yes, God who is Almighty can deliver the Israel from the Philistines. But king Saul must have faith in God. With so many troops, the Philistines could raid at will. From 19-23 we see that Israel army did not have superior tech-heavy advanced weapons. The Philistines had superior military technology, and they wanted to keep it that way. By carefully guarding their military technology, the Philistines kept the Israelites in a subservient place. It was bad enough to be outnumbered so badly. Now, we see God allowed the Philistines to have a huge technological advantage over the Israelites. The only way the Israelites could ever win was to trust in God for everything! In chapter 14 Jonathan brought the victory by faith and in chapter 17 the boy David defeated Goliath in the name of the Lord Almighty. God’s people must depend on God for their victory.

In conclusion, victory does not come from the number of the soldiers or our human efforts. It comes from God himself. God wants to have faith in him and come to him with humble prayer when we face difficult situation. We learn that God used men and women of faith in his redemptive history. We have to know our mission to be faithful to God’s call and obey his command by making disciples of all nations. Let’s read the key verse 13-14.