13 Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned for forty-two years.

² Saul selected 3,000 special troops from the army of Israel and sent the rest of the men home. He took 2,000 of the chosen men with him to Micmash and the hill country of Bethel. The other 1,000 went with Saul’s son Jonathan to Gibeah in the land of Benjamin.

³ Soon after this, Jonathan attacked and defeated the garrison of Philistines at Geba. The news spread quickly among the Philistines. So Saul blew the ram’s horn throughout the land, saying, “Hebrews, hear this! Rise up in revolt!” ⁴ All Israel heard the news that Saul had destroyed the Philistine garrison at Geba and that the Philistines now hated the Israelites more than ever. So the entire Israelite army was summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.

⁵ The Philistines mustered a mighty army of 3,000 chariots, 6,000 charioteers, and as many warriors as the grains of sand on the seashore! They camped at Micmash east of Beth-aven. ⁶ The men of Israel saw what a tight spot they were in; and because they were hard pressed by the enemy, they tried to hide in caves, thickets, rocks, holes, and cisterns. ⁷ Some of them crossed the Jordan River and escaped into the land of Gad and Gilead.

Meanwhile, Saul stayed at Gilgal, and his men were trembling with fear. ⁸ Saul waited there seven days for Samuel, as Samuel had instructed him earlier, but Samuel still didn’t come. Saul realized that his troops were rapidly slipping away. ⁹ So he demanded, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings!” And Saul sacrificed the burnt offering himself.

¹⁰ Just as Saul was finishing with the burnt offering, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet and welcome him, ¹¹ but Samuel said, “What is this you have done?”

Saul replied, “I saw my men scattering from me, and you didn’t arrive when you said you would, and the Philistines are at Micmash ready for battle. ¹² So I said, ‘The Philistines are ready to march against us at Gilgal, and I haven’t even asked for the Lord’s help!’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came.”

¹³ “How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

¹⁵ Samuel then left Gilgal and went on his way, but the rest of the troops went with Saul to meet the army. They went up from Gilgal to Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. When Saul counted the men who were still with him, he found only 600 were left! 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 or making the point of 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.

1 Samuel 13

Dear God, I don’t think we normally appreciate the disadvantage Saul was at when he was made king. Israel wasn’t a real nation with national defense at that point. They were tribes of people living under Philistine rule. As much as we appreciate David and everything he accomplished later, to a large extent, he stood on the shoulders of what you had done through Saul when he took over. Of course, David took over after Saul and Jonathan died in a terrible battle defeat so things weren’t all rosy when David became king, but that’s a story for another day.

Of course, the big moment in this chapter is when Saul jumps the gun and offers the sacrifice himself. You know that I’ve always had a problem with this story. Mainly because I can see myself doing the same thing. I can see myself feeling like if I am king and I have also had the experience of your Spirit falling on me and prophesying and such, then when Samuel was late in coming to the battle and things were looking down going ahead with the worship and sacrifice without him. It’s not like he blew you off and just attacked. It’s not like he can ring up Samuel on his cell phone and ask him what his updated ETA was. Why was Samuel so harsh with him. Did you tell Samuel this, or did Samuel come up with it himself? The story really bothers me, and it’s still hard for me to resolve.

Maybe the problem is Saul’s ego. We’re about to see in the next chapter how his ego can get him into trouble. In this story, it feels like he is trying to figure out how to be one of those “get behind me boys” leaders who takes the reins and inspires confidence. But he didn’t have the patience and humility to wait on you and to be seen waiting on you.

That can be one of my problems. I can get impatient and not wait on you. I can want people to be inspired by me and not defer to you.

Father, give me eyes to see. Give me ears to hear. Give me your love for others, especially those I consider to be against me. Help me to be willing to sacrifice everything for them. My life is yours. If you are for me, who can be against me? Be glorified in their eyes through me. And I’m thinking about some friends right now who are struggling with marital issues and just life issues. Some who are gravely ill. Some who are just lost. Some who are bound with anger and pain. Some who don’t even know what the pain they are experiencing is. Father, be with each one. Holy Spirit, move and heal. Comfort and guide. Teach. Jesus, teach, love, and forgive. Forgive me, Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit. I am yours.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen