Jump Start # 262

1 Samuel 13:8-9 “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.”

  Saul is Israel’s first king. He has been anointed by Samuel, the prophet and presented to the people. He has already led Israel to battle against the Ammonites and was victorious. This chapter begins with Saul and his son, Jonathan, leading an attack on a Philistine fort. Israel’s army numbers 3,000 troops. The Philistines prepare a counter attack. They have 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and foot soldiers that equal the sand on the sea shore. When Israel sees what is coming against them they flee and hide.

  Our verse today is what happens right before the battle. Early on, from the days of Moses, and Joshua, Israel learned that it was not the size of the army that mattered. The Lord fought the battles for Israel. The leaders would petition God through prayers and sacrifices. They wanted God’s favor as they went off to war. This is what Saul is wanting to do. Samuel, the prophet and priest, is the one to offer sacrifices. Not Saul. Saul is not a priest. He is the king. These things matter to God. Saul waits. The storm clouds of war close it. No Samuel. The soldiers of Israel begin to scatter and flee, knowing that to stay would be certain death. Saul becomes impatient, so impatient, that he offers the sacrifice to God.

  Immediately, Samuel appears. He says, “What have you done?” (11). We see for the first time, Saul, using excuses and blaming the people to justify his disobedience. Saul’s punishment is that the kingdom would be taken away from him. God would look for another king to take his place. Today, we’d say, “He’s getting fired.” It will take several years for all this to come about, but this is the beginning of the end for Saul.

  Did you notice the great lessons here? Patience, we rightly say, is a virtue. Patience is more than just waiting, it is waiting on the inside. It is not giving up, getting upset or desperate. Saul ran out of patience. When that happens, like Saul, we find reasons to justify disobeying God. Samuel, and more so, God, may have been testing the new king. It’s easy to say, ‘I am a patient person,’ until you are put in the position of waiting. The most difficult is waiting on God. Prayers do not seem to be answered…you look for direction, but you don’t see any. We wait for help. Nothing comes. You seek to do right, but you have to make a decision. Fear, worry, the pressure from others forces you to take matters into your own hands. The easiest, the safest way appears to be the disobedient way. That’s the way Satan paints it. Bailing out of the marriage…walking away from debts that you owe…leaving things to others that you are responsible for…and we find ourselves, like King Saul, offering sacrifices to God, when we ought to have been patiently waiting for Him. Human reasoning always fails next to God.

  We sing, “In His time…” It’s not in my time, nor, when I want things done. How true all of this is, but how difficult when the storm clouds of war are closing in, people are counting on us, we are waiting and nothing is happening, and we are getting scared. We hear our conscience screaming within us, “DO SOMETHING.” And so we do. And often, it’s the wrong thing. There is never a right time, right reason, or right cause to disobey God. Never! The very idea of a test, whether in school, or medically or as in this case, spiritually, is to see. Teachers test to see what the student knows. Doctors test to see why you are not feeling well. And God tests to see if you really believe. Nobody likes tests, but if you are ready and prepared, you can handle them. It’s when we are unprepared that we worry.

  In His time…remember that. It will help you!

Roger