1 Samuel 13:1-14: Saul’s Massive Blunder

1 Samuel 13:1-14: Saul’s Massive Blunder

We’ve been working our way passage by passage through the book of 1 Samuel, and today the next passage we come to is 1 Samuel 13:1-14. Hear now the words of the Living and True God:

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

May God bless the reading of his Word.

Let’s pray: Father, we thank you for the gift of your Word. And we pray what Jesus prayed in John 17—sanctify us in the truth, your word is truth. We understand, from this, that your Word isn’t just true but the very standard of truth itself. So please use your Word by your Spirit to sanctify Your people. And we pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.Several weeks ago, I made a decision to do something that I regretted soon afterward. Although our family doesn’t really go out to see movies that often, we had a gift card and therefore went to a theater to see the new Minecraft movie. And since we had the gift card, I also got an extra-large bucket of popcorn. I mean, this thing was huge. It had to be like this wide and this tall. And of course, they layered it with butter—so it was a layer of popcorn, then a layer of butter, then a layer of popcorn, then a layer of butter—and so on. Now, technically, I was supposed to share this bucket with my daughter, Grace. But she only wanted a very small amount of it—leaving the rest for me. And I somehow ended up eating the whole thing. Like, I was just watching the movie, and before I knew what had happened, there was no more popcorn left in the bucket. 

Now, you can probably guess how I felt afterward. I was in pretty rough shape. We went to see this movie on a Saturday morning, and for the rest of the day, all of that popcorn mixed with butter just sat in my stomach. And it really did a number on me. So, that was a decision I didn’t think very much about at the time but definitely regretted afterward. 

Sometimes, however, we have regrets of a more serious nature. If we could go back in time, I’m sure we all have things we’d want to do a lot differently. We all have regrets. And looking at our main passage, I imagine Saul felt the same way about this blunder of his that’s recorded in this passage. What we see Saul doing here is no small thing but is, rather, a massive blunder that has massive consequences. In fact, it’s through this blunder that Saul demonstrates that he lacks the necessary character to be king of Israel. And that’s the main idea of this passage. Saul demonstrates that he lacks the necessary character to be king of Israel.

And as we go through this passage, we’re going to glean some important insights about what it means to trust God when the pressure’s on and how difficult circumstances have a way of revealing who we truly are—our true character. 

So, let’s get started by looking at verses 1-2. We read that, 1 Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel, 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. 

Now, commentators are divided about what verse 1 means when it says that “Saul lived for one year and then became king.” Since it seems rather unlikely that Saul became king as a one-year-old—although that would be interesting—this verse most likely means that Saul lived for one year after Samuel had anointed him and only then—after a year had passed—did he actually assume the responsibilities of kingship over Israel. We then learn in these verses that, once Saul was two years into his kingship, he chose 3,000 men to be Israel’s first standing army. 2,000 of these men were with Saul in Michmash, and 1,000 were with Saul’s son Jonathan in Gibeah.  

We then read in verses 3-4, 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. So, Saul conveniently takes credit for his son Jonathan’s victory over the Philistine garrison. However, this victory results in Israel becoming “a stench to the Philistines.” 

After that, verses 5-7 tell us, 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. 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. 

So, this is a pretty bad situation. The Israelites are vastly outnumbered—to such an extent that many of them actually hide themselves anywhere they think they have a chance of surviving, such as caves, holes in the ground, and even tombs. I mean, think about it: how desperate do you have to be to hide in a tomb? Because, presumably, you’re not in there alone. You probably have company—though not really the kind of company that makes for great conversation. But that’s how desperate many of the Israelites were to escape what seemed to be an impossible battle to win. So, this was a terrible situation for Saul to be in—vastly outnumbered by the Philistines and abandoned by a large portion of his own army. 

And Saul’s situation is growing worse by the hour, as we read in verse 8. It says, “He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him.” So, Samuel had told Saul that he’d come within seven days in order to offer a burnt offering on Israel’s behalf—which was a very important act of worship as the Israelites prepared to battle the Philistines. But, as we read here, “Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him”—that is, from Saul. So, you can imagine how desperate Saul must feel. He’s vastly outnumbered by the Philistines, Samuel’s nowhere to be found, and, with every hour that goes by, more and more soldiers are deserting Saul’s army. This is a truly desperate situation. 

And it’s these kinds of situations that have a way of revealing our true character. You see, when life is easy, it might seem like we have relatively godly character. Yet it’s not until a significant trial comes along that our character is put to the test and it becomes clear what we’re actually made of. You might compare it to squeezing a tube of toothpaste. When you squeeze a toothpaste tube, what’s on the inside comes out. And, likewise, when we experience trials, it becomes clear what’s on the inside. Our true character is revealed. 

You know, some people seem to think that character is forged in the midst of a crisis. And, while there might be some truth to that, I think it’s even more true that character is revealed in a crisis. It’s through the crisis that who we truly are rises to the surface and becomes visible. And I actually think that’s one reason why God often allows difficulties to come into our lives. Without them, we’d never see where we still need to grow spiritually and what aspects of our character need further refinement. 

So, I’d encourage you to be very cautious about being overconfident in yourself or overestimating how strong or spiritually mature you are in certain areas. It could simply be that those aspects of your character simply haven’t been put to the test yet. 

And as we move forward in the passage, we see that Saul doesn’t do so well in this monumental test of his character. When the pressure’s on, he responds in exactly the wrong way. Look at verse 9: So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. 

Saul’s act in this verse of offering the burnt offering was a blatant violation of God’s instructions for Samuel—as a priest—to be the one to offer sacrifices. But, hey, desperate times call for desperate measures, right? That’s what Saul seems to think, at least. So, he goes ahead and offers the burnt offering himself and thereby reveals his true character. 

Yet, before we’re too quick to heap excessive condemnation on Saul, let’s remember that we ourselves are often tempted to act in a similar way. I mean, how often are we tempted—instead of trusting God—to take things into our own hands? 

One example of this is when a Christian who claims to be devoted to God starts dating or even marries someone who isn’t devoted to God. Even though the Bible’s very clear in 2 Corinthians 6:14 that Christians shouldn’t be “unequally yoked” with those who aren’t devoted to the Lord, it’s not uncommon for a Christian to desire so badly to be married that they take things into their own hands and date or even marry someone who isn’t a Christian and who’s therefore headed in a fundamentally different direction in life. So, instead of waiting on God’s best for their life, the Christian takes things into their own hands in disobedience to God’s instructions. 

And there are plenty of other situations in which we’re tempted to take things into our own hands as well. Perhaps we’re tempted to try to advance in our career through questionable methods such as being deceptive in order to make ourselves look good or, at times, stepping on the backs of others in an effort to get to the top. Or perhaps we’re tempted to take justice into our own hands by getting revenge on someone who’s wronged us. Or maybe we’re tempted to lie in order to shield ourselves from the negative consequences for our actions, or cheat on a test at school in order to get a good grade, or engage in manipulative behavior in order to get someone to do what we want them to do, or do something dishonest in order to get money to pay overdue bills.  

One thing all of these behaviors have in common is that they reveal a fundamental lack of trust in God to take care of us. You know, a few moments ago, I spoke in terms of trials revealing our true character. Yet, if we wanted to get even more specific, we could say that trials reveal whether we truly trust God and—if you dig down even further—what we truly believe about God. Trials reveal what we truly believe about who God is. 

When life is easy, we can claim to believe certain things about God all day long. And perhaps we make those claims in all sincerity. Yet it’s not until a significant trial comes along that those beliefs are put to the test and our true theology—what we really believe about God—rises to the surface. That’s what we see happening with Saul here in verse 9. His true beliefs especially about the sovereignty and supremacy of God are revealed.

So, what about you? Do you really believe that God’s sovereign and supreme over any circumstances you’ll ever face? Do you really believe in the God who demonstrated his supremacy at the very beginning by speaking this entire universe into existence? Do you really believe in the God who demonstrated his supremacy over Pharaoh when he drove back the waters of the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to walk through on dry ground, and then caused the waters to crash back down over Pharaoh’s soldiers when they tried to follow? 

Do you really believe in the God who demonstrated his supremacy over the mighty city of Jericho when he caused the walls of Jericho to fall to the ground?  Do you really believe in the God who demonstrated his supremacy over all the Canaanites when he gave the Israelites victory time after time even when they were almost always vastly outnumbered? Do you believe in the God who demonstrated his supremacy over King Sennacherib of Assyria when the Assyrians had surrounded Jerusalem and God struck down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in a single night while the Israelites slept? 

And then, coming to an even greater display of God’s supremacy than anything seen in the Old Testament, do you believe in the God who demonstrated his supremacy even over death itself by raising Jesus from the dead, conquering sin and death, so that we also can share in his life? Then, finally, of course, let’s not forget the way Jesus will one day return to this earth, making this cosmic victory won at the cross even more of a visible reality as he establishes his Kingdom on this earth. Friends, we serve a God who’s supreme over all. Do you really believe that? 

You know, our circumstances can seem overwhelming until we begin viewing them in light of the sovereignty and supremacy of God. When we see how big God is, it just has a way of putting everything else into perspective. All of a sudden, the things that initially seemed so overwhelming now seem a lot more manageable—because God is on his throne. 

You might compare our struggle to a solar eclipse. As you can see in this illustration, a solar eclipse happens when the moon gets in the way of the sun and momentarily casts a shadow over a portion of the earth. You probably remember that we experienced this just last year. And, of course, the sun is thousands of times bigger than the moon, so it’s pretty remarkable that the moon is able to block out the sun. The only reason it’s able to do that is because the moon is so much closer to us than the sun is. So, the moon seems bigger than the sun because it’s so much closer and is therefore able to momentarily block out the sun. 

And in a similar way, our earthly circumstances often seem much more significant and “real” than God in the sense that they’re visible in a way that God isn’t and can therefore often eclipse our view of God. That’s why we have to learn to look past our earthly circumstances and set our gaze on the One who reins sovereign and supreme over them all. 

Unfortunately, though, we see in verse 9 that Saul doesn’t do this. We then read about what happens in the aftermath of Saul’s disobedience in verses 10-12: 10 As soon as he [Saul] 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.” 

So, no sooner does Saul finish offering the burnt offering than Samuel decides to finally show up. And we can only imagine what Saul must have thought to himself when he saw Samuel approaching. Like, “Dude, where were 5 minutes ago? C’mon!” If Samuel had just arrived a little earlier, everything would have been fine. But, of course, God had a purpose for Samuel’s late arrival. It was a test of Saul’s character—and a test that Saul unfortunately failed. 

Verses 13-14 then tell us, 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.” 

So, because of Saul’s blunder, God rejects him as king. And this is a key turning point in the book of 1 Samuel. From now on, we’re expecting Saul’s kingship to eventually be taken away from him and for God to raise up another king in Saul’s place—“a man,” we’re told, “after [God’s] own heart.” This shows us that actions have consequences. And as we think about our own lives, even though God might forgive us for sins we commit, that doesn’t mean those sins won’t have lasting consequences during our earthly lives. The things you do today may very well have lasting consequences tomorrow. 

In addition, as we consider what happens with Saul in this chapter and the way this crisis reveals his true character, I think it’s also worthwhile to consider how Saul came to be the person he was in the first place. I mentioned earlier that, even though it might be the case to a certain degree that a person’s character is forged in a crisis, it’s probably more the case that their character is revealed in a crisis. So, what made Saul into the person revealed in this chapter? What played the largest role in shaping his character? And of course, our primary interest in asking this question is understanding what plays the largest role in shaping our character. 

In reality, I believe the primary context in which character is forged is in everyday life and through the everyday decisions a person makes in their life. In many ways, our character is the product of the millions of small and seemingly inconsequential decisions we make day after day. You might compare it to physical fitness. Imagine someone who’s not physically fit feeling exceptionally motivated one day to get physically fit. So, they go out and get a gym membership and spend an entire afternoon working out. After that, they go back home and eat an incredibly healthy meal of kale and quinoa and salmon and several other so-called “superfoods.” Now, will doing those things in the course of that one day make the person healthy? Well, it certainly won’t hurt. But getting healthy and physically fit is about a lot more than simply what you do in the course of a single day. Physical fitness is instead the product of how you live day in and day out. It’s the result of adopting a certain lifestyle. 

Likewise, our character is, in large part, the result of the millions of seemingly inconsequential decisions we make on a day-to-day basis. For example, here are some questions that I hope will help us consider the relatively small things we do in the course of everyday life that end up making a huge difference: 

What devotional habits—such as prayer and Bible reading—do you engage in? How much of your day do you give to simply being entertained? What kind of entertainment do you consume and what boundaries have you set for yourself regarding what kinds of entertainment you’ll consume? How do you treat people who can’t benefit you in any tangible way—including waiters, custodians, or cashiers? 

How do you respond to people who behave in a way that you find annoying or frustrating? What kinds of things do you say to others when you’re tired, stressed out, or simply in an irritable mood? How quickly do you confess and repent of sins the Holy Spirit brings to your attention? Do you ever neglect repenting of sins that are brought to your attention because they seem too insignificant? Are you quietly tolerating any secret sins? What kinds of thoughts do you willfully entertain throughout the day? 

Whenever you find yourself involved in a conflict, do you seek reconciliation quickly? Is there anyone in your life from whom you’re withholding forgiveness? To what degree do you practice generosity as a style of life—both with money and with time? How often do you take the initiative to serve the people around you—even before they ask you? How willing are you to serve without ever being recognized for it on this side of eternity? Do you do the things you do primarily in order to be noticed or in order to be faithful? Again, our character is, in large part, the result of the countless small decisions—like these few I’ve mentioned—that we make in the course of everyday life. 

I also came across a list of four larger kinds of decisions that determine our character. You might think of these as four categories or four larger buckets that the specific items I just listed might be placed into. These are: Number one, the beliefs you cultivate. Number two, the habits you develop. Number three, the friendships you maintain. Number four, the content you consume. And I’ll actually give you a bonus item that I’d like to add to the list I found, and that is the thoughts you entertain. There’s a very real sense in which you’re the product of these five things. 

I’d also like to bring to your attention an observation from C. S. Lewis about the way in which both good habits and bad habits tend to snowball into either better things—in the case of good habits—or worse things—in the case of bad habits. Lewis writes, “Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of. An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible.”

You know, I debated whether to bring this up or not, but I believe many of us were quite shaken by the revelation a few months ago that Steve Lawson—a prominent preacher and seminary dean—was involved in an adulterous relationship with a young woman. And that should be something that’s very sobering for all of us—since the reality is that none of us are above something like that. As 1 Corinthians 10:12 says, “let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” None of us is above doing something similar to what Steve Lawson did. 

Yet I think it’s also helpful to recognize that Steve Lawson didn’t just spontaneously happen to fall into an adulterous relationship one day. Instead, that relationship was the product of hundreds of small decisions and small compromises that Dr. Lawson made over a lengthy period of time. It’s an example of the “compound interest” C. S. Lewis wrote about. Good things often snowball into better things, and bad things often snowball into worse things. So, what kinds of decisions are you making today? And are you prepared to reap what you sow from those decisions tomorrow? 

Yet, the reality, of course, is that we all fall short of the character God expects of us. In 1 Samuel 13, we read about Saul—under enormous pressure and in a desperate situation—making a tragic decision that ends up costing him the kingship. But how often do we make decisions under far less pressure—or even no pressure—that are sinful and displeasing to God? If we’re honest, we’d have to admit that we’ve all made those kinds of decisions—and have done so, let’s just say, on more than a few occasions. 

In fact, the Bible teaches that, in our natural condition, we’re actually in a state of rebellion against God continuously. Even if we’re not continuously sinning against God by our actions, we’re still operating in a state of rebellion against God in our hearts. And the ultimate result of our rebellion is even worse than what Saul experiences in losing the kingship. Our sinful rebellion alienates us from God and makes us deserving of suffering God’s punishment in hell for all eternity. 

Thankfully, though, God’s provided for us the rescue we so desperately needed. When we had no means by which to rescue ourselves, God the Father sent his own Son Jesus to be our Savior. Jesus came to this world as a man and lived a life of perfect obedience. Unlike Saul—who failed miserably during his time of testing—Jesus was tested by Satan for 40 days in the desert yet didn’t stray from the path of perfect righteousness in even the slightest way. 

Then, after living a perfectly righteous life, Jesus allowed himself to be crucified in order to pay not for any sins he had committed but for our sins. All the punishment our sins deserved was poured out on Jesus on the cross so it wouldn’t have to be poured out on us in hell. He suffered that punishment in our place—and then triumphantly rose from the dead so that he now stands ready to save everyone who will put their trust in him. That involves turning from our sins and putting our full confidence in Jesus alone to rescue us from our sins and give us the free gift of eternal life. 

So, even though Saul’s blunder in 1 Samuel 13 had lasting consequences for his life and kingship, the sins you’ve committed in the past—and actually even in the present—don’t have to define your future. Jesus offers a new future—and even an entirely new identity—to all who put their trust in him. 

It’s also important to understand that—even though our character is indeed, to a large extent, forged in our everyday lives and through our everyday decisions, as I said earlier—the ultimate source of godly character isn’t our efforts but rather God’s grace—imparted to us through the Holy Spirit. You see, true character is about a lot more than external conformity to God’s moral standards. Most fundamentally, it’s about being inwardly transformed by God’s grace and through his Spirit. 

So, even though we absolutely want to be mindful of all the everyday habits and decisions I mentioned earlier, it’s actually even more important and more foundational that we’re seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to draw from God’s grace imparted by the Spirit in our pursuit of godliness. The last thing we need is more Pharisees running around who give meticulous attention to the smallest details of life but who miss the heart of love for God and dependance on God’s grace that’s at the root of all true godliness. It’s ultimately God himself who provides and enables the righteous character he requires.