Losing the Royal Dynasty

INTRO

Our theme today in 1 Samuel 13 is timing. Will you understand and wait on the will of God? Will you breathe in and walk out the will of God? In this chapter, we have Samuel the prophet, priest, Levite, and anointer of kings. We also have Saul the king, who was especially popular among the northern tribes, possibly because he was from the tribe of Benjamin and not Judah. Even though Saul was God’s appointed and anointed choice for king, he had issues with obedience. Some commentators suggest Saul was emblematic of God’s chosen people. In chapter 13, Saul made some really bad choices. He didn’t accidentally fall into disobedience, he chose his direction and acted on it. Saul recognized the coming danger, got nervous while waiting, and poorly chose to take matters into his own hands.

The backdrop of the story is found in 1 Samuel 10:8. Samuel anointed Saul’s head with oil and pronounced Saul would be king. Then, Samuel sent Saul ahead to Gilgal to wait for him to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice fellowship offerings. Samuel told Saul to wait seven days for him to arrive, and he would show him what to do. These were prophetic words and were to be remembered. Scholars estimate that in chapter 13, three years had passed, and Saul was in Gilgal again. He knew it felt familiar and knew he was to wait for Samuel’s arrival.

TEACHING

1 Samuel 13:1–4: Know that trying to figure out how many years Saul reigned is difficult because the exact number of years are vague in the Hebrew text. Scholars agree chapter 13 took place early in Saul’s reign, probably between year one and year three (v. 1). Saul began to enlist an army–2,000 men for himself and 1,000 with his son Jonathan (v. 2). Samuel had warned Israel about kings needing a standing army (1 Samuel 8:11-12), and this was the starting point. Possibly, these were like bodyguards and special forces for Saul that could inflict damage on the Philistines when needed. The 3,000 conscripted soldiers were not nearly enough if the Philistines declared war. This is the first mention of Jonathan, who Saul based in his own hometown.

Jonathan attacked the Philistines because they had blocked the pass in Geba and gave the credit to Saul (v. 3). In every biblical account of Jonathan, he is described as wise and honorable. Saul blowing the ram’s horn, announced the victory in this battle and was possibly a rallying call for all the fighting men who had been sent home, to come back to the king’s aid at Gilgal (v. 5). Gilgal was a rallying place and a holy place for the Israelites during Joshua’s time and continued into Samuel’s time (Hosea 4:15; 9:15; Amos 5:5). However, Gilgal was not a good defensive location for the Israelites.

1 Samuel 13:5–9: I need to make a correction from when I taught a few days ago on 1 Samuel 7—8. I said then that the Philistine forces gathered there were the largest ever, but I got ahead of myself. THIS force was the largest—3,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and innumerable foot soldiers (v. 5). The chariot was the tank of the ancient world. The Israelites were so terrified at what they saw, they hid in caves and among rocks (v. 6). Saul waited in Gilgal seven days for Samuel to come (vv. 7–8). While he waited, troops were deserting, fear was growing, and tension was mounting. Saul knew he needed to wait for Samuel to come because the prophetic word spoken years before instructed him to. Yet this became a catastrophe for Saul and his army. This was the severest of tests for Saul and would have been the severest of tests for any king. On the seventh day, Saul could take the waiting no longer, his patience and faith snapped. Saul called for the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings, and he offered them to God (v. 9). This was a fateful decision for Saul because the Levitical priests had the responsibility for offering sacrifices, not kings.

1 Samuel 13:10–12: Samuel arrived as Saul finished with the sacrifices (v. 10). Saul went to Samuel and told him what he had done (vv. 11–12). It is difficult to explain the gravity of the implications of this moment for Saul. Saul’s actions might seem trivial to us, but they were grave and mammoth in their significance. Samuel’s question “What have you done?” shook Saul and the pain of his guilt was suddenly revealed. He started lying to defend himself and cover up his actions. Saul explained his actions with a lot of “I” statements and said he forced himself to offer the burnt offering (vv. 11–12). Saul justified his actions with excuses and even blamed Samuel for his lateness in coming.

Samuel arrived at exactly the right time, not early and not late. Romans 5:6 says, “For while we were still helpless, at the appointed moment, Christ died for the ungodly.” The NIV says, “at just the right time.” Saul was helpless and Samuel arrived at exactly the right time. At exactly the right time, Christ died for us. Don’t get anxious because Christ is coming at exactly the right moment. How many times do we get impatient with God so we make the choices without waiting?

1 Samuel 13:13–14: Before the remnant of his trembling army, Saul was publicly shamed. The consequence of his unfaithful disobedience was the loss of his kingship and his dynasty. His kingdom and his line would not continue. Saul rejected God’s command; God rejected Saul and sought a man after God’s own heart (v. 14). King Saul was after the hearts of the people; King David was after the heart of God. No date or timing was given. Possibly this pronouncement was made even before David was born, which brings into focus David’s statement in Psalm 139 that God knew him before he had even been born (Psalm 139:13–16).

God’s plan will never be thwarted! It is not going to happen. If we, who have been given the opportunity to be a part of God’s plan are disobedient, He will use someone else.

1 Samuel 13:15–22: Saul returned to Gibeah where his son Jonathan had been. By that point, Saul had only 600 men left with him (vv. 15–16). Jonathan had heard Samuel’s pronouncement and knew he would never inherit Saul’s throne. The Philistines deployed their troops in three large raiding parties to utterly destroy Saul (vv. 17–18). Saul’s armies had no weapons because the Philistines did not allow blacksmiths to be in the land (v. 19). The army prepared their weapons of plows, mattocks, axes, and sickles to face the coming battle (vv. 20–22).

1 Samuel 13:23: In this last verse of chapter 13, the Philistines set up for battle.

CLOSING

When God does not meet your “reasonable” timetable, what do you do? Remember, God is never late, but sometimes He tests our loyalty and obedience by waiting until beyond the last minute (from our perspective) to act. Are you willing to wait? The choices we make can have incredible consequences. When tempted to take matters into your own hands, choose to obey the revealed will of God and trust Him for what comes next.