Tarnish on the Crown

A Spanish philosopher George Santayana who was born 10 years before our Courthouse was dedicated is recorded to have said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

This sentiment is behind many demonstrations about historical monuments being removed. One side is concerned about glamourizing flawed characters and the other side is concerned with history being revised so that the disinformation being spread bears no resemblance to what actually happened.

20 years ago James McPherson, President of the American Historical Association defined revisionist history very different than I do.

The 14,000 members of this Association, however, know that revision is the lifeblood of historical scholarship. History is a continuing dialogue between the present and the past. Interpretations of the past are subject to change in response to new evidence, new questions asked of the evidence, new perspectives gained by the passage of time. There is no single, eternal, and immutable "truth" about past events and their meaning.

Transition: Fortunate for us, the Scripture we are reading today are not an ongoing dialogue with the past. The past speaks and the only dialogue is our listening and heeding the lessons it tells.

The Story

A Standoff of Power (vv.1-7)

Saul and 2/3 of the army are encamped to the NW. Jonathan and 1/3 of the army are encamped to the SW. Jonathan invades a garrison between himself and Michmash and “pokes the bear”/gains a victory. (vv.1-3)

Saul claims the victory for himself and leads his army to the far east side of the battlefield to wait for Samuel.(v.4)

The Philistines begin to muster their troops 2:1 over Saul’s 3,000 (vv.5-7) and 90% (v.15) of the Hebrews are hiding in fear.

The places are strange to us, so let’s get a visual image of what is happening.

map of vv.1-8

a. Saul is up here with 2000 troops

b. Jonathan is down here with 1000 troops

c. Philistines are here, waiting to pounce.

d. Jonathan embarrasses an outpost of Philistines in this “suburb” so the Philistines begin planning revenge

e. After Saul’s trip East to play priest, he returns with a much smaller army.

f. The Philistines divide in 3 directions

g. Next week we see what Jonathan did with the southern army and Saul ends up chasing a band of raiders this far West.

A Show of Foolishness (vv.8-14)

1. To “act foolishly” means “to be deficient in moral or spiritual capacity.” Usually it is used in contexts where one acts sinfully out of fear and lack of trust in the Lord (cf. Gn 31:28; 1Sm 26:21; 2Sm 24:10; 1Ch 16:9–10; 21:8). When a child of God faces an overwhelming situation and compromises his standards, sinning in the process, and tries to “rescue” himself, disaster is the outcome.[i]

2. Samuel had performed both prophet and priestly roles as the final judge. But 10:25 told us the rights and responsibilities of a king had been clearly established, communicated to the people and Saul, and written in a record before God.

3. Saul began to give his eyes more credibility than his ears (what he saw was more intimidating than what he had been told) so he violated the terms of 10:25 and overstepped his bounds by offering burnt offerings.

4. God had said essentially, if you want a king, you can have a king as long as he understands that his authority is under mine. V.14 states that God had found another king who was willing to do things the way God desires.

As a sidenote, I heard a radio DJ state that “Goliath opened David’s path to the throne”. While we are not given his name, v.14 clearly states that Saul’s kingdom was over here.

Supply Chain Issues (vv.15-23)

The Philistines now outnumber the Israelites 5:1 [3,000:600] (vv.5,15)

The Philistines divide into 3 bands of raiders. One goes North, One goes SE, and One goes West. (vv.17-18)

The skill of blacksmithing was restricted so that the only jobs being done were for agricultural tools. If John Walton is correct when he writes

“The smithing charges here can be seen to be exorbitant when measured against the fact that the average monthly income was approximately one shekel. The implements that were sharpened (plows, mattocks, pickaxes, goads) were for agricultural enterprises”[ii]

Then the exorbitant cost of agriculture production is not a new challenge.

4. Only Saul and Jonathan have swords & spears (v.22)

5. Outmanned, Out armed, Out of God’s Favor and we set up for battle in next week’s chapter 14.

Transition: So, since none of us are doing battle with Philistines what could this story possibly say to us? Let me dig in to 2 observations.

Observations

Your Bible probably has a footnote by verse 1. (13:1)

1 Samuel 13:1 ESV:2016

1 Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel,

Going back to the oldest English translations doesn’t help much because the first half of the verse is an incomplete thought in light of the 2nd half.

1 Samuel 13:1 KJV:1900

1 Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel,

Your KJV might even have a marginal note. I looked at 2 of my oldest KJV paper bibles and 1 mentions the discrepancy, and the other ignores it.

If old English translations don’t resolve the question, how about old Hebrew? Our oldest Hebrew manuscripts read, “Saul was one year old when he became king, and he reigned two years over Israel”

This may explain why he was hiding among the luggage a few chapters back, but doesn’t explain how he was taller than the rest of the Israelites or how he had an adult son (Jonathan) by this chapter.

Best explanations are that some digits got lost in the copying of ancient manuscripts and that historians later put the numbers back in in the LXX.

Before you get overly concerned about the Bible containing “errors”, if you were in our SS class when we defined inerrency, you heard me say, “The inerrancy of Scripture means that Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything which is contrary to fact[iii]”

The figure forty-two is based on Acts 13:21 and on the Jewish historian Josephus[iv]

שְׁלֹשִׁ֨ים (30,000 chariots v.5) [sheloshim] versus שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת (3,000 troops v.2) [shelosheth]. 1 sheloth is 3 and 2 sheloths is 30.

Imagine writing these character with a quill on textured leather. And then imagine trying to read that skin after a couple hundred years.

I’m taking the time to explain these footnotes, not because there is great significance in Saul’s age or the size of Philistine army, but so that you can have confidence that the Bible you read is reliable. Even apparent contradictions can be explained to an open mind.

“Foolishness” is a bigger problem than you think (v.13)

1. This is more than a “measure twice, cut once” type of foolishness!

2. Louis Goldberg, one of my college professors writes,

The verb usually expresses lack in a moral or spiritual sense. Thus Saul acted as a fool when he usurped the Levitical prerogative in offering sacrifices. There is more involved than simply being an intellectual fool—Saul displayed his utter lack of spiritual comprehension (I Sam 13:13).[v]

3. Agnosticism or Atheism is not primarily an academic or philosophical position, it is usually related to emotional hurt and lifestyle preferences.

4. The difference between true wisdom and foolishness is the mind of God. Wisdom in the Old Testament was “the mind of God” and foolishnessis to ignore or act as if there is no God.

Psalm 14:1 ESV:2016

1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.

Proverbs 1:7 ESV:2016

7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

5. Saul did not consider the thoughts of God and most of the outrageous things you see on the news are done by people who are not considering the thoughts or Word of God.

Transition: The difference between a lecture and a sermon is found in the application. Let’s see how this story and these observations relate to us, here, today.

Applications

We Need each other always!

Saul needed Samuel and got in trouble when he disregarded the role of another!

God has given us the Body with diverse gifts to make us mutually dependent upon each other.

This is my biggest problem with “lone Christians” or House churches or those who ONLY participate in online/TV services.

I texted with the VBS coordinator of another church in Strong City. She expressed disappointment over attendance, but gloried in the unity of her teachers and helpers. Our VBS starts 2 weeks from today and it is not only an opportunity to evangelize our kids, it is an opportunity for people with different skills and abilities to come together, depend upon each other and watch God do something greater than any of us can do on our own. If lost children hear the good news of salvation; If your faith gets stretched so that you see God prove Himself faithful; and if we show ourselves and the community what it looks like when different people work together, we will experience the great mystery that Col 1:26 says has been hidden for generations.

Perception doesn’t determine outcome sometimes

Philistine chariots may have been intimidating, but offer little advantage in the hilly topography of Michmash

Saul’s evaluation of his army and the enemy did NOT supersede what God had determined (in 10:25)!

Calling a baby anything other than human life does not excuse willful killing. Personal attractions and “identities” do not alter God’s created order. “Follow your heart” is NEVER good advice in light of Jeremiah 17:9

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV:2016

9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

3. My heart aches when I hear people conclude that the remedy for their pain is found at the bottom of a bottle or at the end of a crack pipe. What a tragedy when lonely boys, girls, men and women think intimate relations is the way to find love. What a shame when unplanned pregnancy or gender dysphoria are treated with chemicals or scalpel.

We are living in a time where short-term bailouts are viewed as a remedy, when they usually just kick the problem down the road.

4. We need to stop making decisions based upon immediate tests, short-term observations or feelings and truly progress to a place where God’s absolute truth is understood as the beginning of wisdom!

Never exalt human opinion over God’s TRUTH

A man after God’s choosing. Not the piety of the one being chosen, but the sovereign right of the one making the choice!

David Payne writes, “God would not bless a king of Israel who set himself above the prophets whom God established”[vi]

Because the heart is deceitful and the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, The demonstrations and parades that are in our streets, the affirmations by many of our politicians, the rulings in too many courts are not only disagreements over policy...they are dangerous to our citizens.

Because today’s story illustrates how dangerous it is to play fast and loose with God’s truth, I plea with all that is within me for you to NOT Disregard the Words of the Lord.

Conclusion:

Whether you feed cattle, teach students, crush rocks or file papers. Whether you nurture children or grow vegetables, Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God!

Our Song of Response this morning is a prayer. If you are prompted to come forward to pray at the altar, you are invited. If you would like me or one of our Elders to pray for you, you are invited. Let us sing this prayer together.

Song of Response ... “Your Will be Done”

[i] Neely, Winfred O. 2014. “1 Samuel.” In The Moody Bible Commentary, edited by Michael A. Rydelnik and Michael Vanlaningham, 417–18. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers. [ii] Matthews, Victor Harold, Mark W. Chavalas, and John H. Walton. 2000. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament. Electronic ed. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. [iii]Grudem, Wayne. 2022. Bible Doctrine: Essential Teachings of the Christian Faith. Edited by Alexander Grudem. Second Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic. [iv] Payne, David F. 1994. “1 and 2 Samuel.” In New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, edited by D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, and G. J. Wenham, 4th ed., 310. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press. [v] Goldberg, Louis. 1999. “1493 סָכַל.” In Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, edited by R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, electronic ed., 624. Chicago: Moody Press. [vi] Payne, 310.