Theme: When we attempt to do God’s work in our own way we inevitably make a mess of it.

Last week, we studied chapter 11 and saw how Saul was a great leader in Israel as long as he remained under the control of the Holy Spirit. We also noted that times of trial and testing should not be times of division, but they should be times in which we draw closer together and are united in our faith.

In chapter 13 we have record of the dire situation Israel found herself in just 2 years after Saul had been made king.

  • Israel was being severely oppressed by the Philistines and Saul was powerless to help.
  • Instead of waiting on God, Saul attempted to accomplish God’s work in his own strength and ended up losing the kingdom.

Saul Aggravated the Philistines (Vs 1-7)

  1. After the threat from the Ammonites, the kingdom had been established under Saul.
    • At the opening of the chapter, we find ourselves two years on from the defeat of the Ammonites who had attacked Jabesh-Gilead. Because Saul had been Spirit led in his battle with the ammonites, God had given Israel the victory over here enemies.
    • Saul now had a fulltime army of 3,000 men and a larger force in reserve.
  2. We are told that two thousand men were with Saul in Michmash and another one thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah, which was Saul’s home.
  3. Saul had angered the Philistines (Vs 3-5)
    • Jonathan was used by God to destroy the Philistine garrison in Geba.
    • When the rest of the Philistines heard about the slaughter at Geba, they prepared to do battle with Israel
    • The biblical record tells us that the Philistines gathered together, 30,000 chariots, and 6,000 horsemen, and people as the sand on the seashore in multitude.
  4. The Philistines pitched in Michmash, eastward from Beth-aven
    • “Biblical Michmashwas a strategically important town in the territory of Benjamin, located about seven miles north of Jerusalem, near the modern Arab village of Mukhmas, overlooking the steep Wadi es-Suweinit (Nahal Michmas). It was famous for the Battle of Michmash where Jonathan defeated the Philistines, and its pass was a key invasion route mentioned by prophets like Isaiah.”
  5. e. Saul was afraid of the Philistines (Vs 6-7)
    • The people of Israel began to hide themselves among the rocks and the caves, in high places and in pits. Some of the people even crossed over the Jordan River, into the land of Gad. In Joshua’s day, Israel victoriously crossed Jordan and defeated Jericho by the hand of God, in Saul’s day, the people crossed back to the other side of Jordan in fear of their enemies.
    • Notice what they didn’t do. We don’t see Israel calling upon the LORD to save them. They had the king that they desired, but when they found the king was impotent to save them, they ran and hid themselves from their enemies.

Saul Disobeyed God (Vs 8-14)

  1. a. Saul offered a burnt offering (Vs 8-10)
    • As Samuel tarried his arrival, Saul began to notice a faltering among the people, and Saul became increasingly concerned about it.
    • Why was Samuel delayed?
      “This rendezvous was the Lord’s way of testing Saul’s faith and patience. Without faith and patience, we can’t receive what the Lord promises (Heb. 6:12), and unbelief and impatience are marks of spiritual immaturity (James 1:1–8). Until we learn to trust God and wait on His timing, we can’t learn the other lessons He wants to teach us, nor can we receive the blessings He’s planned for us.”[1]Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Successful, “Be” Commentary Series (Colorado Springs, CO: Victor/Cook Communications, 2001), 65.
  2. b. Instead of waiting for Samuel, Saul made the sacrifice himself.
    • The impatient Christian gets himself into all sorts of trouble when he has not learned to wait on God.
  3. c. Saul made excuses for his sin (Vs 11-12)
    • Saul accused Samuel of being late and then pointed out the fact that the Philistines were not far off and could have attacked them.
    • Saul explained that these things, along with the fact that the people were deserting him, had “forced” him to take action.
    • Notice that Saul knew the people wanted to make the sacrifice to God and that this sacrifice would please the people. It seems that Israel viewed God more as a lucky charm than as their great deliverer. God is not a lucky charm to help you coast through life. He wants to control your life for His glory, but he will not “bring you good luck” as it were, while you are going your own way and doing your own thing.
  4. d. Saul lost the kingdom of Israel (Vs 13-14)
    • The excuses didn’t work, and Saul was clearly out of line.
    • God would have established Saul’s kingdom in Israel but instead God would choose a man after his own heart.
    • Now, we know that man is David, but this pictures for us the rejection of the deeds of the flesh. Remember how I said that Saul pictures the Christian who is trying to live for God in his own strength and David pictures the Spirit led Christian? God rejected the self-effort of Saul in exchange for a man who would follow God’s own heart and be led by the Spirit of God.

Saul Failed to Prepare for Battle (Vs 15-23)

  1. a. By the time we come to verse 15, the bulk of the army had left Saul, and even his faithful 3,000 had begun to abandon him.
    • Saul found himself with just 600 men to face off against the innumerable Philistine army.
    • The account of Gideon tells us that an army of just 300 men was enough for God to win battles with, but an army of 300,000 would not have been enough for Saul to win the battle with.
  2. b. Saul was unprepared to fight the Philistines (Vs 19-23)
    • – The nation of Israel was so oppressed by the Philistines that they had not been able to properly equip themselves for farming, let alone for battle.
    • – “It was bad enough that Saul lacked men, but it was even worse that his men were not properly equipped. When the Philistines moved in and subjected the land of Israel to their rule, they deported all the ironworkers so that the Jews couldn’t make weapons or even repair their farm implements. They even had to pay exorbitant prices to have their implements sharpened. The Benjamites were skilled at using slings (Judg. 20:15–16), but slings were not practical in close combat, and what about the vast number of Philistine chariots? The Jewish army was small in number and had small supplies of weapons, but they had a great God, if only they would trust Him. All of this sets the stage for Jonathan’s thrilling victory described in chapter 14, and that is contrasted with his father’s sad defeat in chapter 15.”[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Successful, “Be” Commentary Series (Colorado Springs, CO: Victor/Cook Communications, 2001), 68–69.
  3. c. Once again, we see the impotence of our self-effort to help us overcome sin and our spiritual enemies.
    • You will not have victory over the enemy if the implements you use for battle are carnal and not spiritual.
    • 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
      – Next week, Lord willing, we will look at the deliverance God gave to Israel at the hand of Jonathan and his shield bearer, the only men who appear to have had any faith in the power of Almighty God.

Conclusion

  1. The end does not justify the means. God want our worship of him to be holy and in line with his Word and he will not accept the worship of a disobedient people.
  2. We cannot overcome a spiritual enemy with carnal devices. We need the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives to give us victory over our spiritual enemies.