Saul’s Impatience
In chapters 9-11:15, we watch as Saul comes to power in three events:
A private anointing by Samuel
A public announcement by Samuel
The securing of Saul’s kingship through the military victory over Ammon
In chapters 9-11, Saul’s reign is established, but in chapters 13-15, Saul’s reign is dismissed.
We need to go back to 1 Samuel 11:15 to make sense of this chapter. There we find Saul, Samuel, and Israel in Gilgal where Samuel and Israel established the rule of Saul. There, Saul formed his army of 3,000 standing soldiers—2,000 would remain with him at Gilgal for seven days and eventually make their home at Michmash; 1,000 would go with Jonathan; and the rest would go home. Between 1 Samuel 11:13 and 1 Samuel 13 is Samuel’s speech, his final words (1 Samuel 12:24-25): “Worship Yahweh faithfully (spirit) and with all your heart (truth).” The promise was an enduring nation and reign of Saul.
This sets the background for a difficult-to-understand response of Samuel to Saul when he returned to Gilgal and discovered the nature of Saul’s worship.
Starting a Skirmish (1-7)
Once fully in power, Saul focused on Israel’s number one problem: the Philistines to the west.
The numbers have actually dropped out of the Hebrew manuscript so we do not know how old Saul was when he became king. The text actually reads that Saul was “years old” when he became king. Paul taught that Saul’s reign was for 30 years (Acts 13:21). The age and actual reign of Saul is purposely veiled in Scripture, I am sure, for several reasons (1).
At the beginning of his reign and as he was deciding to face the Philistine problem, Saul began to assemble a standing army. He chose 3,000 men—2,000 he put under his direct leadership at Michmash and 1,000 he gave to his son, Jonathan, who was stationed close to home at Gibeah; all others Saul sent home (2).
Jonathan got things going by attacking and defeating a garrison of Philistine troops at Geba, halfway between Gibeah and Michmash. Scripture does not indicate whether he was under the orders of his father or not. Saul blew the trumpet throughout Israel and called all the fighting-age men to assemble for war. Saul made his way to Gilgal.
By the time the trumpet to assemble an army had been blown, the Israelites had already heard that the Philistines considered Israel’s win no more than passing gas (3-4).
While the Israelites were assembling an army, the Philistines were doing likewise. They gathered 30,000 charioteers, 6,000 horsemen, and innumerable troops at Michmash, where Saul had intended to station his troops (5). Those Israelites who had gone to Michmash to prepare for the rest to make their way from Gilgal scrambled to take refuge in terrain they hoped would not be accessible to the charioteers. Some buried themselves in places they hoped the Philistines would not look and others took off for the land of Gad across the Jordan, while Saul waited at Gilgal surrounded by Israelites shaking with fear (6-7).
Waiting at Gilgal (8-18)
Samuel had commissioned Saul to wait seven days and give himself and the nation to worship until Samuel returned to Gilgal. At the end of seven days, Samuel told Saul he would give him military instructions from Yahweh. Instead of taking time to worship and letting Yahweh’s Spirit fill the nation with courage, Saul began forming and directing the army of Israel as was the king’s responsibility.
Meanwhile, the Philistines prepared for war as they watched Israel win a battle and give their allegiance to a king. Because Saul had not led the nation in worship, the troops and nation began to fill with fear and cowardice; the “spirit” that had been on them previously had evaporated, as had any heart to endure a season of worship. The newly-forming army was in the full exodus of desertion (8).
Saul became frustrated and decided to appease Yahweh with an offering, then get to fighting before it was too late and he was potentially captured and executed (9). An important verse to read is 1 Samuel 14:35 concerning the first altar Saul built. Saul offered a sacrifice on Samuel’s altar. It was not just a sacrifice offered to Yahweh because Saul sought God; Saul was using a position that was not his to gain the honor of the nation. He was not only not worshiping Yahweh, but he was seeking to deceive the nation by claiming he was not only a king but also a prophet. Essentially, Saul sought to promote himself spiritually in the eyes of the people, just like Ananias and Sapphira of Acts 5.
Samuel finally did show up, and in a show of honor, Saul went out to meet Samuel and greet him, likely relieved that the old prophet was there to confirm all of his good ideas and plans (10).
The old prophet asked Saul what he had done, and Saul countered with a series of excuses for not awaiting the direction and authority from Yahweh (11).
The troops were deserting.
Samuel was late.
The Philistines were within ten miles and ready to pounce.
Saul felt, before it was too late to offer a sacrifice, he should seek Yahweh’s favor.
Saul forced himself against his own will to do something he did not wish to do in offering the sacrifice (12).
Samuel ignored Saul’s excuses and went right into rebuke.
Saul had been a fool.
Saul had not fulfilled his most important function as Yahweh’s king: worshiping and waiting for Yahweh’s authority.
Saul’s kingdom would not endure past his own life.
Yahweh would seek out a king with a heart for worship who would wait for authorization because his love for Yahweh was greater than self-love.
Whoever Yahweh found, He would transfer authority to him to be His king and take it away from Saul (13-14).
As a side note, God promised the king would be from the tribe of Judah, so one wonders: how could Saul’s throne have been established permanently? It would be through the one who would become his son-in-law, David.
Samuel then went up from Gilgal, not remaining with Saul. He left Saul abandoned of his prophetic voice. Who knows what would have happened had Saul obeyed and Samuel gone with him.
Saul led the troops to Gibeah to meet the Israeli army, who had hidden themselves away. Once at Gibeah, he numbered his army—he had assembled 600 troops (15).
Saul then moved on to Geba, halfway between Gibeah, where the Philistines were still camped at Michmash. There he set up a defensive position (16).
The Philistines had sent out raiding parties to the north, south, and west, but Saul stayed at Gibeah, hoping his tiny army could defend his home territory of Benjamin (17-18).
Problems in Weaponry (19-22)
The Philistines had removed all the blacksmiths from Israel in order to prevent them from building any sizable war machine (19). When the Israelites needed their tools sharpened, they would go to Philistine territory and be charged an outrageous amount due to the Philistines’ having a monopoly on the blacksmith trade (20-21).
When the day of battle arrived, only Jonathan and Saul were outfitted with swords; the rest used clubs, slings, and makeshift weapons (22).
The Philistines Move (23)
Eventually, the Philistines made their move and went to the pass of Michmash, where they could more easily watch Saul’s movement (23).
The King's Integrity
Psalm 101 is a “Royal Psalm” and was one of three Psalms written by David in Book IV (86, 101, 103). It was likely written early in David's reign as his commitment to moral and ethical administration over his kingdom.
This Psalm is clearly divided into two parts:
David's ethics in his home (1-4)
David's ethics on his throne (5-8)
Purpose: This Psalm shows us how to pray when we have been promoted to a position of authority over others, requiring high levels of integrity in the administration of our duties.