Havasu Christian Church
Series in I Samuel
July 7, 2024
I Samuel 13:1-14
“Saul blows his chance!”
INTRO: Saul could have been a movie star if he had been born in this century! He was tall, he was good looking. In his time, he looked like the perfect man to be a King!
But what made a good king for God’s people wasn’t what you could see on the outside! It was what was on the inside!
In this passage today, we’ll see that God judged Saul very harshly, and He did it very quickly. That’s because God saw very plainly, WHO Saul was, not just what he appeared to be.
Saul had many years after this as king, but he lived with the knowledge that he wasn’t the man God wanted him to be and that it was only a matter of time before his family would be done as leaders.
1 Samuel 13:1–14 Saul was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty two years over Israel.
2 Now Saul chose for himself 3,000 men of Israel, of which 2,000 were with Saul in Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, while 1,000 were with Jonathan at Gibeah of Benjamin. But he sent away the rest of the people, each to his tent.
3 Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.”
4 All Israel heard the news that Saul had smitten the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become odious to the Philistines. The people were then summoned to Saul at Gilgal.
5 Now the Philistines assembled to fight with Israel, 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen, and people like the sand which is on the seashore in abundance; and they came up and camped in Michmash, east of Beth-aven.
6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait (for the people were hard-pressed), then the people hid themselves in caves, in thickets, in cliffs, in cellars, and in pits.
7 Also some of the Hebrews crossed the Jordan into the land of Gad and Gilead. But as for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
8 Now he waited seven days, according to the appointed time set by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattering from him.
9 So Saul said, “Bring to me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering.
10 As soon as he finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him and to greet him.
11 But Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “Because I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the appointed days, and that the Philistines were assembling at Michmash,
12 therefore I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not asked the favor of the LORD.’ So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering.”
13 Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted 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.
14 “But now your kingdom shall not endure. The LORD has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”
- Saul makes some smart decisions.
- He chooses a group of men to be his army.
- He divides his forces so they can cover more territory.
- He leads most of them himself.
- 2000 men
- He gives 1/3 of them to his son to lead.
- 1000 men
- He sends the majority of the men home for now.
- No sense housing and feeding them until you need them!
- Jonathan makes a questionable choice.
- He attacks the garrison of the Philistines that they have put in Geba.
- Placing this garrison in Israel was a way of projecting power.
- Similar to building a Castle in Medieval times.
- You controlled territory.
- You said to the other country, “We can take you anytime we want!
- No way to know exactly how many troops or how they are armed, but they are attacked and subdued.
- “Smote” = strike, strike dead, hit or injure.
- Jonathan and his men hit them HARD!
- The Philistines decide to put an end to this!
- They send an army into Israel.
- 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen, and people like the sand which is on the seashore.
- The 30,000 might also be 3,000. A couple of dots make all the difference.
- Regardless of how many chariots there are, the Philistines are NOT fooling around.
- The Philistine army camps near Michmash.
- Michmash is right in the heart of Israel.
- From there, the Philistines can attack to the north, south, east or west.
- If they take this area, they had basically cut Israel in half, and they can take more territory pretty easily.
- Saul is faced with a dilemma.
- The army he has recalled to fight is deserting him at an alarming rate!
- They are hiding in caves.
- They are hiding in thickets
- They are hiding in cliffs
- They are hiding in cellars
- They are hiding in pits
- Some of them just plain run away!
- Everyone is scared out of their minds.
- NONE of this is good news for Saul!
- Saul has been waiting for Samuel to show up!
- Samuel is supposed to offer sacrifices before the battle.
- But Samuel is late… and the army is deserting.
- Saul decides to do something before it’s too late!
- He “Forces Himself” to offer the burnt offering.
- NOT part of the plan!
- Saul is supposed to wait for Samuel to do his job as High Priest.
- Saul isn’t even a Levite!
- Saul decides HE should take care of this.
- Samuel is NOT amused… Neither is God!
- You have acted foolishly!
- Really? He seems to have done pretty well up to this point.
- He didn’t follow God’s command.
- If he had, God would have established his kingdom forever!
- It would have been the “House of Saul” rather than the “House of David” through which the Messiah, Jesus, would have come.
- The Kingdom will be taken away.
- It will be given to someone who is “after God’s own heart.” What does this mean?
- Let’s contrast Saul & David.
- Saul wanted what Saul wanted… David wanted what God wanted.
- Saul sinned… Saul made excuses. David sinned… David repented!
- Saul knew that Saul was king… David knew that God was really the King!
- Saul served Saul…. David served God and His people.
- Saul didn’t really worship God…. David worshipped God from his boyhood.
Conclusion: What can we learn from Saul today that can affect our lives, today and tomorrow?
- God gave it to you, USE IT!
- Saul did some really smart things.
- He called up an army
- He kept 3000 and sent the rest home for a while.
- He made a small start in his campaign to get the Philistines out of Israel.
- He made the Philistines come to him to fight.
- Be Patient! Trust God’s timing!
- Saul waited ALMOST long enough.
- He didn’t trust enough to see past what was happening.
- The same God Destroyed Egypt with 10 plagues.
- The same God fed the people of Israel in the wilderness and gave them water.
- The same God gave Gideon a victory with only 300 men.
- The same God worked through one man, Samson, to destroy a lot of the Philistine’s power.
- Samson would have done more if he had been “a man after God’s own heart.”
- The same God had just given Saul the victory over the Ammonites!
- A HUGE victory!
- The List of things God had done for Israel was almost endless!
- When God is on your side, you don’t need to worry about how many chariots the other guy has!
- God’s got this!
- God gives the Israelites the victory in-spite of Saul!
- They wind up really whipping the Philistines.
- God is not amused when we willfully sin!
- It cost Saul his kingdom. What has it cost you?
- When you sin, Repent! Don’t just make excuses!
- Be a person after God’s own heart!
