Seeing Beyond Our View

1 Samuel  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  52:00
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A. Rapport for the time
(Outline Bible)
Seeing beyond what we can see— Ship at sea and how far they can actually see to the horizon on a clear day. What seams like scenery that is never ending.
B. Reading of the text
C. Review of the text
D. Relevance of the text
Our view of what we would call a situation in our life vs. the view that God has of the same event is often not close. As a Christian my work is in getting on the same page with the Lord not working, in my own power, to get him on the same page with me.

I. Saul’s Wickedness

A. Panic

1 Samuel 13:1 ESV
1 Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel,
vs. 1 Literal translation
“Saul was a son of a year when he reigned, and two years he reigned over Israel.
The best this can be understood is that from the time that Saul became King to when he ruled in Gilgal took 1 year and what unfolds in chapter 13, 14, 15 takes a total of 2 years to unfold. One of the hard parts of 1 Samuel is know what came first because the order of the event do not seem to be chronological. For our study and application of the word the order is not the concern instead it is the heart of Saul and the Israelites that teaches us so very much.
1 Samuel 13:2 ESV
2 Saul chose three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent home, every man to his tent.
Saul had more than 3,000 men but chose to send some home. As we will see this is not the best of ideas as he begins to take on the Philistines.
1 Samuel 13:3–5 ESV
3 Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.” 4 And all Israel heard it said that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines. And the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal. 5 And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth-aven.
Jonathan—new person that is introduced in 1 Samuel. Son of King Saul and an army of 1,000 men take out a Garrison of the philistines. It seems as though Saul and Jonathon had decided to take out this garrison of soldiers that before Saul back in chapter 10 had seemed to just pass by. Now that they attack Saul blew the trumpet to let the people know about what had happened and to call back those that he had sent away. (not clear the amount of time that passed between these events.
“Israel had become a stench to the Philistines”
Stink, to be made or start to stink, turn rancid, become hated, make oneself odious
The attack caused the Philistines to take notice. We would use the statement of don’t poke the bear but that is exactly what Saul and Jonathon did when they attacked this Garrison. The Philistines gather 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horseman and so many troops that you could not even count them. Remember, Saul kept 3,000 and sent the rest home but the the number of troops he has is not close to the Philistines.
1 Samuel 13:6–7 ESV
6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns, 7 and some Hebrews crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
From the people’s perspective it is time to run and hide. What they see is that defeat is assured. Israel wanted a king so they could be like all the other nations. Check.
Israel wanted this king to defend them which was really telling God that they didn’t trust him and and goodness to them. Now that they have that king and he is leading they run for the hills afraid for their life. Let’s take pause for a moment and just think would it have been better to just rely upon God instead of this king? What are they to fear with God?

B. Presumption

1 Samuel 13:8–9 ESV
8 He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering.
Saul had instructed Samuel back in:
1 Samuel 10:8 ESV
8 Then go down before me to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.”
Saul had listened to the word of God in going to Gilgal and with the Philistines coming into Micmash it seemed that God saved his life by these instructions. But partial obedience is not obedience at all. He waited the 7 days but when Samuel did not show up as he thought he would he went ahead with gathering the sacrifice to make the burnt offering. I went into this passage thinking that Saul making the sacrifice was the problem but that is not it at all.
2 Samuel 24:25 ESV
25 And David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.
1 Kings 8:62–64 ESV
62 Then the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord. 63 Solomon offered as peace offerings to the Lord 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord. 64 The same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord, for there he offered the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to receive the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings.
The problem of was his lack of obedience to what God instructed him to do by the mouth of Samuel.

C. Punishment

1 Samuel 13:10–12 ESV
10 As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. 11 Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, 12 I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.”
Saul—I looked around and people were leaving left and right and I completely panicked and trusted myself more than I trusted God…vs. 11
1, 2 Samuel (1) Saul Disobeys the Lord’s Command to Wait for Samuel (13:1–16a)

Saul responded to the question defensively, blaming three other parties for his act of disobedience: his soldiers, who “were scattering”; Samuel, who “did not come at the set time”; and the Philistines, who “were assembling at Micmash” (v. 11). He was “compelled” (lit., “forced himself”) to perform the sacrifice because he feared that the Philistines would attack him before he had “sought the LORD’S favor” (v. 12). It is ironic—and symptomatic of Saul’s spiritual dullness—that the king believed he could obtain the Lord’s favor through an act of disobedience

1 Samuel 13:13–14 ESV
13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”
Samuel called Saul a fool.
Psalm 14:1 ESV
1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.
Psalm 53:1 ESV
1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.
(second half of 13 tells you God knew that the man he chose would not be faithful to him since the tribe of Judah is to have the king)
The condition of being king was “chose whom you will serve.” Saul had chosen to serve self over looking to God and being obedient that caused vs. 14
1. Your kingdom will not continue
2. Lord has chosen another that will take your place

II. Israel’s weakness

A. Lack of Warriors

1 Samuel 13:15 ESV
15 And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, about six hundred men.

B. Lack of Weapons

1 Samuel 13:16–23 ESV
16 And Saul and Jonathan his son and the people who were present with them stayed in Geba of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 17 And raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual; 18 another company turned toward Beth-horon; and another company turned toward the border that looks down on 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 themselves swords or spears.” 20 But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle, 21 and the charge was two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads. 22 So on the day of the battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them. 23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.
For all of us that have not been in a battle before. It is usually a bad sign when you need to pay the enemy to sharpen the instruments that you plan to use against them. That is a sign that the enemy is not afraid of you in any way. Also, if you don’t have weapons to fight with and the enemy has all the weapons you should consider yourself in trouble.
Israel is out numbered with people willing to fight, they are weaponized in every way. From a fear of man perspective they should be absolutely running for the hills and away from civilization.
Application:
Our view of what we would call a situation in our life vs. the view that God has of the same event is often not close. As a Christian my work is in getting on the same page with the Lord not working, in my own power, to get him on the same page with me.
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