1 Saul was thirty[a] years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-[b] two years.
2 Saul chose three thousand men from Israel; two thousand were with him at Mikmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. The rest of the men he sent back to their homes. 3 Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul had the trumpet blown throughout the land and said, “Let the Hebrews hear!” 4 So all Israel heard the news: “Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel has become obnoxious to the Philistines.” And the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal. 5 The Philistines assembled to fight Israel, with three thousand[c] chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Mikmash, east of Beth Aven. 6 When the Israelites saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns. 7 Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear. 8 He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. 9 So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered up the burnt offering. 10 Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.
Let’s remember the three experiences Samuel told Saul he would have. First don’t be anxious about your donkeys, don’t be anxious about anything, but by prayer and petition let your requests be made known to God. He blew the trumpet so we know his request was made known to Israel. Samuel told him to wait for seven days, so we know the request was made known to the prophet. Second, the sharing of the sacrificial bread told Saul he was now part of God’s household, God would take care of him. Third, the Spirit came and filled him making him a different person. The triune God is fully involved and responsible for this kingdom. Trust God. That is the final lesson, wait for me seven days in Gilgal. The Christian life is a life of faith. This battle was a test of Saul’s faith. He is completely outnumbered and the Philistines are far better equipped, according to the flesh. The difference in the battle is not men, or spears or chariots. The difference is the triune God. He doesn’t want the battle to be even, He wants them to have a huge advantage according to the flesh so that all the glory would be to God. Look at Jesus, one man against the entire Roman Empire and the entire Jewish religious organization. He had no chance, no chance.
11 “What have you done?” asked Samuel. Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, 12 I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
“When I saw the men were scattering”. As believers we have to know the ways of God. Remember with Gideon how God whittled down the forces to 300 men so that they would have nothing to boast of. God was designing a victory that would have established Saul in their eyes the way He established David in their eyes with the defeat of Goliath. When you see this you should be scared, you should realize what it means that believers “walk by faith, not by sight”. It will be a very scary thing, so scary that those without faith cannot do it. This failure exposed Saul, he didn’t have faith and yet he was able to reign for 42 years. Judgement was determined against him from this failure and yet God could still use him to train David.
13 “You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. 14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” 15 Then Samuel left Gilgal[d] and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin, and Saul counted the men who were with him. They numbered about six hundred.
Wow! He just left Saul at Gilgal outnumbered and outmatched! Do you still want to be king?
16 Saul and his son Jonathan and the men with them were staying in Gibeah[e] in Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Mikmash. 17 Raiding parties went out from the Philistine camp in three detachments. One turned toward Ophrah in the vicinity of Shual, 18 another toward Beth Horon, and the third toward the borderland overlooking the Valley of Zeboyim facing the wilderness. 19 Not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears!” 20 So all Israel went down to the Philistines to have their plow points, mattocks, axes and sickles[f] sharpened. 21 The price was two-thirds of a shekel[g] for sharpening plow points and mattocks, and a third of a shekel[h] for sharpening forks and axes and for repointing goads. 22 So on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.
This reminds me of today. How is it that Christians who represent over 50% of the country are not controlling 50% of the mainstream media, or 50% of the tech giants or 50% of the elected officials. They control the message, they control what people can and cannot say on social media, what they hear on mainstream news and what happens in the halls of government. I love how Saul fails and yet all of a sudden Jonathan is there, he has faith. So instead of God using this to establish Saul in their eyes, it will be Jonathan that wins this victory.
23 Now a detachment of Philistines had gone out to the pass at Mikmash.
2 Saul chose three thousand men from Israel; two thousand were with him at Mikmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. The rest of the men he sent back to their homes. 3 Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul had the trumpet blown throughout the land and said, “Let the Hebrews hear!” 4 So all Israel heard the news: “Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel has become obnoxious to the Philistines.” And the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal. 5 The Philistines assembled to fight Israel, with three thousand[c] chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Mikmash, east of Beth Aven. 6 When the Israelites saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns. 7 Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear. 8 He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. 9 So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered up the burnt offering. 10 Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.
Let’s remember the three experiences Samuel told Saul he would have. First don’t be anxious about your donkeys, don’t be anxious about anything, but by prayer and petition let your requests be made known to God. He blew the trumpet so we know his request was made known to Israel. Samuel told him to wait for seven days, so we know the request was made known to the prophet. Second, the sharing of the sacrificial bread told Saul he was now part of God’s household, God would take care of him. Third, the Spirit came and filled him making him a different person. The triune God is fully involved and responsible for this kingdom. Trust God. That is the final lesson, wait for me seven days in Gilgal. The Christian life is a life of faith. This battle was a test of Saul’s faith. He is completely outnumbered and the Philistines are far better equipped, according to the flesh. The difference in the battle is not men, or spears or chariots. The difference is the triune God. He doesn’t want the battle to be even, He wants them to have a huge advantage according to the flesh so that all the glory would be to God. Look at Jesus, one man against the entire Roman Empire and the entire Jewish religious organization. He had no chance, no chance.
11 “What have you done?” asked Samuel. Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, 12 I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
“When I saw the men were scattering”. As believers we have to know the ways of God. Remember with Gideon how God whittled down the forces to 300 men so that they would have nothing to boast of. God was designing a victory that would have established Saul in their eyes the way He established David in their eyes with the defeat of Goliath. When you see this you should be scared, you should realize what it means that believers “walk by faith, not by sight”. It will be a very scary thing, so scary that those without faith cannot do it. This failure exposed Saul, he didn’t have faith and yet he was able to reign for 42 years. Judgement was determined against him from this failure and yet God could still use him to train David.
13 “You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. 14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” 15 Then Samuel left Gilgal[d] and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin, and Saul counted the men who were with him. They numbered about six hundred.
Wow! He just left Saul at Gilgal outnumbered and outmatched! Do you still want to be king?
16 Saul and his son Jonathan and the men with them were staying in Gibeah[e] in Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Mikmash. 17 Raiding parties went out from the Philistine camp in three detachments. One turned toward Ophrah in the vicinity of Shual, 18 another toward Beth Horon, and the third toward the borderland overlooking the Valley of Zeboyim facing the wilderness. 19 Not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears!” 20 So all Israel went down to the Philistines to have their plow points, mattocks, axes and sickles[f] sharpened. 21 The price was two-thirds of a shekel[g] for sharpening plow points and mattocks, and a third of a shekel[h] for sharpening forks and axes and for repointing goads. 22 So on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.
This reminds me of today. How is it that Christians who represent over 50% of the country are not controlling 50% of the mainstream media, or 50% of the tech giants or 50% of the elected officials. They control the message, they control what people can and cannot say on social media, what they hear on mainstream news and what happens in the halls of government. I love how Saul fails and yet all of a sudden Jonathan is there, he has faith. So instead of God using this to establish Saul in their eyes, it will be Jonathan that wins this victory.
23 Now a detachment of Philistines had gone out to the pass at Mikmash.