2023-11-12 - 1 Samuel 13

1 Samuel 13

Intro:

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Passage:

1 Samuel 13 (NKJV)

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

2 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.

3 And Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!”

The MacArthur Bible Commentary 1. The Rebuke of Saul (13:1–15)

13:3 Geba. This outpost was located about five miles north-northeast of Jerusalem, one and one-half miles southwest of Michmash. blew the trumpet. Saul used the trumpet to summon additional troops for battle.

4 Now all Israel heard it said that Saul had attacked a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel had also become an abomination to the Philistines. And the people were called together to Saul at Gilgal.

The MacArthur Bible Commentary 1. The Rebuke of Saul (13:1–15)

13:4 an abomination. Israel could expect retaliation from the Philistines for Jonathan’s raid. Gilgal. This is the town of Saul’s confirmation as king by Samuel and the people (11:14, 15). Saul chose Gilgal because of Samuel’s word in 10:8.

1 Samuel 10:8 “8 You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do.””

5 Then the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth Aven.

The MacArthur Bible Commentary 1. The Rebuke of Saul (13:1–15)

13:5 thirty thousand chariots. This is probably a scribal error, since the number is too large for the corresponding horsemen. Three thousand is more reasonable and is found in some OT manuscripts. Michmash. See note on 13:2. Beth Aven. Lit. “house of nothingness.” It was less than one miles southwest of Michmash.

6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in danger (for the people were distressed), then the people hid in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in holes, and in pits.

7 And some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

The MacArthur Bible Commentary 1. The Rebuke of Saul (13:1–15)

13:7 Gad and Gilead. Areas east of the Jordan River. all the people followed him trembling. The people were in fear over probable Philistine retaliation.

8 Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.

The MacArthur Bible Commentary 1. The Rebuke of Saul (13:1–15)

13:8 seven days … the time set by the people were scattered. Saul’s men were deserting him because of anxiety and fear over the coming battle.

9 So Saul said, “Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.” And he offered the burnt offering.

The MacArthur Bible Commentary 1. The Rebuke of Saul (13:1–15)

13:9 he offered the burnt offering. Saul’s sin was not specifically that he made a sacrifice (cf. 2 Sam. 24:25; 1 Kin. 8:62–64), but that he did not wait for priestly assistance from Samuel. See 10:8. He wished to rule as an autocrat who possessed absolute power in civil and sacred matters. Samuel had wanted the seven days as a test of Saul’s character and obedience to God, but Saul failed it by invading the priestly office himself.

10 Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him.

11 And Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash,

Be Successful 3. A King’s Irresponsibility (1 Sam. 13:1–14)

“I saw” indicate that Saul was walking by sight and not by faith.

The MacArthur Bible Commentary 1. The Rebuke of Saul (13:1–15)

13:11 When I saw. Saul reacted disobediently based upon what he saw, not by faith. He feared losing his men and did not properly consider what God wanted him to do.

Be Successful 3. A King’s Irresponsibility (1 Sam. 13:1–14)

Why did Samuel tarry? Was he deliberately trying to make Saul fail, or was he just reminding the new king who was still in control? Samuel had nothing to gain if Saul failed on the battlefield, and Samuel knew that God was in control, even in the appointment of the new king. Further-more, this meeting had been planned some two years before (v. 8), and no doubt Samuel had reminded Saul of it more than once. This rendezvous was the Lord’s way of testing Saul’s faith and patience. Without faith and patience, we can’t receive what the Lord promises (Heb. 6:12), and unbelief and impatience are marks of spiritual immaturity (James 1:1–8). Until we learn to trust God and wait on His timing, we can’t learn the other lessons He wants to teach us, nor can we receive the blessings He’s planned for us.

12 then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”

Be Successful 3. A King’s Irresponsibility (1 Sam. 13:1–14)

Could he not have “forced himself” to pray or to call together some of the officers to beseech the Lord for His help?

When David sinned, he came with confessions; when Saul sinned, he had only excuses.

Evangelist Billy Sunday defined an excuse as “the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie. ” Benjamin Franklin said, “I never knew a man who was good at making excuses who was good at anything else. ” Adam made the first excuse for sin (Gen. 3:12), and many have followed his bad example. Excuses only make matters worse.

13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.

The MacArthur Bible Commentary 1. The Rebuke of Saul (13:1–15)

13:13 You have not kept the commandment. Saul’s disobedience was a direct violation of the command from Samuel in 10:8. your kingdom … forever. How could this be in light of God’s promise that the king would descend from Judah (Gen. 49:10)? This pronouncement would correct the potential contradiction of Saul being from Benjamin, not Judah (cf. v. 14).

14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

The MacArthur Bible Commentary 1. The Rebuke of Saul (13:1–15)

13:14 a man after His own heart. Instead of Saul, God was going to choose one whose heart was like His own, i.e., one who had a will to obey God. Paul quotes this passage in Acts 13:22 of David (cf. 16:7). commander. Someone else, namely David, had already been chosen to be God’s leader over His people.

15 Then Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people present with him, about six hundred men.

The MacArthur Bible Commentary 1. The Rebuke of Saul (13:1–15)

13:15 from Gilgal to Gibeah. This was about a ten-mile trip westward. Samuel left Saul, realizing that Saul’s kingship was doomed. six hundred men. This indicates the mass departure of the Israelites (v. 6) and gives a perspective on what Saul saw (v. 5).

16 Saul, Jonathan his son, and the people present with them remained in Gibeah of Benjamin. But the Philistines encamped in Michmash.

17 Then raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned onto the road to Ophrah, to the land of Shual,

18 another company turned to the road to Beth Horon, and another company turned to the road of the border that overlooks the Valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.

19 Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears.”

20 But all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen each man’s plowshare, his mattock, his ax, and his sickle;

21 and the charge for a sharpening was a pim for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to set the points of the goads.

22 So it came about, on the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. But they were found with Saul and Jonathan his son.

23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.

CONCLUSION:

Be Successful 4. An Army’s Insecurity (1 Sam. 13:15–23)

In the way it functions or doesn’t function, the church of Jesus Christ today may sometimes resemble Saul’s army, but if we do, it’s our own fault. Through His great work on the cross, our Lord has defeated every enemy, and His power is available to His people. We have the armor and the weapons we need (Eph. 6:10ff), and His Word tells us all we need to know about the strategy of the enemy and the resources we have in Christ. All He asks is that we trust Him and obey His orders, and He will help us win the battle.

“Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might” (Eph. 6:10, KJV) for “the battle is the Lord’s” (1 Sam. 17:47).