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God’s First Rejection of Saul

1Samuel 13:1-23

 

INTRODUCTION: Both the sin of Saul in sacrificing and the absence of smiths (blacksmiths) in Israel point to the danger of fighting God’s battles according to the ways of man and the world. We must learn spiritual warfare if we would win God’s battles.

 

  1. THE INVASION OF THE PHILISTINES (13:1-7)

    1. The Immediate Causes of the Invasion (13:1-4)

      1. The choosing of Saul as king (v.1)
        1. Saul had only reigned two years
        2. The Philistines felt threatened by a king over Israel
      2. Saul established a standing army (v.2; see 8:10-12)
        1. 2,000 with Saul in Michmash
        2. 1,000 with Jonathan in Gibeah
        3. The remainder of the Israelites sent home
      3. Jonathan defeats the garrison in Geba (v.3a)
      4. NOTE: "and the Philistines heard of it" (v.3). Begin winning a battle or two for the Lord and the enemy will hear of it. That explains why great victories are often followed by greater battles. We are in a spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:10-13; 2Corinthians 10:3-5). When we attack, we receive a counterattack. But God’s grace is always sufficient if we will trust in Him.
      5. Saul gives a general call to arms (v.3b-4)
        1. He blew the trumpet (v.3b)
        2. He spread the word (v.4a)
          1. That he had smitten a garrison of the Philistines
          2. That Israel was had in abomination of the Philistines – just as we are had in abomination of the world (John 15:18-20; Galatians 6:14; 1Peter 4:12-13; 1John 3:1)
        3. He called them to Gilgal (v.4b)
          1. A safe place, close to the Jordan River, far from the enemy lines.
          2. This is where the Israelites first encamped when they crossed the Jordan River under Joshua (Joshua 4:19-20)
          3. The name, Gilgal, means that the reproach is rolled away (Joshua 5:9-10)
          4. It was at Gilgal that Joshua accepted the Gibeonites (Joshua 9:6)
          5. The wars of conquest were fought out of Gilgal (Joshua 10:7, 9, 15, 43)
          6. Gilgal was on Samuel’s circuit as he judged Israel (1Samuel 7:15-17)
          7. Saul was made king in Gilgal (1Samuel 11:14-15)
          8. Saul is rejected twice in Gilgal
            1. First time (1Samuel 13:8-14)
            2. Second time (1Samuel 15:12-28)
          9. Elijah passed through Gilgal before being taken in a whirlwind (1Kings 2:1-2)
          10. Elisha healed the death in the pot in Gilgal (2Kings 4:38-41)
          11. False worship was established at Gilgal (Hosea 4:15; 9:15; 12:11; Amos 4:4; 5:5)

    2. The Invasion Forces Arrive (13:5-7)

      1. The Philistines pitch camp in Michmash (v.5)
        1. Well into the heart of Israel, about 10 miles north of Jerusalem
        2. At a crossroads where much damage could be done
        3. With chariots, horsemen and a great army
        4. NOTE: Chariots could never be used to full advantage in this mountainous terrain.
      2. The Israelites react with great fear (v.6-7)
        1. They saw the great forces against them (v.6)
        2. They were greatly distressed at their plight (v.6)
        3. They hid in any place they could find (v.6)
        4. Some of them fled to the eastern side of the Jordan (v.7)
        5. Saul tarried in Gilgal with a terrified army (v.7)

  2. SAUL’S DISOBEDIENCE TO GOD (13:8-14)

    1. Saul Offered a Burnt Offering (13:8-10)

      1. Samuel is delayed in coming to Gilgal (v.8a)
      2. Saul is losing his army as they scatter (v.8b)
      3. Saul impatiently offers the sacrifice (v.9)
      4. Samuel arrives immediately afterward (v.10)
        1. Saul, as the peoples’ anointed king, had no right to offer a sacrifice. (Leviticus 10:1-3; 22:1-3; 2Chronicles 26:1, 5, 16-21)
        2. Samuel’s immediate arrival shows that this was a test from God to see if Saul would trust in Him. He would have been much better to have gone to battle without the sacrifice than to have offered it himself. Saul was no longer little in his own eyes (9:21).
        3. How often have we gotten in trouble by forcing action not in God’s will when we could have just waited a little longer on the Lord and seen a great deliverance?

    2. Samuel Rebukes King Saul (13:11-14)

      1. Saul’s excuses (v.11-12; cp. 15:20-21)
        1. The scattering of the people (v.11)
        2. The delay of Samuel (v.11)
        3. The gathering of the Philistines (v.11)
        4. The approaching of the battle (v.12)
        5. The necessity of the sacrifice (v.12) – "I have not made supplication unto the LORD"
        6. The difficulty of the decision (v.12) – "I forced myself"
        7. NOTE: We always have a hundred excuses for disobeying God. But they are never enough.
      2. Saul’s condemnation (v.13-14)
        1. His foolishness (v.13)
        2. His disobedience (v.13)
        3. His rejection (v.14)
        4. His replacement (v.15)
          1. The Lord seeks "a man after his own heart"
          2. The Lord will make him "captain over his people"

  3. THEIR PREPARATION FOR BATTLE (13:15-23)

    1. The Army of Israel (13:15-16)

      1. Samuel departs to Gibeah (v.15)
      2. Saul numbers his army at 600 men (v.15)
      3. Saul encamps at Gibeah (v.16); separated from the Philistines by a deep ravine

    2. The Spoilers of the Philistines (13:17-18) – three companies

      1. One goes north toward Ophrah (v.17)
      2. A second goes west toward Bethhoron (v.18)
      3. A third goes east toward the wilderness and Jordan (v.18)
      4. NOTE: Saul’s army was so weak that they ignored it

    3. The Weakness of the Israelites (13:19-23)

      1. Dependent on the Philistines for their smith work (v.19-21)
        1. No smith in Israel (v.19)
        2. Went to the Philistines to sharpen their tools (v.20); we see churches and Christians today depending on the world to sharpen their spiritual tools. This is one of the greatest causes of weakness in the work of Christ.
        3. Did the best they could with files (v.21)
      2. Without weapons in the day of battle (v.22-23)

 

 

 

 

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