1 Samuel 13 "What have you done?"

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
1 Samuel 13:5 The Philistines assembled to fight Israel, with three thousand[c] chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Mikmash, east of Beth Aven. 6 When the Israelites 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 Mikmash, 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 have done a foolish thing,” 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 ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”​

c. 1 Samuel 13:5 Some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac; Hebrew thirty thousand

This is from the easy English site.

Saul and his army left Michmash and went to Gilgal. So the main Philistine army came to Michmash. The Philistines had many chariots. The Philistine army was so large that no one could count all the soldiers. The Israelite soldiers saw this and became very frightened. Some of them hid. Some ran more than 24 kilometres (15 miles) to the river Jordan. They did not want the Philistines to kill them. In 1 Samuel 10:8, Samuel had told Saul to go to Gilgal and wait for him. Samuel said, ‘I will certainly come down to you there and give burnt sacrifices and friendship offerings. You must wait for 7 days. Then I will come and tell you what to do’.

Before a battle the priest gave sacrifices to God and prayed. He listened to God. And he told the people what God had said. God told them how to fight. He told them how to win the battle. The Israelites trusted God to help them. Saul waited for 7 days but Samuel did not arrive. Perhaps Samuel was testing Saul to see if Saul would trust God. Saul became frightened. He could have asked God to help. Only the priest should offer the burnt offering. Saul saw that his soldiers were leaving. So he went against Samuel’s instruction. Saul did not trust God’s word that Samuel the prophet had spoken. Saul did not obey God. Instead, Saul did what he thought was right. This is sin. Saul sinned in this way several times while he was king.

Verses 11-12 show that Saul had been afraid of the situation. That is why he acted. In verse 13 ‘foolish’ means guilty of wrong behaviour. In 1 Samuel 15:22 Samuel said that it is better to obey God than to sacrifice to him. The Israelites wanted a king to lead them. They wanted to be like other nations. They wanted a king to fight their battles. God gave them what they wanted. But King Saul did not trust God. Usually the present king’s son became the next king. And this continued for many years. The king’s son learned how to be king by watching his father. God did not want another king like Saul. God wanted his special people, the Israelites, to have a good king. In chapter 16, we read how God chose the next king.​

Saul is an example of so many of our current leaders.... doing what they think is right.

This is from Bible.org.

Saul manages to make it through six days and most of the seventh. But when that seventh day begins to draw to an end, Saul is at his wit’s end. I can just imagine what is going through his mind. “Where in the world is that man, and what is he doing? Does he not know how much danger we are in? Does he not grasp the urgency of the situation and the need to act quickly? I’m going to give him 30 more minutes, and then I’m going to have to go on without him.”

How easy it would be to look at this offering as the means to Israel’s deliverance. Just as the Israelites looked upon the ark of God as a kind of magic secret weapon, now it may be that Saul looks upon the burnt offering as the means of assuring God’s action on Israel’s behalf. If this is so, no wonder Saul is so eager to get that sacrifice offered, with or without Samuel.​

Here, Saul does not appear to be shaken by Samuel’s words, and certainly he is not repentant. If Saul were a teenager in today’s culture, his response to Samuel’s rebuke would be, “Whatever.” Saul busies himself with the numbering of his skimpy rag-tag army, now composed of some 600 men, and Samuel arises and departs for Gibeah.​

I would title this study "whatever" but I know there are a lot of parents of teenagers who are tired of that expression.

This is from the blueletterbible.org site.

Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him: Saul is really overstepping his bounds now. Literally, the Hebrew says that Saul wanted to bless Samuel - perhaps as a priest blesses someone! Now Saul really sees himself as a priest!

In wanting to bless Samuel, Saul may also be trying to show Samuel how spiritual he is. He is like a child who gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and then says to mom, "Let's pray!"

Saul doesn't have a clue. I would like to say I think he's trying to be a good king.... but I truly think he's getting a big head about himself.... it's like he thinks he's in control.... but this is a kingdom under God's Theocratic rule. This pretty boy who comes from a good family is in way over his head. He really thinks he's capable of running the kingdom of Israel all by himself.... that's just crazy...

:coffee:
 
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