1 Samuel 13:4-23
When the people heard that the garrisons of the Philistines had been smitten, and that the Philistines were stirred up against them, they came together to Saul at Gilgal. In the meantime the Philistines gathered together a great army of thirty thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand of the sea, and came up against Israel to attack them. When the men of Israel saw this great army, many of them hid in caves, and any other hiding place they could find; others went over Jordan to escape, while some remained with Saul at Gilgal, trembling.
Saul waited at Gilgal seven days, as Samuel had told him previously, but when Samuel did not come on the seventh day, and the people began to be scattered from him, he called for a burnt offering and peace offerings. Samuel had told him that he himself would offer these sacrifices; for, as we have remarked before, he was the link between God and the people, but Saul became impatient and forced himself and offered the sacrifices himself. As soon as he had finished offering them, Samuel appeared, and Saul went out to meet him. Samuel asked him, “What hast thou done?”
Saul began to explain how he had waited, but when he saw that the people were being scattered, and that the Philistines gathered at Michmash, he felt he could not wait any longer, so he had offered the sacrifice himself. Unbelief is always impatient, and always has many excuses to offer. It can never wait God’s time, and knows nothing of simple, unquestioning obedience to Him. It only seeks the Lord in trouble, and then is always impatient to receive immediate deliverance. How definitely this was seen in Saul, the natural man.
Samuel told Saul he had done foolishly, and that now his kingdom would not continue, but the Lord would give it to a man after His own heart. Saul’s fine appearance and great stature were a poor substitute for the faith in God which alone could enable him to lead the people in time of difficulty. The flesh always breaks down when tested. Samuel then left Gilgal, for the place meant little or nothing if there was no self-judgment there. Places and ceremonies are empty indeed when God and His Word are forgotten or set aside. May we never forget this!
The Philistines then began to send out their spoilers into the land of Israel. The poor Israelites were in a sad plight at this time, for there was not a smith throughout the whole land, and as a result no one had a sword or a spear among the people except Saul and Jonathan. They had taken the easy course and had gone down to the Philistines to have their instruments sharpened, forgetting entirely the need of armor. What a picture this is of the assembly today—too often content to compromise the truth rather than do anything that excites reproach or persecution from those around. Just as this course left Israel without any armor in their time of need, and utterly unable to defend the land the Lord had given them, so when we choose the easy path, rather than obedience, we soon find ourselves unable to take a stand for the truth, even when we would like to do so. How much we see of this today. We feel there is a solemn warning here to us all. Let us all, young and old, value the truth of God and NEVER compromise it.
ML 07/18/1954