All Fail The King (1 Samuel 13:1-22)

In 1698, Scotland was in bad shape. The Nine Years War had reached her shores. The country had the coldest decade in 750 years.^[1] A man named William Paterson had a bold plan: Scotland should establish a colony on the Isthmus of Darien – what we now know as Panama. They would become the world’s greatest trading outpost, sending a continual stream of prosperity home.

At first, the cost would be shared, 50% paid by the Scots, 50% by the English and Dutch. But at the last minute, Holland and England withdrew support, leaving the whole investment to Scotland.^[2]

The people rallied. Every Scot with £5 to spare invested. In fact, they piled up about half of the nation’s available cash to fund the scheme. If America did that today it would be about $1.2 trillion. Thousands of Scots not only contributed, but volunteered to go with Paterson.

A fleet of ships set sail on “a great wave of emotion.”^[3] So, why is it called Panama and not New Scotland? Poor leadership was a big factor. Paterson had never been to the Isthmus of Darien. The plan that began with such promise and optimism soon took a deadly turn.

The first task the colonists had when they arrived was to dig graves for those who already died. Eight months after that, only a third of the travelers were still around. From the beginning they faced disease, desertion, attacks from hostile Spaniards who wanted the land for themselves.

News traveled slow. Too slow. Before word reached Scotland that the settlers abandoned the colony a second fleet with another 1,300 citizens set out. Then a third. In the end, 16 ships were sent. One returned. Over 2,000 lives were lost and the whole nation was nearly bankrupt.

1 Samuel 13 is the story of a nation in trouble. They’ve been in trouble for some time, so they made a plan – the plan we’ve been talking about for five chapters now. They decide not on a new colony, but a new constitution. A new king. That, they’re convinced, with usher them into a new era of safety and prosperity. And they’re all in. They’ve invested. The people volunteer to serve Saul.

In chapter 11 we saw some initial success. But by the end of our text we will see a total collapse of the military, of the economy, and their national sovereignty. Why did this happen? It’s not because their enemies were so strong. In this book we’ve seen the Philistines destroyed. We’ve seen the Ammonites destroyed. And yet, by verse 22 Israel will be in the most desperate position it’s been in in centuries. Why? Because her king would not obey God. Because the king made his own plans. And he becomes a living demonstration of the spiritual principle told to us in Proverbs:

Proverbs 16:2 – ² All a person’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs motives.

So, let’s look at this text and see how essential and how consequential obedience is to our faith.

1 Samuel 13:1-2 – ¹ Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty-two years over Israel. ² He chose three thousand men from Israel for himself: two thousand were with Saul at Michmash and in Bethel’s hill country, and one thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. He sent the rest of the troops away, each to his own tent.

Your version may say something very different with the numbers in verse 1. It depends on which manuscripts the translation relies on. Paul later says Saul reigned 40 years – he’s using a round number.^[4] Josephus says the same thing.^[5]

We’ve got another time jump between chapters 12 and 13. The author does this sometimes. We’ve already seen jumps of 20 years. Here it’s somewhere between 2 and 10 years.^[6] After the victory over Nahash, Saul drafted a standing army of 3,000 men and sent the other 99% home.

Two important things happen here: First, we are introduced to Jonathan. I think Jonathan is one of the most under-appreciated Bible characters and I’m very excited to study more about him. Second, we see that Saul sends Jonathan to Gibeah. Why is that significant? Well, Gibeah was Saul’s hometown and the de facto capital at the time. We also know it had a Philistine garrison. So, Saul leaves the capital and makes his son responsible to protect it from current occupiers with half as many men. But you know what? Jonathan is always up to the task.

1 Samuel 13:3-4 – ³ Jonathan attacked the Philistine garrison, in Gibeah, and the Philistines heard about it. So Saul blew the trumpet throughout the land saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” ⁴ And all Israel heard the news, “Saul has attacked the Philistine garrison, and Israel is now repulsive to the Philistines.” Then the troops were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.

The Hebrew word for “garrison” might mean the governor.^[7] That seems likely, given the Philistine buildup throughout this section.

In many ways Jonathan serves as a type of Jesus Christ. In no way am I suggesting that Saul then is a type of God the Father. But Jonathan is a valiant, humble, fearless prince who is always ready to save and serve, and will ultimately lay down his life to save the guilty because of his hesed love.

He’s just been introduced for the first time and already he takes immediate, offensive initiative. His name means “Yahweh has given,”^[8] and what God gives through Jonathan is victory.

What does Saul do? He hadn’t done any defending yet, but he blows the horn and gets the credit. Jonathan doesn’t complain. He’s not in it for personal glory. Saul, on the other hand, will become very adept at making headlines and less at making any meaningful headway.

Israel had been expecting war with the Philistines for a long time. Now is the moment. They rally to Saul. But instead of facing the enemy head on, he goes to Gilgal. In other words, he retreats to the far east of the nation, even though the Philistines are occupying deep into the heartland. Gilgal is isolated and the Philistines were very unlikely to attack them there.^[9]

Now, perhaps it wasn’t fear, but that Saul realized this was the moment Samuel had told him about so long ago. In chapter 10, Saul was told there would come a time where he must go to Gilgal, wait seven days, then Samuel would meet him there, offer sacrifices, and then show him what to do.

1 Samuel 13:5 – ⁵ The Philistines also gathered to fight against Israel: three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Michmash, east of Beth-aven.

The first Scottish ships landed in Darien in November of 1698. In April of 1700, they lost their courage and abandoned their fort to the Spanish.

So far, Saul’s leadership hasn’t led to victory. He’s lost the place he was previously fortifying – Mishmash. Now, again, perhaps he was willing to lose that position in order to do what Samuel told him. But it would seem the judge spirit he had in the fight with Nahash was gone.

The Philistine force was overwhelming. Everyone feared their chariots.^[10] God’s people are fantastically outgunned. And the odds made most of the troops so scared they deserted.

1 Samuel 13:6-7 – ⁶ The men of Israel saw that they were in trouble because the troops were in a difficult situation. They hid in caves, in thickets, among rocks, and in holes and cisterns. ⁷ Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul, however, was still at Gilgal, and all his troops were gripped with fear.

The situation keeps getting worse. They lost their main camp (Michmash), they’re losing soldiers, and those who remained have lost heart. They are in trouble.

What do we do when we’re in trouble? The first thing a Christian must do is remember this eternal truth: God is our Refuge and Strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.^[11] We’ll see that Jonathan understood that. He was never concerned about numbers. He’ll say, “Nothing can keep the Lord by saving, whether by many or by few.”

Yet many Israelites were not only retreating, they were retreating out of the Promised Land altogether, and we’ll find that some even defected to the Philistines.

1 Samuel 13:8-9 – ⁸ He waited seven days for the appointed time that Samuel had set, but Samuel didn’t come to Gilgal, and the troops were deserting him. ⁹ So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” Then he offered the burnt offering.

An offering like this was necessary before God’s people went into battle. After all, the Lord only authorized holy war. Rather, He would only be with them if He sent them into battle.

Saul does the ritual, not because he actually expects to hear from God but because the people needed to see it to feel better about what was happening. It’s to manipulate their emotions.

The leaders of the colony at Darien didn’t want to lose investors, so they sent letters home that gave the false impression things were going well. In reality they were burying 10 settlers a day.^[12]

1 Samuel 13:10-12 – ¹⁰ Just as he finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived. So Saul went out to greet him, ¹¹ and Samuel asked, “What have you done?” Saul answered, “When I saw that the troops were deserting me and you didn’t come within the appointed days and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash, ¹² I thought, ‘The Philistines will now descend on me at Gilgal, and I haven’t sought the LORD’s favor.’ So I forced myself to offer the burnt offering.”

When we’re caught in sin, we’re great at blame shifting, aren’t we? “The woman you gave me…” “I put the gold in the fire and this calf came out!”

Saul puts the blame on three others: The Philistines, the people, and Samuel himself. Linguists note he uses a very emphatic term when he says, “you didn’t come on time.”^[13]

One of the most important lessons we need to learn from Saul’s story is that to obey is better than sacrifice. He said, “I’ll seek the Lord’s favor by not doing what the Lord commanded.”

Friends, we cannot please God through disobedience. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commands.”^[14] If you’re a Christian, you know the commands of Jesus. Are we obeying? Now, if you’re a brand new Christian, maybe you don’t know everything God has commanded you. That’s ok. Learn what He’s commanded by studying His word. But we know the command to repent, to believe, to the love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. To love our neighbors as ourselves. We will not do these things perfectly, but are we obeying?

If you want God’s favor in your life, you must obey. James says that if we look into the word and do what it says we will be blessed.^[15] It’s when we go our own way that life starts to collapse. And it does no good to try to rationalize our disobedience. “I forced myself to disobey…” Instead, we need to walk in repentance which will then lead us to truth and help us escape spiritual traps.^[16]

1 Samuel 13:13-14 – ¹³ Samuel said to Saul, “You have been foolish. You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you. It was at this time that the LORD would have permanently established your reign over Israel, ¹⁴ but now your reign will not endure. The LORD has found a man after his own heart, and the LORD has appointed him as ruler over his people, because you have not done what the LORD commanded.”

The problem was not that Saul offered sacrifices. It’s that he’s specifically bypassing both the prophetic word he already received and he’s bypassing the whole office of prophet. Remember, God established that the office of prophet so that the king would know what God wanted. But Saul says, “I’ve got my own plan.” He does spirituality his own way rather than by the word of God.

The result is a dramatic discipline from God. Now, God is not petty. And it’s not just that Saul made one mistake and that’s it. God knows the heart. Saul’s hardened unwillingness to obey will be revealed as his story unfolds. But this situation reminds us of a very important truth: Your choices matter. Your spiritual choices matter.

If I say I love God but do not obey Him, I should expect negative consequences. I should expect discipline and the loss of spiritual fruit, and ultimately that God will stop using me for His work until I repent and obey Him. Listen to what Paul says in Titus 1:

Titus 1:16 – [There are those who] claim to know God, but they deny Him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.

Saul acted foolishly. The term means, “to act foolishly in self-reliance.”^[17] When we try to live life on our own, apart from God’s leading and boundaries, it is foolish. It’s like building a house on sand. When we rely on Him in obedience and faith, it is like building a house upon the Rock.

1 Samuel 13:15 – ¹⁵ Then Samuel went from Gilgal to Gibeah in Benjamin. Saul registered the troops who were with him, about six hundred men.

Saul is great at counting. But where is the leading? Where is the victory? Where is the power? Without the Lord, without the word of the Lord, he’s got nothing.

The rest of our verses describe the state of things for Israel. It’s worse than one looming battle.

1 Samuel 13:16-22 – ¹⁶ Saul, his son Jonathan, and the troops who were with them were staying in Geba of Benjamin, and the Philistines were camped at Michmash. ¹⁷ Raiding parties went out from the Philistine camp in three divisions. One division headed toward the Ophrah road leading to the land of Shual. ¹⁸ The next division headed toward the Beth-horon road, and the last division headed down the border road that looks out over the Zeboim Valley toward the wilderness. ¹⁹ No blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel because the Philistines had said, “Otherwise, the Hebrews will make swords or spears.” ²⁰ So all the Israelites went to the Philistines to sharpen their plows, mattocks, axes, and sickles. ²¹ The price was two-thirds of a shekel for plows and mattocks, and one-third of a shekel for pitchforks and axes, and for putting a point on a cattle prod. ²² So on the day of battle not a sword or spear could be found in the hand of any of the troops who were with Saul and Jonathan; only Saul and his son Jonathan had weapons.

After the Dairen disaster, Scotland lost her national sovereignty. Things were so bad that by 1707 they had to fully unify with England.

The Philistines could now do whatever they wanted. They locked Israel down militarily and economically. They’ve sealed Saul off so he can’t move troops out and no other troops can come to him.^[18] They’ve parked their army just a few miles from where he is, and he’s absolutely powerless.

Meanwhile, the Philistines regularly send out parties of destroyers through the land.^[19] They’ve outlawed blacksmiths, so Israel is becoming impoverished by the fees the Philistines charged to get their tools in working condition. Two thirds of a shekel to get your plow ready for planting. A shekel was the average monthly income.^[20]

How could they have no weapons yet still be an army? They had no iron weapons. Meaning they’d be fighting with things like clubs, ox goads, and slings. Not much compared to chariots.

Now that Saul is really, finally king how were things in Israel? Depleted, defenseless, despair. But even still there were hints of God’s grace. Reminders of His hesed love. One, Jonathan. Yahweh has given. Two, the Philistines should have been able to just wipe Israel out. Why didn’t they? God would not allow His people to be destroyed. Three, a new king was coming. One who would follow the Lord to victory, to provision, to fruitfulness, to Godliness, which would bless the nation.

God wanted Israel to enjoy the Promised Land. He wanted peace for them, growth for them, victory, and rejoicing. But when we go our own way we will not end up at those destinations. Again and again the Lord says, “Let Me lead you. It requires faith. It requires obedience. But if you’ll listen and obey, then I can do more for you than you could ever ask or imagine.”

Proverbs 16:3 – ³ Commit your activities to the LORD, and your plans will be established.