The bottom line, Saul has been King for years and he now has a standing army and his son is also coming into focus as well

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1 Stupid Is As Stupid Does November Saul and the Perils of Doing It My Way 1 Samuel 13:1 14:23 Page 1 Saul is King He has assumed power through the Lord and the actions of the Lord in dealing with the Ammonites at Jabesh-Gilead The Lord has defeated the serpent (Nahash) and sent the Ammonites packing By the way, Ammon is a type of the Genesis 19:36 38 Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. The firstborn bore a son, and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. As for the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the sons of Ammon to this day. Now we begin to get some additional detail about Saul and his consolidation of power within the land Saul s home was located in the land For the Philistines to be able to control all of Israel, they would need to control the road Gibeah is on as well as Gibeah itself If you want to remove the Philistine threat from the land, the area around Gibeah is a great place to start 1 Samuel 13:1 2 Saul was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty two years over Israel. 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. Not all versions will reflect the age of Saul The Masoretic text says he was one year old, this is probably due to the way he came to power which is very different than the way most kings are born into power Some manuscripts of the Septuagint version do not have verse one at all 1 Kingdoms 13:2 And Saul chose for himself three thousand men from the men of Israel. There were also two thousand with Saul at Michmash. And in the mountainous region of Bethel, there were one thousand with Jonathan at Geba of Benjamin. And as for the rest of the people, Saul sent them away, each to his own tent. (LES) 30 is supplied in the first place by some MSS. of the Sept., and is a plausible conjecture. A. F. Kirkpatrick, The First Book of Samuel, with Map, Notes and Introduction, The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1896), 123. The bottom line, Saul has been King for years and he now has a standing army and his son is also coming into focus as well We find out that of the 300,000 who showed up to battle Ammon, only 3,000 were chosen for the standing army Saul took 2,000 with him and he left 1,000 with his son Jonathan So the two armies are about 15 miles apart This will capture the attention of the Philistines who do not want Israel to have any power at all

2 Page 2 1 Samuel 13:3 4 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. 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. Halfway between Michmash and Gibeah is the garrison at Geba It was who took the initiative and attacked, not the King We begin to see a bit of the true character of Saul Two years into his reign, takes the initiative and obtains the victory over the Philistine garrison, declaring war on Philistia Who takes the credit though? What is the reaction to this declaration? 1 Samuel 13:5 7 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. 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. 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. Between Saul and Jonathan 3,000 troops Philistines 30,000 chariots (armor) 6,000 cavalry Huge army (sand of the seashore) Net result Saul all the way to the Jordan River at Gilgal, just east of Jericho Some of the Nation keeps moving east and crosses Others Some of Saul s army as well as the people are hiding in caves They did this before when Midian attacked in Judges 6 This will also be done yet in the future in Revelation 6:15 So, as we look at the situation. Saul and his army is on the Jordan River The Philistines are amassed around Michmash Israel is badly outnumbered Saul has been told to wait on Samuel Remember, Saul had some instructions which he had not yet acted on. 1 Samuel 10:7 It shall be when these signs come to you, do for yourself what the occasion requires, for God is with you. Remember that Saul was to take out the garrison when the Holy Spirit first came upon him, he do that His son took care of that for him

3 Page 3 The second instruction involved him going to Gilgal once that took place and to wait on Samuel who would be there in seven days This is now why Saul has gone to Gilgal, he is following instructions, and it is that forced the issue The people are in fear Some tactical information: Gilgal 800 feet below sea level Michmash About 3000 feet above sea level While waiting, the 3,000 dwindled down to only 600. Saul was and would not wait on Samuel nor would he follow the instructions he was given He decided to take the matter into his own hands and decided to do worship rather than God s way 1 Samuel 13:8 10 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. So Saul said, Bring to me the burnt offering and the peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. As soon as he finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him and to greet him. In Israel who is authorized to perform work of a priest? What tribe is Saul from? Is Saul authorized? Saul did not about it or seek the, he made an executive decision that would have serious consequences as he had decided to do it his way, not God s way We have the same challenge, and the Lord has made provision for us. James 1:2 5 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. Notice just when Samuel shows up, at the very moment Saul is done When does God show up? Many times right after we decided that our decision is much better than whatever He would want Genesis 3:6 8 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. We will find out that once again, someone caught in the act of sin, has an 1 Samuel 13:11 12 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, 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.

4 Page 4 Saul did, although he was given the opportunity He decides to go the route of most, explain why even though there is no explanation that will work His reasoning: My army was shrinking and I have to have them to win You didn t when I expected you to The and overwhelming The enemy knows where I am and will engage me personally I forced myself to do this At no point did he say he prayed over this He sought the Lord He had put this action off for He forgot how the Lord resolved the situation involving Ammon He forgot his God really is When do we feel defeated? We forget over the situation We make decisions to the Lord about them We assume we can when we have left God out of all of the plans The enemy is large and overwhelming The enemy appears to be attacking me personally how big my God really is and focus on my situation rather than on Him Proverbs 3:5 7 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil. Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Matthew 6:25 34 For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, What will we eat? or What will we drink? or What will we wear for clothing? For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. So now that we have heard from Saul and found out that he lacks integrity among other things, what is the Prophet Samuel going to say? 1 Samuel 13:13 15 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. 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. Then Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, about six hundred men.

5 Page 5 Saul s punishment may appear excessively severe at first. However the king of Israel was the Lord s lieutenant. Any disobedience to his Commander-in-Chief was an act of insubordination that threatened the whole administrative organization of God s kingdom on earth. Saul failed to perceive his place and responsibility under God. He assumed more authority than was his. For this reason God would not establish a dynasty for him. Tom Constable, Tom Constable s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), 1 Sa 13:1. Saul tried to do it his way, and not only did he lose a, he also lost much in the present to include his troops, who now number only 600 Revelation 21:3 4 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. Why tears? Could it be over the we may have had yet stopped due to our own stubbornness? Could it be seeing what we could have done for the Lord if we had only listened to Him and not done things our own way? Could it be because much of what we thought was true service to Him was simply wood hay and stubble? 1 Corinthians 3:12 15 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man s work. If any man s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. 1 Samuel 13:16 18 Now Saul and his son Jonathan and the people who were present with them were staying in Geba of Benjamin while the Philistines camped at Michmash. And the raiders came from the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual, and another company turned toward Beth-horon, and another company turned toward the border which overlooks the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness. Meanwhile, back at the war, we find out that the Philistines have divided into three raiding parties and are basically throughout the nation. Basically, because of the of Saul, we have the makings of a military disaster going on in just the second year of his reign as King Now we also find out another reason why the Philistines were so powerful, they ensured that they had the weapons and Israel did not 1 Samuel 13:19 23 Now no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears. So all Israel went down to the Philistines, each to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, and his hoe. The charge was two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to fix the hoes. So it came about on the day of battle that neither sword nor spear was found in the hands of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan, but they were found with Saul and his son Jonathan. And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.

6 Page 6 The only ones with weapons in Israel, were Saul and his son Jonathan. No one else was armed. What was left of the army Saul had was with him and camped in Geba The Philistines were a few miles away in Michmash And we find that they are working to control the roads in and out by moving to the pass and to cut off Saul and his small force As you can see, Saul and his forces could all of the movements of the Philistines, and do nothing about it So we now have the scene set for Chapter 14 1 Samuel 14:1 3 Now the day came that Jonathan, the son of Saul, said to the young man who was carrying his armor, Come and let us cross over to the Philistines garrison that is on the other side. But he did not tell his father. Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree which is in Migron. And the people who were with him were about six hundred men, and Ahijah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of the LORD at Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. We do not know how long Jonathan sat and watched what was going on. His dad is not taking any action even though we see he now has obtained the services of a Priest who was acting in the role of the High Priest. So what it is that Jonathan is thinking of doing? Whatever he is contemplating is at the least, that he did not want anyone else to know 1 Samuel 14:4 5 Between the passes by which Jonathan sought to cross over to the Philistines garrison, there was a sharp crag on the one side and a sharp crag on the other side, and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. The one crag rose on the north opposite Michmash, and the other on the south opposite Geba. On each side of this pass reportedly stood two rock columns nicknamed Bozez ( slippery?) and Seneh ( tooth?), cf. 1 Sam 14:4 5; these probably correspond to rock formations currently found in the wadi nearly 650 feet (200 m) below and 1.6 miles (1 km) SE of Mukhmas (Arnold 1992: 814). Apparently Jonathan s strategy was to take his men through a narrow pass. Here, with the few weapons they had to fight with, Jonathan s army had a distinct advantage. J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary, electronic ed., vol. 2 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997), Samuel 14:6 15 Then Jonathan said to the young man who was carrying his armor, Come and let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; perhaps the LORD will work for us, for the LORD is not restrained to save by many or by few. His armor bearer said to him, Do all that is in your heart; turn yourself, and here I am with you according to your desire. Then Jonathan said, Behold, we will cross over to the men and reveal ourselves to them. If they say to us, Wait until we come to you ; then we will stand in our place and not go up to them. But if they say, Come up to us, then we will go up, for the LORD has given them into our hands; and this shall be the sign to us. When both of them revealed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines, the Philistines said, Behold, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves. So the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor bearer and said, Come up to us and we will tell you something. And Jonathan said to his armor bearer, Come up after me, for the LORD has given them into the hands of Israel. Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor bearer behind him; and they fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer put some to death after him. That first slaughter which Jonathan and his armor bearer made was about twenty men within about half a furrow in an acre of land. And there was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even the garrison and the raiders trembled, and the earth quaked so that it became a great trembling.

7 Page 7 Unlike Dad, who is hiding out with his 600 troops, Jonathan has decided to and see what God would do on his behalf When the Philistines dared him to come up, then he took that as a sign that God was with him These two young men climbed up and took the Philistine garrison At about the same moment, God moved and caused an earthquake to occur The garrison is defeated by these two men, and the result among the Philistine forces was They began to fight each other Some of the mercenaries they had hired obviously decided to change sides 1 Samuel 14:16 23 Now Saul s watchmen in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude melted away; and they went here and there. Saul said to the people who were with him, Number now and see who has gone from us. And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there. Then Saul said to Ahijah, Bring the ark of God here. For the ark of God was at that time with the sons of Israel. While Saul talked to the priest, the commotion in the camp of the Philistines continued and increased; so Saul said to the priest, Withdraw your hand. Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and came to the battle; and behold, every man s sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion. Now the Hebrews who were with the Philistines previously, who went up with them all around in the camp, even they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. When all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines had fled, even they also pursued them closely in the battle. So the LORD delivered Israel that day, and the battle spread beyond Beth-aven. Jonathan and his armor bearer have managed to put the entire Philistine army into a panic The army is retreating as quickly as they can Saul has of what is going on He does not know why the army is running away, and he has no idea where his son is So he falls back on using the Ark, just like some have used it in the past, as a talisman But even that falls away when he realizes he has to do something Those who had scattered earlier, in fear of the Philistines, returned now to join the victorious battle. Saul, of course, had nothing to do with all this. The narrator tells us plainly what really happened: So the LORD saved Israel that day John Woodhouse, 1 Samuel: Looking for a Leader, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008), 246. What Jonathan knew could happen, Once again Israel is saved by a few It is clear that is the one doing this Jonathan obviously remembered the words of Joshua Joshua 23:10 11 One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the LORD your God is He who fights for you, just as He promised you. So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the LORD your God. Finally, we see someone who is acting like a king, but he isn t. He is operating in faith and allowing the Lord to guide him in what he does. Past teachings, study notes and slides of Through the Bible with Pastor Ken Brown are available at:

King Saul Offers a Sacrifice

King Saul Offers a Sacrifice 1 Samuel 13 1 Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty- two years. 2 Saul chose three thousand men from Israel; two thousand were with him at Micmash and in the hill