1 Samuel 13:1-23 - God Wants a Man After His Own Heart

1 Samuel 13:1-23

Saul’s Unlawful Sacrifice

1 Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, 2 Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the mountains of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent away, every man to his tent.

3 And Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” 4 Now all Israel heard it said that Saul had attacked a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel had also become an abomination to the Philistines. And the people were called together to Saul at Gilgal.

5 Then the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth Aven. 6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in danger (for the people were distressed), then the people hid in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in holes, and in pits. 7 And some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead.

As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. 8 Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him.

11 And Samuel said, “What have you done?”

Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, 12 then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”

13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done 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. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”

15 Then Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people present with him, about six hundred men.

No Weapons for the Army

16 Saul, Jonathan his son, and the people present with them remained in Gibeah of Benjamin. But the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 17 Then raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned onto the road to Ophrah, to the land of Shual, 18 another company turned to the road to Beth Horon, and another company turned to the road of the border that overlooks the Valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.

19 Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears.” 20 But all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen each man’s plowshare, his mattock, his ax, and his sickle; 21 and the charge for a sharpening was a pim for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to set the points of the goads. 22 So it came about, on the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. But they were found with Saul and Jonathan his son.

23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.

God wants a man or woman with absolute devotion and desire to wholeheartedly and willingly follow Him in all things as the purposeful direction of his or her life.  Unfortunately, Saul turned out not to be that man.   He began well enough in battling the Philistines enemy of Israel, but made the critical error of stepping outside of the word and will of God in offering sacrifices that only a priest could do at that time.  God immediately intervened by sending Samuel to arrive just as the final sacrifice still sat smoldering on the altar.  Samuel asked him what in the world Saul had done in stepping outside the will and commandment of the LORD to do such a thing.  Instead of a penitent response, Saul attempted to justify his foolish act to intervene as only a priest was permitted then to do.  He failed to keep God’s word and suffered the consequence of the end to his rule and kingdom.  Samuel reminded the failed king that the King of kings who once commanded Saul to be the commander of His people lost that right because he was not the man after God’s own heart that He sought to lead them.  Defeat would slowly increase against Israel because of his disobedience and arrogant assumption of his authority divulged from the divine.  This was seen in the lack of weapons allowed by the Philistines who ruled the land then and kept blacksmiths from practicing among God’s children in an attempt to restrict their ability to fight.  We find later in Acts 13:22 that king David who would succeed Saul was the kind of man after God’s own heart who would do all His will, at least as the direction of his life and efforts if not in a complete exercise in every way to do that will according to the word of God.  We likewise are called to set our hearts like flints (Isaiah 50:7) with His help and enabling in the direction of pleasing the Lord as far as is possible (Romans 12:18, Ephesians 4:13, 4:22, 23-24, 5:15-17, 1 Peter 3:11-12) for sinful but redeemed people such as us to do.  God still seeks men and women after His own heart who are devoted to keep His word as well-pleasing (Ephesians 5:10, Hebrews 13:21, 1 Thessalonians 4:1, 2 Corinthians 5:9-10) children who set their feet in a wholehearted direction of obedience with willing faces set like flints with solid and unbreakable determination to follow Him in all things as the purposeful forward direction of their lives.  Remember that David was such a man after His heart whose Seed, the Messiah, arose from by promise to deliver us from the wrath of God on our sin.  May we then follow in that same pattern of willful and obedient devotion with the gospel of reconciling grace in lives seeking repentance to honor and please Him (Hebrews 11:6) who called us to live faithfully and not offer our own sacrifices in place of His own and only authorized one who is our great High Priest.  He sacrificed Himself to please the Father; we cannot substitute our own sacrifices to earn salvation or we risk repeating the error of foolish king Saul.