1 Samuel 13

1. 1 Samuel 13 Old Testament Bible Studies Prophetess Delisa Lindsey True Love Church of Refuge February 17, 2010

2. 1 Samuel 13:1-3 • Saul reigned for one year as an innocent child, feeling his way through his new found occupation as King of Israel. Nothing spectacular happened during the first year of his reign. • The second year however, he decided to occupy the role of commander in chief and choose an army of 3,000 men. 2,000 of whom he trained in Michmash (hidden), and 1,000 of whom his son Jonathan trained in Gibeah (Saul’s hometown). • Apparently, he put great confidence and trust in these 3,000 men for he sent the others away to return home. Perhaps he considered the men he and his son trained were the only valiant men fit for a King’s army. Up until this time, any man of age was considered fit for military battle. Saul establishes Israel’s first professional army. • Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba and defeated them. The news spread quickly through the Philistine camp that the Israelites were revolting against them. Saul sounded a trumpet that all the Hebrews would hear that he and his army were at war with the Philistines.

3. 1 Samuel 13:4 • Saul used his own son to breach an obvious agreement the Israelites made with the Philistines. • All Israel heard the report that Saul struck the outpost at Geba and that the Philistines hated Israel the more. Saul took the credit for Jonathan’s exploits. • Israel lived in peace with the Philistines as long as they did not violate their boundaries (stayed in their place). Saul, eager to flex his military muscle, triggered Jonathan to initiate war with Israel’s enemies without Israel’s consent. • Because of this ‘betrayal’, the Philistines regarded Israel as an abomination, stench in their nostrils, trucebreakers, and dishonest. • Clearly, a dim-witted idea, Saul now realizes that he will need the entire army to fight against the Philistines. The entire Israeli army is now called to mobilize again to meet Saul in Gilgal.

4. A Fine Mess!Look at Saul’s first major decisions as King • His first active role as king was to form a professional army for Israel under his auspices. • His son, Jonathan, was considered second commander in charge. • He dismisses all the men who were not professionally trained. • He stirs Jonathan to provoke the enemies of Israel who had been at peace with them. • After he considers the vast Philistine army marching toward them for battle, he re-calls the former Israeli army to meet him in Gilgal. • He pairs professional marksmen with homemade soldiers and sends them to war at the risk of losing their lives for his name’s sake. • Long live the King!!!! This is what Israel chose.

5. Israel was had in abomination with the Philistines • As long as Israel behaved themselves as subjective and defeated, the Philistines considered them good neighbors. The moment they struck against them to defend themselves, they were considered an abomination. • Although the scriptures say that our enemies will be at peace with us, there will be times when you will need to strike your Philistine. • We don’t war in the natural, but in the Spirit. Our spiritual Philistines are those enemies who want us to remain in our little caves and behave ourselves. They don’t want us preaching Jesus on the jobs, schools, hospitals and as long as we comply, we become good neighbors, good employees, or good citizens. • As long as you remain weak and subjective, your enemies won’t mind befriending you, but the moment you stand and show boldness and do battle in the Lord’s name, they will consider you an abomination, or a threat.

6. 1 Samuel 13:5-7 • The Philistines gathered themselves for war with 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen and as many men as you could count sand on the sea. They came up and made camps in Michmash, Saul’s army base. They wanted to crush Israel like bread crumbs, never to rise again. • When the people in Israel saw that they were in danger, they hid themselves in caves, thickets, dens, tombs, and rocks. Some translations suggest that some buried themselves alive. • Some of the Hebrews fled their homes altogether. They crossed back over the Jordan and escaped to Gad and Gilead. • Saul, the king, remained at his home in Gilgal as the remaining his ‘loyal’ subjects surrounded him there, trembling with fear. • What happened to the king that they thought would solve their problems? Notice where they gathered…. Gilgal, the place where Samuel installed Saul as king according to their wishes. By the way, where is Samuel?

7. 1 Samuel 13:8 • Whenever there was a national crisis or a public congress, the appointed time for Saul to wait for Samuel to arrive to present an offering to the Lord and consult Him for direction was seven days. • Saul was hard pressed for time because the Philistine army was gathering against him and the people were terribly shaken and afraid. He was between a rock and a hard place and impatience began to set in. He needed an answer from God right now. Can you identify with that? • The order was set for Saul to wait for Samuel to give him the orders for battle. (Saul was king but who was really in charge?) • Samuel did not show up soon enough for Saul. Time was his enemy because his troops were losing confidence in him and started walking away.

8. 1 Samuel 13:9 • Perhaps Saul thought that since he was king he should be allowed to make offerings as well. Perhaps he thought Samuel would not come. Perhaps he thought it was acceptable with the Lord to ‘bend’ the rules slightly. (There is a way which seems right to a man but the ends thereof are the ways of death. –Prov. 14:12) • Saul was neither priest or prophet. It did not occur to him to send someone to inquire of Samuel’s whereabouts. • God may have allowed Saul to be among the prophets, but he was never considered among the priests. He clearly overstepped his boundaries as king. • He ordered the burnt offerings and the peace offerings brought to him and he offered them in Samuel’s place.

9. 1 Samuel 13:10 • The last hours before a breakthrough are usually the darkest and most intense. We are always tempted in our trial’s final hours. The church is in her final hours. The day is darkest just before dawn. • Just as soon as Saul completed the sacrifices, Samuel appeared on the scene. Saul, ignorant to the severity of his offense, runs to ‘bless’ Samuel. • The literal Hebrew in this sense for ‘greet’ is to ‘bless’ someone as a priest does when they present their offering unto the Lord. • Saul, in this instance, has completely usurped the sacred position of priest and tries to demonstrate how ‘spiritual’ he is that he can now ‘bless’ the prophet, Samuel. (I would have loved to see the expression on Samuel’s face!) Weeping endures for a night. Can you hold out for the joy that comes in the morning? How many stupid mistakes have we made in our dark hours?

10. 1 Samuel 13:11 • Samuel, probably smelling the sacrifices in the air, asked Saul what he had done? Samuel asked a rhetorical question which he already knew the answer to but he wanted a confession and repentance from Saul. • Instead of being apologetic, Saul defends his position: • 1. the people were losing confidence in me. They were scattering. • 2. Samuel, you took too long in coming to Gilgal. • 3. the Philistines were advancing toward us. They are already at Michmash. • He gave no sign of repentance at all. He justified his sins by placing the blame on everyone else. It’s their fault Samuel and yours too for not being here.

11. 1 Samuel 13:12-13 • Saul covered his disobedience in hypocrisy. “Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. “ • In other words he was saying, “ I would not dare go to war without praying to God first”. Samuel saw straight through his lies and revealed his heart. • “You have acted foolishly, Saul. You have not kept the commandments of the Lord which He commanded you.” • Saul’s kingdom would have been established forever had he not committed this folly. • A fool, biblically speaking is not someone who is unintelligent, but someone who is lacking spiritual understanding and morally unbalanced.

12. 1 Samuel 13:14 • God was going to raise Saul’s sons to reign in his stead. His sins and his folly shifted the throne from his descendants to another. Although Saul continues as king for another 20 years, the end of his kingdom has already been proclaimed. • Did God overreact? We could see Saul’s outward actions, but God saw his wicked heart and his rebellious mind. • God rejected Saul from being king but He did not reject Israel from being His people. He sought out a king who would be dear to His heart. • Saul was a man after Israel’s heart, David was not so. David ultimately sinned as king of Israel, however his heart and mind belonged completely to the Lord.

13. What were the differences between Saul and David • They both sinned, yet only David had a heart of repentance. • They both were militant, yet only David fought for the best interest of Israel, not himself. • They were both attractive, yet Saul attracted man and David attracted God. • They were both king of Israel, yet David had his eyes on God and Saul had his eyes on the people. • They were both solid like trees, yet David was like a tree root, settled and Saul like a tree branch, twisted. • They were both anointed by Samuel, yet Saul’s kingdom was rejected and David’s kingdom ultimately paved the way for the Messiah, Jesus the Christ, the kingdom without end. • They both died, Saul died dishonorably along with his son in battle, while David died peacefully, in bed, passing the crown to his son and love-child, Solomon.

14. 1 Samuel 13:15 • Samuel announced God’s judgment to Saul and departed. He did not pray with Saul, however his journey to Gibeah, could indicate his praying for Saul, which he promised, as he reached the school of the prophets. • Conditions may not favor you praying with someone, but nothing prohibits you from praying for someone. • Saul proceeds to number his army and finds he has but 600 men, a far cry from the 3,000 professional soldiers and the un-numbered men of Israel who were fit for war. Many of the men scattered when they failed to see Samuel present the offering before the Lord. • The Philistine army set their camp in Michmash, Saul’s former military training center. Men aught to always pray and not faint.

15. 1 Samuel 13:16 • It is evident here that when we abandon our post for something meaningless and trivial such as establishing a name for ourselves, our enemies will occupy the place we left behind. The very thing we take our eyes off in pursuit of foolishness, becomes a stronghold for the adversary. The Philistine army camped themselves in Michmash while Saul, Jonathan and the 600 remaining soldiers retreated to Gibeah, Saul’s hometown. • Why is it that we know to return home when all else is crumbling around us? • The Philistines took control of Michmash. They plundered the country and took the provisions Saul set for his army for themselves. • Because of Saul’s disobedience and rebellion, the enemy was afforded the opportunity to live off of his inheritance.

16. 1 Samuel 13:17-18 • Michmash was strategically located. The Philistine army was able to separate into three factions to terrorize the country by looting and vandalism. • The Philistines enriched themselves while raping the country of Israel of its goods. • One section departed through Orpah, another through Shual, and another through Bethhoron. The Spoilers were loosed similar to the Devouring spirits which eats up the provisions of the disobedient children of God. • Another company of bandits were loosed through Zeboim toward the wilderness. Sin has a rough penalty attached to it, doesn’t it?

17. 1 Samuel 13:19-21 • To render the Israelites militarily impotent, the Philistines closed down all the blacksmith shops to cripple their ability to make weapons for war made of iron or brass. • Saul and Jonathan had weapons but the remainder of Israel only had slings and clubs. • Although Israel had rich mines of iron ore, their oppressors forbade them to manufacture weapons. Whenever Israel needed tools of iron or brass for farming, or needed them sharpened they had to purchase them from the Philistines at a significant profit. • (The schedule of charges was as follows: a quarter of an ounce of silver* for sharpening a plowshare or a pick, and an eighth of an ounce* for sharpening an ax, a sickle, or an ox goad.) * Hebrew 1 pim [8 grams].* Hebrew 1/3 of a shekel [4 grams].(NLT)

18. What are the implications that no one in Israel owned a weapon? • Why did it not occur to Saul to equip his professional soldiers with weapons of warfare? • What is an army without weapons except a battle of the flesh? Saul was in the flesh. • How could a king send his nation to war without artillery? • Under Samuel’s administration there were no weapons either, however Samuel did not invade enemy territory. The country was at peace under Samuel. • Samuel did not need carnal or natural weapons of war, he fought in the spirit with the Lord sending ambushes of thunder and lightening on his behalf. • Sin brought Saul and his followers to shame.

19. 1 Samuel 13:22-23 • On the day of battle, there was neither sword nor spear among any of Saul’s army. Only Saul and Jonathan were armed. • Only the royal family were equipped with natural weapons, but the spiritual family are always equipped. • Saul is facing insurmountable odds, facing the Philistine army with only 600 unarmed men. • It’s time to learn to trust God, even in the midst of our stupidity, God is still faithful. • This chapter ends with the Philistine army advancing through Michmash.